Hello Montana Democrats! Welcome to our July Democratic Newsletter, which we send to stakeholders once a month to keep you up-to-date on all the important work Montana Democrats are doing.

Montana Democrats: The only party standing up for our state constitution and your right to privacy

The War on Reproductive Rights in Montana and How We Can Fight Back

The GOP is waging a war on our reproductive freedom and privacy, but the war is not lost. In Montana, the fight will come down to the legislature and the courts. The Montana Democrats will continue to be forceful defenders of our right to choose, and the state constitution that protects that right. We have the ability to defend them but only if we WORK to do so.

The US Supreme Court just stripped long-established rights away from millions of Americans. The battle over these rights – the right to an abortion and the right to privacy– has now been thrown to the states.

Abortion is still legal in Montana. For years, our state has recognized that our Constitution’s iron-clad guarantee of the right to privacy includes the right of Montanans to decide–without interference from the government–whether or not to get an abortion.
But make no mistake. Our Montana Constitution, and the rights it protects, are under attack.
Republicans are fighting in court right now to crack the foundation of our right to privacy and carve out the right to access an abortion.
Republican legislators have called the Constitution a “rag” that needs to be thrown out, and told us over and over again that they intend to do just that if they get the super majority they need to start chopping away at it. The AG has petitioned the court to disregard the 1999 Armstrong Decision. The Governor has signaled his willingness to convene a special session to pass constitutional amendments that will strip Montanans of their reproductive freedoms.
They’re attacking our independent judiciary, and they’re only two seats away from a supermajority in the Legislature.
That means our right to privacy, to autonomy, to freely access an abortion is hanging by a thread.
An all-out ban on abortion is on the table in a way it hasn’t been for decades.

The Montana GOP’s party platform explicitly states that they want to ban abortion in all circumstances**.

That means no exceptions–not to save Montanans’ health and lives, not to treat survivors of rape and incest with the respect and compassion that they deserve.
No abortion in Montana. That’s the future that Republicans have told us, over and over again, that they want to see.
That’s the future that they’re fighting like hell to create.
They don’t care that they’re out of step with the majority of Montanans, who oppose banning abortion.
They only care about forcing their will on anyone who disagrees with them, about having the power to exert control over the most intimate aspects of our private decision-making.
Today, you will hear the Republicans lie and say that Montana Democrats “support abortion on demand,” and other outlandish claims. No one is advocating for that, and the Republicans know that. They have to lie because they know that the majority of Montanans agree with us, and support legal and safe abortion access.

We have a chance to stop them. We have more hope than many of our neighboring states, because we have some critical things that they don’t have.

We have an independent judiciary that recognizes the inviolability of the rule of law.
We have a Legislature that isn’t yet under the boot of a Republican supermajority, and we have the ability to prevent one from forming if we work our asses off this fall.
And we have a brilliant Constitution deeply rooted in true Montana values–freedom, privacy, the right to decide our own futures and fates free from the control of petty tyrants.
We have these critical protections but they are UNDER THREAT. We have the ability to defend them but only if we WORK to do so.
We can do this together, and when we do, we will secure a future for this state we love where everyone can live their lives in freedom.

What the War on Repro Rights in Montana Will Look Like, and What We Can Do Right Now.

In order to get their way, the MTGOP are coming after the Courts and the Constitution.

The Court struck down their unconstitutional bills-- so now, the MTGOP is going after the very legitimacy of the courts themselves, by politicizing the race and dismantling the independence of the judiciary.

AG Knudsen has gone as far as to ask the court to upend our right to privacy. Make no mistake, this is a multi-pronged attack on abortion and fundamental freedoms.

The MT state constitution is holding the MTGOP’s radical agenda in check – so now, they’ve turned their sights on the state constitution.

They call it a “rag” that “needs to be thrown out.”

If the MTGOP win a legislative supermajority this Nov, they’ll have the #s to put forward constitutional amendments that would make abortion illegal, & carve out our reproductive rights & privacy from the constitution. They will not stop at repro rights.

The MTGOP is turning to shady, undemocratic ways to force through their agenda, because they know that ⅔ of Montanans believe that abortion should be legal.

They are in the MINORITY. We must show our strength.

What is there to do? How can we fight back?

First of all, the most important stopgap to the radically out-of-step GOP is getting Democrats elected to our state legislature. Volunteer to knock doors for your local Dem candidate. Help them raise money so they can reach more voters.

