Schweitzer for President

Governor Schweitzer gets yet another mention

2007-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Brian Schweitzer [of course] receives praise for winning the Montana governorship three years ago in a Los Angeles Times article today.

The gist of the article is about who ofthe current Democratic presidnetial frontrunners will play best in the Mountain West states.

CAMPAIGN '08: MOUNTAIN WESTLocal Democrats in West fear impact of unpopular ticket leader

Noam N. Levey
Los Angeles Times
September 30, 2007

BOZEMAN, MONT. -- Election day was still more than a year off when Sen. Max Baucus recently stopped by the new Boys & Girls Club along a creek outside this fast-growing city in the shadow of southwestern Montana's jagged Bridger Mountains.

But the silver-haired Democrat looked every bit a candidate in a nail-biter as he finger-painted with children at the log-cabin clubhouse and then raced 100 miles down the Missouri River to the state capital to talk up what he was doing for the state in Washington. Baucus is the longest-serving senator in Montana history. As chairman of the finance committee, he writes the nation's tax laws. He is one of the most popular politicians in the state. And his party, which controls the governor's office, the Legislature and the state's two Senate seats, is on a roll.
Yet, as he prepares to run for a fifth term next year, Baucus is entering treacherous territory. Despite recent gains by Democrats in the Rocky Mountain West, party officials across the region are increasingly anxious that their congressional candidates may get dragged under by Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign.

The New York senator and Democratic front-runner was by a wide margin the most unpopular of 13 potential presidential candidates in Montana, according to a June survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research for the Billings Gazette; 61% said they would not consider voting for her, compared with 49% who would not vote for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and 45% who would not vote for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

The most unpopular Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, was rejected by 51%.

Recent polls in Colorado, Nevada and Arizona have found similar distaste for Clinton.

"She's carrying huge negatives out here," said Floyd Ciruli, an independent Colorado pollster who said Democratic congressional candidates would have to highlight their differences with the national party to be successful next year. "It's that liberal East Coast image that is so hard to sell in the West."

One key advisor to a prominent Democratic congressional candidate, who asked not be to identified discussing tensions within the party, went even further. "It's a disaster for Western Democrats," he said. "It keeps me up at night"...

...But party leaders and strategists also attribute the recent gains to candidates who connect with Western voters and their values, in part by distinguishing themselves from the national Democratic Party.

Perhaps no one is more of a poster child for that success than Montana's colorful governor, Brian Schweitzer. Three years ago, Schweitzer became the darling of Democratic politicos when he swaggered into office with a dog and a pair of cowboy boots.

Schweitzer, a cattle rancher and the grandson of homesteaders, is no Democrat in name only. He is a proponent of energy conservation and environmental regulation. He favors abortion rights. And while the Bush administration was pushing to expand surveillance powers with the Patriot Act, Schweitzer pardoned 78 Montanans, most of them German immigrants, who had been convicted of sedition during World War I.

He also champions gun rights and coal -- a major Montana export -- positions that reflect clear differences from the Democratic Party's coastal wings.

"There are two kinds of people in Montana," Schweitzer joked in a recent telephone interview. "Those who are for gun control, and those who run for public office."

Go here for the remainder.

Governor Schweitzer and John Edwards

2007-09-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

Who knows what this means, if anything, but Governor Schweitzer is saying some nice things about John Edwards.

Too many will try and read the tea leaves here -- let's just say that Schweitzer and Edwards are interchangeable when it comes to the perversion that lobbyists infect into democracy.

From the Washington Post's Chris Cizzilla and his column The Fix:

Edwards and Schweitzer: Perfect Together?

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) will be introduced by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer later today at a fundraiser in Missoula, according to his campaign.

Sources on both sides were careful to note that Schweitzer's presence at the "Small Change for Big Change" event, which is to be held as the University of Montana, did not constitute an endorsement. But, that won't stop the Edwards campaign from using today's event to bolster the argument that Edwards is a candidate who has real appeal in red states...

Here is a kick-ass quote and the primary tie that binds them:

In an interview today, Schweitzer said that Edwards "says out loud what I say every day here" when it comes to the overpowering influence of lobbyists on the legislative processs. "Lobbyists are not the fourth branch of government," said Schweitzer. "They don't run the government, but they act like they do."

Go here for the complete article.

Jag writes a book

2007-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hey, who knew the four-legged member of the Schweitzer family was as equally erudite as his master? Maybe Disney will option it for turning into a film.

Jag bones up writing skills, pens kids' book
Richard Ecke
Great Falls Tribune
September 2, 2007

Thousands of books have been written about dogs.

Few have been written by dogs.

That means Jag, Montana's first dog, will break new ground as the author of a book called "First Dog."

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer will play a supporting role helping promote his dog's book. Jag often accompanies the state's top executive on visits to schools, newspaper offices and on other occasions...

Go here for the reminder.

Go west you national politicians and pundits

2007-07-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Once again, yet again, another reminder is offered on how to not only win the mountain west and rural west as a local but also a national. Of course, there is a mention of Governor Schweitzer:

Diary Of A Mad Voter: JP Pendleton
Candidates Could Find Campaign Wisdom In Rural West
JP Pendleton
www.newwest.net
7-18-07

"Flyover Country.” I’d probably call it an overused term if I hadn’t opened this paragraph with it. Nevertheless, much of the area we live in along the Rockies would clearly fall into this geographic region of relatively sparse population and darn nice scenery. One would only need to look at a nighttime photograph of the North American continent to see there is definitely some space between the bright spots out here.

Even with the ever-lengthening political season, the aspiring leaders of the free world have a finite amount of time to reach potential supporters and win their vote (and their donations). This means they need as much bang for their buck as they can get, and have to reach both the population centers and/or the states with the early primaries. This gives them votes and money and the all-important delegates for the national conventions in the summer.

In Montana, our relatively late primary (June) combined with our relatively low population density (one million folks in the fourth largest state in the Union) and proportionately few electoral votes (three) makes us a pretty uninviting target for the bare-knuckle combat of presidential politics.

That doesn’t mean we’re completely ignored. I remember listening to both Bush 41 and Bill Clinton speak at Rocky Mountain College in Billings during the summer and fall of 1992. Regardless, the numbers would indicate a fairly low electoral value on Montana and other Mountain West states – but I’m not as convinced that holds water when you take into account the practical views of those living in this easy-to-ignore region.

I would say in order to attract the Montana voter, one must first understand the political landscape and look at the political history of the state through a lens larger than the last cycle or two. The emergence of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer as one of the most popular Chief Executives in the Nation – the first Democrat in sixteen years to occupy the Capitol in Helenaand the recent ousting of three-term Republican Senator Conrad Burns would indicate at face value a shift from red to blue using the political color wheel.

However, a recent conversation with a political veteran in Helena reminded me of Montana’s strong democratic roots. Senator Conrad Burns was only the second Republican ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Montana – and the only one ever re-elected [since the adoption of the 17th Amendment providing for direct election of Senators by the people rather than the legislature]. One shouldn’t forget the deep union roots of Montana, and the strength of the labor and trade unions in the state, not to mention Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, Burton K. Wheeler, Pat Williams, Max Baucus and a host of other prominent Democrats over the last century. Still, I think it would be fair to say Montana (and much of the west) has a strong independent and populist streak that has no qualms against breaking free of the traditional framework of Democrat or Republican.

Go here for the remainder.

Campus Progress spneds time with Brian Schweitzer

2007-06-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Sure, there is an element of 'fluffiness' here but it remains an opportunity to get the word out about Brian Schweitzer:
Five Minutes With: Governor Brian Schweitzer

Ben Adler and Graham Webster
campusprogress.org
May 3, 2007

Just three years into his new career in electoral politics, Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana has been heralded as the epitome of an important new movement: prairie populism. A lifelong Montanan with a background in science and a career in international business, the political neophyte ran for governor of Montana as a Democrat in 2004 and won, even though the state voted for President Bush by a wide margin. Since then Schweitzer has set out to make his name on a handful of important issues in the West: creating clean energy, defending water and wildlife, protecting local farmers, and helping Native American tribes retain their traditions in public education. Campus Progress spoke with Schweitzer on the phone about his signature issues, and his penchant for casual clothing.

You were not a political figure for most of your life. What made you decide to go into politics?

I think if you look at the direction this country has taken over the last ten years and you are passionate about your community and you don’t get involved in politics, you are going to regret it later on. We need talented, new people in politics, and I simply just said, “I think I can do a better job than the jokers who are doing it now.” We need people who are willing to step up, people who will bring a new perspective to leadershipand that’s what I was doing.

There’s a lot of talk here in Washington about whether the Rocky Mountain West, a traditionally conservative region, is going to open up and turn purple or blue. Do you think it will, and if so, why?

On the East and West Coast people look at the map of the center of the country and they draw lines that are red and blue on it. But people don’t get up in the morning and go off to work thinking they’re red or blue. They don’t sit down with their family thinking they’re red or blue. They don’t go to church on Sunday thinking they’re red or blue. We just don’t think about it that way out here.

In the Rocky Mountain West, we have a tradition of libertarian populists. And out here in Montana, we didn’t like the notion of having this PATRIOT Act that allows the federal government to spy on us and collect a lot of other financial information about law abiding citizens. We didn’t have to see the report come out to see that the FBI would abuse thisevery time they’ve been given this power in the past, they have, and they did again this time.

And the greatest thing about Montana and the Rocky Mountain West is that you’re never more than 30 minutes from great trout fishing. You’re never more than 30 minutes from a place where you can hike. You can raise a family, and that family not only will grow up being able to camp, hunt, and fish, but to hike in some of the most pristine places left on the planet, drink the water and eat the fish that you catch in that stream.

We want to protect that, so when Washington, D.C. has notions about coming out here and digging up all of Montana and drilling wells everyplace that we’ve got across the state, saying, “Well, we need your energy and we’re willing to sacrifice your backyard,” folks in Montana say, “No, I don’t think so.” We could produce our energy with alternative energy; We don’t want you to destroy our backyard.
Go here for the rest.

The Baltimore Sun invokes the name of Brian Schweitzer

2007-06-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

We're surprised but delighted that a newspaper on the east coast brings up Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Read on:
Heck no

Baltimore Sun editorial
May 29, 2007

You gotta admire a governor who doesn't mince words about whether his state will comply with a knuckle-headed mandate from Washington as costly as it is offensive. "No, nope, no way, hell no" was how Montana's Brian Schweitzer put it, according to an Associated Press account of a recent ceremony in which the governor signed one of the strongest rejections so far of the federal law known as Real ID.

Montana is justly proud of being at the forefront of a national rebellion against an anti-immigrant measure the Republican Congress passed in 2005 that would turn state-issued driver's licenses into national identity papers through a chaotic and expensive process fraught with the possibility of privacy violations and identify theft.

This rebellion is a refreshing sign that common sense can prevail even when federal officials fan fears of international terrorism and threaten citizens of recalcitrant states that they won't be able to board airplanes. Nearly a dozen other states have also formally refused to participate in the program, and more than half are debating the choice.
Go here for the rest.

it's been a while

2007-05-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a while since our last post. The absence is due to various reasons -- being busy on a number of other projects, not a great deal of Governor Schweitzer news and certainly that he will not be leading a presidential campaign in 2008.

So, our posting will be slow here but we will continue to add items that catch our eye.

Great Falls Tribune editorial
May 17, 2007

'Square Deal' trumps 'Handshake'

There will be plenty of detailed analysis in the coming days and weeks on what the 60th Montana Legislature has wrought.

But one of the first things that strikes you as you look at the big picture is that the governor's Square Deal with Montana fared better than the Republicans' Handshake with Montana.

In fact, things went just about the way Gov. Brian Schweitzer predicted in a meeting with the Tribune editorial board four months ago.

At the time he said that lawmakers would engage in fiery rhetoric for 85 days and use tactics that would make everything look to be in jeopardy, but that in the last five days they'd come together and pass a budget, tax plans and programs to move the state forward.

We doubt if he expected the level of rhetoric the gutter level in some cases and some of the tactics that actually occurred, but he wasn't too far off.

Also, he didn't anticipate that those last five days would be days 91 through 95, a special session.

But in the final analysis the pieces that came together last Friday, Monday and Tuesday bore a striking resemblance to what the governor proposed back in December.

A few components were missing special pursuit of out-of-state tax cheats died, for example, as did setting up a reserve fund to compensate counties with large amounts of protested taxes and a reduction in business equipment taxes but the majority of his program made it through in some form.

Go here for the remainder.

Governor Schweitzer interviewed on "Charlie Rose"

2007-03-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Again, we have been neglectful. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was recently a guest on "The Charlie Rose Show" and we have a link for those of you who missed the opportunity to see and hear Governor Schweitzer.

Here you go and luckily it's the first segment of the March 8, 2007 show: Charlie Rose and Brian Schweitzer

We have yet to find a transcript but will let you know if one becomes available.

Joe Klein discovers the Western Democrat

2007-03-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

We have been neglectful, mainly due to other pressing obligations. So, let's play some catch-up here.

