It’s Friday! Welcome to The Western Word. Here are the topics for today’s independent commentary:
- Montana AG Austin Knudsen
- Armed Forces Day
- Noem, Noem, Noem
- The Preakness
- One More Thing
MONTANA AG AUSTIN KNUDSEN:
The Daily Montanan reports that the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, the state’s top election and campaign enforcement official, has accepted two complaints that center on the Republican primary race for attorney general, including one involving current state Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
Earlier this week, the Daily Montanan reported that at an event last Saturday, an audio recording obtained by the news organization appeared to capture Knudsen calling Montana’s campaign finance laws “ridiculous” and saying that he asked a friend (Logan Olson) to run against him in the partisan primary as a way to raise more money.
It was also reported that on Wednesday, Sheila Hogan, the executive director for the Montana Democratic Party, filed two complaints with the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices, alleging that both Knudsen and Olson have broken the law.
Ironically, I was polled last night about the Montana AG race. It appears that Knudsen screwed up and wants to find out how much it is hurting him.
This appears to be cheating by Knudsen. This may be the first big test of the 2024 election season for the new Commissioner of Political Practices. We’re watching.
Read the complete report from the Daily Montanan HERE.
ARMED FORCES DAY:
Saturday, May 18, is Armed Forces Day – a day to thank military members for their service in support of our country. Thanks to all who are serving in our Armed Forces!
NOEM, NOEM, NOEM:
In case you missed it, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R), continues to have a bad spring.
NPR is reporting that the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is the latest tribal government to ban South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem from their reservation in response to allegations she’s made that some tribal leaders are benefiting from drug cartel activity.
Noem, an ally to former President Donald Trump, has long focused on concerns she has about crime stemming from the U.S.-Mexico border, even as she governs a state that is hundreds of miles away.
Following Tuesday’s decision, she is currently not welcome on seven of nine reservations located within the state.
Noem is not winning any friends in the polls, either.
According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, is that the vast majority of Americans disagree. The new survey of 1,794 U.S. adults, which was conducted from May 10 to 13, shows that a full two-thirds of them (66%) disapprove of Noem’s decision to shoot her family’s 14-month-old wirehaired pointer in a gravel pit after the dog ruined a pheasant hunt and killed a neighbor’s chickens — a story Noem recounts in her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, as proof that she’s willing to tackle even “difficult, messy and ugly” tasks.
If Noem invites you to the gravel pit, don’t go.
I think Noem needs to pack it up, shut up, finish out her term, and disappear from public life.
Check out the NPR and Yahoo stories HERE and HERE.
THE PREAKNESS:
Here’s a reminder that the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes is Saturday, May 18, (tomorrow). The post time is approximately 4:50 p.m. Mountain Time. NBC is covering the event.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is scheduled to race.
More information can be found HERE.
ONE MORE THING:
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