Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. – Søren Kierkegaard.
In today’s column I take a quick look at these people/issues:
- Bullock Goes Dark
- Montana Legislature
- My Favorite Presidents
- One More Thing
BULLOCK GOES DARK:
I read a report from Fox News the other day that informed me that, “Former Dem Gov. Bullock joins dark money group after railing against dark money.”
Oh my! Say it ain’t so, Steve!
The Billings Gazette’s Tom Lutey (who, in my opinion, has never written a fair story) reported three or four days ago that “Bullock joins super PAC tied to ‘dark money’ group.”
The Gazette reports that former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who made a name for himself decrying the influence of secretive “dark money” spending in politics, has taken a job with a super PAC affiliated with a large dark money group.
Fox News said in their report that The Washington Post reported Feb. 5 that Bullock, 54, is now the chairman of American Bridge 21st Century, a GOP opposition research group with a “dark money” counterpart that uses its 501 (c)(4) nonprofit status to hide the identities of its donors.
Just imagine the money he’s making for a salary at American Bridge 21st Century. I bet he makes more money in one year there than he made in all eight years as governor and four years as Montana Attorney General.
All he had to do is sell his soul to dark money.
It’s been a while, but it’s time to bring back the AC/DC song Moneytalks:
Tailored suits, chauffeured cars
Fine hotels and big cigars
Up for grabs, up for a price
Where the red hot girls keep on dancing through the night
-Moneytalks AC/DC
MONTANA LEGISLATURE:
Here is how one State Senator via Twitter described Monday in the Montana State Legislature:
It’s Voter Suppression Day at the #MTLeg! Limiting polling place hours, stopping eligible voters from registering, and allowing more dark money into our democracy.
While politicians try to silence you, I’ll keep fighting for every Montanan to have their voice heard. – @brycebennett
The sharp right turn the Montana Legislature has taken this session is disheartening to many of us moderates.
MY FAVORITE PRESIDENTS:
Since it was President’s Day on Monday, my favorite President (in my lifetime) is Ronald Reagan with Barack Obama coming in a close second. Both of these great men could deliver powerful motivating speeches. Reagan made me proud to be an American. He is one of the reasons I decided to join the military.
As for Obama, I was glad to see in my life the first African-American President of the United States. It also made me sad to find out that so many people hated him because he was African-American. It proved to me that we have many miles to go in treating everyone equally in the United States.
I also like Harry Truman. Although he was before my time, he was a fellow Missourian. He was tough as nails, and the buck did stop with him.
ONE MORE THING;
My definition of a leader in a free country is a man who can persuade people to do what they don’t want to do and like it. – Harry S. Truman
The Western Word 
Doug, Well-said. It is a sweeping statement with a factual basis. The type of comment we need to discuss. Do you remember the fairness doctrine? We need to bring it back. Eliminating the fairness doctrine was Reagan’s biggest mistake.
Take at the info referred to in this diary.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2/16/2016422/-Misinterpreting-the-old-Fairness-Doctrine
1) the mistaken idea that some sort of perfect fairness exists and nothing that falls short is worth doing, or
2) the mistaken idea that because no true objectivity or fairness exist there is no meaningful sense in which more information is better
I agree that changes are needed. But it worked for many years and should be a goal to hear at least both sides of an equivalent argument. Not crazy talk versus policy.
Reagan created the textbook definition of insanity: trying the same thing over and over expecting different results. Trickle down economics has never worked. Tax cuts for the corporations and the richest 5% of Americans has never worked. Reagan created the now monster of anti-governmentalism and look where we are, with a trumplican party of fake christians, fake patriots and racist authoritarians that have coalesced into domestic terrorist organizations from the Oathkeepers on down.
I commend Steve Daines for recently blaming the fascist assault on the Capitol by tRump supporters on domestic terrorists. Now we know tRump supporters are domestic terrorists, across the board.
Doug – Thanks for your comments. -JmB