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Red Montana

Most people aren’t single issue voters. Many of the people I spoke with didn’t like Greg, but Cooney was portrayed as a soft career politician that would get run over.

Montana has a lot of small business owners and ranchers that live here. The economy has a substantial impact on how they make a living. Many people want the economy to hum right along and feel that Greg was the better option for that.
Maybe it's just the fact that he bought name recognition and so he bought the office. Other very rich men have done that here in the past.
 
1. that isn't true
2. That doesn't matter with regard to this topic. Comments like that get threads derailed then locked. Take you politics back to Facebook.
Guardian is not the best source of journalism to link to if you want to have an intelligent debate neffa.

That said the best line in this article you linked was the last one.

"If anything is going to get accomplished, the Democrats have got to figure out a way to work with our Republican majority,” said Vero, the rancher. “We’re not taking our marbles and going home. We’ve gotta stay at the table and play the game.”
 
What we are seeing in regards to hunting on both public and private land has more to do with opportunity management then it does with which party controls Government.
Memorizing this paragraph should be a requirement for anyone wanting to post an opinion about hunting in MT.
The attitude of Montana hunters is where the root of the problem lies.
Which party is in power just determines how “opportunity” is defined and how it is applied.
I wish I could say with conviction that BuzzH is wrong on this topic but he’s not.
I expect the oncoming MT administration to define opportunity as the ability to walk around in more than half of Montana with a gun for long seasons while searching for elk that are holed up on sanctuary areas of private land. I expect Montana hunters to accept that as a good definition and then raise hell at the FWP meeting in the wintertime that wolves have eaten all the elk.

There is a difference in management attitudes and applications between the parties but until MT hunters demand more it’s not going to get better for us.
When the Republicans pass over good candidates like Tim Fox in the primary in favor of name recognition with GG, it doesn’t bode well for wildlife or hunters.
OTOH, the continued left swerve of the Democrat Party nationally ensures that a majority of Montanans will repudiate any Montana Democrat who is associated with the national party by voting for whomever has an R after their name.
 
It seems like it's more of a question of whether Biden and Harris understand the constitution or plan to undermine it
They understand it just fine. Politics are played out pandering to the far left. The D's lost the House, Senate and the Presidency because of an assault weapons ban. I'm wondering if they are willing to do that again? History does repeat itself.
 
They understand it just fine. Politics are played out pandering to the far left. The D's lost the House, Senate and the Presidency because of an assault weapons ban. I'm wondering if they are willing to do that again? History does repeat itself.
Who knows. But I'm not going to start voting D and find out. Maybe it's just me, but the left feels like an extreme fringe special interest group to me right now. I mean, unprecedented.
 
Uh....maybe if the schools had more money to work with this "sad state" could improve.
That's an easy answer, but is it true? Government solution for everything is to throw more money at it.
I might point out that the area I moved from was much more rural and much more economically depressed than the area I live in now. With two large oil refineries/industrial property tax payers Billings should have excellent schools.
 
He didn't spend $7.5 million of his own dollars that time either. He also had just tossed a reporter on his arse.

Actually, he assaulted the reporter a few days before WINNING his seat in Congress.

Whatever the reason, he is now the Governor. It is pretty obvious he has been determined to be a major player in Montana politics. His fortune allowed him several tries from several angles.

We will know soon enough where he wants to take the state.
 
I don't think this has been posted yet, but here is a poorly scanned copy of the the conservative wing's goals for 2021 https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/74/d6/516654b04f2e9f820d406134bc05/gop-legislative-plan2.pdf

Maybe some good things for some folks, maybe some not great things for others.

Emphasis added below with regard to public land, and campaign contributions since it was already brought up in this thread.


"The seven-page list, drafted by lawmakers from the GOP’s conservative wing, outlines a list of policy changes that some Republicans hope to advance if Republican Greg Gianforte becomes governor."

five “top priorities”:
  • Reducing property taxes, by using a portion of state lodging taxes to offset the cost to local governments.
  • Lowering the state’s top income-tax rate.
  • Holding state spending to zero increase.
  • Fighting drug addiction and related ills, with increased law enforcements and expanded drug-treatment courts.
  • Protecting “Montanans’ rights,” by limiting the power of local health boards and the governor to issue emergency orders in response to Covid-19, and expanding the scope of workers deemed “essential,” to prevent widespread business closures.
The list also included numerous proposals in other policy areas, such as:

School choice: The list said there are “many different avenues to go down,” including greatly expanding the state income-tax credit that helps scholarship organizations for children attending private schools, other tax credits for private-school tuition, and education savings accounts that allow state funds to “follow” the student to his or her choice of education.

