Posted: July 18, 2012 at 8:06 pm

The Montana GOP Hypocrite of the Week Award Goes to…

….Steve Daines, the Republican millionaire who makes his money shipping American jobs overseas.

Mr. Daines first revealed his hypocrisy to Montana voters when he said that we need more transparency in Congress. If Daines really wants more transparency in Congress, he should probably remove himself from the Montana house race.

Here’s what happened. Responding to Kim Gillan’s call for Montana’s next Member of Congress to pledge that they will place their assets in Blind Trust to avoid ethical conflicts of interest in Congress, a Daines spokesperson said in the Billings Gazette that Congress need to focus on “the real issues of increasing transparency.”

But even the briefest glance at Daines’ background reveals that Steve Daines is not really a big transparency fan.Take the two $10,000 donations Daines collected for his political action committee (PAC) called the “Daines Montana Victory Committee.”

The law says that Daines must report the occupation and employer of his PAC’s donors. However, months have passed since Daines received the cash and he still hasn’t made that information public. That’s what makes him an award winning hypocrite.

The checks came from a Sid Greehy and a Sam Tallis, who both claimed 214 Main Street in Scobey, Montana, as their address. This same address is listed as belonging to the Shale Exploration Oil Company, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. An internet search shows that Greehy is the CEO of the Shale Exploration and Tallis is the Texas company’s president. Neither Greehey or Tallis were found in a search of Montana voting registration records.

Of course this isn’t the first time Daines has hidden his financial backers from Montanans. Back in 2007, Daines started a shadow 501(c)4 organization that attacked the Governor Schweitzer for being fiscally conservative. When asked in the Billings Gazette to disclose who was funding his front group, Daines declined:

“Daines has declined to reveal who’s funding the group or how much it has spent, and he said GiveItBack.com will disclose whatever is required under the law.”

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.