Joe Klein caught some heat for the following but we'll still take the publicity. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is the featured photo to Klein's article.
The Democrats' New Western Stars

Joe Klein
TIME
January 19, 2007

A week before the 2006 elections, I found myself in a holding room with a posse of prominent Colorado Democrats waiting to stage a rally in the city of Pueblo. Almost all of them were in full western regalia--cowboy hats and boots, blue jeans, western shirts and jackets, string ties or no ties at all. These were large people, as Westerners tend to be, and they were not shy. Several noted my rumpled, Eastern aspect and took pity on me. "We've got to get you some boots," said Bill Ritter, the Democratic candidate for Governor, who was about to be elected in a landslide.
"Feeling out of place?" asked a local state rep, a tall blond woman named Buffie McFayden, who greeted me with a black-power handshake and two Sammy Sosa heart kisses.

"Bet you never thought you'd find a politician named Buffie out in Colorado. I tell folks it's short for buffalo." McFayden, a force of nature, explained that her district had 12 prisons and a solid Republican majority that voted for her because "the right's gone so far to the right, you can't recognize them anymore. When the wingers accuse me of being a liberal, I say, Sure, if you mean that I'm in favor of staying out of people's private lives and balancing the budget and I'm against stealing."

And on it went as, one by one, I met the exuberant and slightly eccentric Democrats of Colorado--the hosts of the next Democratic National Convention, to be held in Denver in 2008. Each had a big personality and a distinctive personal history. Ritter, for example, was one of 12 children who grew up poor on a wheat farm; in 1986 he and his wife made a midlife decision to spend three years as Catholic missionaries in Africa, working at a nutrition center in Zambia. Then there were the "Salazar Boys." U.S. Senator Ken Salazar and his brother John, a member of Congress, were raised on a ranch without a telephone or electricity. Senator Salazar was the only freshman Democrat elected to the Senate from a red state during George W. Bush's 2004 victory. He is a moonfaced fellow whose modest demeanor belies his reputation as an ecumenical annoyer of special-interest groups. He once called Jim Dobson of Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based conservative Christian group, "the antichrist." But he was also one of the very few Democrats to stick with pro-war Senator Joe Lieberman after Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont in Connecticut last summer.

Go here for the rest of this longish article that also features coverage of Brian Schweitzer.

The always interesting David Sirota provides his take here to Klein's article, with a particular emphasis on Klein's writing skills.

Brian Schweitzer delivers Democrats' national radio address in advance of President Bush's State of the Union address

2007-01-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2006 - Helena, MT

Good morning. I'm Brian Schweitzer, the Governor of Montana, the Big Sky Country.

On Tuesday, President Bush will deliver his annual State of the Union Address. He is expected to talk about the war in Iraq and the need for our country to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I wanted to share some of my thoughts about these topics, which are very important to all Americans.

Along with many people across the country, I have serious concerns about the President's plan to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq. His plan is just more of the same.

I lived and worked in the Middle East for six years, Salam Alaikum to those who speak Arabic. There, I spent time with many Muslim families and like our families in the United States they want opportunities, freedom to work and live as they choose and the ability to make their country a better place for future generations.

Mr. President there are animosities between Sunni and Shiite people in the Middle East that have developed over centuries. Outsiders can not resolve this conflict unless the Iraqi people want security and freedom as least as much as us.

The American people expect, and our troops and military families deserve, a real plan for success in Iraq that includes political solutions as well as military action.

Mr. President I heard you say that you want to embed American troops with the Iraqi army in Baghdad. Please, don't embed our men and women within Baghdad beside untested and potentially corrupt members of the Iraqi military.

We could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform for the role that they play in protecting Americans at home and abroad. No one has sacrificed more than the military families at home who have a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Democratic Governors were helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil long before President Bush discovered our oil addiction just last year in his last State of the Union Address.

Here in Montana, for example, I have been working hard to promote renewable energy development and conservation, also to promote the development of coal to liquids facility as a bridge to new sustainable energy development and as an important step in reducing Montana's dependence on foreign oil.

Montana is producing renewable forms of energy including wind power and bio-diesel from oil seed crops. In Kansas, Governor Kathleen Sebelius has been promoting ethanol on the national stage. And she has made alternative energy a priority for her second term. In Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell has set energy efficiency standards for all state government vehicles.

This week I was proud of an action championed by Democrats in Congress. A bill was passed that will repeal $14 billion in subsidies given to big oil companies. The legislation also creates a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve to invest in clean, renewable energy resources and alternative fuels, promote new energy technologies, develop greater efficiency and encourage energy conservation.

Last year Montana oil producers increased their oil production and we will increase it again this year. Congress should not be giving subsidies to multinational corporations to develop oil fields for foreign dictators. The market is driving the exploration boom in Montana, not freebies from Congress.

We have enough energy resources and green technology in the United States to enable us to stop relying on foreign dictators to supply us with fuel.

Along with a smart strategy in Iraq, our energy independence can make us stronger and safer. We Americans use 6.5 billion barrels of oil a year. We only produce 2.5 billion ourselves. We import 4 billion from some of the world's worst dictators.

I've got a plan. We can save 1 billion barrels through conservation. Things like more efficient cars, homes and appliances. We can produce another 1 billion barrels of bio-fuels with crops like corn, soybeans, canola and camilina. My hope is Americans can produce 2 billion barrels a year from our enormous coal reserves to a clean-burning fuel for about $1.20 a gallon and for the next fifty years only touch a small fraction of our coal supplies.

We can achieve energy independence in 10 years, create a whole new industry with hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs, and you'll never have to send children and grandchildren to war in the Middle East again.

Mr. President lets create hundreds of thousands of jobs in America by producing our own clean fuels, bring our men and women home, and stop spending money in Iraq.

This is Brian Schweitzer, the Governor of Montana.

Thank you for listening. God bless your family and God bless America.

Look west Democrats gets even more play

2006-11-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Here's yet another Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer profile. After digesting this, any reader will have a better understanding that the Dems have a national winner in the Big Sky State, one who will play well throughout this country if the opportunity arises.

The Kerrys, the Bidens and the like need to set their respective egos aside, settle in as elder statesmen and understand that there is a new Democratic Party nowadays filled with members who demonstrate the ability to not only connect but represent everyday people.

Dems look to Big Sky
By Karen E. Crummy
Denver Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
11/25/2006

Helena, Mont. - In a state where voters backed a Republican candidate in nine of the past 10 presidential elections, Democrats suddenly find themselves in control of almost everything.

In the past two years, the party has taken control of the governor's office, the state Senate, and - depending on a Tuesday recount - has maintained a split in the state House. In the November general election, the party's U.S. Senate candidate also beat an entrenched Republican incumbent.

That makes Montana a political laboratory for national Democrats trying to determine what elements are needed for retaking the White House in 2008.

And when sorting through the reasons Democrats have taken hold in a conservative state, fingers frequently point first at Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Midway through his first term, Schweitzer, a relative political newcomer, is a self-described "pickup-driving, God-fearing, gun-toting, red-meat-eating, take-responsibility-for-my-actions, invest-in-education kind of Democrat..."

..."He's that rare, high-energy individual that has 'the thing.' That Bill Clinton-Barack Obama thing," said Jerry Calvert, a political science professor at Montana State University.

He's a 6-foot-2-inch back- slapping, bear-hugging guy's guy who gave his wife a revolver for her birthday and takes his dog to the office - every day. He's also a calculating politician who chose a Republican for his running mate, and an expert on renewable resources, a master's degree holder and an Arabic speaker.

Go here to read the rest.

Brian Schweitzer does it again

2006-11-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something I posted Thursday at another blog I maintain:

Not to take anything at all away from Jon Tester and his close victory over incumbent Conrad Burns but it simply wouldn't have happened without the emergence of Brian Schweitzer two years ago as Montana Governor.

Tester is going to be a tremendous United States Senator and such a refreshing change--a public official who will represent the middle class residents of the Big Sky state rather than the interests of the K Street pimps in D.C. Simply note this charming item from a Washington Post article dated November 9: "...Tester, who was running farm chores Thursday morning, picking up a barrel of oil in Great Falls on the way to his grain farm in Big Sandy..."

Schweitzer campaigned heavily for Tester, stamping Tester as one of his political kin and Schweitzer's sky-high approval rating in Montana obviously helped. Beating an incumbent is always difficult--it usually takes some extraordinary circumstances or events to do so--even a sap laden with Jack Abramoff dealings and offering at least one ludicrous verbal gaffe a week. In addition to Tester's 'one-of-us' appeal, the credibility Schweitzer offered to Tester is what closed the deal.

Although some will say New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is THE political heavyweight for Democrats in the Mountain West/Southwest, I beg to differ. Schweitzer has been one of the primary components in Montana's emergence as a blue state on the political map--a tremendous statewide accomplishment--while Richardson has been leading a state that has contained elements of 'blueness' all along. As for the future, Schweitzer offers a freshness and an ability to connect with common folk that Richardson, despite his arsenal of skills and abilities, cannot match electorally.

Yes, to my chagrin, it is too early in his political career to get Schweitzer on any sort of national bandwagon for 2008 but definitely follow THE Man in Montana. He's been one of the foremost components in demonstrating to the D.C. Dems that the Mountain West/Southwest is no longer a GOP stronghold. Schweitzer, and others, have broadened the ranks of the Democratic Party and that's a lot more than many of the more media-prominent D.C. Democrats can ever claim.

A You-Tube Brian Schweitzer + Jag boost for Jon Tester

2006-11-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Below is a fine You-Tube political ad featuring Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and his trusty sidekick Jag, in support of Jon Tester.

Brian Schweitzer back east

2006-10-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer headed back east for some speeches recently and this article provides good coverage. FYI -- He was asked about running for the White House in 2008 and his single-word answer was: "Nope." We'll see.

Governor gets press over Iraq, on ‘Colbert'
By NOELLE STRAUB Missoulian D.C. Bureau

WASHINGTON - Speaking to a national audience here Friday, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said the situation in Iraq has become a civil war and that the Bush administration has changed the goalposts for when American soldiers can come home.

Schweitzer's speech at the National Press Club ended a three-day swing to the nation's capital and New York City for a series of talks on energy policy and an appearance on Comedy Central's “The Colbert Report.”
After remarks about ending dependence on foreign oil through conservation, biodiesel, renewable energy and coal-to-liquid technologies, Schweitzer fielded questions about Iraq and how Montanans view the war.

Schweitzer said Montanans wonder when they will know it's time to leave Iraq and who will tell them.

“What is the mark on the wall?” he asked. “I heard, ‘When we create a democracy.' Well, they have a dang congress, 400-some members. I heard, ‘When they stand up, we will stand down.' There's 290,000 people in the Iraqi military, it's one of the largest militaries in the world.”

The governor said Montanans join the military in higher percentages than nearly any other state. “We are prepared to help in this national effort, but please tell us why we are still there and what is the mark on the wall?” he said.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer speaking to the National Press Club

2006-10-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer took a short trip back East recently and, among other events, spoke to the National Press Club:

Schweitzer promotes coal-to-fuel technology at National Press Club
By DIANA MARRERO
Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — It's a speech Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D, can give by heart — he starts off with talk of his faithful border collie, Jag, to lighten the mood, then digs in on alternative energy sources.

The prairie populist was in good form Friday at the National Press Club, where he spoke about coal-to-liquid-fuel technology and other ways to decrease the country's dependence on foreign oil.

Wearing his typical bolo tie and jeans, Schweitzer peppered his speech with jabs at Washington, saying states were taking the lead on finding solutions to global warming and the nation's energy problems.

"We use about 6.5 billion barrels of oil a year and 4 billion comes from off shores," he said. "The most important issue of this time is creating energy independence."

The speech follows Schweitzer's announcement last Monday of plans to build a $1.3 billion coal-to-liquid-fuel facility in central Montana.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer featured in the lead on 'Montana Niracle' article

2006-10-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

Governor Schweitzer is featured once more in an article not only about the change from Republican to Democratic governance in Montana but throughout the American west. Here goes:

Miracle in Montana
Ted S. McGregor Jr.
Pacific Northwest Inlander

Imagine the scene: The candidate strides into the capital rotunda, followed by dark-suited men carrying briefcases. The gathered reporters open their notebooks. Camera flashes go off. On cue, the cases are opened, and piles upon piles of cash are dumped all over the floor of the place where the people's business is done. The shocked silence is finally broken by that candidate's righteous, booming voice, decrying the corruption that lobbyists and their briefcases full of money bring.

No, you don't have to daydream it, or experience it in an old Frank Capra movie; it really happened, in the Montana capital in Helena back in 2004. That politician was Brian Schweitzer, a mint farmer from Whitefish who was well on his way to winning the governor's job.

Oh yeah, and Schweitzer's a Democrat.

From out-of-control spending to indictments to botched wars to cover-ups, it's pretty clear that Republicans are trying their best to hand over the reins of government to the Democrats. But will the Dems grab them? Since being pushed aside in the 1994 Republican Revolution and then landing on the wrong side of the Florida non-recount, Democrats have been lost in the wilderness.

But in Montana, of all places, Democrats have found themselves.

Go here to read the rest.

NY Times Magazine does a feature on Brian Schweitzer

2006-10-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Maybe this will a big momentum generator as the New York Times Magazines on Sunday carried a feature story on Governor Schweitzer. You may agree with most of Governor Schweitzer's positions, or you may not, but name another Democrat who has his national appeal? Schweitzer could win every state John Kerry did, plus Ohio, maybe Florida and a number of Mountain West states. After what we have gone through for so many years now, people in this country are desperate for intelligence and authenticity in our leaders.

