Posted: October 29, 2012 at 6:48 am

FRONTLINE: Docs Found in Meth House Reveal Inner Workings of Right-Wing Political Group

Tomorrow night, Tues. Oct 30, at 8:30 p.m.  Big Sky, Big Money, a special investigation of FRONTLINE travels to Montana, “the remote epicenter of the campaign finance debate for a tale of money, politics and intrigue that shows how the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has changed campaigns in America.”

Files on 23 right-wing Montana candidates were found in a meth house in Colorado in a box labeled “Montana $ bomb,” and contained information about how the American Tradition Partnership is manipulating Montana elections.  Should be good.

29 comments

  1. Gabby Johnson

    I knew some Republicans were acting crazy. Now I know why.
    Maybe we should start checking their teeth like you do a horse, except for chronic meth abuse.

  3. Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers

    Yes but, will our nutless press even take notice? They’re more concerned with Dopey Reeburp promising “certainty”…..

    bwahahahahahahahahhahaaa!

    That’s the big news in Montana. Dopey Reeburp promising certainty! Now that’s funny!

    What nutless wonders our press is. How do they look themselves in the mirror? I don’t get it. It’s kinda like jerkoff jerry molen making a nazi propaganda movie. (2016) Let’s say for the sake of argument that jerkoff jerry is not retarded. Therefore, he HAD to know what he was doing. Therefore, that makes him a modern nazi propaganda minister. Therefore, THAT makes him evil!

      • Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers

        I work closely with our AIM chapter here in GF. It was recently formed. And you wanna know sumthin’ damn funny? Well, we did our Columbus Day protest last year, and I was asked to march with them. And WHOM do you think the GF Spitoon put on the front page in a picture?! ME! The ONLY white dude in the entire freakin’ parade!

        I’m proud of my Native brothers in AIM! They have been some good enviro allies and good people.

        • Craig Moore

          See: http://www.mtwytlc.org/component/content/article/99-news/3784-indians-protest-health-service-columbus-day-in-great-falls.html

          Almost 50 Native Americans — young and old — made their way down Central Avenue on Monday afternoon to protest, among other things, the lack of care they receive from federal Indian Health Services.

          Debbie McShane, president of the American Indian Movement of Montana, lead the group from The Indian Family Health Clinic on the 1200 block of Central Avenue to the Civic Center to protest a recent decision they said IHS made to stop dispensing prescription drugs from the local clinic.

          “Last week they cut us off from our medications. Indians feel pain, too,” McShane said. “We just overall need better health care.”

          They were also protesting Columbus Day as a federal holiday and want to see it abolished as such.

          Looks like the primary purpose of the protest was to object to the changes in Obama’s Indian Healthcare Services. How could a Dem run agency do this to Natives????

  5. Dave Skinner

    Documents a felon says came from a stolen car and wound up in the meth house. And how were they miraculously sent to Montana CPP? Oh, I get it, a Democrat political operative scoring meth in the meth house…..

          • Dave Skinner

            I’ll give RK a style point here…if I had a car full of hot documents stolen from me, I’m not sure if I’d want to enter those into evidence or whatever. Seems the car theft could be rolled up through —
            I had some fun looking at the bootlegs. I know a surprising number of the people named in the call-up money bomb list.
            ATP is doing us all a favor in a way. By blowing up our idiotic campaign finance mess, maybe something better and more honest would result. But I’ll keep breathing until that happens, sorry kids.

            • Rob Kailey

              Well thank you for your awesome dispensation, but … It’s not a matter of style; it’s a matter of law. You can’t prosecute someone for stealing something that was never ‘stolen’. If you can tie a car-theft to this incident, then knock yourself out. But it does suggest the question, why would someone not report the theft of an automobile if this wasn’t as big a deal politically as the post suggests? $20,000 as opposed to hundreds, perhaps?

              • Dave Skinner

                It’s the guy who runs the print shop, LeFer. His car was stolen, he reported it, dunno if it really matters whether he reported the contents, but he is claiming now they are proprietary to his business.
                Never mind that he might very well have had printing contracts with the candidates as well as ATP work, kept it all in a big, un-coooooooordinated pile.
                Whatever….
                Still, I’d sure like to know the chain of custody from the back seat of a stolen car to a meth house where they just happened to be spotted by a liberal meth-head. Liberal meth head then just happened to have a good idea who would be interested in these papers — did he SELL them to the lawyer significant other of the Democratic candidate for another snort, or simply hand them over in the cause of justice?
                Naturally, Bill Moyers’ Frontline will NOT pursue that line of inquiry.

