Hello Montana Democrats! Welcome to our October 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.
October means the election is right around the corner. The stakes have never been higher – our voting rights, our health care freedom and privacy, the independence of the judiciary, affordable housing, child care costs, Social Security and Medicare, and so much more.
Join us on the Trail
We’re hitting the road for our Get Out the Vote Rallies – Join us on the campaign trail!
The Republican “Plan” If They Take Back The House Is to Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for Seniors
U.S. House Elections This November Will Determine Seniors’ Retirement
The House Republican Caucus has unveiled the legislative agenda they hope to deliver if they win back control of the House this November. They laid out their agenda transparently: if they win back the House, they plan to manufacture a debt-ceiling standoff in order to get leverage for gutting the bedrock programs that seniors rely on to retire, including your Social Security benefits.
Montanans deserve to know: Will Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale fall in line behind the party bosses and vote to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for Montana seniors? Do Zinke and Rosendale support their GOP bosses’ plan to cut hardworking Montanans’ retirement and healthcare programs that would raise prices on prescription drugs?
“The stakes are incredibly high – if Montana sends the Disaster Duo of Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale to Congress, they will pull cheap political stunts at the request of their D.C. party bosses and strip Montana seniors of their Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Monica Tranel and Penny Ronning have made it clear they’re willing to stand up to national bosses to put Montana and seniors first.”
Dept. of Interior Whistleblower: Zinke will “be an empty seat with a cowboy hat on it.”
Joel Clement shares his experience with Zinke’s corrupt dealings at Interior
Last week, Joel Clement, Zinke’s Whistleblower from the Department of the Interior, flew to Montana to share with Montanans his firsthand experience trying to maintain integrity while working in Zinke’s Interior Department. He sat down with Cora Neumann in Bozeman on Tuesday.
Clement discussed what drove him to file a whistleblower complaint in the first place, following Ryan Zinke’s retaliation against employees like Clement who were speaking out about the dangers of climate change. The complaint was so startling and blatant, that the Office of Special Counsel at the Interior began their investigation immediately, unlike the traditional months-long waiting process.
Neumann and Clement detailed how Zinke “cleared the path” and reassigned these employees so he could curry favor with the oil and gas industry. He slowed studies that would place safety regulations on oil and gas companies. “Why would he do these things? Who is he actually serving?” asked Neumann. “That’s not ‘government efficiency’, that’s corruption.”
When asked by an audience member why Ryan Zinke was fired from the Department of the Interior, Clement responded, “Ryan Zinke was run out because of this long list of scandals. You don’t leave unless the White House wants you to go. And the Trump White House ran him out of town. If he goes back to the Hill, he’s not going to be effective – he’s tainted. No one is going to want to work with him. It’ll be an empty seat with a cowboy hat on it.”
After Zinke was fired from the Department of the Interior, he proceeded to take cushy political lobbying jobs for the very companies he was supposed to “regulate.” Just last year, he pulled in a half-a-million dollar paycheck from Conoco-Philips.
“Ryan Zinke is out for himself– plain and simple,” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Ryan will use this opportunity to enrich himself, like he’s done with every job he’s ever had. This November, Montana voters are not going to let Lyin’ Ryan get in spitting distance of elected office once more.”
BACKGROUND:
Clement served as a senior administrator in the U.S. Department of the Interior for seven years before resigning his position following what he calls a politically motivated demotion by incoming Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Clement’s resignation letter blew the whistle on Zinke’s leadership and his practice of retaliatory staff reassignments to “eliminate employees” who spoke out about the dangers of climate change. Read Clement’s resignation letter HERE.
From Polio Vaccine Denial to Dodging Nearly $2,000 in Vendor Bills: Meet MTGOP’s Best & Brightest Legislative Candidates
Montana’s Legislative Elections are just as critical as our congressional races – we thought it high time to remind voters the types of Republican Legislative Candidates they’ll be seeing on their ballots this year.
Alden Tonkay (HD 82) - According to a Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) complaint filed by a local Helena Business, Tonkay wrote a bad $1,565 check to pay for printed materials in May. The check bounced for "Not Sufficient Funds". When the business pursued payment, Tonkay repeatedly responded that “the check was in the mail.” Tonkay dodged the bills for four months before the business filed a complaint. When the COPP requested a comment from Tonkay on the complaint, he emailed back saying “my response was mailed yesterday.” (Sound familiar?). A week later, the COPP sent a follow up request for a response. Tonkay emailed back, and again says his response is in the mail.
Tonkay’s behavior reflects a startling immaturity, a failure of responsibility and a propensity to lie.
Brad Tschida (SD 49) - Brad Tschida’s reputation may precede him. One of the GOP’s most far-right caucus members, Tschida gained national attention earlier this year for his deeply creepy comments about how a woman’s womb has “no specific purpose” to her life or wellbeing, and shouldn’t be considered hers to control. Tschida is also one of the state’s loudest and most persistent election conspiracy theorists, having spent taxpayer dollars to reimburse his fanboy trip to hear Mike Lindell– of MyPillow fame– at his election security conspiracy conference. Tschida also begged the state’s Attorney General to sign a lawsuit challenging the 2020 US election results.
Tschida’s radical, out-of-step conspiracy theories and misogynistic beliefs are disqualifying and a disgrace to Montana.
Jeremy Trebas (SD 13) - Trebas doesn’t mind taking polarizing positions – including, it turns out, taking the unusual position of being anti-polio vaccine. A lack of understanding how vaccines work hasn’t stopped him from weighing in on health care policy in the session! Trebas has also made the controversial decision to defend a hunter in the Flathead who killed a domesticated husky dog.
Kaitlyn Ruch (HD 84) - An incendiary 18-year-old, who’s running her first race, is the author of the radical anti-choice language in the 2022 GOP Party Platform. If the future of the MT GOP looks like Ruch, the party is sending a clear messaging that they're moving away from common sense values to appease the radical fringes of their party.
Jane Gillette (HD 64) - With no sense of irony or shame, Gillette showed up to a Medicaid committee meeting to vote to kick Montana families off of their health care, carrying a $4,000 purse. Incidentally, she receives government health care herself. She also, according to state emails, explicitly requested that exceptions for rape and incest be removed from her bill banning insurance coverage for reproductive care.
“The Montana GOP legislative candidate bench is radical, out-of-step, and running on deeply unpopular legislation,” says Scott McNeil, director of the Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “This band of radicals is coming after the Montana Constitution this November. It is no exaggeration to say that your constitutional rights are on the ballot.”
Thank you for being a part of this fight. Ballots are already out – what’s your voting plan? Make sure to drop off your ballots with plenty of time!
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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