Wouldn't it be great if there was a new conservative blog in Montana? What we really need is a blog thats about being authentically conservative. It should be a blog that's about how elected officials can do the right thing for their people, not just how politicians can win elections. It should be a blog where conservatives can talk respectfully about things they agree on, and things they don't. And it should be about real conservative ideas, not just talking points.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a blog like that?

The difference between "Possible" and "Convenient."

While he was busy telling us that the loss of Senator Conrad Burns seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee wouldn't hurt Montana, Senator Harry Reid promised Montanans that if they sent Jon Tester to the Senate, Jon Tester would get a seat on the Appropriations Committee "as soon as possible."

One year later, no approps seat for Tester. Is anyone surprised?

Just like Max Baucus and his promise never to vote for gun control, you cannot trust a democrat when they tell you they're going to do something right for Montana.

It has been "possible" for Reid to give Tester a seat on the appropriations committee for some time now and he has not done so. When Tester is running for re-election (in all likelihood STILL without a seat on the appropriations committee, I hope Montanans will not take the word of national Democrats who come here to campaign for him and tell us what a difference he'll make. We've been down that road before.

$85 million in tax rebates so far.

Or in other words, 8.5 percent of the amount Montanans were overcharged has been returned.

Governor Schweitzer believes this to be a sign of his goodness.

I believe it to be a sign that we wuz robbed!

"...by the time Schweitz-head and the Dem machine get done with [Roy Brown], he will be a victim of character assassination and smear campaigns..." -- Forty Seven, October 30, 2007

“When it comes to fiscal responsibility, ‘Red Ink Roy’ doesn’t have a leg to stand on,” -- Montana Democrat Party chair Dennis McDonald

Not even formally announced, and the Democrat party is slinging mud.

Let's gripe about the Helena IR's editorial about Roy Brown today.

In an annoying piece, the IR finishes with this extra-annoying conclusion:

"That history, coupled with enough ideological differences to spice up the campaign for the party faithful on both sides, should make for a real test of just how red-colored Montana still is in 2008."

How can this possibly be true? Even by their own description, the race is between a Republican with "strongly conservative views" and a "moderate" Democrat. To test how red or blue the state is, wouldn't you want candidates of equal partisan polarization? Never mind the question of the incredible weight of Schweitzer's Hollywood money, his undisputed skills at snake-oil salesmanship, and all the advantages of incumbency during a strong economy (unearned by Schweitzer).

Even if Schweitzer gets 85% of the vote, it will prove almost nothing about how red or blue Montana is. It will just prove that conventional politics works.

Roy Brown for Governor

Senator Roy Brown (R-Billings) Will be a (the?) Republican candidate for Governor. What do we as Republicans think of this?

1) He's a fiscal conservative. That matters. In the last legislative session, our current Governor blew a billion dollar surplus on spending and government without providing permanent property tax relief. Roy would have done it differently. He was among the architects of the Republican plan to reduce property taxes permanently, instead of providing a one-shot check in the mail that's gone by the next week, let alone the next year.

2) He's a man of courage. I can say this without question because, by the time Schweitz-head and the Dem machine get done with him, he will be a victim of character assassination and smear campaigns that will leave his reputation tarnished at best. He knows this in advance, and he steps up to face it willingly. That makes him a brave man, and that makes him an improvement on our current governor.

3) Roy is a gentleman of the old school -- gracious to foes, trusty to friends, quiet in his accomplishments, humble in his demeanor. Again, an improvement on our current governor in every respect.

4) He took the hardest campaign Schweitzer could throw against him and won. In the 2006 cycle, Schweitz-head threw thousands of dollars at him and even walked door to door against him, trying to keep Roy Brown out of the Senate. Schweitzer failed and Roy Brown won.

Good luck and Godspeed, Roy Brown.

One has to love this headline from the Gazette:

Lawyers seek money for dam work

Those dam lawyers always want dam money for their dam work.

But it brings up a serious point: The state goes out to sue power companies so they will have to pay rent on the underwater land occupied by their dams. The results is that we -- yes, you and I -- can pay higher power bills. That's right. You think the state is just getting free money form the power companies? Think again. The state is getting free money from you and me. That rent the dam owners pay will be passed directly and unreservedly through to you and me. No question, no debate. The extra money McGrath is getting for the school trust will come from us.

In other words, this is a tax, imposed by the Attorney General and the court with no input from the legislature.


And of course, a few extra lawyers are going to collect fees from the whole business. What a surprise. Let's see... to which candidate for Attorney General do you suppose those lawyers gave in 2004? Oh wait, there was only one! Mike McGrath!

Now I'm too lazy to look up whether or not they actually gave. But I suspect that they gave to McGrath.

That means McGrath imposed a tax on us so that some campaign contributors could collect more money. I call that corrupt and bad government.