Tampering

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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.


8 thoughts on “Tampering”

  1. Thanks Mike – I heard there were some strange happenings in Missoula. Maybe someone will dig into it and see how many voters moved away since the 2006 election. I also heard you can’t beat free food and alcohol to get people to register for your party. None of it will probably ever be proven. -Jack

  2. <>And he also says, “counties are controlled by republicans and they’d steal the election”. <>How does Missoula County fit into this equation? It’s certainly not controlled by Republicans. Then again, Forward Montana had Missoula County in the tank for Tester from the get-go.

  5. Anon: Me too. There needs to an investigation into this. It appears out Native American friends were looked down upon by the Governor and he used them.

  6. Tammy Hall has filed a complaint. I’m offended by the racism, “only white guys on the reservation” and and I’m offended by his puffy blowhardeness. And he also says, “counties are controlled by republicans and they’d steal the election”. What a jerk.

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