In the meantime, donate to local groups that are helping deliver accessible reproductive health care, like the Susan Wicklund Fund. https://www.susanwicklundfund.org/

Montana is now a haven for women in the NW. It’s critical that MT providers have the resources to help provide care.

Most importantly - do NOT despair. This fight is not over in Montana.

Elect Democrats to the state legislature. Hold your Republican reps accountable for their relentless war on reproductive rights and privacy.

Support those who are providing essential care. Protect the MT Constitution. Vote for Montana Democrats.

After years of Tribal advocacy, the bison range has been rightfully returned to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Reminder for those keeping track at home, this is the same bison range that Ryan Zinke blocked from being returned to CSKT back in 2017, during his tenure at the Department of the Interior.

MT Democrats’ Plan to Cut Costs for Working Montanans

It is simple: It’s time to put Montana’s hard-earned tax dollars to work for Montanans.

Right now, Montana's working families are suffering. High costs and scarce resources are hitting us right in our wallets.

And we have the resources we need to fix those problems.

By the start of the next session, we'll be sitting on $1.7 billion of Montanans' hard-earned tax dollars. This is our plan to put $1 billion of those tax dollars to work for the families who earned them.

Your hard-earned tax dollars are just sitting there, when they could be working for you.

Housing - $500 million

Housing is the number one issue we hear about from our constituents. At the center of the crisis is: we have more people looking for housing than we have new housing units being built.

Montana Democrats have led on this issue in the past - Dave Fern in Whitefish succeeded in creating the Multifamily Coal Trust Homes program, which uses Coal Tax Trust Fund dollars to provide low-interest loans to developers who build affordable rental homes.

Our Plan: We want to channel $500 million into providing low-interest loans to developers building affordable rental homes, in order to turbocharge the number of affordable units available to Montanans.

Property Tax Relief - $250 million

For the folks who are already lucky enough to own their homes, affordability is a big challenge for them too. We’ve been hearing for years from Montanans that the value of their property is growing so fast that they can’t afford the property tax bills on their homes, even though it was affordable when they first bought them. We tried to tackle this problem during the last session of the Legislature and were shot down. So we’re trying once again to do right by working Montanans: 1) immediate relief–a one-time property tax refund targeted to actual working folks, not millionaires, to take the edge off of this year’s property tax bills, 2) ongoing protection against rising property tax bills for all working Montanans.

Child Care - $125 million

Child care isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity for working families. But we haven’t been treating it like the essential service that it is. Parents, especially women, can’t get into or stay in the workforce without reliable, affordable, accessible child care. We need to tackle this with a serious, bold investment: establishing more providers in child care deserts, expanding the capacity of existing providers, and lowering out of pocket costs for more working families. To establish more providers, we propose offering start-up grants and low-interest loans to folks who want to open a childcare business and lower their barriers to entering this field.

Mental Health Care - $125 million

As a state we’ve always struggled with mental health and substance use challenges. One in five children has seriously considered suicide, while 2 in 5 are showing symptoms of depression. Our biggest obstacle is lack of treatment options – Montanans just can’t get care and support when they need it.

We can put serious resources - $125 million - into expanding the availability of community-based treatment. We have the resources to reinvest in the structures that help hold our communities together and that see our neighbors through the most vulnerable periods of their lives.

On Wednesday, at 10:00am, Democratic leaders held a press conference to lay out the plan

We got serious press coverage:

Full video of budget press conference, MPAN [7/13/22]

Dems want $1 billion of Montana’s budget surplus spent on housing, childcare and mental health, Montana Free Press [7/13/22]

Democrats announce proposal for budget surplus, Lee Papers [7/13/22]

Montana lawmakers start debating how to use expected $1B+ budget surplus, MTN News [7/13/22]

Montana Democrats unveil plan to reinvest $1B in state surplus, Bozeman Daily Chronicle [7/13/22]

Democrats reveal $1 billion tax budget, housing to receive $500 million, ABC Fox Montana [7/13/22]

Democrats say budget surplus should fund housing, child care and mental health, Montana Public Radio [7/13/22]

Montana Democrats discuss plan for $1 billion in budget surplus, Daily Montanan [7/13/22]

Thank you for being a part of this fight. November is just around the corner!

The Montana Democratic Party is the party of the people. We welcome to our cause Montanans of every color, creed, and condition. Our history as a party teaches us that by working together and speaking as one, we can move society forward, especially when we raise our voices for those among us with little money, influence, or acceptance.

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PAID FOR BY MONTANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE.