It’s Friday! Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:

• Possibly The Wealthiest
• TikTok Tester
• Downing for Congress
• Daylight Saving Time
• One More Thing

POSSIBLY THE WEALTHIEST:

Tailored suits, chauffeured cars
Fine hotels and big cigars
Up for grabs, all for a price
Where the red hot girls keep on dancing through the night…
-AC/DC (Moneytalks)

Business Insider reports that Tim Sheehy, the GOP’s anointed candidate to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, is extremely wealthy. That’s the chief takeaway from the Bridger Aerospace CEO’s recently filed financial disclosure, which also revealed investments in a Chinese company, the pharmaceutical industry, and other things likely to draw the ire of the Republican base. Altogether, the Montana Republican’s net worth lies somewhere between $74 million and $260 million, according to a calculation of his declared assets.

It was also reported in the article that if elected, Sheehy would easily be one of the top 10 wealthiest members of Congress, and possibly the wealthiest. Great googly moogly!

I am not sure how Sheehy can relate to “John and Jill Six-pack” who have credit cards maxed, unpaid medical bills, and can’t afford to fill their fridge with groceries.

In the immortal words of the MAGA theme song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” I think “It’s a damn shame…” that the Republicans can’t recruit candidates who really know how tough it is…

Check out the Business Insider report HERE.

TIKTOK TESTER:

I saw some chatter this week about U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and TikTok. The Daily Caller reported that Tester’s 2024 reelection campaign raked in donations from TikTok lobbyists after he changed his opinion on whether the social media app should be banned, according to campaign finance records.

By the way, I have a TikTok account (@Bigsky1959) and I am totally against banning TikTok in Montana or the USA. I like Chinese food, too.

The Daily Caller is saying:

Tester appeared supportive of banning TikTok in Montana in mid-May, according to multiple reports, but offered conflicting comments days later in an interview published the same day TikTok sued his home state on First Amendment grounds. Prior to his initial comments, Tester’s campaign had only received $500 from a TikTok lobbyist, but later received $5,250 in donations after he shifted his stance on the app’s banning, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

I’ve read the Daily Caller article several times. Since they used the word “appeared” in their main point, I will say that it “appears” that this is a nothingburger. Accusations fly quite frequently during an election year. If Tester was for a TikTok band and then became against a TikTok ban, people who work for TikTok might want to support him in his reelection bid. That’s the funny thing about campaign donations; people give them to candidates who vote for things they support.

Decide for yourself – read the Daily Caller article HERE.

TROY DOWNING:

Current Montana State Auditor Troy Downing announced that he is running for Eastern Montana’s U.S. House seat held by Matt Rosendale. Rosendale may run for U.S. Senate instead of reelection to the House.

Downing joins other California-born candidates and officeholders like Steve Daines and Greg Gianforte. Rosendale was born in Maryland. I was born in Missouri in case you are keeping score at home.

The deal with me is I like Downing although I don’t think I have met him. I have watched his work. I wish he would run for reelection for State Auditor and do four more years there. I also like Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, but after those two state government folks, the likeability toward the others is in the toilet,

Lee Newspapers covered the announcement HERE.

You can visit Downing’s campaign website HERE.

*Note to elected officials, candidates, and campaign staff: Please feel free to send your press releases to western_word@yahoo.com. The Western Word is one of Montana’s oldest blogs (Est. 2005) and provides independent commentary about politics, sports, the media, and current events. It is veteran-owned. I like the sound of a keyboard early in the morning…

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME:

Heads-up – Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. when we turn our clocks back one hour – Fall back! The clocks stay that way until Sunday, March 10, 2024.

I have heard from some high-ranking prominent people that you do not actually have to get up at 2:00 a.m. to change your clocks and that some clocks change on their own. How cool is that?

Learn more HERE.

ONE MORE THING:

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. ― Anaïs Nin

## HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ##