Posted: October 22, 2012 at 8:19 pm

Is This a Joke?

April Fool’s has come early, or at least in the eyes of the various right-wing corporate groups who are backing Rick Hill’s campaign for Governor.

In a laugh-out-loud press release, these groups announced today that they are suing Steve Bullock for “contempt,” on grounds that he has hurt Rick Hill’s image by taking Hill to court over the $500,000 illegal contribution that Hill accepted a few weeks ago.

The remedy sought? The groups, let by the American Tradition Partnership, are trying to get a federal judge to order Steve Bullock–get this–to “pay for ads to repair the damage done to Hill’s character.”

The frightening part about this lawsuit is that is being brought before James Lovell, the federal judge who ruled recently that all of Montana’s campaign donation limits are unconstitutional.

As far as I know, there are no grounds for somebody to sue a candidate for “injury to another candidate’s character,” especially not a third party. The only possible scenario in which a lawsuit of this type could be brought would be if Bullock made some purposeful, public and malicious false statement alleging that Hill had committed a sexual crime or something of that nature. Even then, it is doubtful that a court would order ads made to repair Hill’s character. The best Hill could do would be to sue for damages later on.

So this lawsuit is a big joke and it’s not really clear what they are trying to do, beyond getting a headline. If Lovell does the right thing, he’ll sanction the plaintiffs for wasting his time.

15 comments

October 22, 2012 - 8:59 pm Havre Voter

Check out ATP’s Twitter feed. @montanastatesmn

They claim that that crap fake news paper mailer they put out has “print circulation is 120,000. 3X bigger than Billings Gazette.”

Any junkmailer could claim the same! what a crock

(Oh, and they claim its content (100% anti-Bullock two weeks before the election) doesn’t advocate for the election or defeat of any candidate.
October 22, 2012 - 9:48 pm Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers

What that faaa? You mean to tell me that Mermaid Munchin Man has character???
bwhhahahahahahahahaha!
I’d make him PROVE that first! Maybe we could ask his ex-wife???

Wow! This is a first, a SLAPP suit against a politician! It’s a new low, but HEY, if there’s innovation to be found for new lows, or sleaze in general, why does it NOT suprise me that it’s from the backers of Mermaid Munchkin Man?

This is crazyass shit.

Where is our press? Time for some outrage.
- October 22, 2012 - 10:20 pm Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation
October 22, 2012 - 9:50 pm Hal

ATP and the other corporate groups have made our elections a joke. All the major elections have been bought
October 23, 2012 - 12:00 am James Conner

This is an attempt to muddy the waters, to make Bullock’s lawsuit one of many, to lessen the attention drawn to it. And, to make Bullock spend time and money defending himself.
October 23, 2012 - 4:24 am Thomas Kent

When is Judge Lovell up for re-election?
October 23, 2012 - 7:00 am rls4568

I think the whole case will turn on whether Dick Hill can prove that he has any character. Good luck with that!
October 23, 2012 - 7:19 am Doug

American Traditions Partnership is Joe Balyeat, Jerry O’Neil, Dan Skattum, Henry Kreigel, and Tim Ravndal, with money from the Koch Brothers. They lie, they lie more, and they have corporate and Koch funded deep pockets.
- October 23, 2012 - 8:04 am Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers
  
  As George Carlin said, “It’s a big club, and YOU AIN’T IN IT”! With some fifty billion dollars, the Kockh brothers could sue everyone in America! And STILL have money left over! This is real scary stuff. And THEN some morons can’t understand why we need spending limits! Unlimited money means unlimited corruption! In other words, LIMITLESS corruption! (see lil’ ricky)
  
  And that is exactly what this is! Who in the hell wants to run for office if you must continually run FROM Big Kockh lawsuits? It’s simply designed to kill democracy. And the TRVTH be told, that’s the ONLY way a little pissant like Mermiad Munchkin Man could possibly win anything! He’s riding the Big Kockh to victory!….or so he thinks.
October 23, 2012 - 7:33 am Jan Thomas

The joke is on the people of Montana. This group is trying to pretent to pull the wool over our eyes. I got that garbage mailer they sent out. It has a page of recipes – is that supposed to make us think its not negative junk mail? They think we’re idiots, and if we vote for Rick Hill, we prove that we are.
October 23, 2012 - 5:48 pm Lynn

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/us/politics/incumbents-hit-hard-by-attack-ads-considering-tightening-campaign-finance-laws.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
October 23, 2012 - 7:06 pm Lynn

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/23/1148820/-MT-Sen-Denny-Rehberg-R-Has-Always-Supported-Privatizing-Medicare-Social-Security
October 23, 2012 - 7:37 pm Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers

Why I love the Irish, besides their Guinness and their beautiful women and music! It’s their commons sense! They LUV them some O’Bama, the darkskinned Irish kid from Butte!

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19165

HEY, if Butte can have a honky named O’Billovich, why NOT a Kenyan named O’Bama? Geez, I STILL remember Mad Dog’s fifteen tackles in the ’65 Rose Bowl for Oregon State. The dude was good! No, I take that back. He was SUPER Man!
- October 23, 2012 - 7:41 pm Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers
  
  For the younger dudes out there that THINK they know what tough is. Check out this guy!
  
  http://www.portlandtribune.net/sports/story.php?story_id=122215319419560300
October 23, 2012 - 9:11 pm Big Dawg

Hill did some damage to his reputation at the Sip’n'Dip – I don’t think Steve Bullock had anything to do with that. Steve was probably in high school when Hill was perv-ing around Great Falls.