C'mon Democrats--here's a winner.

October 8, 2006
The Big-Sky Dem
By Mark Sundeen
NY Times Magazine

It’s fun being governor of Montana. Just watch Brian Schweitzer bouncing around the streets of Helena in the passenger seat of the state’s official S.U.V., fumbling with wires, trying to stick the flashing police light on the roof. When he spots some legislators on the sidewalk, he blasts them with the siren, then summons them by name on the loudspeaker. The men jump, and the governor tumbles out of the car, doubled in laughter, giving everyone a bear hug or a high-five or a soft slap on the cheek. Schweitzer, a Democrat in his first term, marches into a barroom in blue jeans and cowboy boots and a beaded bolo tie, and his border collie, Jag, leaps out of the vehicle and follows him in. The governor throws back a few pints of the local brew and introduces himself to everyone in the place, down to the servers and a small girl stuck there with her parents. He takes time from the backslapping to poach cubes of cheese from the snack platter and sneak them to the girl, who is now chasing his dog around the bar. “This is how you make friends with Jag,” he advises her. “Just hold it in your hand and let him take it.”

As soon as Schweitzer was elected in 2004 — the same night that George W. Bush carried Montana by 20 percentage points — pundits began declaring him the future of the Democratic Party. Never mind that it was his first elected office: the 51-year-old farmer and irrigation contractor had folksy charm and true-grit swagger. He shot guns, rode horses, took his dog to work and decimated his opponents with off-the-cuff one-liners heavy on the bull-and-horse metaphors. He didn’t act like a Democrat, in other words, and to many Democrats, reeling from consecutive losses to Bush, that seemed like a pretty good thing.

Schweitzer’s grandparents were homesteaders who immigrated to Montana from Ireland and Germany. His parents were ranchers who never completed high school. And until 2000, Schweitzer and his wife, Nancy, were farming in Whitefish and raising their three children. And then, despite the fact that he was a virtual unknown in politics, Schweitzer began a quixotic bid to oust Conrad Burns, a two-term incumbent Republican senator. To the surprise of Montana’s political class, he came within four percentage points of succeeding. Almost immediately, he began campaigning for what would be an open governor’s seat. Even after choosing a Republican as his running mate, he thumped his primary opponent by a 52-point margin, then won the general election by four points.

Within months of his election, bloggers were clamoring for a presidential run, and his popularity transcended the wonk journals to include coronation as “Hot Governor” by Rolling Stone magazine, while “60 Minutes” called him the Coal Cowboy. On camera he persuaded Lesley Stahl to take a whiff from a vial of diesel fuel synthesized from coal — a product that Schweitzer claims will not only fill Montana’s coffers but also help end the nation’s dependence on foreign oil peddled by “sheiks, rats, crooks, dictators.”

Schweitzer’s “Montana miracle,” in which Democrats took back the governor’s seat after 16 years and ended 12 years of Republican majorities in both state chambers, has been cited as evidence that the Republican bastions in the Western states are losing ground to a new, Democratic brand of libertarian-tinged prairie populism. No fewer than four recent books by Democratic strategists have mentioned Schweitzer as the kind of guy Democrats need to win back rural America. A fifth book, Tom Schaller’s “Whistling Past Dixie,” published earlier this month, also singles out Schweitzer and makes the previously heretical claim that the Democrats’ future lies in ignoring the South and embracing the West and Midwest, where voters are less evangelical and more independent.

Go here to read the rest.

Brian Schweitzer to appear before National Press Club

2006-10-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Mark October 13 on your calendar as Brian Schweitzer has another appearance that will hopefully bestow upon him more national media coverage. He is scheduled to speak before the National Press Club:

The following is a schedule of upcoming luncheons at the National Press Club. National Press Club events are open to NPC members and their guests only. Credentialed press may cover Luncheons and Newsmakers. Events listed are subject to last-minute changes. Space may be reserved at any NPC Luncheon by calling 202-662- 7501. To save time and avoid waiting in line, tickets can be paid for in advance by using a credit card or putting tickets on a house account if there is a credit card on file with the Club. Reservations are not required for Newsmakers, unless otherwise noted.

October 13, 2006 -- Governor Brian Schweitzer, Montana. Topic: Gov. Schweitzer will be discussing his vision for America’s energy future.

I-153 a model for Congress?

2006-10-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

The following is an article about the need for I-153, the Montana initiative that at least slows the revolving door for individuals shuttling between legislator and lobbyist positions.

Such shuttling is but one longtime bane of local, state and national politics--but I-153 is a good beginning. Lobbying is all about money and access and not necessarily what is good for a city, state or country. For the ordinary citizen who cannot afford to 'play-to-play' -- expecting that our representatives have our best interest at heart -- well, we are just not allowed into the legislative equation.

I stop just short of calling lobbyist 'donations' legalized bribery. It can be difficult to 'prove' a quid pro quo but the taint is enough, or should be enough, for any legislator to reconsider accepting 'contributions' from an entity attempting to push or negate a piece of legislation.

That's just basic personal morality.

Capitol cleansing
John S. Adams
9/28/06

Does Helena’s “revolving door” need closing?

Gov. Brian Schweitzer wants to clean up state government, and since he couldn’t get the state Legislature to help him do it during the 2005 session, he’s taking his plan straight to voters in November.

Schweitzer is a key backer of I-153, the ballot initiative that would reform lobbying in Montana by requiring a two-year cooling off period for legislators, appointed state officials, elected state officials, and personal staff of elected state officials before they can become licensed lobbyists.

“If you were in the Legislature on Dec. 30 and on Jan. 1 you’re now working for the company that you were regulating or setting tax policy for, people are going to ask, ‘When did you negotiate that contract? When did you know that you were going to leave the employ of the people of Montana and join the employ of the company that you were supposed to be fairly taxing and regulating? When was this deal cooked?’ It doesn’t pass the smell test,” Schweitzer says. “What I’m trying to do is keep people from negotiating their next job when they are supposed to be representing the interests of the people of Montana.”

So far the measure faces no organized opposition, but not everybody in Helena thinks the reform is warranted.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer continues his progress with the outdoors

2006-09-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Matt Singer, Left In The West, offers this article on Governor Schweitzer fulfilling his promises to aid those who like to get out and enjoy the environment:

Schweitzer to Expand Outdoor Access

by Matt Singer
Left In The West blog
9/20/2006

In line with Montana’s sportsman traditions, Governor Schweitzer rolled out another piece of his “Square Deal” today: Expanding access to the outdoors through new state park lands, fishing access, and free fishing licenses for children and seniors.

Here’s the meat of the proposal: link

Schweitzer and Montanans 1, Bush 0

2006-09-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Let's be thankful that there IS someone who is overriding some of the decisions of President Bush. Here's yet another example of an unfunded mandate from the feds, pushing for something the citizens of the state don't desire or see as beneficial. Big Business does, of course:

Bush roadless forest rules thrown out
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian

A federal judge in California on Wednesday reinstated a Clinton administration ban on development in portions of national forest lands designated as roadless.

The ruling overturns a Bush administration rule that allowed states to decide how to manage individual forests.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte sided with states and 20 environmental groups that sued the U.S. Forest Service after it reversed Clinton's 2001 “roadless rule” that prohibited logging, mining and other development on 58.5 million acres of public land in 38 states.

In Montana, Laporte's decision affects about 6 million acres of national forest land.

Last May, the Bush administration replaced the rule with a process that required governors to petition the federal government to protect national forest roadless lands in their states.

But Laporte ruled that the process violated federal law because it didn't require the necessary environmental studies.

Hal Harper, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's chief policy adviser, said Montana will continue forward with the petition process until it hears otherwise from the courts.

The governor's office has been working with county commissioners and other Montanans to put together the state's roadless petition. Harper said he's confident the state's petition would be completed by the November deadline set the Bush administration.

“We'd like very much to hear from the court if they think we shouldn't continue forward with that process,” Harper said.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer is the second most popular governor in the country

2006-08-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

A poll out last week indicated this:

"# In Montana, Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer today has a Plus 58 Net Job Approval and is ranked 2nd of the 50 governors. This is Schweitzer's highest Net Job Approval, and is 21 points higher than six months ago. "

Mighty mo is flowing Montana. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Tester, another Montana farmer like Schweitzer, is being aided by Schweitzer's popularity. Look west you Dem DCers---that's where it's happening.

Kari Chisholm with an ode to Brian Schweitzer

2006-08-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Karl Chisholm, one of the Dems who really gets it, recently 'penned' something at the BlueOregon.com site that certainly caught our attention:

Meet the Future. His name is Brian Schweitzer
Kari Chisholm

Remember how you felt on Election Day 2004? That sinking, sick feeling deep in your gut that we weren't going to see the end of George W. Bush?

It hurt. And many of us were baffled. After all, how could it even be close? Couldn't Americans see through the reactionary idiocy that is Dubya?

Two weeks later, I wrote an op-ed in the Oregonian that tried to muddle out an answer. Rejecting the then-surging ideas of pro-life "values" Democrats or Southern cultural Democrats, I suggested that we look to the emerging swing states in the West:

Let us look west. In the mountains and ranchlands of the West, there are Democrats who understand real America. Out here, far from the nation's capital, there are Democrats who understand skepticism of the federal government. Out here, Americans will find Democrats comfortable in jeans and boots. In the West, we can find Democrats able to speak plainly in the language of real America.

Can a Western Democratic Party succeed? Absolutely. If the 29 electoral votes in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada had swung from red to blue, John Kerry would have won 281 to 257. And in all 50 states, a Western candidate would signal a fresh start...

There more to read, including a final line you won't want to miss.

A big shout-out thank you to Kari.

Brian Schweitzer is tackling one of the problems with lobbyists

2006-06-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

The Montana legislature wasn't strong enough to stand up and start to deal with the corrupting influences of lobbyists, political donations and the revolving door between corporate servants and legislators so Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is taking his measure directly to the people of the Big Sky State.

Please note that the Montana Republican Party has somehow yet to endorse this reform attempt. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Schweitzer stumps for lobbying reform initiative
By Helena Independent Record State Bureau - 06/22/06

HELENA Gov. Brian Schweitzer and others turned in the last of 37,000 signatures Wednesday aimed at putting on the November ballot an initiative to forbid state elected officials and their top aides from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving office.

“Public service is not about using your influence to line your pockets when you leave office,’’ Schweitzer said. “The people of Montana deserve better from their elected officials. They have a right to clean government.’’

...Schweitzer came up with the ballot measure after the 2005 Legislature killed his bill that would have imposed the same restrictions.

Under the proposal, state elected officials and their personal staff, legislators and, appointed state officials would have a two-year “cooling-off’’ period before they could join the ranks of lobbyists.

Backers have said passage of I-153 would give Montana the toughest revolving-door statue in the country...

...Besides the Montana Democratic Party, others endorsing I-153 are Common Cause and the Montana Public Interest Research Group.

So far, no organized opposition has surfaced.

To read the entire article, go here.

Call it framing, call it whatever, Dems in Montana do it

2006-06-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

The use of language has been debated endlessly in talk about what the Democratic Party needs to change in order to finally be successful.

Look at the following excerpts. They are so spot-on in use of language that certainly works for moving the 'spirit' of the majority of Montanans but also for the entire country.

Look to the Mountain West!

Democrats tour state on "Real Montana, Real Change" campaign

By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press
June 16, 2006

HELENA -- Leading Democrats and the party's congressional candidates joined together under a "Real Montana, Real Change" banner in an election kickoff event that featured heavy criticism of incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns.

Democratic challenger Jon Tester "has enough Montana in his soul that he will never allow some corporate lobbyist to change his vote," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the man credited with energizing the Democratic party in the state.

Schweitzer, who became the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years when elected in 2004, noted similarities between Tester and himself. Their grandparents homesteaded near each other and both were born in the same hospital in Havre.

Burns has lost touch and is selling "Montana's votes to the highest bidder," Schweitzer said...

...Senator Max Baucus said he does believe years of holding power in D.C. has corrupted the GOP, saying "values have been skewed."

"Montanans made the right choice by sending a farmer to Helena, Governor Brian Schweitzer, and Montanans are going to make the right choice when they send a farmer to the United States Senate, Jon Tester," Baucus said.

John Morrison supported his old foe, taking the podium to bash Burns.

"Because of people like Conrad Burns, we don't have a democracy in Washington D.C., we have an auction," he said.

To read the entire article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer is featured in a Philadelphia newspaper

2006-06-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer gets a lot of exposure in this article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. I tell you, this guy has the best chance of capturing more states than anyone else in the Democratic Party--if only he can be convinced to run.

Red, Blue - and Purple:
A closer look at America's political and cultural divide. Where Democrats proudly own guns.
In Montana, less of a partisan issue.
By Paul Nussbaum
Inquirer Staff Writer
Jun. 20, 2006

MISSOULA, Mont. Gov. Brian Schweitzer won't say exactly how many guns he owns, other than it's "more than I need, but less than I want."

An unabashed shooter, hunter and gun-fancier in a state deeply in touch with its Old West heritage, Schweitzer is a member of the National Rifle Association and was happy to receive the NRA's endorsement for governor in 2004.

He is also a Democrat.

Like many Democrats, especially those beyond the nation's big cities and urban coasts, Schweitzer doesn't see gun ownership as a partisan issue.

"Republicans try to make the case that 'Democrats will take your guns away.' I say, 'Yeah, Democrats like Giuliani, Pataki and Schwarzenegger,' " Schweitzer said, naming prominent Republicans from New York and California...

...In a state such as Montana, the gun issue helps color the state red in presidential elections even as voters elect Democrats to state and local offices. In 2004, Montanans voted for President Bush by a ratio of 59 percent to 39 percent, while putting Democrats in control of the governor's mansion and both houses of the Legislature. (In the last 50 years, the only Democratic presidential candidates to carry the state were Bill Clinton in 1992 and Lyndon Johnson in 1964.)

The state's senior U.S. senator, Max Baucus, is a Democrat, and the Republican junior senator, Conrad Burns, is considered vulnerable in his reelection bid this year, partly because of ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. This month, State Senate President Jon Tester won the Democratic nomination to oppose Burns in November.

Montana voters regularly exhibit an independent streak laced with a suspicion of government intrusion. In 2004, they voted to approve a "right to hunt" constitutional amendment (with 81 percent support) at the same time that they approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes (62 percent) and a ban on cyanide in mining (58 percent).

A Democratic presidential candidate with hopes of carrying Montana would have to tap into that independence and speak frankly to the gun issue, Schweitzer said.

"I'd tell him to tell people he respects their Second Amendment rights and maybe talk a little about his own experiences with guns," Schweitzer said. "And it might not be a bad idea to go out to a gravel pit and set up some beer cans and shoot at 'em."

...In the vastness of Montana, 935,000 people are scattered over 147,000 square miles, which means there are only about six people per square mile. Only Alaska and Wyoming are more sparsely settled. (By comparison, New Jersey has 1,134 people per square mile, and Philadelphia has 11,233.)

That can mean fewer gun conflicts than in crowded coastal cities, Schweitzer said.

"People in large urban places have concerns we don't have," the governor said. "In places like Philadelphia, New York, Boston, you have gun issues that are completely alien to us."

To read the entire article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer gets some lines in The New Yorker

2006-06-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Goldberg, a staff writer for The New Yorker, is briefly interviewed by New Yorker senior editor Amy Davidson about Democratic politics, and just happens to mention Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's name. Here's an excerpt:

Can the Dems Do It?
The New Yorker
Issue of 2006-05-29

This week in the magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg writes about the battle within the Democratic Party over how to take advantage of the President’s low approval ratings. Here, with Amy Davidson, he discusses the Party’s prospects.

AMY DAVIDSON: Your article this week is about where the Democratic Party is headed. The big test coming up is the midterm elections. Do the Democrats have a chance of gaining control of one or both houses of Congress?

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: I think the Democrats have a reasonable chance of regaining the House. The Senate is a little tougher, partly because only a third of the Senate seats are being contested in any year. The House is hard, thoughbecause of gerrymandering and the general powers of incumbency, it’s difficult to shake loose some of these seats. That said, the Democrats have the wind at their backs right now. Bush’s poll numbers are almost inconceivably low; he’s heading into Truman territory. Combine that with a general disgust for Congress, due in partbut only in partto the Abramoff scandal, and you have an atmosphere which might translate into a “throw the bums out” moment.

But that’s all about negativesthe President’s negatives, the congressional Republicans’ negatives. Can the Democrats win on the negatives alone, or do they need to have a positive program to offer?

The Democrats can probably win on the negatives for the 2006 elections, but those who think they can go negative and win the White House in 2008 are kidding themselves. For one thing, George W. Bush won’t be running in 2008; it could be someone like John McCain. Even now, it’s not the easiest thing to be solely negative. Americans are optimists; they want to hear positive solutions to problems. The Democrats don’t have one stellar spokesman for the party, or an overwhelming unified message.

You write in your article that the Democrats want to win back the Reagan Democrats and rebuild the Roosevelt coalition. Can they do this without a Reagan or a Roosevelt?

It’s hard without a Roosevelt to rebuild a Roosevelt coalition, that’s for sure. By “Reagan Democrats,” what I mean are the Catholic, working-class, white suburbanites who have gradually left the Democratic Party. Since the McGovern period, there has been a feeling among many people in this country, particularly in those states that are not situated in the northeast or along the Pacific Coast, that the Democrats have a family problem, a God problem, and a national-security problem.I talked to Democrats from red states, Democrats who are popularly elected officials in states that have been going Republican in the Presidential race. They all say the same thing: part of their problem is policythey need the Democratic Party to convince the voters that they, too, will stand up for American national security.

Does the situation in Iraq represent an opportunity for the Democrats to do just that?

They have a great opening here. This is a really important point. In the middle of the countryin the South in particular, but also in the West and the Southwestthe arguments about the war in Iraq do not center on the legality of the war, on multilateralism, or on the President telling the truth about weapons of mass destruction. For people in these kinds of places, which are generally more conservative, the problem is that the President seems to be losing the war. That’s what gets people very upset.

But national security and so-called “values” issues like abortion and gay rights are only part of the problem for Democrats. The other part is stylistic. There’s a feeling among Democratic professionals in these red states that Democrats tend to condescend to voters in the heartland. The governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, who’s a very popular and populist Democrat, argues that sometimes the Democrats just don’t seem as likable as the other guys. And the problem with likability comes from a feeling that Democrats are lecturing voters about what’s best for them.

But Brian Schweitzer is, as you say, a Democrat who got elected in a very red state.

That’s because Brian Schweitzer is a Democrat who lives in a red state and has figured out how to talk to people in a way that doesn’t anger or annoy them. He’s doing some things that are very liberal, in our understanding of what the word “liberal” meansputting a lot of money in K-12 education, looking for alternative fuel sources. On certain issues, he is in the Montana mainstream: he’s opposed to gun control. But his success has much less to do with particular issues and more to do with his style of approach to voters, in which the voters don’t feel that they’re being talked down to, and that their values are not being mocked by the national Democratic Party.

To read the rest, go here.

Newsweek's Howard Fineman says look to and for Brian Schweitzer

2006-06-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

Howard Fineman has been the sometimes recipient of netroots venom at times, myself mea culpa. However, he is right on target with the following article. The next generation of Democratic Party leaders will thankfully come from outside D.C. as our nation will be looking for contemporary ideas and solutions, uncontaminated political blood and the new speakers who can connect when offering their respective narratives.

Best of all, Fineman concludes his column with a salute and call out to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.

Outside the Beltway

To regain control in Washington, Democrats need to look for new ideas and new leaders from across America—and from cyberspace.

Howard Fineman
Newsweek

June 7, 2006 - OK, so the Dems didn’t quite start their revolution in San Diego. Their candidate railed against the corruption of Washington—logically enough, since the race was to replace the disgraced Randy (Duke) Cunningham. The Republicans were forced to pour in $5 million and hundreds of staffers to defend a House seat in a famously conservative district. The Democrats can take heart from the fact that the race was close. But they also should learn a lesson, which is that talking about Washington—even if you’re attacking the immorality of the place—isn’t the only strategy, or even the main one.For Democrats hoping to claw their way back to national power, this is the strategic paradox: to regain control of the political Establishment, they must forget about it.

Democrats aren’t likely to find leaders and answers here in the capital, and can’t expect the traditional media to light the way. Instead, Democrats need to be a “states' rights” party in a new sense, shunning the sclerotic political machinery of the capital for the new ideas, programs and tactics sprouting in the states—and in the digital netroots of America.

Americans want optimism and ideas, and are tired of hearing about the capital...

...But perhaps the netroots’ favorite avatar in waiting is Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana. In their eyes he’s the rootin’-tootin’ real deal, a rancher turned politician who believes in government activism set free from traditional liberal thinking and interest-group methods. This week a protégé of Schweitzer’s, a rancher named Jon Tester, won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate...

...So that’s the place to start from in this new political era: not Washington, but the middle of nowhere.

To read the entire article, go here.

Howard Dean calls Brian Schweitzer a "heavy hitter" and a "national figure"

2006-06-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

DNC Chair Howard Dean offered this description of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer recently.

From KXLF television station comes this portion of the on-line article:

Washington, DC

Montana Senate race ready for primetime

June 5, 2006

On Tuesday, Montanans will decide who the final candidates will be for Montana's seat in the U-S Senate. Republican Conrad Burns is expected to win his party's primary, while polls show Democrats John Morrison and Jon Tester in a close race to be their party's nominee.

Montana's News Station went to Washington D-C recently and asked party leaders there about the Montana race. We wanted to know a couple of things. First...what party leaders see as the dominant theme in Montana's Senate race. And how they plan to support their respective nominees.The rhetoric is predictable.

GOP Spokesman Tucker Bounds told Montana's News Station, "This race is going to be largely about Senator Burns and how popular he is in the state.

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean counters, "He hasn't done anything. He's been really a Washington-oriented politician over the last 18 years. He's forgotten about the people of Montana."

But the national Republican and Democratic parties are approaching Montana's U. S. Senate race very differently. Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean will support his party's nominee with star power. Led by Montana's new homegrown star.

Dean: "Brian Schweitzer is a pretty heavy hitter on his own. He's become a national figure. There'll be some national figures coming out, but since you've got one right there in Montana, my guess is that Governor Schweitzer will be a big help to those candidates."

Brian Schweitzer's popularity keeps rising

2006-05-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

In a recent Billings Gazette poll, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's popularity keeps going up and up. Close to 70% of Montanans believe he is doing a good job (and pleaee remember that The Big Sky State has more registered Republicans than Democrats).

Also, look at Schweitzer's support from both males and females (when's the last time national Democrats have enjoyed those numbers?)

Here's exceprts from the article:

Poll: ...Schweitzer rising

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
Gazette State Bureau
5/29/06

HELENA -- ...while Gov. Brian Schweitzer's score is rising, a new Gazette State Poll shows..

...The recent poll of 625 registered voters, who said they regularly vote in state elections, was taken May 22-24. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points,

Schweitzer's job approval was at 69 percent in the latest poll, the highest of top Montana elected officials rated by voters in the survey.

The Democratic governor had a job approval of 64 percent in December 2005 and 57 percent in May 2005, five months after taking office. Schweitzer won the 2004 governor's race by 50 percent to 46 percent over Republican Bob Brown, with minor candidates dividing the rest of the vote...

...Schweitzer -- Twenty-one percent of voters rank the job he is doing as excellent and 48 percent as pretty good. Twenty-three percent rate it as only fair, while 5 percent call it fair (there's obviously some error here), with 3 percent undecided.

Both women and men give Schweitzer positive job-approval marks. Women give him a 70 percent and men rate him at 68 percent...

Quoting Brian Schweitzer in an article on economic populism

2006-05-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

The following Yahoo News article on economic populism and Democrats contain some quotes from Governor Brian Schweitzer:

Art Levine: Can Economic Populism Save the Democrats? Maybe...

Art Levine
May 16, 2006

Last week, some of the Democrats' most engaged proponents of pushing the Democrats leftwards -- including Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana and author Thomas Franks -- gathered to promote economic populism at a panel discussion about David Sirota's new book, Hostile Takeover. The book is a useful compendium of the way big-money interests have corrupted our political process, leading to the screwing of the public through such legislation as our energy policy and Medicare Part D.

When I asked Sirota and the other panelists about previous Democratic presidential successes (two in the last 40 years) and the past failure of populist messages to work nationally, he contended, "Any candidate who makes it clear that he will stand against big-money interests will inspire people on [their] authenticity beyond economic issues." Will that be enough? Walter Mondale and George McGovern believed what they said on issues, too, and that didn't seem to inspire enough people to vote for them. (The American Prospect's Harold Meyerson, pointed out, rightly, that Clinton, especially, campaigned to the left of where he actually governed, thus raising his hopes that a full-fledged populist could win the presidency.)

Yet Governor Schweitzer, a straight-talking Democrat who has won in a red state, contended at the panel that it was the weakness of our candidates in articulating populist messages that doomed them. "A lot of candidates do the focus groups and pick the top five issues that test well," he noted. "They have to believe the stuff. Leaders don't lead by polling you. This is why we have to have issues presented in a way that validates character -- and explain it in a way that they're sure about me as a person." In other words, authentic candidates who strongly present their case can win election support, even if people don't agree with every position they take -- as long as they trust you as a person. That's the approach Bush used in his first election campaign, no matter how much we may have disliked his phony down-home act.

Schweitzer argued, "Our candidates haven't touched our heart -- and we haven't done that since Bill Clinton. The last two candidates for president just recited the polling. Until we find a candiate who can touch hearts, we'll lose elections, one after another."

To read the rest, go here.

Why the DCers will turn on Brian Schweitzer

2006-05-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

Despite very high hopes that it be a certain someone, I certainly have no great insight about who will actually be the Democratic presidential candidate will be in 2008.

But after re-reading Eric Alterman's book, "What Liberal Media," (by the way, get this book, it is chock full of nuggets) I have concerns about the insularity, the bias and the nose-rings-looking-to-be-tethered of many in the national press, especially regarding presidential campaigns.

Bill Clinton, despite shooting himself in the foot a few different times and thereby providing free ammunition to many, was detested from the get-go by the majority of the DC and national press elite. As Alterman's book details, this dislike actually began during Clinton's first presidential campaign, way pre-Monica. Clinton wasn't one of the 'familiar' ones, not among the comfortable coterie nor the frequent dinner party invitee. Heck he was from Arkansas for heaven sakes, a veritable heathen among the gentility! And his mere presence would despoil the shangri-la of the 51st state.