Health care: A ban on “surprise billing” by hospitals for emergency treatment, providing personal health-savings accounts for public employees, and increasing liability protections for health-care professionals.

Elections: Ending Election Day voter-registration, by closing registration the Friday before an election; stricter I.D. requirements for voting; eliminating Montana’s limits on campaign contributions to candidates.

Renewable energy:
Creating a new tax on renewable energy sold out-of-state, and making it easier for utilities to meet required minimum levels of renewable power, by allowing them to include expanded hydroelectric power projects.

Public lands: Forbidding the selling of any federal land that’s transferred to Montana, but also forbidding the state from using hunting-access fees to buy additional private land.

Labor/workers:
Removing the requirement that “prevailing” wages be paid on state-funded construction jobs; forbidding the state from automatically deducting union dues from public-employee paychecks; changing standard probation period for new employees from six months to 12 months."
 
Memorizing this paragraph should be a requirement for anyone wanting to post an opinion about hunting in MT.
The attitude of Montana hunters is where the root of the problem lies.
Which party is in power just determines how “opportunity” is defined and how it is applied.
I wish I could say with conviction that BuzzH is wrong on this topic but he’s not.
I expect the oncoming MT administration to define opportunity as the ability to walk around in more than half of Montana with a gun for long seasons while searching for elk that are holed up on sanctuary areas of private land. I expect Montana hunters to accept that as a good definition and then raise hell at the FWP meeting in the wintertime that wolves have eaten all the elk.

There is a difference in management attitudes and applications between the parties but until MT hunters demand more it’s not going to get better for us.
When the Republicans pass over good candidates like Tim Fox in the primary in favor of name recognition with GG, it doesn’t bode well for wildlife or hunters.
OTOH, the continued left swerve of the Democrat Party nationally ensures that a majority of Montanans will repudiate any Montana Democrat who is associated with the national party by voting for whomever has an R after their name.
I might add the Wyoming has plenty of opportunities even though they dont manage as such.
 
That's an easy answer, but is it true? Government solution for everything is to throw more money at it.
I might point out that the area I moved from was much more rural and much more economically depressed than the area I live in now. With two large oil refineries/industrial property tax payers Billings should have excellent schools.
School options will only isolate the well to do but also funnel money away from the public schools. Bad idea for our state.
 
That's an easy answer, but is it true? Government solution for everything is to throw more money at it.
I might point out that the area I moved from was much more rural and much more economically depressed than the area I live in now. With two large oil refineries/industrial property tax payers Billings should have excellent schools.
It's easy to cap on schools. My children attended school in school district 2. I felt that their education was perfectly satisfactory. Our daughter managed to graduate with high honors in her chosen field in college. I doubt a horrible public school foundation would have allowed that result.
 
It's easy to cap on schools. My children attended school in school district 2. I felt that their education was perfectly satisfactory. Our daughter managed to graduate with high honors in her chosen field in college. I doubt a horrible public school foundation would have allowed that result.
I suppose it is if it's all you have ever known.
 
From the article listing Gianforte black marks.

"This year, Gianforte introduced a federal bill that would have amended the US Endangered Species Act and delisted the grizzly bear."

Maybe the Guardian thinks the majority of Montana opposed this? Or maybe it's just the super majority of Guardian readship that opposed this?
 
I think I heard it said before, even on here, that one needs to engage with their elected officials. Just like Trump or Biden were not elected to be king neither were any of the R's who won the state wide races. Before all the hand wringing, bed wetting and out right fear mongering of what "might" happen; maybe reach out and let your ideas/opinions/feelings be heard. Or join an group of similar minded people which has standing, connections, a political ground game and goals to affect our elected representatives.

I highly doubt that there is going to any wholesale change to federal public lands based on who is the Gov. of Montana. The ability to affect FWP policy and goals also is going to be open for debate. Moving too far off center either direction doesn't play out well for the ruling party. I cannot see where the current Democrat Gov. has done much to change anything in the FWP.

The stream access law is political kryptonite that is not a priority for the Gov. Elect to touch, IMO. So stay grounded in reality instead of worst case scenarios and get active if you want to shape and affect the outcome off the upcoming session.

Nemont
 
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