While Roy Brown declares in outrage that negative campaigning is causing his wife to cry, his race has attracted a gang of Republican operatives who are slinging mud at Kendall Van Dyk.
It’s worth noting that I have a blog that is read by maybe 1500 people–on a good day, and Eric Coobs and Derek Skees and others are outraged, shocked and mortified by my various criticisms of the Right. But they don’t seem to mind that Chuck Denowh, former GOP head, along with Erik Iverson, former Republican chair and Rehberg director, have put up major TV and radio advertising in Billings calling Kendall Van Dyk names, and spreading lies about him, backed no doubt by the GOP itself and Roy’s dirty campaigning in which he goes door to door and spreads lies about Democrats in Helena, telling people there is “too much spending.” (In fact, Montana is the one state in America where you can’t say that.)
The groups are called Better Government PAC and Montana Business Leadership PAC, as well as the GOP itself. Denny Rehberg has no doubt has written a big check that is somehow finding its way into this and other legislative races, given that he has extra money lying around that he won’t need to spend against McDonald and wants to use it to curry favor with R senators and legislators for when he tries to clear the primary field if and when he runs for US Senate.
Right now they are claiming Kendall tried to tax energy companies, which would have raised the price of energy.
In fact, in the last session, Kendall proposed eliminating a tax holiday for oil companies in Montana, and send the new revenue to schools. To review, oil companies, for many years, got a zero tax rate on all new wells for a certain period of time. This was to incentivize drilling and exploration back when oil was so cheap that it was hard to recoup the investment.
When Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms came up with a way to make oil go to $140 a barrel, Kendall thought maybe a tax holiday was no longer necessary. To oppose Kendall’s legislation, various oil executives flew in on their private jets to complain about how they couldn’t afford it, while Roy and his buddies commiserated with them. This was when oil had recently been trading at about $130 USD per barrel, as opposed to 1990-2003 when it average around $22. And it was shortly after the CEO of Exxon was given a 400 Million dollar bonus. When they rejected Van Dyk’s proposal (which would have sent the new revenue to schools) out of hand, Van Dyk even offered a compromise, whereby the tax holiday would only end whenever oil was above $100. Nope, the executives weren’t interested. And thus neither were Republicans.
So now Big Oil Roy’s pals are attacking Kendall for daring to interfere with his tax holiday (which he probably spent in Paris).
There’s an old saying Roy Brown may want to know “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones”. If Roy Brown is so concerned about mudslinging then why is he spending 100,000 dollars on his campaign? Also why did he do all that mudslinging against Governor Schwietzer back in 08? Why did he have no origional ideas or origional thaughts back in 08? Why did he condone the Brian the Bully website back in 08? And why is he condoning the hate mailers in his race by out side groups today? Roy has no reason to be on a high horse, because deep down Roy Brown is part of the problem in politics today. He is an empty suit just warming a chair and his has not done shit for this state or his district.
I am not “outraged” by attack posts/ad against the right.. I am “outraged” because attack ads against both sides have replaced ads telling me why I should vote for a candidate. As an exercise, go back through just the posts you have put up in the last seven days and count how many attack posts you have made vs how many “let vote for X and here is why”. Given that the last week you have actually made an effort to post support ads, the difference is still pretty stark. When did the commandment come down from on high that said “We can no longer convince you to vote for my candidate, we can only convince you to NOT vote for his opponent?”
Thanks for the blurb – but I’d never be shocked or outraged at this blog –
As you know ‘Cowgirl’ this blog is simply Dem astroturf, with you, and your made up anonymous names, with about 10 ‘real’ people dropping in to comment.
So why would anybody take it seriously?
There have been editors from major newspapers, State Senators, the state Republican Chair, PSC candidates, Christianne Ga-licious, Tim Ravndal, other newsmakers, and editors of other blogs, all of whom I’ve seen commenting on here. So I think it’s a little denigrating to Montana Cowgirl to try to say that it’s all the same people on here. Sure there are repeat offenders, but she deserves some credit for creating a forum.
Eric can still barely contain his outrage that his close personal friend James Knox has been outed as a complete bufoon to the entire world. He is enraged to be exposed as a Republican boot licker who will still support Knox no matter Knox’s misdeeds or shockingly low level of intelligence.
WOW! Talk about the wimp factor! Buck UP, Oily Roy! For God’s sake man, if ya can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, dude! Politics ain’t beanbag. Maybe you should STICK with beanbag! As Farmboy mentions, the Pubbies can sure dish it out but sure as hell can’t take it! What wimps! They’re an embarrassment! And I mean my GOD, NOT the old made-my-wife-cry tactic! That’s pure pathetic! Wimps. Wimps, whiners, and wierdos! It’s all they got left!
Roy didn’t vacation in Paris. We all know he spends his Christmases in Venice, Italy… just check Facebook. You know, just like so many others of us in Senate District 25 do.
Now, does anyone know someone who can look after my eight-foot nutcracker statues while I am out of the country?
[...] By Cowgirl, on October 27, 2010, 8:45 pm | Discuss Sorry for liars such as Roy Brown, Jeff Essmann and others who spend their days, with a straight face, telling voters that Democrats “tax and spend too [...]