This is shaping up to be a banner week for GOP-ers revealing how clueless they really are when it comes to the economy.

Intelligent Discontent posts this week about the surprising Facebook ad put up by Republican Gubernatorial primary candidate Corey Stapleton.  In the ad, Stapleton comes out in favor of restricting the market for Montana’s natural resources   It’s a strange agreement for a candidate who wants to be taken seriously to make in an election cycle where economic policy is front and center.  Perhaps Stapleton should ask Washington Corp, which sells most of its copper in Asian markets, to explain it to him using small words.  He should contact the Stillwater Mine about where we would be in terms of jobs if the state tried to prohibit it from selling palladium in Asia. (Probably out of business…)

What Stapleton (and several other gubernatorial candidates) don’t understand is that Schweitzer is helping Montana businesses find markets for their products, so that they can get top price. Republican officials rarely bother with such active governance, because they view government as “bad” and less government as “good.”