Monthly Archives: September 2008

Must Reads

Today, there’s a story and a couple of editorials about Governor Brian Schweitzer’s speech to a group of trial lawyers where he basically told them how he tampered with the 2006 election that lead his friend, Jon Tester, to a narrow victory.



The first, “Horse sense: Schweitzer speech bizarrely hands issue to Brown, GOP”



“And the advantage is, you know, when you’ve got a governor on your side, whoa!” Schweitzer says in the speech. “You can turn some dials, and we did.”


We may never know just how far Schweitzer turned those “dials” because fellow party member and current Montana Attorney General, Mike McGrath, has refused to investigate. Talk about circling the wagons…the Montana media needs to call McGrath out for his desire to kill the request for an investigation.


Then we had an editorial from the Missoulian called, “Governor’s remarks an insult to state”


Did Schweitzer in fact use his influence in an attempt to sway an election? Or did he just say so to make himself out as a deep pool in a shallow ocean?

Either way, his “joke” insults residents of the state’s seven Indian reservations by suggesting they had to be guarded from Republican poll-watchers. It insults elections officials of Butte-Silver Bow by suggesting they manipulated the release of county votes. And he insults everyone in Montana when he portrays us as backwater naifs easily exploited by a savvy political mind.


No kidding.


Finally, for now, we have the Daily Inter Lake of Kalispell chiming in with their editorial, “Gov let his ego do the talking”


But others are taking his remarks very seriously. Schweitzer told the trial lawyers a story about tribal police officers chasing Republican poll watchers from reservations with trumped up threats of arrest.


First we have Schweitzer contacting the Tribal police to remove Republican poll watchers. Then Schweitzer contacts the election official in Butte during the counting of votes – who knows what happened after that contact. Then he contacts the Associated Press to call the election. Wow!


One thing that is interesting is that a couple of these contacts have been verified, but nobody actually decided to report it – until the speech was found on the internet. One must wonder what else Schweitzer did to win the election for Tester.


Nonetheless, these are all fine pieces of writing about the Governor turning “some dials” for his pal. It’s dirty and cheap politics to say the least.

Just Football



Lucky and Good



The Denver Broncos must be feeling pretty lucky today as they had two calls by officials bungled in their favor. They beat the San Diego Chargers yesterday in Denver 39-38.

If you like offense, this game was for you.



In the fourth quarter, the Broncos’ QB, Jay Cutler, fumbled the ball but referee Ed Hochuli blew a quick whistle for an incomplete pass and the Broncos retained possession. The Broncos then scored a touchdown and then went for a two-point conversion and made it. It was a gutsy call by Mike Shanahan, Broncos coach, to go for a two-point conversion, but luck was on the Broncos’ side this day.



Earlier, the replay booth’s equipment was down, and the TV replays showed a called fumble by San Diego should have been overturned. Denver scored a few plays later. Maybe they could have grabbed a TV monitor in the stadium and took a peek?



Maybe the Broncos are playing so good because Barack Obama blessed the field a few weeks ago?



No matter, it was a good game. The Broncos are 2-0 and San Diego is 0-2.



One other interesting game that I watched as Indianapolis comes from 15 down to beat the Vikings 18-15 with a last second field goal.



Worst Teams



The State of Missouri just may be the home of the two worst teams in the NFL – the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Rams. Some folks are starting to believe the best football team at any level in the state is the University of Missouri Tigers who are ranked #5 in the nation after they murdered Nevada 69-17.

The Chiefs lost to the hated Oakland Raiders 23-8 in Kansas City. The Rams lost to the Giants 41-13. The columnists at the Kansas City Star are having a field day with the way the Chiefs are playing in their first two games. The big question is will the Chiefs win a game this season? Call it rebuilding or whatever you want, but the Chiefs did not compete on Sunday.



Best Teams



Ohio State (ranked #5 last week) strolled into the State of California and found out what it will take to be in the BCS picture. They don’t have it, right now. Ohio State lost to #1 USC 35-3. USC looks very powerful. Here are this week’s AP top ten:



1. USC 2-0

2. Oklahoma 3-0

3. Georgia 3-0

4. Florida 2-0

5. Missouri 3-0

6. LSU 2-0

7. Texas 2-0

8. Wisconsin 3-0

9. Alabama 3-0

10. Auburn 3-0



It was a very good weekend for football but, then again, I think most weekends are great when football is being played.


Polls show McGrath made wrong decision

Yesterday, the Great Falls Tribune placed a poll on their website asking about Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath’s decision not to investigate his good buddy, Governor Brian Schweitzer. Schweitzer was caught telling what he did in 2006 to rig the election for fellow Democrat, Jon Tester. In this poll, you can vote on-line or by telephone.


Here’s the question (notice the Tribune did not list McGrath’s name for some reason):


Do you agree with the state attorney general’s decision to deny requests for an investigation into Gov. Schweitzer’s comments?


