Tagged: Alan Hale

Posted: July 3, 2012 at 12:27 pm

Another Montana Republican Inducted into Wingnut Hall of Fame

Several of Montana’s TEA Party Republican legislators have made names for themselves in the national news–as laughingstocks anyway.

Yesterday, Rep. Krayton Kerns (R-Laurel) added himself to that list. TEA Party Republican Krayton Kerns was featured in a popular Huffington Post story yesterday for his blog post claiming that moving some bison will “topple the Republic” and lead to $25/gallon gas prices.

The story was first reported last week here at the Montana Cowgirl Blog.

Other inductees include GOP Rep. Alan Hale (R-Basin) who said that DUIs laws are destroying small business was featured on MSNBC (VIDEO here.) Rep. “Birther” Bob Wagner (R-Madison County) has appeared on CNN‘s Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss his belief that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen, and Rep. Joe Read (R-Ronan) was featured on the Colbert Report for his legislative resolution declaring that global warming is good. Then there was Derek Skees, Rep. from Whitefish who proposed that Montana “nullify” all federal laws. Rep. Greg Hinkle (R-Thompson Falls) was mocked on Fox News, as was GOP Sen. Jim Peterson, for his frivolous bill to put the “Code of the West” into Montana law and for his proposal to make spear hunting legal. And there’s David Howard, the legislator whose Facebook page is devoted entirely to anti-gay rhetoric, and Tom Burnett, that programs to combat hunger are not needed in America because we have so many fat children. And let’s not forget our Congressman, who says that the EPA is using drones to spy on ranchers. I’m sure I’m missing some others….there are so many…..

Posted: June 6, 2012 at 7:29 am

A Look at the Primary Election Results

Congratulations are in order to Kim Gillan and Pam Bucy who have won their respective primaries for Congress and Attorney General.

But that’s not the only good news.

Republicans have nominated Brad Johnson for Secretary of State. Johnson has battled alcoholism for many years, has had a few DUIs, and has been in and out of rehab recently (in 2008, he even campaigned from a rehab facility toward the end of the SOS race last time). Notably, in the article reporting on his announcement for office, he was unable to state a single reason why the current SOS, Linda McCulloch, should be replaced. Not a good start. He also says that he currently works as a “consultant”, although it is unclear who, if anyone, is paying him for his consultations. The nomination of such a weak candidate is good news for Democrats and for all those who don’t believe in the voter suppression tactics frequently championed by Republicans.

In the legislative races, congratulations to Helena’s Jenny Eck, who defeated two primary opponents for the open seat left when Mike Menahan decided not to run. Here are a few other interesting legislative results:

Incumbents Taken Out

Incumbents are difficult to defeat and are rarely taken out. It’s a lot easier when that incumbent becomes a laughing stock on national television. DUI promoter Alan Hale was taken out by primary opponent Kirk Wagoner 863 to 813. Birther Bob Wagner was defeated by Ray Shaw in Madison County 1040-991.

Crackpots Advance

In Park City, nutjob TEA Party hatemonger David Howard somehow surpassed his two primary challengers by a wide margin.

In Sanders County, TEA Partier Jennifer Fielder (here’s her flyer) defeated the saner Rick Seeman. Feilder seems to have focused her campaign on the fact that her opposent was at one time employed by the government. GOPers have also nominated the legislature’s largest recipient of government funds, TEA Partier Janna Taylor, over Republican Carmine Mowbray for Senate District 6.

More Good News for Democrats

Brad Johnson isn’t the only good news for Dems. In the Laurel House races, supernatural scholar Sarah Laszloffy defeated main streat Republican Debra Bonogofsky, giving an edge to Democratic candidate Sean Whiting for that seat.

Corporate Money Wins

A secret list of corporations succeeded in electing State Senate TEA Party candidate Dee Brown over Republican Bill Beck in the Flathead. The corporations behind the so-called American Traditions Partnership are fighting Montana’s clean election laws in the U.S. Supreme Court. Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock is defending Montana against ATP in that case. Meanwhile, another corporate front group with secret donors has purchased the Montana Supreme Court race for $41,000. TEA Party Republican Jason Priest’s shadow group succeeded in advancing right-winger Laurie McKinnon over Elizabeth Best.

I’m interesting in hearing your thoughts on the primaries and your takes on other races I didn’t get to here. Please consider this a primary election open forum.

