Welcome to September! Here are the topics that caught my eye for today’s commentary:
- Election Deniers
- Crystal Clear
- U.S. Senate Montana 2024
- One More Thing
ELECTION DENIERS:
This week I read three stories about a presentation in Great Falls from election conspiracist Douglas Frank. I know there are people out there who still believe that the last Presidential Election was stolen from Donald Trump.
The stories received so much attention that several readers sent me the links via email.
The articles were in the Daily Montanan and What the Funk 406 (WTF406). Links will be provided below.
What really fascinates me are reports that say 90-100 people attended his presentation in Great Falls. I did not know there were that many fruitcakes roaming this area.
What bothers me is that both reporters said that Cascade County Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant attended the event and even met with Frank in her office earlier in the day. Merchant has been called an “Election Denier” in many articles and had kind of been under the radar for a few weeks, but now she is back and drawing negative attention.
In the WTF406 article, the following should concern us:
The event itself featured a “presentation” from Dr. Frank which was not only filled with falsehoods, but also encouraged violence. Throughout the presentation, Frank painted himself and the election deniers as righteous figures, using a “David and Goliath” analogy. Ironically, the Goliath they hope to overthrow is our Democracy. Amid calling for election deniers to “rise up” Frank gave a direct call to violence.
One slide read “What to do when antifa comes top [sic] your town” and the next slide showed a semi-automatic weapon. Frank went on to urge attendants not to call 911 or the sheriff’s office, but rather to grab their guns when confronted by peaceful protestors.
Just because your candidate loses an election does not mean there was a conspiracy or that someone cheated. Maybe they just sucked. We need to remember this.
You can read the Daily Montanan story HERE. You can read the WTF406 stories HERE and HERE.
CRYSTAL CLEAR:
A faithful reader pointed me to a Facebook post from Great Falls City Commissioner Rick Tryon. Tryon is running for reelection, and he posted a campaign message about where he stands on several issues. He writes, “I’m running for reelection, so here’s a few things I want to be crystal clear about.”
Tryon says he supports the $10.7 million Public Safety Levy. “I’m 100% in support of the public safety levy.”
I did not see him write about his support for a $21.17 million public safety infrastructure bond, although he voted to put it on the November ballot. If the Safety levy and/or the Infrastructure Bond pass, our taxes will increase significantly. (Source) I am voting “NO” on both.
Tryon also writes about the hateful sign from a protester at an LGBTQ event and the White Power “garbage” being spread in Great Falls. He does not support it and people who say he does are liars.
He closes his campaign message with, “If you’re looking for a bunch of vague campaign promises and political-speak gobbledygook, I’m not your candidate. I’m also not taking campaign contributions. But if you want to help, feel free to share this message to help get the word out.”
I actually voted for Tryon several years ago. He lost that election. Now that he is better known and has a few years of being a commissioner under his belt, I can’t vote for him. He has voted to raise fees and taxes several times. He and his fellow commissioners are the architects of what could possibly be the largest tax increase in the history of Great Falls if the safety and/or bond levies pass. Those issues make it “crystal clear” to me – he won’t get my vote.
U.S. SENATE MONTANA 2024:
The Hill is reporting that a new poll shows that U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) holds a wide lead over businessman Tim Sheehy in a hypothetical Montana Republican Senate primary match-up, according to a poll released Thursday.
The poll shows Rosendale at 52%, Sheehy at 21%, and Undecided at 28%.
This is probably giving the established Republicans (Steve Daines, Mitch McConnell) heartburn. They have spent millions on TV ads and are still 30 points behind.
Another interesting thing is that the poll showed that 52% of the voters said they would vote for former President Trump in the upcoming GOP presidential primary.
According to The Hill, the poll was conducted Aug 12-17 with a sample of 418 likely Montana Republican primary voters.
Since the poll asked “likely Montana Republican primary voters” both Rosendale and Sheehy easily beat incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT). Duh!
ONE MORE THING:
The college football season kicks into high gear this weekend. Last night, my Missouri Tigers beat South Dakota 35-10.
On Saturday, the Montana Grizzlies host Butler at 12:00 p.m. The Montana State Bobcats host Utah Tech at 6:00 p.m.
The Western Word 
I place the MAGAs in this group. They are now even apparently advocating for violence to achieve their ends. And most of these election deniers are out of staters who hope to turn our beloved Montana into their own little christofascist confederacies. We can’t allow that. Nothing enrages me more than talk of bringing assault weapons to peaceful demonstrations. That’s intimidation I can’t abide in America.
https://www.rawstory.com/inside-the-re-emergence-of-the-old-confederacy/
I attended the Douglas Frank presentation, not because I’m a fruitcake, but because I wanted to here for myself what is being promulgated by these folks. The list of attendees includes all of the usual suspects that surround the clerk and recorder these days. It was rather frightening actually to witness the enthusiastic embrace of this gentleman’s comments. The accounts in the daily Montana and WTF 406 r, unfortunately, accurate.
Thanks Ruth – no offense intended. -JmB
No offense taken, Mike. Just recognize that your assumptions are just that. Frank advocated for vigilantism and violence, as was reported by WTF406. When a member of the audience called him on it (Why are you preaching hatred? or something to that effect) many in the audience booed the question. I’m sorry that I didn’t proofread my first response, which I dictated rather than typed, and it makes me look ignorant.
I haven’t been carefully following all the most recent City commission meetings. Did Tryon or for that matter any commissioner at all speak up to condemn the LGBTQ hate event, or the white power stuff defacing City property that apparently private citizens had to remove? If not, pretty weak “leadership”. I know Tryon didn’t bother to publish even one of his usual milquetoast condemnations on ECB.
These are great points. I doubt anyone said anything about the hatred. That reminds me of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer quote, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”
Thanks for pointing the silence out. -JmB