Political Gossip, Satire, and Analysis from MT's Capital City "...an uncanny knack for sharp insider information..."--AP "...amazingly accurate inside info..."--Politico.com "...a viral sensation..."--Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos "Among the best state-based political blogs in the nation."--Washington Post
Thought you might like this mailer that landed last week from the Safari Club. (Apparently they like to shoot gorillas and polar bears and have the taxpayers subsidize their hunting trips with a tax write-off, according to their Wikipedia listing).
The ammo ban vicious rumor stems from a petition to the EPA last summer, which EPA promptly shot down because they have no jurisdiction. It was all over the talk radio mouth-breather circuit, and is referenced here. So again it’s a non-issue fear-mongering mailer of no substance, but we should still vote for Rehberg because of it? Really this fake conspiracy is the best pro-Rehberg argument out there? Pathetic.
How cool is this? For the first time in Montana, voters can access voter information and track their ballots online.
Montana ballots were mailed out yesterday. If you vote by mail, you can now check to make sure your ballot arrives and is counted. Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch’s new website, launched this week, also tells you your precinct location and polling place in case you’re someone who wants the fun of voting in person on Election Day. The service can be found at https://app.mt.gov/voterinfo. All you have to do is type in your name, birth date and house number to access the information.
I’m guessing this will come in really handy for those making GOTV (get out the vote) calls to help voters find out where they need to go and what they need to do – there is even a map to the polling place right there at your fingertips.
The site also tells you your state Senate district, House district, precinct and precinct location.
Speaking of Secretary McCulloch’s neat tech advancements, now would be a good time to sign up for her twitter updates, so that you’ll be the one with the latest scoop on election night, while everyone else is crowded around a laptop that won’t load or waiting for the TV news to come on, you’ll have the scoop. (Your friends will be jealous.) Go to http://twitter.com/sosmcculloch to follow Linda.
Though Rehberg has been criticized for his recent merger with the Tea-Party-conspiracy-theory-prayer-email-forwarders, evidence has recently come to light that his embattled campaign is seeing some benefits to the alliance. The disruption and thuggery that are the Tea-bag crusade weapons of choice are now serving to protect Congressman Rehberg from answering questions that will unravel the entire thread of his bullshit “cut costs” campaign platform. From the Helena IR’s report on his most recent campaign event (listening session):
the crowd also turned on those who asked Rehberg questions unpopular with conservatives, including a Helena man who asked about the need for the Iraqi war, and a Lincoln woman who asked for help for those starting small businesses that involve medical marijuana. The crowd booed and hissed at them, with Rehberg
*key word coming*
eventually–asking the crowd to quiet down.
This mob did not come just to be listened to, but to deny others the right to be heard. What could be more appropriate for a Rehberg listening session than having Rehberg’s supporters drowning out the voices of their neighbors by booing them down Jerry Springer Show style.
The same people who were scared stiff that uninsured deadbeats might get access to the same government health care that they have because they are Taxed Enough Already are now nearly apoplectic that someone dare to question the need for the costly Iraq war. Guess how these wars are paid for Mensa men?
Too bad Rehberg didn’t answer the question. If he had, the IR surely would have allowed able reporter Eve Byron to include his answer in her story. (Oh, the cost of war to Montana taxpayers since Rehberg has been in office is over $1.7 Billion)
Montana’s own Focus on the Family affiliate called “the Montana Family Foundation,” which is run out of Laurel, Montana by Jeff Laszloffy, a former GOP state legislator, has always loved the limelight.
Now, he appears downright giddy with his 15 minutes of fame. You haven’t heard much from this small group lately since the tea-baggers took over the the extremist right, and that can’t have made this publicity hound happy. Read the analysis and see the video at News Hounds.
Oil and gas development in North Fork a ‘tricky’ question
By Steve Thompson
While oil spews into the Gulf of Mexico, it is important to remember that BP recently had the Flathead River and Glacier National Park in its crosshairs, proposing to drill hundreds of coalbed methane wells in the Canadian headwaters of the North Fork. This project would have generated millions of gallons of toxic water as a by-product of coalfield extraction.
The company responsible for the worst oil spill, the worst pipeline disaster and the worst refinery explosion in U.S. history assured us that it would protect the Flathead. Many Montanans weren’t comforted by such promises.