Posted: March 6, 2012 at 12:58 pm

Republican Says Bar Owners Real Victims of DUI Fatality

There are victims of drunken driving. And, according to a man running for Governor in Montana, there are victims of drunken driving laws.

The real victims, says Republican candidate Neil Livingstone, aren’t a dead young woman and her family. The real victims are the owners of the “Blue Moon Nite Club.” The bar owners face losing their liquor licence after seven bartenders illegally served alcohol to a man who left the bar wasted off his gourd. He crashed his truck into a 19-year-old young woman, killing her.

Livingstone said attempts to uphold the drunk driving laws are “government at its worse.” The Republican claims the whole thing “smack of corruption.”

The Hungry Horse News reported that video evidence from bar shows a “large number of intoxicated patrons…stumbling around the bar, that were served alcoholic beverages at every request.” This is against the law. No one was removed from the bar. No bouncers in the parking lot preventing drunk people from driving away.

Livingstone’s statement follows two high profile scandals involving Republicans and alcohol. Republican Alan Hale became a national laughing stock after proclaiming drunken driving laws hurt local businesses and are “destroying a way of life.” Congressman Dennis Rehberg’s alcohol-related boating incident on Flathead Lake, when neither Rehberg nor any of his staff bothered to designate a sober driver, sent the Congressman and three others to the hospital and put one of his staffers in a coma.

Posted: December 21, 2011 at 7:26 pm

“Knee-Walking Drunk” Endorses Open Container Guy

Bitterroot state senator Jim Shockley’s citation earlier this year for drinking canned red beer while driving inspired the Republican to step down from his position. (He chaired the legislative committee drafting tougher DUI laws.) But, it didn’t stop him from accepting the endorsement of former Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), whose infamous “I’m ready to go get knee-walking drunk!” foot-in-mouth syndrome led to his Senate demise.

Shockley announced the endorsement on his campaign website.

Perhaps this will become a kind of theme, a stream of endorsements by drinking advocates. Maybe those involved in the infamous and tragic Shane Hedges DUI accident and death of the House Majority Leader (in which Judy Martz barely escaped a prosecution for evidence tampering) will chime in. Rs have kept a steady pace since then so there are lots of endorsement opportunities for the campaign.

A review:

Of course, there is Alan Hale, Shockley’s colleague in the state house who is campaigning in favor of drinking and driving.

Brad Johnson, the former Secretary of State, got pulled over for a DUI and went subsequently to treatment, though it didn’t seem to faze him: from a rehab center, he actively continued campaigning in his PSC race and is now running again for Secretary of State, a position voters ousted him from in 2008.

Greg Barkus got a few DUIs on the road over the last decade; Scott Boggio, a GOP legislator from Red Lodge, ran up on a curb while driving around with another repub, Elsie Arntzen, and got pulled over, and turned out to be massively drunk, though of course Arntzen, a DUI Task Force member, expressed the usual right-wing-passenger-shock, and said she “had no idea” driver Boggio was impaired.

And of course then Barkus went for the hat-trick, a third DUI, this time in style by running a boat up into the rocky shore of Flathead Lake, causing injuries all around, with passenger Rehberg, drunk himself, taking a page out of Arntzen’s script and saying he was shocked to hear that the driver was impaired.

Then there was recently Brad Molnar, who mowed his car into that of some hapless girl just last year, and fled the scene and was placed under a restraining order from any contact with the victim.

Drinking, Driving, Boating, Hit and Runs. What is most important is that Republicans will often fight publicly for stiffer sentencing for criminals, and against the evil smoking of marijuana, and in favor of “values”.

Posted: December 19, 2011 at 8:36 pm

TEA Party Legislator Defends DUI Rant that Made Him a National Laughing Stock

The Montana TEA Party Republican lawmaker who took to the floor of the House of Representatives to express his opposition to “all DUI laws” on the grounds that they are destroying the state’s time-honored “way of life” took to the internet this week with an attempt defend the speech that made him a national laughing stock:

Here’s the screenshot:

Rep. Alan Hale (R-Basin) writes:

Ron Paul is absolutely right about the seriousness of our oath of office. The majority of State and local pollitical[sic] figures right here in Montana have a problem with that oath. One example is the DUI laws, stop and read our fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Plainly you cannot be compelled to testify against ones self[sic]. Each time I voted in the house I voted to protect our rights and libertys[sic], no matter how popular it was. So all of us needs[sic]to look at ways to stop irresponsable[sic] behavior without endangering our Constitutional Rights.

