Tagged: Guest Post

Posted: November 23, 2012 at 8:08 am

GUEST POST: Why Brown Quit

There is such a rich collection of subject matter offered for consideration by the sudden resignation of (former) Lewis & Clark County Commissioner Derek Brown, it is hard to know where to begin.  Should we wonder at his audacity to continue drawing a salary from tax payers despite abdicating his role as a “Public Servant” (his ironically named blog)?  Perhaps we should marvel at his ability to point words like “naïveté” and “failure” at himself while simultaneously refusing to take responsibility for his immature and unprofessional conduct.  Or maybe touch on all facets by simply examining the concept of commitment.

In modern parlance, words like “patriot” and “Christian” are hijacked and bastardized by fringe elements to describe people who advocate secession, misogyny and  discrimination.  Watch for “traditional” to start preceding “American” in the wake of President Obama’s recent triumph. It’s hard to imagine we are all reading from the same page.  But simple words like “commitment” still mean what they once did.

When a person offers himself as a candidate for public office, he asks…fights…for a contract with  the people that office serves. Often, certainly in Mr. Brown’s case, he disparages another person who also wants the chance to serve.  To emerge victorious in a free, public election is an incredible challenge, therefore an enormous honor.  It is the cornerstone of a democratic society and it is, quite literally, the people placing their trust in the candidate’s commitment to his declared intent and principles.

Enter Derek Brown. Five years ago, he insists the L&C County Commission is flawed, and none but He can fix it.  He’s committed to the people of the county.  Kind of a Hopey, Changey theme, if you will.

Today, L&C County taxpayers are left holding a tab; not just in tangible figures of the pay he seems to still feel entitled to, or the man-hours lost in the replacement process. In a free, democratic society, a great cost in faith is paid when those who court the public’s trust then violate it.  We are now left only with Brown’s manifesto at the bitterly ironic Public Servant blog, with his assurances that despite being rigid and uncompromising in his approach, he accomplished nothing. Who would have guessed?

On the positive side, Mr. Brown gives us the opportunity to reflect on our language; to decide if we agree with the meaning of commitment, or still value the concept.  It also brings to mind another word that has retained its meaning, if not its ability to gain purchase in the modern Republican psyche: “shame”.

 

Posted: June 13, 2012 at 12:01 pm

GUEST POST: Thank You Montana Democrats for Standing Up for Montana Voters

Back in 2004, voters overwhelmingly passed I-148: the Medical Marijuana Act. Appealing to both Montanans’ libertarian character and progressive view on rights, it passed with 62% of the vote — a twenty point landslide victory. And that was that, or so people thought. Then the “Bat Crap Crazy” legislature showed in 2011 with their War on Voters.

Governor Brian Schweitzer vetoed their attempt to directly repeal medical marijuana, so they used SB 423 to overturn the will of the voters through a stealth repeal (that became law without the good guv’s signature). The constitutionality of this legislation is currently under review by the Montana Supreme Court after it was blocked by a lower court.

Regardless of the how the Supreme Court rules, voters will get their say this fall with IR-124, an initiative referendum that puts the legislature’s attempt at a stealth repeal of Medical Marijuana to the voters.

That’s the history you need to know to appreciate the leadership by the Montana Democratic Party’s Platform Convention last weekend. In a move meant to stand up against the War on Voters and highlight the compassion of Montana Democrats, the delegates added Medical Marijuana to the party platform.

This is going to be a big issue this election season and the leadership of Montana Democrats is much appreciated.

Because of how a referendum campaign is worded, a “no” vote on IR-124 is a vote to defend the will of the voters on Medical Marijuana, a “yes” vote is a vote to uphold the “bat crap crazy” legislature’s stealth repeal of the will of the voters.

I hope you’ll stand proud with Montana voters and Montana Democrats and defend the right to Medical Marijuana this fall.

Bob Brigham is an advisor to Montana First

Posted: May 31, 2012 at 8:53 pm

GUEST POST: How Democrats Will Win the US House Race in November

[Note: The following is a guest post by Rob Stutz who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Montana's congressional seat.  If you're interested in writing a guest post, email me on the tipline. --Cowgirl]

Steve Daines has reason to be concerned.

Brian Schweitzer won his Governor’s elections without taking PAC money. Jon Tester won his US Senate election by standing up for Montana values, including the values in our Constitution. My campaign for Montana’s lone US House seat is based on the strategies of the successful Schweitzer and Tester campaigns.

I don’t take PAC money. I don’t sign pledges for special interest groups. I stand up for Montana values and our Constitution. This is what Montanans want. This is what works. Schweitzer won, Tester won, and the Montana Constitution was reaffirmed in 2010.

My campaign has less money, but let’s be honest: Daines will have more money no matter who Democrats nominate for the US House race. Daines wants to buy this election. He is running a politics-as-usual campaign, squeezing every last dime from PACs and his rich friends. Montanans are tired of it and, given the choice with an open US House seat, will choose a different approach.

The predictable approach has not worked for Democrats in the US House race. Pat Williams last won 18 years ago. The kids born that year are voting for the first time this year. If Democrats run a predictable race against a predictable candidate the results are likely to be predictable.

I offer voters the choice to take a different approach. Historically, Montanans like having that choice. Rankin and Mansfield come to mind, neither having held elected office before we sent them to Congress. Too long ago? Schweitzer, Bullock, and Juneau come to mind as current statewide elected officials who never previously held elected office. Voters know when politics-as-usual isn’t working. Offer them a clear choice – no to the PACs, no to the pledges, yes to the people – and they will try the different approach.