Al Gore became just as detested in 2000 but for different reasons. He was an overlorder, a know-it-all, just plain 'unlikable' and such became the blackballing theme during that presidential campaign. A smartypants running against a supposed genial doofus and, as Alterman's book quantifies, many in the the press chose the latter. Apparently what failed to register with many in the media was that this was a contest for the Presidency of the United States, the most powerful position on this planet, and not the choosing of a date for the prom.

Hell, look at the coverage from the DC media elite now. The Bush Administration threats to imprison journalists for involvement in leaks (one would think that might register with the media, that is the media who still believe in investigative reporting and not stenography), cumulative evidence of outright lies concerning the invasion of Iraq, a war that not only is killing and maiming thousands but is depleting our treasury, the amiable emperor of the free world forced into a veritible striptease with new disclosures of misconduct weekly and so on. Still, he's a 'fun' guy and remains in a what's-not-to-like media-spun cocoon.

So, what does this have to do with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer? Well, I may be putting the proverbial cart in front of the fairytale horse but Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, if he decides to run for president in 2008 (hint, hint, hint), will certainly be seen as an outsider and the DCers/media elite will likely be performing calisthenics, warming up in preparation to pounce on another uncouth infidel from uncivilization out west.

Thankfully for our country, but not for him, Schweitzer won't have the tragedy of 9/11 to mute any personal criticism. Schweitzer also won't have the Bush family lineage that provided so much immediate unearned entre for Dubya. Plus, Schweitzer isn't anywhere near a blueblood elite, nor one who prepped at the finest institutions or supped at an aristocratic family table.

Adorned in a bolo tie and cowboy boots, the Schweitzer caricatures will be many. But isn't it time we truly looked deeper into our presidential candidates, looking at character, at ability, at intelligence, at achievement, heck even mental health?

But will the media let us?

The Brian Schweitzer mantra

2006-05-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer repeated his very simple but apparently very-difficult-to follow-advice for Democrats to win national elections the other day while on the East Coast. Connect, connect, connect is his mantra---forget approaching people as if they are grad students in some high-falutin' seminar.

Schweitzer goes East to boost state, politics

By NOELLE STRAUB
Gazette Washington Bureau
May 11. 2006

WASHINGTON -- Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer made a four-day swing to the East Coast this week, pushing for renewable energy technology and investment for the state, testifying on railroad fuel surcharges and speaking at a book discussion for a liberal author...

...On Tuesday Schweitzer spoke on a panel discussion of David Sirota's new book "Hostile Takeover." The event was sponsored by the left-leaning magazine American Prospect, liberal activist group Moveon.org and the AFL-CIO.

Schweitzer told the crowd that polls show support for Democrats in Montana has grown because "we put together the most progressive package in America" in the state Legislature, including more funding for education, support for alternative energy, Indian education for all and a tobacco tax.

"It means (voters) like what we Democrats do when we're elected, we just have to be more likeable while we're doing the things that they like," he said. "Republicans do the things they don't like, and talk about something else."

But he criticized Democrats for relying on focus groups and polling to figure out what the top issues are instead of reaching out to the swing voters who decide elections.

"They're not exactly sure about the issue, but they get sure about the person. ... And that's what our presidential candidates haven't done, they haven't touched your heart, they don't reach out to you and say, 'I know who you are.' "

The last Democrat to do that was Bill Clinton, he said, adding, "Our last two presidential candidates, they just recited polls. Until we find candidates that touch your heart, we'll lose elections one after another."

In an interview, he also criticized Democrats for trying to tell their whole idea instead of boiling it down. "You've got to describe this stuff in about 28 words, 2,800 is not going to get the job done. ... People don't have time to get the whole hide of the cow, we've just got to get a pair of gloves and go to work."

Brian Schweitzer rights a wrong

2006-05-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer did the right thing recently when posthumously pardoning a large number of Montana residents who were convicted and jailed under a state sedition law so severe that some went to jail for failing to buy Liberty Bonds.

The invocation of sedition laws is a prime example of the hysteria that overcomes reason and common human decency in times of war.

Montana gov. to grant pardons for sedition
SARAH COOKE
Associated Press
May 3, 2006

HELENA, Mont. - Nearly seven dozen Montana residents convicted of sedition during World War I are finally getting official pardons from the governor, years after their deaths.

In a ceremony Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the grandson of German-Russian immigrants, planned to sign posthumous pardons for 78 men and women convicted in 1918 and 1919 for criticizing the U.S. government or its war effort.

Relatives of some of those being pardoned were expected to attend.

Montana's Sedition Act, passed in 1918 but since repealed, was one of the harshest in the country and a basis for a national sedition law passed the same year.

Of those convicted, more than 40 were sent to state prison, said Clem Work, a University of Montana journalism professor whose book inspired the pardon effort.

UM law students spent months combing old court records and archives across the state to clear those convicted.

In one case, a 38-year-old traveling liquor salesman was arrested after he called wartime food regulations in the United States a "big joke" while talking with a Montana hotel owner in 1918. Less than a month later, he was in prison.

Another was a German immigrant who ended up serving two years in prison for suggesting that Americans "would have hard times" if Germany's kaiser "didn't get over here and rule this country."

In a letter to Schweitzer in late March, more than three dozen professors, lawyers and historians nationwide urged him to grant the pardons "to affirm Montana's commitment to free expression and to bring a measure of justice and redemption to these people and their living descendants."

ON THE NET

Sedition Project: http://www.seditionproject.net

The Los Angeles Times 'discovers' Brian Schweitzer

2006-04-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Not only does the Los Angeles Times 'discover' Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer but includes some speculation about who might be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008. Enjoy:

Democrats Have Eyes on Red-State Governor
Some are sizing up Montana's Schweitzer for 2008. But his focus now is on a campaign for a coal-based fuel.
By Sam Howe Verhovek, Times Staff Writer
April 12, 2006

BUTTE, Mont. — Just about everywhere Gov. Brian Schweitzer goes in Montana — or elsewhere, for that matter — he brings along a dog, a black rock and a small vial of clear, nearly odorless fluid.

The dog is his 2-year-old border collie, Jag, an obedient, camera-friendly companion who helps fill out the down-home image honed by the Democratic governor, who wears jeans, bolo ties and boots to most events.

The rock is a lump of coal, about 120 billion tons of which sits just beneath the lonesome plains of eastern Montana. And the fluid is a synthetic fuel derived from the coal.

Coals-to-fuel, says the governor, a soils scientist who lived in the Middle East for eight years in the 1980s, will be "the greatest boon to engineering and technology since NASA was created" in the late 1950s. With Montana coal, the U.S. could unleash itself from "the sheiks, the dictators, the rats and crooks around the world who are bent on destroying our way of life."

The burly, jolly Schweitzer could just as well be selling snake oil, to hear some of his critics tell it. One environmental group dismisses his promise of earth-friendly coal development this way: "The term 'clean coal' is like saying 'safe cigarettes.' "

But while the coal remains largely untapped, the 50-year-old Schweitzer is not going unnoticed.

A Democrat in a conservative state that gave George W. Bush nearly 60% of the vote in the last two presidential elections, Schweitzer is riding a wave of popularity here: 68% approval ratings in one recent independent poll. Another poll, by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, found that 57% believed the state government was headed in the right direction, whereas only 47% felt that way about the state's economy.

Schweitzer's success rankles GOP leaders here — "all hat and no cattle," one says of his showmanship; another calls him "a loose cannon."

But it intrigues some Democrats, who wonder whether Schweitzer is the sort of red-state national candidate who could help the party break beyond the "blue zone" of electoral votes that has kept it out of the White House in the last two elections. (Democrats have won along the West Coast, and in the Northeast and Great Lakes region, but endured a virtual shutout in the South, the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain states.)

Schweitzer is one of several red-state Democratic leaders who may emerge as either presidential or vice presidential contenders. Others include Mark R. Warner, who just finished his term-limited four-year stint as governor of Virginia with strong approval ratings that helped his lieutenant governor win the race to succeed him, and Janet Napolitano, Arizona's governor.

Democrats may well consider someone to "break the mold" on their national ticket, said Ed Sarpolus, a Michigan pollster. "There certainly is a feeling that they need someone who can really relate to voters in that huge belt of red.

To read the rest, g0 here.

Brian Schweitzer's lobbyist initiative gets some backing

2006-04-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Helena Independent Record goes on record as backing the lobbyist initiative that Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is poushing for the ballot:

Stopping that revolving door

By The Helena IR - 04/09/06

An initiative supported by Gov. Brian Schweitzer to require that departing legislators and other high state officials wait two years before they may become lobbyists has been likened to term limits. But the likeness isn’t very close.
Term limits, touted by their supporters as a good way to prevent “career politicians” from becoming more beholden to the government than to their constituents, actually have more to do with limiting voters’ rights. After all, if a majority of voters like a politician and want to keep returning him to office for longer than eight years, they’re out of luck. Term limits aren’t just aimed at untrustworthy politicians, they’re also aimed at untrustworthy voters.

But lobbyists aren’t elected by any voters. They’re hired. (There may be some people who lobby for free on social issues they care about, but does any lobbyist for industry work for nothing? Not in this lifetime.)

Schweitzer’s measure, I-153, would mandate a two-year cooling off period on high state officials, including legislators, top appointed officials such as department directors, and members of elected officials’ personal staffs before they could become lobbyists.

Schweitzer said the idea is to make sure the officials are representing only Montanans, “not making some kind of a sweetheart deal for the job they’re going to get as a lobbyist the day after they’re a lawmaker.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer takes an environmental stand

2006-04-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has again taken a stand that pits him against the federal government and energy companies. With Montana's inglorious past where Republicans allowed corporate interests to do whatever they wished to land in the Big Sky Country in return for hefty campaign contributions and lobbyist jobs down the road, this is a nice and necessary change.

Montana Pollution Rules Draw Federal Objections

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 9, 2006; A04

Federal energy officials are opposing new rules by Montana to force companies that extract methane gas from underground coal beds to clean up the water pollution caused by drilling operations, even as state officials cite an unreleased 2003 federal report that says cleanup costs are relatively inexpensive.

The Denver office of the Environmental Protection Agency produced the report but never published it, saying it related to a proposed drilling application that was dropped.

A Montana consulting firm obtained a copy of the EPA report, however, and handed it over to Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D). Last month, Montana's Board of Environmental Review, citing the EPA paper and other economic studies, voted to force coalbed methane companies to leave the state's streams as clean as they were before drilling started, although the companies do not have to clean up existing pollution.

"We want to develop energy in Montana, but we want to do it right," Schweitzer said in an interview. "Here's the bottom line with the federal government: They're usually not helpful, and they weren't this time, either."

To read the rest. go here.

Brian Schweitzer forges ahead for 'cleaner' government

2006-04-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is no 'Brian-come-lately' in his efforts to create a system of checks and balances that aids in Montana legislators and officials representing the people of the state and not just corporate interests.

Schweitzer was unable to get the legislature to act on his proposal last session so he's taking it to the people. Here's more:

Governor launches lobbyist initiative

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
Gazette State Bureau
April 7, 2006

HELENA -- Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Thursday became the first person to sign his proposed ballot measure to require departing elected officials to wait two years before becoming lobbyists.

Schweitzer signed Initiative 153 in the Capitol rotunda before the bust of one of his heroes, former Gov. Joseph Dixon, who served from 1921 to 1924. Dixon told Montanans he would represent their interests, not those of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., Schweitzer said.

"I-153 will make sure that you have a clean government," Schweitzer said at a press conference. "Finally, the people across Montana can be assured when they elect somebody, they will be working for the folks back home, not the lobbyists who prowl the halls of the state Capitol."

To qualify for the November ballot, backers need the signatures of 22,308 voters, including 5 percent of the voters in 34 of the 100 state House districts.

I-153 would impose a two-year "cooling-off" period on state elected officials, including legislators, top appointed officials such as department directors and members of elected officials' personal staffs before they could become lobbyists. It's aimed at closing, at least for two years, the "revolving door" in which these officials immediately become lobbyists after leaving public office.

Schweitzer said the initiative would make sure that top state officials are representing only Montanans, "not making some kind of a sweetheart deal for the job they're going to get as a lobbyist the day after they're a lawmaker."

The 2005 Legislature killed Schweitzer's proposal that included a cooling-off idea, so he decided to take it directly to voters. He said he expects a groundswell of Montanans to help gather the signatures to put I-153 on the ballot.

If voters demonstrate they want clean government by approving I-153, Schweitzer said he will present the 2007 Legislature with a package of bills to further toughen ethics and lobbying laws.

Joining Schweitzer in signing the initiative was George Harper, a retired Methodist minister, a delegate to Montana's 1972 Constitutional Convention and father of Hal Harper, Schweitzer's chief policy adviser.

"We've never had term limits on lobbyists before, and this is at the right end of it," Harper said, referring to the "cooling-off" period.

Schweitzer said his "cooling-off" proposal would be among the toughest among the states, matching laws in South Dakota and Iowa.

