Always remember…Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. – Ziad K. Abdelnour

Hello July – you beautiful thing!

Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:

• MTGov – Cooney
• Trump – North Korea
• Kamala Harris

MTGov – Cooney:

MTN New reported on Friday afternoon that Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney (D) is expected to launch a campaign for Montana Governor on Wednesday (July 3). The announcement will be made in Butte at Stodden Park.

Read the MTN News story HERE.

The other Democrats who have announced their intention to run for governor include House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner of Great Falls and former state Rep. Reilly Neill of Livingston. On the Republican side, Attorney General Tim Fox, U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, and state Sen. Al Olszewski of Kalispell have announced that they are running.

Cooney has the better statewide name recognition than the other Democrats. He is probably on equal name recognition with Fox and Gianforte. I think Cooney is well-liked and respected across party lines; the same with Fox.

The primary election (June 2, 2020) for Montana Governor is shaping up to be very interesting if all these candidates actually file to run for office.

Trump – North Korea:

When the Democrats running for President were asked to comment about President Donald Trump’s visit to the DMZ where he stepped into North Korea becoming the first American President to do so, you can only imagine their contempt.

If you did not hear their comments, you can read them HERE. My favorite comment was from Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.):

“We want to see a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a reduction in these missiles but it’s not as easy as just going and, you know, bringing a hot dish over the fence to the dictator next door.”

I don’t care too much for Trump because he is a constant liar and because of some of his policies, but his brief visit to North Korea was a good thing for the USA and Korea. I think any face to face meetings held between Trump and Kim Jong Un could prevent a war and the USA does not need another war.

These talks take time and they are, of course, good for scoring political points on both sides. They make for good reality TV for Trump, too. They also give the Democrats something to talk about after the historic event.

Nonetheless, I think it is progress. I am pleased.

Kamala Harris:

Several years ago I was talking to a few Republicans about politics and one of them asked me my thoughts about Barack Obama not being born in the United States. I said something like, “anyone who believes that is bat-shit crazy.”

The subject was quickly changed.

Now in 2019, we are seeing fake posts on social media questioning U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) race.

The New York Times reported that President Trump’s eldest son, on Thursday had shared a tweet from Ali Alexander, a right-wing personality, that falsely claimed Ms. Harris’s racial identity did not qualify her to speak about the anguish that black Americans face.

The New York Times reported that Alexander tweeted:

“Kamala Harris is implying she is descended from American Black Slaves,” Mr. Alexander wrote during the second night of the Democratic debates. “She’s not. She comes from Jamaican Slave Owners. That’s fine. She’s not an American Black. Period.”

Mr. Trump shared the message, asking his more than three million followers, “Is this true? Wow.”

Trump has since deleted the tweet.

Most of the other Democrats running for President came to Harris’ defense. The best response was from Bernie Sanders who stated, “Donald Trump Jr. is a racist too. Shocker.”

We all know that there are several racists in the Republican Party. They better be careful messing with Kamala Harris – I have been watching her and she is a tough cookie – one of my favorite Democrats.

We need to stick to the issues this election season and not make it about race.

 

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