It is pretty pathetic that Hale would try to sound the Constitution alarm to take a stand defending drunks who don’t care enough about human life to walk home, take a cab, call a friend, or designate a driver. You have to be a real scumbag to fail to do any of those things considering the harm you could cause.

Posted: April 1, 2011 at 7:11 am

Another Montana GOP Legislator Makes It Big as a National Laughingstock

Montana Republican Representative (and bar manager) Alan Hale raised eyebrows across Montana yesterday when he defended drunk driving in a passionate speech to the House.

Video of his speech appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe watch the MSNBC VIDEO here, on the Howard Stern show UPDATED, and national political blogs like Wonkette - read the comments for an irreverent, if accurate look at what the rest of the world thinks of our GOP legislators.

Hale is but the latest to make it big as a national laughingstock. Rep. Bob Wagner has appeared on CNN, and Rep. Joe Read was featured on the Colbert Report, and Rep. Greg Hinkle appeared on Fox News. Legislation proposed by Montana Republicans has been mocked by people across America.

Here’s the latest from CNN.

Posted: March 29, 2011 at 8:50 pm

Montana Republican Says Drunkenness is “Way of Life”; Opposes DUI Laws

TEA party legislator Alan Hale yesterday made an impassioned speech on the floor of the Montana statehouse for the elimination of all DUI laws. Intelligent Discontent has the story and the must watch video.

Alan Hale, a frosh legislator from Basin, MT, says that “taverns and bars connect people together” and are “the centers of our communities”. To get to them, says Hale, “you must drive,” and thus DUI laws “are destroying a way of life” and should be eliminated.

Of course, Hale should know: he’s a bar owner, so I guess he’s doing a little self-dealing in his new job as legislator.

Generally, Republicans have had a long and difficult romance with alcohol in Montana– what with the heavy-drinking Congressman and his many drinking escapades, the Secretary of State who ran for office from rehab in 2010, the last governor’s chief-of-staff who drove drunk and killed the speaker of the House, and numerous GOP legislators who have recently been busted for drinking and driving and drinking and boating.

A few months back, Governor Schweitzer was harshly attacked by the GOP for having suggested publicly that the new GOP legislature legislature would have its share of “big boozers.” Schweitzer discovered data that showed a huge spike in liquor sales when the legislature convenes in Helena.

The GOP senate president saw an opportunity (and took the bait): he quickly penned an OpEd (entitled “Schweitzer Insults Sober, Hardworking Lawmakers“), decrying Schweitzer for having dared to suggest that alcohol has any meaningful presence during the legislative session.

A few days later, the GOP senate judiciary committee chairman was pulled over when a cop spied him drinking a homemade “red beer” (a special, yummy mixture of beer and tomato juice) while driving home from the statehouse.

Posted: March 7, 2011 at 6:53 am

Legislative Negligence

Representative Alan Hale, a TEA Party Republican bar owner misrepresenting House District 77, has been given an F rating from the Montana DUI Taskforce for his votes against legislation designed to protect Montanans from drunk drivers. As the task force writes:

Representative Hale has been as non-supportive of DUI legislation as it gets. He has voted against EVERY bill so far and has only registered one “yes” vote on a second reading and then changes his vote back to “no.” He was the one dissenting vote in the entire House against HB 102 – Revise probationary driver’s licence for DUI court participation, and one of three representatives who voted against the 24/7 program. We hope his supporters will notify this legislator and bar owner that DUIs are a priority this session and we expect him to deal with the carnage on our roads by supporting the bills being proposed.

Those of you who followed the campaign are aware of comments that Mr. Hale made in an interview with newspapers saying he thought DUI laws were too strict and were hurting our youth.

Hale also spoke out against tough DUI penalties, particularly when they involve young people, saying stiff penalties have ruined a lot of young people’s lives.

Hale appears to be putting the concerns of the communities he represents second to the fact that he owns a bar. Laws against drunk driving were created to protect youth, and decreasing public safety laws because you own a bar is irresponsible and self-serving. Sources also say that his bar in Basin called the Silver Saddle was recently cited for serving a minor.