Once you hit a certain age you become permanently unimpressed by a lot of stuff. – Unknown

Today’s quick hits deal with these important subjects:

• University of Montana Big Sky Poll
• Scott Sales SoS
• The Middle Finger

University of Montana Big Sky Poll:

The University of Montana released their Big Sky Poll results. Here is the methodology of the poll:

The online survey was conducted from February 21 – March 1, 2019, with 293 registered Montana voters. The margin of error (MOE) is +/- 5.72 at a 95 percent confidence level. Survey results were weighted by geography and gender to more accurately reflect demographics of the registered voter population in Montana.

Some of the interesting things that caught my eye were:

• The poll says that President Donald Trump has a Fair/Poor job rating of 9/47 percent and an Excellent/Good job rating of 29/16 percent.
• If the 2020 Presidential election were held today, 40% would vote for Trump. Joe Biden came in second at 15%. There were 10 names listed.
• In the race for Montana governor, Kathleen Williams received 27% of the vote and Tim Fox received 17%. Greg Gianforte comes in with 16%. There were seven names to choose from.
• U.S. Senator Steve Daines, who is up for reelection in 2020, has an Excellent/Good job rating of 19/28 percent and a Fair/Poor job rating of 29/23 percent.
• Montana Governor Steve Bullock comes in with an Excellent/Good job rating of 21/32 percent and a Fair/Poor job rating of 26/21 percent
• The Montana Legislature comes in with an Excellent/Good job rating of 4/41 percent and a Fair/Poor job rating of 43/12 percent.
• Respondents said marijuana should be legalized in Montana by a 51-37 margin. Someone should introduce a bill to do just that.

You can read all the survey results from the University of Montana Big Sky Poll by clicking HERE.

Scott Sales SoS:

The Great Falls Tribune reported that Senate President Scott Sales said Monday he is running for Secretary of State in 2020, saying he believes it’s a way to continue to serve the people of Montana and to do it in a nonpartisan manner.

Earth to Sales – the Montana Secretary of State is a partisan elective office.

I’m not sure Scott Sales can win a statewide race. He comes across as standoffish. He’s not someone I would like to have a beer with. His success will depend on his opponent.

It’s early in the process, so let’s hope others file to run so Montanans have a choice.

The Middle Finger:

The New York Times reports that the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit a court has ruled a raised middle finger is a form of free speech and has allowed a lawsuit by a driver who made the vulgar gesture at a police officer.

The Times reports that it started with a spirited exchange in June 2017 when a woman gave the middle-finger salute to a police officer who had just written her a ticket. He stopped her again and wrote her another ticket for a more serious violation. She filed a lawsuit claiming her First Amendment rights were violated. She won.

It’s good to know that we have another tool in our box to use to express our frustration over traffic tickets.

 

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