The Wednesday Read

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Welcome! Here are the topics for today’s column:

  • Bipartisanship
  • Knudsen’s Lawsuits
  • Occupation

BIPARTISANSHIP:

The MAGA crowd in Montana is attacking U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D) this campaign season saying he is a “liberal.” You hear a lot of “Liberal Senator Jon Tester…” from the MAGA crowd.

I have always thought of Tester as a moderate who works across party lines to get things done and it appears I am correct. A new list of the most and least bipartisan lawmakers shows Tester is in the top 10 of Senators for bipartisanship.

The Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy have produced a non-partisan ranking of how often each Member of Congress works across party lines.

For those who follow the MAGA doctrine and can read, according to Merriam-Webster bipartisan is defined as:

: of, relating to, or involving members of two parties a bipartisan commission
specifically: marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties bipartisan support for the bill

This ranking will probably put Tester over the top and help him earn votes from moderates and independents with his #10 ranking in the U.S. Senate for bipartisanship. Tester has shown a willingness to work with both sides of the aisle to get things done. Voters want this in their elected officials.

As for the other three members of the Montana delegation (all Republican), they have not shown very much bipartisanship.  U.S. Senator Steve Daines is ranked #60, U.S. Representatives Matt Rosendale is ranked #398, and Ryan Zinke is ranked #342.

Check out the report HERE. The Daily Montanan has a story about the report HERE.

KNUDSEN FILES SLEW OF LAWSUITS:

In a press release, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen recently filed four lawsuits against the Biden administration’s unlawful Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. Attorney General Knudsen has filed 49 lawsuits against the Biden administration.

“President Biden has been waging war on affordable energy since the day he took office. I will continue to fight back against Joe Biden’s unlawful and overreaching energy policies,” Attorney General Knudsen said.

I think many, if not all, of Knudsen’s 49 lawsuits are a waste of time and taxpayer money. Montana needs a grownup as Attorney General.

Read the complete press release HERE.

OCCUPATION:

One of the campaign ads in Montana says that Tim Sheehy, who is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate. listed his occupation as “Cowboy.”

Sheehy is pretty far from being a cowboy, but seeing that commercial got me thinking about making up an occupation for myself.

I thought about “Blogger Extraordinaire” “Watchdog Master” or “Big Sky Blogger.”

I think I am going to settle on “Space Cadet.” Just like Sheehy, it’s something I will never be.

If you have other ideas, the comment section is open…

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10 thoughts on “The Wednesday Read”

  2. Off today’s topics, but tonight is the 2nd meeting of the new Great Falls Public Safety Advisory Commission.

    This commission has/had just 8 meetings between its kickoff and September when it has to produce its report of novel recommendations to the City Commission.

    The first meeting was taken up with housekeeping and presentations from City safety departments. Tonight is also taken up with presentations from City safety departments. And, according to the minutes of last meeting, “City Manager Anderson recommended that the first few meetings continue to be educational with Court, Legal, Police and Fire presentations.”

    Two things:

    1. Wouldn’t one think that this carefully hand-picked group of committee members had already heard all the departmental educational presentations? All these people were involved, both pro and anti, during the failed levy run-up. Unless this exercise is solely for the benefit of a legislator who lives out of town and didn’t attend the first meeting anyhow. Seems like they are spending precious meetings going over background material and monetary wants everyone already knows, rather than brainstorming those novel recommendations.
    2. If the City Manager office is setting all the agendas, with department managers making cases for the extra money they need, isn’t this just another top-down carefully stage-managed dog-and-pony show to arrive at the desired result of “We need a public safety levy!”, just exactly like the carefully stage-managed dog-and-pony shows of the Crime Task Force and later the City Commission levy deliberations? So if the City Manager office is setting the agenda again instead of the members themselves, what’s supposed to be different this time? That the ultimate recommendation for higher property taxes will ostensibly come from “citizens like us”? Not exactly what what might have been expected when Commissioner McKenney proposed a look at public safety and solutions “from the bottom up”.

    Tonight’s agenda:

    https://greatfallsmt.net/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_commission/meeting/264124/public_safety_advisory_committee_agenda.pdf

    • It seems as though this new group and mission is the same as the old group and mission.
      I doubt anything they present to voters will pass. People are tired of the requests for more money.
      Thanks, JmB

      • It certainly seems that the City Manager’s office is determined to make it the same as the old groups, at any rate. Perhaps reflecting Manager Doyon’s oft repeated mantra, “They just didn’t understand!”

        There was pushback on that at the last meeting, from a committee member, and a member of the public. But did it made any impact.

        “PSAC Member Dodd commented that the PSAC needs to look at the fact that there are community members that cannot afford to pay any more taxes and not presume that the community did not understand the needs.”

        “Keith Duncan, City resident, disagreed with PSAC member McKenney’s comment that citizens didn’t understand. The citizens of Great Falls made it abundantly clear last fall when they voted the levy down.”

        Very disappointed in the direction so far. Just more same old same old. Let’s start talking with the legislators about how to relieve legislative financial handcuffs, or how we can do a levy that isn’t going to balloon by 33% even before we vote on it and further down the road, or how to provide alternate safety services like maybe a volunteer FD auxiliary for those far flung underserved neighborhoods, or working with groups of neighbors to police their own neighborhood at night to try and deal with all the car thieves/burglars and garage burglars, etc.

      • Thanks for all the information about this. I appreciate your keeping us informed. -JmB

  3. Thank you for posting the data on bipartisanship for all of our current legislators. It will be helpful in talking with folks this election season.

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