Montana Common Cause, a nonprofit that aims to hold elected officials accountable, endorsed the initiative.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer explains how to win

2006-03-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

This time it's Governor Schweitzer appearing in Utah. Curiously, it is the tail end of article that is the most interesting:

...To replicate his success, Schweitzer says western Democrats, including those in Utah, must recognize they are a different breed than the species that exists in Washington and elsewhere - and campaign accordingly.
"We're different in the West than on either coast," he said. "In Montana we have 920,000 people and 7 million guns. We like to fish and hunt. We want to be safe. We want good schools. Those aren't Republican or Democratic values." The problem with the national Democratic party, Schweitzer added, is that it always chooses the smartest kid in class.
"In fifth grade, we didn't choose the smartest kid or the most handsome kid. We chose the most likeable. The Republicans have figured that out. We need good ideas and present them in a way that people will believe. We haven't done that."

To read the complete article, go here.

Montanans like the turnaround in their state

2006-03-19T12:25:00.000-08:00

The following are some excerpts from a recent post by the Billings Gazette. The majority of Montanas, still self-identified as Republicans, like the state of the state:

Voters think Montana is on right track, poll finds

By The Gazette State Bureau
March 18, 2006

HELENA -- By a 3-1 margin, voters believe Montana is heading in the right direction when it comes to state government, a poll done for the Montana Chamber of Commerce and released Friday shows.

...In the last chamber poll in 2003, when Republican Judy Martz was governor and her party controlled both legislative chambers, 29 percent said Montana state government was heading down the right track, while 47 percent said the state was going in the wrong direction...

...That's a dramatic turnaround from the 2003 poll when 58 percent said Montana was on the wrong economic track, while 28 percent said it was on the right path.

Voters still identify themselves as Republicans more than Democrats, by a 49 to 39 percent margin, with the rest saying they are independent.

To read the rest, go here.

Timing isn't everything but it sure helps

2006-03-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

The editorial board of The Missoulian takes the time in the following to laud Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer but also points out a Montana version of 'harmonic convergance' was also at work:

GOP helped deliver ‘Great Democratic Hope'
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

SUMMARY: There are two secrets to Gov. Schweitzer's election success that nobody ever mentions.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer is riding high. Our last poll found 64 percent of Montanans approving of the job he's doing. His first year in the first office he's ever held was filled with successes as he demonstrated leadership and political skill that belie his political inexperience. He's an interesting and upbeat guy, brimming with ideas, full of passion, colorful and talkative. It's fun to talk with him. Even his political opponents have had trouble finding things not to like about him, resorting at times to grumbling about his blue jeans and cow dog.

Viewed from afar, from beyond Montana's borders, Schweitzer has taken on near-mythical proportions as a “Red-State Democrat,” the Democrat who managed to crack the code, unlocking Republican's lock on government.

“Brian Schweitzer, the blue governor of the red state of Montana, may just have the answer to the Democrats' woes,” declares the online magazine Salon.

“He's an inspiration to all progressives,” John Podesta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton gushes to a reporter.

American Spectator magazine brands him “The Treasure State's Great Democratic Hope.”

There's even a Schweitzer-for-president Web site dedicated to drafting him in Democrats' fight to reclaim the White House.

Schweitzer's every quality, his every quirk is being studied by Democrats nationwide as they seek to emulate his success - from his blue jeans and bolo ties to his support for gun ownership and alternative energy - as if simply being Schweitzer might be the key to electoral success anywhere and everywhere.

We think highly of Schweitzer. He shows a lot of promise. He's spread an infectious optimism around the state. But even as admirers, we feel compelled to point out to those who would emulate him that Schweitzer gets credit for what he does as governor, but he can't take all the credit for getting himself elected governor. For all we know, he'll go down in history as one of the greatest politicians the state has ever produced, but we're also pretty sure he might never have seen the inside of the governor's residence without a couple strokes of luck.

Call them “Bob Brown” and “Judy Martz."

To read the rest, go here.

Schweitzer calling all 'former' Montanans

2006-03-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

Actually, some people probably always will consider themselves Montanans regardless of their current residence but Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer recently issued an appeal to 'come home' to those who haven't forsaken their roots:

Montana Ambassadors
Gov. Schweitzer, Fisher of Men
By Richard Martin, 3-07-06

Sounding like George McGovern in his "Come Home, America" mode, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer made an impassioned – well, an exuberant, anyway – plea last night to a small group of expat Montanans now in exile in way-too-civilized Denver to return to Big Sky Country, and to bring their checkbooks with them.

"I'm here to help you rediscover Montana, and to bring you home," Schweitzer told a meeting at the Denver Botanic Gardens. "We need you and we want you. And if we can't convince you to come home we hope you'll consider investing in Montana."

To read the rest, go here.

A nice Brian Schweitzer feature in the Denver Post

2006-03-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Probably none of the following is 'new' material but the Denver Post ran a column today about Governor Schweitzer and his recent foray into Washington D.C.:

Winning tips for Democrats
By John Aloysius Farrell
Denver Post Washington Bureau Chief
03/05/2006

Washington - Here's what it takes for a Democrat to get elected governor in Montana, a state that gave President Bush 58 and 59 percent of the vote in the last two national elections:

You wear blue jeans, boots and bolo ties.

You run TV ads that portray you on horseback, or out hunting with your family. You oppose gay marriage, and flaunt the "A" you received on the NRA's report card.

You stand by abortion rights for women. You listen to the voters about jobs, medical care and schools. You talk about the price for crops and the high cost of fuel, and vow to protect your state's great natural riches.

And you do it with plain-spoken Western purpose and cheer.

"People vote for people that are for something," Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who won in Montana in 2004, told victory-starved Democrats here last week.

"People vote for people they like, and they like people who say they have a plan," said Schweitzer. "They don't like people who just say rotten things about other people."

It was an apt critique of the Democratic Party, which despite Republican disarray and the president's sagging standing in the polls, is still more defined by what it's against than what it's for.

Schweitzer's got plenty of things he's for. One is early education in Montana public schools.

"I am going to hog tie, break arms, twist noses until Montana has full-day kindergarten for every single child," he promised.

But the big enchilada - which earned him a recent profile on "60 Minutes" - is energy. Schweitzer wants to strip mine the plains of eastern Montana, turn its low-sulfur coal into liquid fuel and break America's dependence on foreign oil.

On his second day as governor, Schweitzer attended the funeral of Cpl. Raleigh Smith in tiny Troy, Mont. Smith was killed on patrol in Fallujah, defending his fellow Marines in a firefight. He died two weeks after his 21st birthday, and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for valor. He had enlisted to earn money for college, the obits said, in the hope of becoming a history teacher.

Schweitzer was moved that day. He promised himself, and at each subsequent soldier's funeral, that "the next generation will not be sent to some foreign land to subjugate an oil field. If we don't produce our own domestic energy, if we don't create new systems of conservation," he warned, "we will be beholden to those dictators and crooks for generations to come."

Schweitzer is no lonely zealot. His enthusiasm for coal gasification is shared by the governors of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, which have their own huge coal reserves.

There are formidable economic, environmental and technical issues to be resolved. Where's the needed water going to come from? What will be done with the surplus carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming?

But Schweitzer brushes aside such questions with typical self-assurance. Environmental groups may look at him warily, but he has gained a reputation

For the rest, go here.

MIke Dennison examines the "60 Minutes" episode featuring Brian Schweitzer

2006-03-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Credit Mike Dennison for going beyond what was featured on Governor Schweitzer's "60 Minutes" appearance:

What you didn't hear on ‘60 Minutes
By MIKE DENNISON of the Missoulian State Bureau
March 5, 2006

HELENA - If you watched 󈬬 Minutes” on CBS last Sunday, you saw Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer making his pitch for development of coal-based synfuels in the state.

But you heard few real details on impacts of the coal-to-fuels process or the context of actual development plans.

Working off a transcript of the show, the Missoulian's State Bureau examined the reality behind the rhetoric:

For the rest, go here.

Jag for president?

2006-03-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

Actually Jag is way ahead in the polls of another popularity contest. Let's, well, let, um Daniel Vock explain it in his article on the recent National Governors Associationz;

Governors Keep It Light, Except in Cooking
By Daniel C. Vock
Kansas City infoZine
March 3, 2006

Doggone good - It's too early to tell whether Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) got a political boost from a Sunday evening profile on the CBS television news magazine "60 Minutes" that discussed his promotion of new coal technologies. But Schweitzer's border collie, Jag, appears to have gained a large following. "I got a thousand e-mails today from people wanting to mate their dog with my dog. My dog's more popular than I am," Schweitzer announced before a meeting of the NGA's Natural Resources Committee on Monday.

Brian Schweitzer takes D.C. by storm

2006-03-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

Maybe that isn't such a good headline considering the weather of late but we'll stick with it.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer set foot in D.C. as part of the National Governors Convention. While he was there he did a C SPAN appearance, a White House dinner and also made a speech at the Center for American Politics.

Here are some excerpts:

Schweitzer speaks in D.C.
By NOELLE STRAUB - Lee Washington Bureau - 02/28/2006

WASHINGTON - Bringing his Western flair to the nation's capital on Monday, Gov. Brian Schweitzer told a liberal group here during a lunchtime speech that Montana's last legislative session tackled the "most progressive agenda in America."

Wearing cowboy boots, jeans and a bolo tie in a roomful of suits, the Democrat gave a speech at the Center for American Politics, a liberal think tank headed by John Podesta, chief of staff for former President Clinton...

...Giving an informal and colorful speech Monday, Schweitzer said Montana recently had a "progressive legislative session, the most progressive in America."

Schweitzer cited the Best and Brightest college scholarship program, the Indian Education for All program, a statewide smoking ban, elimination of the business equipment tax for small businesses, a country-of-original labeling law for meat and increased investment in alternative power sources.

He also noted that tribal flags now hang in the state Capitol. He talked about his visits to Indian country and said he has more native people on his staff than all 22 previous Montana governors combined.

Schweitzer also vowed to fight for full-day kindergarten for every child in Montana...

...Schweitzer said that after attending a funeral for a Montana soldier killed in Iraq, he committed to fighting to ensure "that the next generation will not be sent to some foreign land to subjugate some oil field."

"The most important mission in Iraq was to make sure oil continued to flow," Schweitzer said...

...Democrats must present a positive agenda and have a distinct plan, and not just dwell on the shortcomings of the other party, he said.

"You don't have to say, therefore, they've made the following mistakes," he said. "No. Say to them, look we have a plan for producing energy here that will create tens of thousands of jobs. We have a plan to invest in education so that we will create the engineers of tomorrow. That is hope and opportunity."

But he said Democrats should also argue, "You can't trust Republicans with your money."

Schweitzer said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi invited him to a recent Democratic congressional retreat in Williamsburg, Va., where he also presented his vision for the party that he outlined Monday.

To read Noelle Straub's entire article, go here.

*** There was no reference regarding how Governor Schweitzer was going to rid himself of the skunk smell after his time in D.C..

Okay, Brian Schweitzer finally made it to '60 Minutes'

2006-02-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

I'm ecstatic that Governor Schweitzer finally received national network coverage. Not that I am un-biased, but winning the governorship in redstate Montana deserved an episode itself. But I guess Schweitzer's 'squeaker' of a victory (4 percentage points) in no way compared to Bush's mandate and his resulting 'loads' of political capital.

Was it just me who found it disconcerting to see images of Hitler and his goons plus South African blacks being beaten by thugs in a Schweitzer feature? Sure it was a combo Schweitzer/energy cepisode but was it that important to feature visuals of Nazis and racists? The editor of this production dropped the ball.

And what about Stahl wrinkling her pretty little nose over the smell of coal production? Hell, I've smelled far worse at multiple spots in New York City! Lesley has to get out of that CBS building more often and away from the Upper East Side.

All in all, I see it as a big positive. A national audience in primetime on a top-rated show is hard to garner.

Gotta get me a border collie,

KevinM

Brian Schweitzer on "60 Minutes" this Sunday

2006-02-25T14:17:00.000-08:00

It's finally going to happen. Leslie Stahl's "60 Minutes" segment on Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is going to appear this Sunday. No word if it is the first, second or third episode.

Talk about 'Must See' TV!

Brian Schweitzer is coming to your neighborhood!

2006-02-22T21:03:00.000-08:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is takin' it to the road for the next couple of weeks, representing Montana and pushing his energy/economy projects at various locations around the country.

Of course, the Montana Republicans have to throw their usual 'hissyfit,' again demonstrating how bereft the GOP in the Big Sky State is of ideas to improve the lives of Montanans and those in the rest of the United States.

Schweitzer begins tour around U.S.
By CHARLES S. JOHNSON of the Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer will be out of the state for most of the next two weeks for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association and a series of speeches and meetings in New York, Washington and Denver.

“It's going to be a very successful trip in that there's going to be an enormous amount of interest,” said Eric Stern, Schweitzer's senior counselor who's accompanying the governor. “He's really gotten Montana a lot of attention as far as businesses go.”

But State Republican Party Chairman Karl Ohs, a former lieutenant governor, questioned the length of time Schweitzer will be away.

“It's seems like an awful lot of time to be spending out of state,” Ohs said. “That's always of concern when a chief executive has his mind on other things than governing the state.”

Stern countered, saying when Schweitzer travels, he remains in contact with his office “many times a day” through phone calls and e-mail.