                • Rob Kailey

                  See, now we’re getting somewhere. You have a guy claiming that these documents, obviously politically sensitive, were in his car when it was stolen. And he never reported those missing. Leaving aside the issue of his incompetence, you still have a long way to go in establishing (proving) that they were ‘stolen’, such that the receipt of them by the Montana CPP makes them private property and not for public distribution by the CPP concerning campaigns.

                  For the record, I too would like to know the provenance of these documents, in that I doubt that would make ATP look any better. It should also be established by that inquiry that a printer doesn’t own the documents entrusted to that person for creation or duplication. So, no real “owner” has been established, especially given that such ‘ownership’ might further implicate the ATP. But ultimately, Glenn is right. You are attempting to distract from the fact that an argument of ownership doesn’t negate what is publicly reviewable in those documents.

    • Glenn

      This is funny. According to the story, Jim Brown, ATP’s lawyer, knew that COPP and reporters had the documents. If there was a problem that, don’t you think the Godfather of Soul would have taken action at the time?

      “Brown urged Frontline to turn over the documents. “If the documents are purported to be what you say they are, then you may knowingly be in possession of stolen property,” Brown wrote.

      The records are in the hands of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, which considers them public and reviewable upon request.”
      http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/big-sky-big-money/mysterious-docs-found-in-meth-house-reveal-inner-workings-of-dark-money-group/

  7. Matthew Koehler

    Below is the actual mission of the American Tradition Partnership (http://americantradition.org). I hate to say it, but ATP’s mission doesn’t seem that far removed from some of what we’ve seen posted on various left-leaning Montana blogs over the past year or so when discussing public lands management, the environment or wildlife issues.

    American Tradition Partnership is a 501(c)(4) grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources in the Rocky Mountain West and across the United States. Dozens of radical eco-organizations whose stated purpose is to dismantle the free enterprise system – and our Constitutionally protected rights – through so-called environmental protection have set their sights on robbing Americans of the right to exist, achieve and produce.

    • Rob Kailey

      Kohler, your personal butthurt is pretty tiresome. There is a world of difference between the “actual mission” of the ATP and their mission statement. Their ‘actual mission’, so far, has been to get the absolute worst of wingnuts elected, people who really do believe that you and yours are attempting to ” dismantle the free enterprise system – and our Constitutionally protected rights – through so-called environmental protection have set their sights on robbing Americans of the right to exist, achieve and produce.”

      Furthermore, your pathetic defense of your own feelings leaves you becoming a liar. You cannot and will not show any ‘left-leaning’ blog anywhere that agrees with the above posted quote from ATP. Some of us may agree that you’re an arrogant and self-absorbed butthead, but that doesn’t leave us anywhere close to the mission statement of the ATP, or even remotely close to their actual slash-and-burn mission.

  8. Susan Curtis

    These documents should have been released yesterday. Why were these employees sitting on them for months? The public has a right to know who’s trying to buy our elections and what laws were broken. It’s time for transparency before its too late.

  9. Cowgirl

    From Stand with Montanans:
    Give ATP the Boot

    Join us in Helena on Wednesday to protest American Tradition Partnership and what they are doing to Montana’s elections. Protest signs and costumes (it is Halloween after all) are encouraged.

    On Tuesday, Frontline will be doing a one hour show called Big Sky Big Money. The focus of the show will be the aftermath of the Citizens United decision using Montana as a backdrop and will include the activities of American Tradition Partnership and their violations of law.

    We will rally at Anchor Park, near Lewis & Clark Library, at noon. Then, we’ll march down the walking mall to picket in front of law offices of James Brown (attorney for American Tradition Partnership) – Doney, Crowley, Payne, Bloomquist – Diamond Block, 44 West 6th Ave.

    WHEN: October 31, 2012 at 12pm – 1pm
    WHERE: Anchor Park (by Lewis & Clark Library)
    120 S Last Chance Gulch
    Helena, Mt 59601