Montana Politics 2012: Early Birds

It seems Montana politicians are way out front of most folks in making announcements about running for office in 2012.

Yes, 2012.

Maybe we should get the 2010 elections out of the way first?

I have not heard of anyone announcing they are running for President yet in 2012, but here in Montana we’ve heard U.S. Senator Jon Tester publicly announce that he was running for reelection in 2012.

In Tester’s case, I think he had to make the announcement early because this will help prevent his unhappy base of support from taking on the politically-wounded and weak first termer in a primary. His record of accomplishments is lacking, plus he’s broken several campaign promises, so he’s running scared.

Just yesterday, I heard that former Republican senate leader Corey Stapleton of Billings announced that he is running for Governor. Probably like most people, I muttered something like, “Who cares?” or “Why?” when I heard the news. (more…)

Published in: on July 20, 2010 at 8:00 am  Comments (2)  
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Taking on the Home Team

I happened to catch the commentary by George Ochenski in the Missoula Independent over the weekend called, “The writing on the wall” and you can read it HERE.

Ochenski writes about the woes of congress and the Obama White House and singles out Montana’s two U.S. Senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester.

I guess we know that all hell is breaking loose when a liberal commentator takes on the home team. (more…)

Published in: on July 19, 2010 at 9:51 am  Comments (1)  
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Native Montanan

A little light-hearted commentary for a Friday…

Here in Montana, we hear a lot of I’m a “fourth generation Montanan” or I’m a “fifth generation Montanan” and so on.

Frequently, we hear this line from politicians who must be thinking they will corner more votes from native Montanans.

Note to politicians: There are a lot of Montanans who were not born here and by the way, we vote. Just so you know our votes count the same, too. This isn’t Chicago.

Frankly, I think most Montanans are smart enough not to accept this fourth or fifth generation line. They elected Mike Mansfield a few times. Mansfield was born in New York City. Conrad Burns was elected three times. Burns was born in Missouri.

Like many of us, I imagine they got to Montana as quickly as they could.

Most of us picked Montana. It did not pick us.

Sometimes hearing the “generation” thingy makes those of us who were not fortunate enough to be born here feel that we’re not worthy. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sure that’s exactly how the person telling us about their vast Montana roots wants us to feel.

Montanans may remember the quote from the defecting Soviet Capt. Vasili Borodin in the movie, “The Hunt for Red October” when he said:

I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck… maybe even a “recreational vehicle.” And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?

Unfortunately, Capt. Borodin died in the movie, but even if he had made it to Montana he would be a non-native. But he did pick Montana – of all the states!

For sure, we non-natives just can’t love the state as much as those who were slapped on the butt for the first time at a local Montana hospital. (more…)

Published in: on July 16, 2010 at 6:31 am  Comments (9)  
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Great Falls Tribune

According to a blog post by the editor of the Missoulian, the Great Falls Tribune newspaper is in for some major changes – and job losses in 2011:

Gannett Corp. announced Tuesday that its newspapers will be designed at five “hubs” nationwide: Asbury, Des Moines, Louisville, Nashville, Phoenix.

That means local newspapers will ship off their stories and photos to page designers who are thousands of miles away. And those people will determine how the next day’s newspaper looks. They’ll position the stories and photos on the pages.

That means the Great Falls Tribune will be designed in Phoenix, Ariz.

By the way, Gannett owns the Great Falls Tribune.

I did not see anything about this change in the Tribune. I imagine we’ll learn of the impact in the not too distant future. It was kind of odd to read about the Tribune undergoing changes from an editor in Missoula – but I guess the editor felt it was a terrible move and decided to blog about it. The Missoulian newspaper is owned by Lee Newspapers.

The newspaper business is having a tough time these days and has had a tough go of it ever since the internet became such a major part of most everyone’s daily lives. I still subscribe to the “dead tree” version of my local paper. It’s part of my morning ritual (right after pouring a cup of coffee). Soon after reading the local paper, I am on Twitter and Facebook and other parts of the web getting the latest news.

They agree:

I was happy to read that the Editorial Board of the Tribune agreed with my commentary yesterday about making the road to Malmstrom AFB a little more professional looking. You can read their viewpoint HERE.

Published in: on July 15, 2010 at 8:04 am  Leave a Comment  
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Worthy Investment

It was nice to hear that Cascade County has finally decided to do something about the eyesore leading to the entrance of Malmstrom AFB. It’s the section on Second Avenue North from 57 Street North to the entrance of the base.

There’s about a half mile section that really needs a lot of work that leads to the entrance of Malmstrom. It’s been this way for years. Many years ago, when I ventured out to the base for the first time, I noticed how terrible the road leading to the base appeared. The road was not only terrible, but there were weeds and old vacant buildings that needed work (or torn down) along the route.

Frankly, it made me wonder just how much the community really supported the base. I’m sure others have felt the same way over the years.