Schweitzer has said that without a legislative session, he intends to travel extensively in-state and out-of-state promoting Montana business opportunities

Schweitzer flies to New York Wednesday, and on Thursday he stops by for a get-acquainted meeting with New York Attorney General Elliott Spitzer, a Democratic candidate for governor. Spitzer “has prosecuted a lot of companies in which the state through the Board of Investments has been heavily invested,” Stern said.

Later Thursday, Schweitzer will address the Columbia University Earth Institute's Center for Sustainable Energy, which Stern called one of the nation's most prestigious energy and resources program. Schweitzer will speak about the future of energy and the role of the West.

On Friday, Schweitzer will meet with investment bankers, analysts and investment advisers from companies interested in energy issues and possibilities. It's a chance to visit with a number of bankers and investment advisers at once, Stern said.

“The governor has done an extraordinary job of publicizing the energy opportunities in Montana,” Stern said. “We want to gather people around so the governor can sell Montana.”

He has a similar meeting set with Citigroup, a major investment bank, before traveling to Washington later Friday.

On Saturday, the National Governors Association convenes for a “Healthy America” seminar for two days, followed by its annual two-day winter meeting of the 50 governors.

On Tuesday, Schweitzer and three other Democratic governors will discuss energy policy at a meeting sponsored by the Center for American Progress.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer way ahead on the reform curve

2006-02-14T20:56:00.000-08:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was attempting reform before reform was 'cool' or polled as voter attractive. He has been doing so because it is the right thing to do.

Now, he is taking it to the people.

Please take note Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

Don't bother alerting the Republican congressional leadership to Schweitzer's move--they are too busy erecting their facade and can't be bothered with the real thing:

Gov proposes bill to close revolving door
By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
IR State Bureau
02/14/2006

HELENA - Rebuffed by the 2005 Legislature, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Monday he will take a ballot measure directly to the voters this year to prevent legislators, other elected officials and their directors and staffs from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving office.

Schweitzer submitted a draft of his initiative to the Legislative Service Division for review. Once the proposal is approved by state agencies, Schweitzer said he will rely on volunteers to gather the 22,308 signatures of registered voters needed to put it on the November ballot.

"What this one will do, it will absolutely pour cement in the revolving door," Schweitzer said in an interview.

It would apply to legislators, elected officials, including governor, department directors, appointed state officials and members of the personal staff of any elected officials.

"This affects me more than anybody else," Schweitzer said. "This is closing a door on myself, moi. There is no out for me. This is clear that this means that I have closed the door on me working for special interests. You look at former governors. Where do they go work?"

Schweitzer had been looking at a more ambitious ballot measure that would include requiring more detailed disclosure of lobbyist spending, including reporting how much a particular lobbyist spent to take a certain legislator to lunch and where. But he said he worried that if an initiative becomes to "all-encompassing," a court might throw it out.

In his State of the State address in January 2005, Schweitzer first called for putting higher barriers before former elected officials could join the ranks of lobbyists. His proposal came a year before the ongoing congressional debate over lobbying and its abuses.

Although Schweitzer's bill died in a House committee last year, he vowed to take his case to voters with an initiative. Schweitzer is confident Montanan voters will strongly support the measure.

"I think this will send a clear signal to the Legislature that enough is enough," Schweitzer said. "It's time to clean up our act."

Then Schweitzer said he will present a bill to the 2007 Legislature requiring more detailed reporting of how lobbyists actually spend money trying to influence specific elected officials through lunches, dinners, trips, jackets and other gifts and requiring more frequent reporting.

To read the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer continues to surprise

2006-02-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer won't ever be mistaken for the 'man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit.'

No unless the gray-flannel man is packin'.

Schweitzer continues to surprise and receives accolades from Frank Miele, the managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake, in the following article:

Schweitzer dares to be himself
By FRANK MIELE
Managing Editor - The Daily Inter Lake
Feb 11, 2006

Politics these days is too much about political correctness, which is why it was refreshing for the governor of Montana recently to show up at a meeting with the editorial board of the Inter Lake with a gun.
No, he was not brandishing the gun; that would not be so nice.

But it turns out that Brian Schweitzer had stopped at a local sporting goods store prior to visiting us, and before we could ask questions about his plans for coal liquefaction or school funding, he just had to show off his new Browning handgun. He was as giddy as a schoolboy who had just got his first BB gun, and whether you care for guns or not, it was fun to watch his excitement.

That’s one of the many nice things about Gov. Schweitzer. He doesn’t mind being himself. He doesn’t mind saying what’s on his mind, and he doesn’t mind offending people who might not agree with what’s on his mind. Which is to say, he really doesn’t fit into the mold of this politically correct age.

He wears blue jeans to work at the state Capitol, and brings his dog to work with him, too. Some people take offense.

He tells the education lobby enough is enough. There’s no more money to “cough up” unless you want it covered with blood. Some educators take offense.

He says Washington politics has the whiff of the skunk about it. Some skunks take offense.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking Brian Schweitzer is all show and no substance. That coal-to-liquids program the governor is proposing for Eastern Montana is just the kind of creative solution that can make Montana a major player in the national economy instead of a bench warmer.

To read the rest, go here.

Reform is in the air -- Brian Schweitzer was on to it first

2006-02-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Every politician and probably his/her brother and sister are now jumping on the 'reform' bandwagon now that the sewer has overflowed in D.C..

You know it's THE hot topic when the Republicans in Congress fail to select frontrunner Roy Blunt to replace Tom DeLay as Speaker of the House. Of course, all three of the Republicans candidates for the position were 'pinch-your-nose' and select the least tainted types--least being EXTREMELY relative in this particular case.

Well folks, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was on to reform long before reform became cool.

In a John M. Broder/New York Times article about states overhauling lobbying rules, Schweitzer receives this mention:

Some state officials are not waiting for scandal before proposing stricter rules on lobbying in their state capitals. Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, a Democrat, said that in 2005, his first year in office, nearly every bill he supported was approved. "But I didn't get to first base with lobbyist reform," he said. "I asked them to close the revolving door, put cement in it and bolt it tight. I got nowhere."

Montana does not have a "cooling off" period before a legislator or government official can become a lobbyist, as the federal government and 22 states do. Mr. Schweitzer, pointing out that the former director of the state's Natural Resources and Conservation Department now works as a coal lobbyist and the chief of staff for a former governor now lobbies for the State Chamber of Commerce, is seeking a two-year ban on lobbying one's former colleagues. He also wants lobbyists to report every expenditure on a public official, "right down to a cup of coffee."

Mr. Schweitzer said he had no hope that the legislature would pass the measures, so he was planning to put them on the November ballot.

"I'm not following any scandal," he said. "I'm attempting to head it off at the pass because I don't like the smell of it."

Brian Schweitzer to receive national attention -- scheduled to be on "60 Minutes"

2006-01-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

Them city slickers in New York have come all the way from the canyons in Manhattan to pursue to story on Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Well, kudos to them.

Schweitzer is going to featured in a segment of "60 Minutes" which may air in February, although no specific date has been set.

Here's the info from The Missoulian:

Schweitzer subject of upcoming ‘60 Minutes' news segment
By Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who's been the subject of several stories in national press outlets, will be profiled by the CBS news-magazine show "60 Minutes,” his office confirmed Friday.

Crews from "60 Minutes,” including longtime CBS newswoman Lesley Stahl, were in the state filming last weekend. They interviewed Schweitzer at a Helena-area ranch and at the state Capitol, said Schweitzer spokeswoman Sarah Elliott.

Elliott said "60 Minutes” is doing a profile piece on Schweitzer and that much of its time in Montana was spent focusing on energy issues and Schweitzer's interest in promoting the conversion of coal into diesel fuel.

Since last summer, Schweitzer has been talking about using Montana coal as part of a project to manufacture liquid fuels, to increase domestic fuel production.

CBS crews went with the governor last Monday to Colstrip, the site of a major coal mine and coal-fired power plants, Elliott said.

For the rest, go here.

Montanan Rick Bass profiles Brian Schweitzer, Montana and more in GRIST

2006-01-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

Rick Bass, writing in GRIST, provides an in-depth look at Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, how Montana is changing, what effect that might have on the rest of the country and more. Here are the opening paragraphs:

Wild to Be Born
Montana's landscape is changing -- will America's be next?
By Rick Bass
18 Jan 2006

The governor is a politician of such breathtaking dexterity, ability, and raw, hungry, political instinct that your first thought upon witnessing him -- no matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat -- is likely to be, "When does he explode, and in what manner?" For rarely in American politics has anyone this good been that way indefinitely.

Brian Schweitzer has only been the governor of Montana for a year, but already, among Democrats in the state and beyond, I sense a Clintonesque déjà vu creeping in, a relief that all will be all right, that our values are protected. We are not considering how fast and bright such stars burn.

As was Clinton, Schweitzer is incredibly likeable -- he seems sometimes to be leaning forward on his toes, beaming in advance of an audience's appreciation -- but while Clinton was often guilty of working over-hard to placate his enemies, it's easier to envision Schweitzer responding with a real bristle factor when someone gets in his face, tries to be a bully or a malcontent, disruptive of a project that builds economic or community or social strength. Schweitzer single-handedly trounced the Republican Party in 2004, not just driving them from the capitol, but leading the charge to regain the state House and Senate as well -- but, bridge builder that he is, he chose state Sen. John Bohlinger, a progressive Republican, as his running mate.

The new governor displays a flair for visual, even cinematic, politics, and Montanans have become accustomed to above-the-fold photos of him knocking back a shot of sunlit amber whiskey to celebrate the 10 a.m. reopening of a historic bar in Butte, or popping a cork to celebrate the initial stages in the removal of a dam on the Clark Fork River. Already, there seems no end to the roll call of his greatest hits, and no lessening of his appetite for (or ability to provide) them.

He is remaking, in that fashion, Montana political culture -- and, argue his strongest supporters, he would also be able to remake the entire country's image, at this critical stage of necessary self-repair, were his job ever to become that of chief executive.

To read the rest, go here.

Schweitzer gets a 'thumbs-up' from women's groups

2006-01-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer didn't quite 'ace' this paerticular rating but came mighty close.

Women's group gives Schweitzer B+

Associated Press
January 20, 2006

HELENA -- A coalition of women's groups issued a report card on Gov. Brian Schweitzer Friday, saying he mostly did a good job in looking out for their interests.

Montana Women Vote gave Schweitzer an overall grade of B+.

The governor did an excellent job in supporting domestic violence programs and abortion rights, the group said.

Schweitzer got lower marks in other areas for supporting a ban on gay marriage, not putting more money into social service programs and pushing for more coal-fired power plants that could harm the environment...

...Montana Women Vote is an umbrella group that includes other organizations like the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, NARAL ProChoice Montana, Planned Parenthood, Working for Equality and Education Liberation and others.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Heavens! Schweitzer For President blog gets a mention

2006-01-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

I guess we are going to have to hire agents now since the Washington talk shows will certainly be beating down our respective doors and Newsweek, Time and the rest will be after us for the most pithy and eloquent of quotes about the political terrain today and prospects for the future. Watch out George Will, you're just keeping the seat warm for us! Right.

Schweitzer for president?
By DAVID CRISP
The Billings Outpost

Brian Schweitzer for president? Sounds wacky, perhaps, for a first-term Democratic governor from a state with only three electoral votes. But Schweitzer is making a splash on the national scene, and his candidacy is quietly being boosted by bloggers and Democratic insiders who like his plainspoken talk and bipartisan political appeal.

Perhaps, they speculate, Schweitzer is the sort of Democrat who can reverse the party’s national image as big-spending liberals who are weak on defense and out of touch with the rural ways of the West.

On the web, schweitzerforpresident.blogspot.com bills itself as “Your online center for news, views, and action alerts on Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, the next President of the United States.” The site links to pages where visitors can sign petitions asking Schweitzer to run, pledge donations or buy “Brian Schweitzer for president” buttons for $1.89.

The site is run by Jeremy Young, who describes himself as an “Arizona/Maryland occasional blogger,” and Kevin McCarthy, a California resident who describes himself as an “unreconstructed McGovernite.” The men hope to do for Schweitzer what bloggers did to make Howard Dean an early leader for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.

“Why Brian Schweitzer?” Young asks. “Because he is the most intelligent, most eloquent politician I have seen in a long time. Because he knows how to frame issues like the environment and individual liberties and progressive values in ways a large majority of the American people can understand. Because he’s not afraid to stand up and say “No!” to special interests, or to tell the downtrodden that they matter. Because he’s shown he can win in the reddest of red states. Because he’s supported strongly by progressives and moderates alike. Because he is honest and decent and kind and visionary.”

Schweitzer’s projected candidacy also has drawn attention in more influential circles. Roll Call, a widely read Capitol Hill publication, said that Schweitzer’s “willingness to criticize Republican policymakers in plainspoken ways” has some Democratic activists “touting Schweitzer as a dark-horse candidate for president in 2008.” Salon.com, one of the most prominent online political journals, said in April that he “may be the next best hope of the Democratic Party.”

Who’s taking all of this talk seriously? Certainly not the governor.

“I’ve got the best job in America,” he says.

He has called the Roll Call story “kooky.” When Rolling Stone magazine labeled Schweitzer as the nation’s “hot” governor, he sniffed to a Lee Enterprises reporter, “Since Hunter S. Thompson left, Rolling Stone hasn’t been worth reading.”