In December 2008, a group of concerned citizens from our region traveled to Calgary to meet with the CEO of BP Energy. Leading this effort on behalf of Whitefish was Will Hammerquist, who told the BP chief that coalfield development in the headwaters of Glacier National Park is a recipe for disaster.
As a direct result of that meeting and strong citizen opposition in the Flathead and Fernie, B.C., BP has publicly dropped its plan to drill in the Flathead. Legislation is being advanced in both countries to ensure that the North Fork remains free of oil and gas drilling forever.
Today, Will Hammerquist (my former colleague at the Glacier office of National Parks Conservation Association) is a candidate to represent Whitefish in the state legislature. The other candidate, in stark contrast, is Derek Skees, who told the Pilot that he favors more fossil fuel development around Glacier.
Coal development in the Canadian Flathead “is a tricky question,” he hedged, but Skees told the Pilot he definitely wants to lift the ban on oil and gas drilling on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front.
Whether to develop coalfields in the North Fork is not a tricky question. We need to elect people who realize that scenic beauty, clean water and public lands are the real treasures of the Flathead. Will Hammerquist is that candidate in House District 4. Please remember this when you vote this fall.
Steve Thompson lives in Whitefish.
While Hammerquist was engaged in this public service, what has Skees been up to? Watch the video below to see for yourself. He’s been promoting his “classes” on Glenn Beck’s favorite propaganda book “The 5000 Year Leap”. Here, he says all legislators should use its principles (which include a religious government) to decide how to vote.
On his Facebook page, Skees writes that he is a “RINOtarian,” which apparently means a Republican-In-Name-Only: only because he’s too far to the right to lower himself to being called a Republican (except, apparently, on the ballot in hopes of fooling uninformed rote-R voters).
It remains to be seen whether Flathead citizens, especially mainstream Republicans, will want someone this extreme as their Representative. My guess is that (given that Rehberg’s personal and special interest money means there is no Congressional race) Republicans will cross over and vote for mainstream Democrat Will Hammerquist.
In case you are wondering what the “Freedom Action Rally” might be, Skees himself described it thusly:
“We’re a social group that wears boxing gloves”
No word on whether or not he wears the tin hat in public.
A friend of mine who is an avid outdoors gal (so keeps close tabs on what’s going on in fire season) reminded me of what the firefighters were going through on the ground in Billings that summer as they battled fires in the Billings area.
The article details how fire crews worked in 90 degree heat to protect Rehberg’s trees and scrub brush, and then worked throughout the night. It explains how off-duty firefighters were called in, how firefighters were injured on the job, and how crews and small towns from throughout Eastern Montana stepped up to help.
Crews came from as far away as Absarokee, Columbus, Red Lodge and Reed Point, as well as Shepherd, Lockwood and Blue Creek.
Has Rehberg not gotten around to suing these firefighters yet? Is there some kind of “deep pocket” strategy going on here in the decision to sue Billings first? Or, is it possible Rehberg had no idea what was actually going on in the battle to save his own shrubs?
That freed up Billings firefighters to tackle other local grassfires and one structure fire Friday night. Mutual aid provided from area fire departments also helped crews knock down those fires, [the fire chief] said.
That’s right, outside of Rehberg’s fantasy world of self-importance, other fires were being fought besides those burning his bushes. Rehberg is so arrogant that he probably doesn’t even care how revealing this lawsuit is about his character. He thinks it doesn’t matter how he treats people, because he could buy this election out-of-pocket even if he wasn’t rolling in special interest cash.
This new political gossip blog is something that is currently missing from the Montana blogosphere. We’ll discuss breaking news, rumors, and inside scoops along with serious matters of politics and policy. While liberal in outlook, the site will be critical of Republicans, Democrats, and independents and will be accountable only to you, the readers and commenters.
I’m thankful to Matt and Jay for allowing me to join them as a front page post at Left in the West over the years, and for making an effort to foster more female bloggers. I’ve had great fun writing here and I’m thankful for your tips, comments, and even for the opportunity to discuss our disagreements! I look forward to continuing our conversations at Montana’s new political gossip blog: www.mtcowgirl.com and to continuing to receive your news tips at mntnacowgirl@gmail.com
Here’s the mailer.
Though Rehberg has been criticized for his recent merger with the 