Although some work was done on this section of road several years ago, it has deteriorated again. Today, it looks very trashy and detracts from the professional appearance the base displays.

Since the Malmstrom runway has been closed, any officials visiting the base must travel from the Great Falls International Airport to the base and use one of the two entrances. Driving up Second Avenue North to the entrance gives many of these visitors the impression that Cascade County and the Great Falls community don’t really care too much about portraying the base in positive light.

First impressions are everything – especially when some of these officials may hold the base’s future in their hands.

Hopefully the first impression will change for the better now. Let’s hope the many supporters of the base from the community and around the state will help with the cost. It’s the right thing to do and a worthy investment.

Published in: on July 14, 2010 at 10:03 am  Comments (2)  
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Montana Politics 2010 – McDonald vs. Rehberg: Every Breath You Take

I happened to be trolling the net this morning and saw that the Billings Gazette was streaming a meeting between Congressman Denny Rehberg and the members of the Montana State Fireman’s Association. The Fireman’s Association was holding their 121st Annual Convention in Billings.

So I watched it. You can watch it here, too. Later in the day, the Gazette followed up the video with a story. You can read it here.

I had commented before about this being politics as normal in Montana after Rehberg Ranch LLC filed a civil complaint against the City of Billings and Billings Fire Department about the handling of a 2008 fire on his property – basically asking for information about why management removed firefighters when the blaze was contained at 10 acres. Later, the fire flared up and consumed about 1200 acres.

I would think most people would want to know why. I know I would. It was also important for Rehberg to talk face to face with those being used as political footballs and explain to them his reasons for the civil complaint, and he did.

Most of us remember that the firefighters were used this same way in the 2006 Montana Senate race and look what it got them.

The Gazette reported that Rehberg told the firefighters: (more…)

Published in: on July 13, 2010 at 5:12 pm  Comments (1)  
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Steinbrenner

It was sad news this morning when I heard that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had died. Back the late 70s and 80s, I remember hating George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees with a passion!

Steinbrenner changed baseball forever. If you were a Yankees fan, you admired him for his desire to win. If you were a fan of another team, you detested him. He fired managers and traded players like children exchanging baseball cards at the local little league field. All he wanted to do was win and he did bringing the Yankees 11 American League Pennants and seven World Series titles.

George Steinbrenner was also an Air Force veteran. Salute!

Being a life-long Kansas City Royals fan, some of the best games of my life were when the Yankees and the Royals played. Many times my Royals lost. (more…)

Published in: on July 13, 2010 at 9:17 am  Leave a Comment  
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Futball and Vuvuzelas

OK, I admit that I was one of the millions who watched the FIFA World Cup final yesterday between Spain and the Netherlands. Spain won the match 1-0 in extra time.

More people watch the World Cup final than watch the Super Bowl. Soccer, also called “futball” in most places (that don’t have a USA zip code), is the most-watched sport in the world.

I am not a big soccer fan, but I have watched several World Cup matches this year even after the USA was eliminated. I enjoy the close matches – the extra periods and the shootouts. I also like the fact that there are not any commercials when they are playing. The sport has not been Americanized that far just yet. (more…)

Published in: on July 12, 2010 at 9:23 am  Leave a Comment  
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Recess Appointments

There’s been some talk on the cable news shows and some articles in the papers and on the web about Obama appointing Donald Berwick to be the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during senate recess.

It is completely legit to do this as stated in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution:

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

President George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments and President Bill Clinton made 139. Source: Congressional Research Service, Report# RS21308 (PDF)

Even the Great Falls Tribune editorial board chimed in with their thoughts on the matter in Sunday’s paper and sided with Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont) who came out against the recess appointment.

This angle by Baucus is kind of funny. We all know (or are told over and over by Baucus’ press people and the Montana media) that Max Baucus is “powerful” and chairs a “powerful” committee. (more…)

Published in: on July 11, 2010 at 11:38 am  Leave a Comment  
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Scum Politics

I happened to catch an article in Saturday’s Billings Gazette with the headline, “GOP candidate cries foul against critics.” You can read it HERE.

The story is about a GOP candidate named Debra Bonogofsky who was beaten in the GOP primary by Dan Kennedy after four groups targeted her with mailers. She lost by 259 votes.

First of all I don’t know Debra Bonogofsky from Debra Winger or Dan Kennedy from Dan Quayle, but the article lets us in on a major problem with politics today – the last minute fliers hitting the voters’ mailboxes spreading misinformation or spun so that it creates doubt in the voters’ minds.

According the Gazette, the four groups are: Western Tradition Partnership, Assembly Action Fund, Montana Right to Work and the National Gun Owners Alliance.

Funny thing is that I probably agree with some of the views of these groups, but they are way out of line here. (more…)

Published in: on July 10, 2010 at 3:53 pm  Leave a Comment  
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