Posted: April 27, 2011 at 6:53 am
Fervor for TEA Cooling in the Flathead
Democrats and Republicans are joining up in an effort to defeat a slate of TEA Party candidates for the Flathead County Community College Board of Directors.
Note how many D’s and R’s are on this list supporting both R’s and D’s for trustees on a Flathead Beacon Ad (FVCC ad PDF), such as:
Bruce Tutvedt, a Montana republican state senator, and Joan Vetter Ehrenberg, former chair of the Flathead Democratic Party; insurance industry stalwarts and women’s health advocates; and, former Republican and Democratic candidates for state legislative seats and statewide offices.
The fact that TEA party candidates are not welcome suddenly in the Flathead likely has much to do with are citizens desire to prevent their community from becoming a mecca for right-wing extremists, as well as the performance of TEA Party candidates in the Montana legislature. Not only did Flathead area TEA partiers help make Montana’s legislature a national laughingstock–they also opposed projects crucial to creating jobs and boosting the local economy in their districts.
For example, HB 6 provides $100k for Haskill Basin Water Conservation and Preservation located in Whitefish, but Whitefish Kalispell TEA party Republican Rep. Derek Skees voted against it. HB 9 provides $8k for the Whitefish Theater Company, Skees voted against this too. It’s no wonder area residents are beyond over the TEA Party craze.
