Daily Archives: September 10, 2008

Now the Spin



Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer apologized (set the spin in motion) late today for his recorded remarks last summer in July 2008 where he claims he won the race for his pal, U.S. Senate candidate, Jon Tester.



As has been reported first in the blog, MT Pundit, and picked up by the Great Falls Tribune and the Associated Press, he tampered with several people involved in the election.



Schweitzer claimed he ran Republican poll watchers off the reservations by having his people threaten them with jail, and that he pressured an election official from Butte-Silver Bow County.



Of course, he gave his apology to the Associated Press (AP), which let him go unchallenged. You can read the whole AP story HERE.



Basically Schweitzer either lied to the convention people to get a laugh or he’s lying now to save his butt. I think the latter is true.



So, I don’t accept his apology. It is just a cheap way out of a sticky situation. The Governor was starting to see the “crap” hit the fan so to save his butt, as well as his re-election efforts, he apologized.



Supposedly state and federal officials are “reviewing” his comments, but the AP quickly pointed out that it was not an investigation – unlike they said in the summer of 2006 when their reporter jumped on the bandwagon to go after a Republican.



Of course Tester’s mouthpiece was asked about the remarks and he feels his boss won the race “fair and square.” Sure you do. Now your man has been branded with the fact that he won a tainted election.



This issue is not over. A few people have filed complaints and that is good. Of course, The Western Word will keep posting new information when it becomes available and we’ll share it with some national blogs and news networks.



Meanwhile, the 2008 election is fast approaching. Voters in Montana must wonder if more tampering will happen this time, who will make the calls, who will bully poll watchers, and most importantly who might win if not for that. Any voters or poll watchers who feel or see intimidation, must make a stand to ensure the best candidate wins. We don’t want to see the election of 2006 repeated.




Tampering

It looks like Governor Brian Schweitzer’s tampering remark about how he single-handedly bagged the 2006 U.S. Senate race for Jon Tester is getting a little attention.



First, some background. Tester ?beat? Senator Conrad Burns by just a few thousand votes. Senator Conrad Burns had beaten Brian Schweitzer in 2000. Schweitzer never got over that loss and may have stepped over the line to help Tester beat Burns. Jon Tester should be feeling a little down that his narrow win is now tainted by cheating.


The Blog, MT Pundit, broke the story by releasing the audio where the Governor went on and on about how he won the election for Tester. These remarks were apparently made in July 2008 during a Trial Lawyer’s Association convention.


It’s kind of sad that in a room with all these lawyers, they thought Schweitzer’s work was hilarious.


Now another story is out there on the website NewWest.net. You can read the story called “Gov. Schweitzer’s Tampering Comments Spark Controversy” by clicking HERE.


Sometimes politicians do dumb things and keep quiet about it. Sometimes, like in this case, they brag about it in public. My mother used to have a saying about things like this. She would have said, “The Governor is too big for his britches.”


One would think that since some of his remarks dealt with the work he did for Jon Tester on Montana’s reservations, one would believe that U.S. Attorneys and other Federal officials might want to investigate it.


Of course, some of Schweitzer’s bloviating about his pressure on some county officials based in largely democratic counties might be handled by the state and federal officials. Who knows what else happened in the early morning hours when the ballots were being counted.



I believe there needs to be a thorough investigation into this issue. Maybe we can then hear from sources close to the investigation or some unnamed sources.


No matter what happens with this tampering issue, this news will undoubtedly make voters have less trust in the way election officials and government officials conduct their elections and the counting of ballots, especially when they or their staff are taking phone calls from the Governor, who had a horse in the race and he had lost to the incumbent a few years before.


Wondering

A fellow Dextra blog, “Electric City Weblog” (ECW) has a must read article on his blog called, “This explains an awful lot.”


Gregg Smith of the ECW has written the article, and it should be read by all those who believe there should be more fairness in the Montana media’s reporting about candidates and officials on the left.


Many of my fellow Dextra Bloggers have written about the poor and shoddy work done by the Montana newspapers, the Associated Press, and other news sources in Montana over the last few years. (You can see a list of the latest posts written by Dextra Bloggers on the left side of the screen, under DextraMontana.)


We saw the beginning of the garbage from the Montana media in 2006. They routinely reported on stories that appeared to have been ripped from the press releases of the Montana Democratic Party and the Tester for Senate Campaign, and instead of investigating these rumors, they cited unnamed sources and sources close to the investigation. They asked very few questions. They basically convicted people before the facts came out. They did little investigating, and it appears they copied and pasted lines from press releases issued by the Montana Democrats and Tester’s campaign. They felt it was easier to sit on one’s butt instead of getting out and performing the work of a real journalist.


Now here we are in 2008. There are many issues with Montana’s Governor that need some sunlight on them, but they are getting little, if any, coverage in the local newspapers or on local television news.


The fact is if Schweitzer was running as a Republican, the Montana media would be barbecuing him for dinner.


Luckily, the information about the Governor’s deeds are getting out due to the DextraMontana folks little by little. The DextraMontana folks have written about the possible tampering with the 2006 U.S. Senate election, to the issues surrounding his Public Service Announcement done with taxpayer equipment and state employees, to his senior counsel’s contacts with the Commissioner of Political Practices, not to mention the senior counsel’s status as a lawyer.



As Smith wrote, “We’ve already done the work for you.”


What to do. What to do.

When the polls are showing that you are losing the women’s vote, what is a candidate to do?


Drop Joe Biden and bring on Hillary Clinton?


Nope.


Put Michelle out on the campaign trail and have her speak about her pride in America?


Nope.


Parade your two daughters out in front of the media for an interview?


Nope.


The answer is (Drum roll, please):


Have a Women’s week in Montana!!!!!!


Exactly. Lipstick remarks are optional this week. I figure there are more women in Montana supporting McCain because of Sarah Palin than ever. She connects better to people in small towns, people who own guns and, oh yes, people who are religious.