Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s commentary:

• Sheehy’s Newest Problem
• Constitutional Initiatives
• VA Facilities Fly the Pride Flag

SHEEHY’S NEWEST PROBLEM:

The Huffington Post is reporting that Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy failed to disclose his role at the Property and Environment Research Center, a property rights and environmental research nonprofit that has a history of advocating for privatizing America’s federal lands and rolling back environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act.

Additionally, it was reported:

Sheehy’s campaign told HuffPost that Sheehy stepped down from the board prior to entering the Senate race last June. Asked why he didn’t disclose his role at PERC, campaign spokesperson Katie Martin said, “This omission was an oversight. We are working on amending the report.”
Senate rules require candidates to report both paid and unpaid positions held in the two years prior to their candidacy at any business enterprise, nonprofit organization, labor organization or educational institution.

So here we have Sheehy failing to follow the rules again. That’s dishonorable. His campaign has been nothing short of a circus. He still has not answered questions about being shot. That is a concern.

The bottom line is that public lands will not be safe if Sheehy is elected.

Read the full report from the Huffington Post HERE.

CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVES:

The Montana Free Press (MTFP) is reporting that backers advancing a pair of constitutional initiatives that would overhaul how Montana voters elect state and federal candidates said Wednesday that they have collected enough signatures to have the measures placed on the November ballot.

Those initiatives are CI-126 and CI-127. CI-126 would replace Montana’s current party-based June primary elections with a fully open primary that sends the top four vote-getters from a party-agnostic ballot onward to November general elections. CI-127 would specify that candidates must receive at least 50% of the November general election vote in order to be declared a winner, as opposed to the current system where the winner is simply the candidate who receives the most votes.

At first glance, I like both of these initiatives. I’m sick of the political parties, plus I think the winner of an election should have more than 50% of the vote.  

VA FACILITIES FLY THE PRIDE FLAG:

On Tuesday I wrote about U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale being upset that a Pride Flag was being flown over Veterans Affairs facilities in Montana and across the country.

Several Republicans were “outraged” about the Pride Flag. It was the “outrage” of the week.

NBC News in Montana received a response from the Department of Veterans Affairs:

VA facilities fly the Pride flag – which was created by an Army Veteran – as a tribute to the service and sacrifice of LGBTQ+ Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Secretary McDonough authorized the flying of the Pride flag at VA facilities for the duration of Pride Month, as he has done in previous years. VA continues to fly the American flag and POW flag in their rightful places at all facilities, and no flags are moved or taken down for the PRIDE flag to be flown.

Since Rosendale is gone after this year, who will step up and pretend they are outraged next June during Pride month?

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