Today the Tribune placed the results in their hardcopy edition. As far as I can tell, the results are not on-line. The final results show:


YES: 33%

NO: 67%


There were 932 votes. Of course these polls are not scientific, but as someone who follows these polls everyday, the number of people taking time to vote was pretty high for a Tribune poll.



So two-thirds of those voting did not like the fact that Attorney General Mike McGrath did not investigate his buddy, Governor Brian Schweitzer.


The Western Word also posted a poll a day before the Tribune poll. Although the number of people voting was less than the Tribune’s here are the question and the results:


Do you agree with Montana AG Mike McGrath’s decision not to investigate Governor Brian Schweitzer’s actions during the election of 2006?


YES: 4%

NO: 96%


One thing for sure, most folks don’t agree with McGrath’s decision, and I guarantee it won’t be going away anytime soon.


Energy and Photos

The man who Governor Brian Schweitzer rigged the 2006 election for sent a “prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense” postcard to Montanans to let us know his views on the energy problem.

I thought the Montana Democratic Party was against these “prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense” mailers? In 2006, they called these mailers “a shameless waste of taxpayer dollars.”



So, it will be good to hear what they have to say about Jon Tester’s “shameless waste of taxpayer dollars.”



My home received two, which was even more of “a shameless waste of taxpayer dollars.” Of course, his photo was on the postcard four times and it lists his plan of action.



Today in the New York Times, Tester’s photo is displayed with the man who “turned some dials” for his tainted victory, Governor Brian Schweitzer.

Sadly, the Democrats took a 38 day paid vacation and would not allow votes on comprehensive plans to start solving the energy problem.

Ironically, just about the time Barack Obama flip-flopped on off-shore drilling, it appears Jon Tester has followed his leader’s flip-flop according to his website.

I did not see anything about nuclear power. Most of his other stands on the energy issue are pretty vanilla. Here’s his postcard. Enjoy.





McGrath Protects Schweitzer



It did not take long for Montana’s Attorney General, Mike McGrath (D), to basically say he was going to protect Montana’s Governor, Brian Schweitzer (D) from an investigation. He probably had the letter ready to go, because they are good friends, don’t you know.


Can you believe it? One must wonder if McGrath was at the Schweitzer speech in person.


This afternoon, NewWest.net reporter Robert Struckman reports:


“McGrath declined to investigate comments made by Gov. Brian Schweitzer at a fundraising event in Philadelphia on July 14, describing the speech as “admittedly intemperate” and saying “the accusations contain no allegation supported by fact.”


Well, it has been verified that he called the head of the elections office for Silver Bow County, and we know that he called the Associated Press. Both times he was trying to influence the outcome of the election. Hopefully the U.S. Attorney’s office in Montana will dig into Schweitzer’s contacts on the reservations.


Then Mr. Struckman reports that McGrath said,


“The misuse of the criminal justice system for political purposes is a serious matter. It is inappropriate to use a public office as election-season PR for a political blogger or any other special interest,” he says.


Tampering with elections is very much a serious matter, Mr. McGrath – at least most Montanans think so. Maybe the next Montana Attorney General, Tim Fox, will take things like this a little more seriously.


By the way, McGrath wants to be the next Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. Good grief. He lost a lot of votes today.


By the way, Mr. McGrath, thanks for acknowledging political bloggers. We did the work for you. You fumbled the ball.


Let the Investigation Begin

Almost everyone who has commented on the blogs and in newspaper columns about Brian Schweitzer’s tampering with the 2006 Senate election is not at all happy with him messing around with elections. The news has spread across the World Wide Web like a wildfire on a prairie. His remarks will dog him for a long time and harm his future in the political world.


Today we find that Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson (R) has contacted Montana’s Attorney General, Mike McGrath (D), and asked him to investigate a citizen’s complaint about the Governor’s tampering with the election. He also asked that if McGrath was not going to investigate it, that he refer it to the appropriate county attorney.


Brad Johnson has done a tremendous job as Montana’s Secretary of State and always places those duties of that office about party politics.


But, I would not hold my breath that Montana AG McGrath will do anything. Maybe he will surprise us and place having open and honest elections above his party. In 2005, he failed to act on a similar issue within his party that dealt with Democratic Senate candidate John Morrison and Jon Tester breaking the law when they placed pre-recorded phone calls to raise money for their campaigns.


One can only imagine that McGrath’s personal phone line is burning up with calls coming in from Gov. Schweitzer, Sen. Jon Tester, Montana Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald, and Sen. Max Baucus.


They all have a lot to lose.


McGrath is between a rock and hard spot. He is running for Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court. On his campaign website he states, “I believe I have the integrity, breadth of experience and commitment to fairness that position demands.”


The ball is in your court, AG McGrath. We’re waiting.

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.