Montanans want a candidate who puts people first. I show them. If it doesn’t breathe, I don’t take its money. I don’t pledge away the independence needed to cut through the gridlock in Congress. I champion the values in the Montana Constitution – privacy, public education, clean and healthful environment, equality of opportunity, open government, hunting and fishing heritage, American Indian heritage, and more. I listen when Montanans speak by voting on the Constitution and on citizens initiatives. Across the political spectrum, this is the message that the people of Montana want to hear and are ready to support.

It is better going into the November campaign to know that message, not money, is our strength. Turn the message up loud, fire up the grassroots, expose Daines for the wannabe career politician that he is – my “Trouble with the Truth” series is a good place to start – and give voters a clear choice.

That is how Democrats will win the US House Race in November. And, that is why Steve Daines has reason to be concerned that Stutz for Congress keeps chugging along, picking up momentum heading into the June 5 primary.

 

Posted: May 18, 2012 at 5:08 pm

GUEST POST: Pam Bucy’s Volunteer Work Has Made Montana a More Just State

For professional and personal reasons, I have never commented or posted on a political blog. However, the fact that I have a unique perspective on Pam Bucy’s commitment to justice compels me to publicly support her in this context. Her varied and impressive legal experience is already well-known. What is less well-known is her 16 years of quiet, unpaid, tireless work for access to justice in this state.  I know that her commitment to justice is genuine and deeply grounded in the core of who she is and what she believes.

I met Pam when I moved to Montana, right out of law school, to work for Montana Legal Services Association. Representing victims of domestic violence in eastern Montana, I was blown away by the utter and complete lack of access to justice for too many Montanans who couldn’t afford an attorney to help them exercise their rights in relation to housing, credit, parenting, and safety.

When I met Pam, at 33 years old, she had already put herself through law school as a single mom and was Executive Assistant Attorney General (aka Chief Deputy) under Mike McGrath. She was pregnant with her second child, and, somehow, she found the time to serve as the volunteer Chair of the Supreme Court’s Equal Justice Task Force. This was more than a title for Pam.  She showed dedication in her passionate leadership, but she also got her hands dirty doing all kinds of work that needed to be done to increase access to justice for low-income Montanans.

In all of the years we worked with each other on access to justice issues, she was NEVER without a pro bono case. And she took the thankless ones that no one else wanted- complicated, highly contested, ugly, multi-year family law cases. There are women and children in Montana whose rights and safety were only protected because of Pam’s volunteer work.  Her rare dedication has been recognized by her peers: In 2006, she was recognized by the State Bar with both a pro bono award and an award for distinguished service for access to justice.

When the State Bar received a bit of money to do a legal needs survey, she didn’t just lead the effort, she joined Americorps VISTA volunteers in conducting hour long interviews of low-income Montanans all across this state.  Then she led the effort to have the legislature commission their own study of legal needs. That study directly led to the first-ever investment by the state in services, forms, and support for unrepresented litigants in Montana.

She helped create the first pro bono policy for state workers in Montana.

More recently, she demonstrated her commitment to access to justice on the Board of the Montana Legal Services Association. The list goes on and on and on….

I haven’t met a candidate yet who shares all of my beliefs or all of my policy positions. What I look for are people who share my core values, who I fundamentally trust to do the right thing, and who are committed to work hard for the people they represent. Pam is without question that candidate for me.

I can honestly say, without any fear of hyperbole or exaggeration, that Montana is a more just state because of Pam’s volunteer work over the last 16 years.  Her commitment to justice is as deep and sincere as any person’s I know.  I hope readers will consider this quiet, dedicated, and largely unknown part of Pam when they cast their votes for Attorney General in the primary.

Tara Veazey

Helena, MT

Posted: March 29, 2012 at 6:19 pm

GUEST POST: It Takes Courage

The following is a guest post by Holly Kaleczyc.

In my years serving women in crisis in Helena, I learned that it takes courage to be an advocate for women—to stand up for our reproductive rights in the face of aggressive and sometimes ugly, violent opposition. I’m thrilled to support such an advocate for Attorney General—Pam Bucy. Pam has served on the board of Planned Parenthood, she has done countless hours of pro bono legal work on behalf of women, and she authored the Attorney General opinion that ended gender discrimination in insurance purchasing and mandated that health insurance cover birth control like any other prescription. Pam has fought, with courage, for women.

Women’s organizations are lining up behind Pam. EMILY’s List and the Women’s Campaign Fund endorsed Pam very early on. Just a few weeks ago, Planned Parenthood Montana gave their sole primary endorsement to Pam Bucy. Her primary opponent, Jesse Laslovich, received a recommendation, indicating that his record has not been 100%– and demonstrating that he is not the best advocate for women running in this race.

Mr. Laslovich has not always been on our side. In 2003, Mr. Laslovich had a 66% score with NARAL for his vote for a fetal pain bill—a bill mandating questionable medical procedures for women and opposed by the medical profession. In 2009 he had a 90% record because he voted for a bill that defined life at conception, creating a crime of fetal homicide. Overall, Jesse’s record on choice has been ok most of the time. Pam Bucy has stood with women all of the time.

With the attacks on our basic rights to contraception, funding for victims’ services at risk, and continuous anti-woman rhetoric, we need to elect leaders who we can count on all the time.