To read the rest of this obviously fine article written by the most insightful David Crisp, go here. ;)

Brian Schweitzer enlivens the Al Franken radio show

2006-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Courtney Lowery, maven of the New West web site, provides a nice look at Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's appearance on the Al Franken show

Franken on Montana Going Blue, Burns & the Correct Pronunciation of "Creek"
By Courtney Lowery, 1-13-06

Radio talk show host and author Al Franken said Friday, "Montana is a great story."

During the live broadcast of his show from the Missoula Childrens' Theatre with Missoula's KNS 105.9, he told his listeners and a crowded auditorium, "What we have here is a red state turning blue."

And that shift, he said, is very much because of his first guest on the show, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who Franken introduced as "an inspiration to Democrats all across the country."

With national eyes on Schweitzer and his policies, Franken said Montana is poised to teach national politics a thing or two.

The Governor was most definitely was on his game Friday, effectively stealing the show -- hitting on alternative energy, wild lands, small businesses and health insurance -- all the while keeping up with Franken's witty banter. (Which if you've ever listened to the show, Franken can be a hard one keep with on the wit scale.)

The two traded barbs here and there, spending a fair amount of time on "Montana-isms" like how to pronounce "creek" (Franken said a how Montanans pronounce it, the word means something you get in your neck. "In America, it's a creek," he said) and Schweitzer's plans for Montana to lead the nation in alternative energy like wind power and his signature coal gassification proposal.

The article ends with blogger David Sirota, author of the upcoming book Hostile Takeover, due in bookstores March/April 2006, saying:

"When you speak from the heart and you show you're willing to stand up for ordinary people … that's a way to really communicate with people," he said. "Governor Schweitzer and others have shown that is really the way to build a different kind of politics that isn't just left or right, but really, truly populist," he said

.To read the entire article, go here..

Montana Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald on the new 'blue' in The Big Sky state

2006-01-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

Montana Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald talks about the Democratic resurgence and the leadership of Governor Brian Schweitzer in Montana:

All eyes on newly blue Montana, top Democrat says
By GINNY MERRIAM of the Missoulian
January 15, 2006

The national popularity of Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the upsurge of Democrats in office in Montana may give the state a serious political role in the next presidential election, Montana Democratic Party Chairman Dennis McDonald said Thursday in Missoula.

“The whole country is watching what's going on here in Montana,” he told an audience brought together by the Missoula Organization of Realtors. “We've become a blue state.”
People watched with “fascination and wonderment” as Democrats won back the governor's office - for the first time since 1988 - and control of the state Senate last fall.

“Brian's obviously a big part of that,” he said.

At a recent conference in Phoenix where Schweitzer was scheduled to speak, a delayed plane made the governor late. But people waited, just to meet him and talk to him, McDonald said.

That kind of national attention will continue into the presidential primaries in 2008.

“I have to tell you, without being too arrogant, I think Montana's influence is going to be significant,” he said.

Montana's participation in a proposed Western states primary, held earlier than the state's usual June election, could also boost its standing on the political map.

“From my standpoint, I'm just hopeful,” McDonald said. “It would be nice to be a player.”

At the same time, longtime Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns' star appears to be falling in the scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Burns' current tour of Montana may be a move to rebuild his support, McDonald said.

“I don't think he'll run,” he said. “If you just want speculation, my idea is they've told him to come out here and get his numbers up, or they won't support him.”

Polls testing support for challenges by state Senate President Jon Tester and Montana Auditor John Morrison show Tester and Burns dead even at 45 percent each, and a Morrison-Burns race gives Morrison 43 percent and Burns 45 percent, a poor showing for a three-term incumbent, McDonald said.

“Obviously, I'm way partisan,” he said. “But however you view it, we've got to do something about this culture of corruption in Washington. It's an embarrassment for Montanans to have their senator named among the 13 most corrupt in Washington. ... We have a long history of sending good people to Washington.”

Montana Democrats elected McDonald state party chairman in July. A Sweet Grass County rancher and president of the Montana Cattlemen's Association, he and his family raise and train registered quarter horses, cutting horses and working cow horses and run 750 head of Angus and Brangus cattle at their ranch near Melville. He practiced law full-time in California for 20 years and has ties to the Bitterroot Valley, where his brother used to ranch.

Like Schweitzer, McDonald is serving to reunite the words “Democrat” and “agriculture.”

“It's been over 20 years since we've had a governor who knew how to pull a calf or sew up a prolapse,” he said.

For the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer's plans in 2006

2006-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

From the Helena Independent Record and reporter Charles Johnson comes this interview with Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer:

Gov looks ahead to ’06
By CHARLES S. JOHNSON - IR State Bureau - 01/02/06
HELENA — If Montanans thought Gov. Brian Schweitzer was everywhere last year, he has a surprise for them this year.

The Democratic governor won’t be grounding himself in 2006. Schweitzer said he plans to travel even more than he did last year — both inside and outside of Montana.

“The first year I hit the ground running with the Legislature right away,” Schweitzer said in an interview. “We had this school funding thing that we needed to get resolved. We’ve got that in the rear-view mirror. Now we’ve got this next year to start fine-tuning government and spend some time on the road. Without the Legislature, school funding I’m going to expand that.”

Schweitzer said he will travel to major cities in the West and Midwest and wherever he can to help Montanans living there form local chapters of the Montana Ambassadors to help bring business to Montana. He’s already done so in several West Coast cities.

“They still love Montana,” Schweitzer said of the transplanted Montanans in Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and other cities. “They still believe in Montana. They’ll still help to bring business here.”

Rebuffed by the Legislature, Schweitzer will be promoting a proposed ethics initiative for the 2006 ballot. After the final version is drafted and passes state review, Schweitzer and his allies will need to gather thousands of signatures to place it on the November ballot.

Schweitzer has been highly critical of the influence of lobbyists on state government and vowed to impose some restrictions. He has refused to appoint any lobbyists to state boards and commissions.

His proposal is expected to impose at least a two year waiting period to temporarily close the “revolving door” in which elected officials, particularly legislators, become lobbyists as soon as their terms expire. It’s also expected to impose stiffer reporting and disclosure requirements on lobbyists and perhaps add other restrictions.

This fall, Schweitzer figures to play a major role campaigning for Democratic state legislative candidates so his party can win majorities in both chambers. Democrats now control the Senate, 27-23, while the House is deadlocked, with 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats.

Schweitzer said he may not hit the campaign trail throughout the state, but likely would target races in key battlegrounds like Billings.

“I’ll be willing to help some people who’ve been helpful to us,” he said.

Schweitzer pooh-poohed speculation that he will devote his spare time to stump for Democrats out of state.

“Oh hell, I don’t know if I can help anybody anywhere else,” he said. “I might be helpful in Billings. I doubt that they care what I say in Baltimore.”

For the rest, go here.

Mike Dennison on Brian Schweitzer's first year as governor

2006-01-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Mike Dennison/The Missoulian takes a look in the following on what Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer accomplished in his inital year. This is a solid look at Schweitzer's personal values:

Schweitzer: what he said and what he did
By MIKE DENNISON Missoulian State Bureau

Here, one issue at a time, is a look at Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's first year in office - the promises vs. the accomplishments:

School funding: Schweitzer supported an 11 percent, $120 million increase in ongoing state funds for public schools - the largest two-year increase since 1991. He also proposed and supported another $40 million one-time, lump-sum payment to schools, most of which goes for building maintenance, energy costs and Indian Education for All, a program to infuse the teaching of Indian culture throughout the public school curriculum.

Tax policy: Proposed and delivered a freeze of the property tax rate on business equipment at 3 percent, while eliminating the tax for businesses that own $20,000 worth of equipment or less. The latter move eliminated the tax for 13,000 small businesses.

Schweitzer also had promised to examine corporate taxation. He proposed changes to capture unpaid taxes on business and property sales. The proposal was killed by the Legislature, but Schweitzer vows to push for it again in 2007.

State budget: Schweitzer promised to balance the state budget without any tax increases. He accomplished that goal, thanks in part to huge revenue surpluses, and also increased overall government spending by more than $900 million in the current two-year period. The spending increase includes large chunks of federal and one-time funds. Thanks to better-than-expected income and oil-and-gas tax revenue, the state treasury is still projected to have a positive balance of $250 million by mid-2007.

State spending review: The Legislature did not approve Schweitzer's proposed independent panel to audit state spending and look for savings throughout government. The governor says he has instructed his agency directors to closely examine their budgets for possible savings.

Health care/prescription drugs: His administration helped enact and carry out the proposals of Initiative 149, which increased tobacco taxes to pay for prescription drug subsidies, higher Medicaid payments to health-care providers, tax credits to help small businesses provide employee health insurance, and expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

However, six months into the CHIP expansion, 2,000 of the funded slots remain unfilled. CHIP advocates say the Schweitzer administration should promote the program more aggressively.

Schweitzer also had promised to push for re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada and to expose pharmaceutical advertising costs. He's been less successful here, as the Legislature killed initiatives in this area.

Ethanol: Schweitzer supported a proposed mandate for ethanol-blended motor fuel in Montana, hoping to encourage grain-based ethanol production in the state. The Legislature passed a compromise proposal that says the mandate kicks in only after 40 million gallons of ethanol have been produced in Montana for at least three months. Several ethanol-production plants are on the drawing board, but none yet has gone forward.

Alternative energy: Schweitzer pushed for “renewable energy standards” that require public utilities to include minimum amounts of renewable energy, such as wind power, in the electricity they provide customers. The governor says the standards have helped create a boom in wind-power proposals for the state, with several on the drawing board. However, the state's first major wind-power project, which began producing this year, was largely in place before the standards took effect.

Economic development: Schweitzer promised to recruit businesses to Montana, and says his administration has helped on several projects, such as a new DirecTV office in Missoula, a biodiesel plant in Culbertson and a manufacturing plant in Conrad. He counts his accomplishments on ethanol and alternative energy as economic development as well.

Country of origin labeling: He supported the bill that requires “country of origin” labeling for nearly all meat products sold commercially in Montana, effective Oct. 1 this year.

Ethics bill: The Legislature killed Schweitzer's proposal to toughen state ethics laws for public officials, including a new ban on legislators becoming lobbyists for two years after they leave office. He wants to put the proposal on the 2006 ballot as a voter initiative.

University system: Schweitzer proposed, and the Legislature enacted, a new scholarship program for Montana students attending state colleges and universities. About 500 students are eligible for scholarships of up to $2,000 a year.

He also had promised to make two-year colleges more affordable, through public-private partnerships and other steps, and to encourage establishment of $10 million endowments so state schools can offer more scholarships. He has yet to deliver on the latter proposals.

Home-heating assistance: Schweitzer proposed $10 million in home-heating assistance funds for poor households this winter and next, but the Legislature approved only $1 million of the funding. Last week, the governor used his “emergency” powers to set aside another $2.5 million this winter for home-heating assistance.

The Missoulian looking at Brian Schweitzer

2006-01-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

Missoulian beat reporter Mike Dennison has an article containing all political viewpoints about Brian Schweitzer and his first year in office:

Governor reflects on flashy first year
By MIKE DENNISON Missoulian State Bureau

HELENA - As Gov. Brian Schweitzer looks back on his first year in office, he sees a resume any governor would kill for: a state treasury overflowing with cash, high approval ratings and frequent national publicity.

Montana's first Democratic governor since 1988 also lists a string of policy goals that he says he's delivered, from increasing public-school funding to wind power to new business prospects.
“We continue to put the planks on the bridge to attract new business, new investment to Montana,” he said in an interview from his Capitol office.

Even political opponents acknowledge that Schweitzer has shown impressive talent, both at building a positive image for himself and pushing proposals through the Legislature.

To read the rest, go here.

It's values and how you back them up that counts

2005-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

If going after the individual isn't working, attack his clothing and his dog. What will be next? Diet?

When will Montana Republicans learn?

So what if Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer wears jeans to 'work' and enjoys having his dog around? Wouldn't we ALL cherish being in such a situation?

Montana Republicans need to 'get it' that unless they can present ideas that better the common good and follow up with implementation of such, then they are going to remain out of power.

Enjoy the following:

Schweitzer's jeans, dog get thumbs up

By JENNIFER McKEE
Gazette State Bureau
DSecember 28, 2005

HELENA - Montana voters show lopsided support for one of Gov. Brian Schweitzer's more proletariat policies - wearing jeans to work and routinely bringing his border collie to the office, a Gazette State Poll shows.

Sixty-eight percent of registered Montana voters surveyed said they thought it was appropriate for Schweitzer to wear blue jeans to work and bring his dog Jag to the governor's office. Only 22 percent considered the behavior inappropriate, while 10 percent said they were unsure.

The poll, which contacted 625 voters across the state, was conducted Dec. 13-15 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Schweitzer started wearing blue jeans to work from the first days of his administration.

Schweitzer typically wears jeans, a dress shirt, cowboy boots with a low heel, and a bolo tie.

Shortly after his successful 2004 election, but before he was sworn in as governor, Schweitzer showed up with Jag, then just a puppy. The gubernatorial herd dog is now a mainstay at the Capitol, often seen trotting behind the governor or plopped near Schweitzer's feet during meetings.

Schweitzer's jean-clad, dog-friendly approach to government did not escape the eyes of some of his Republican critics, some of whom have complained that such behavior is inappropriate.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer atop the polls in Montana

2005-12-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

According to the The Missoulian newspaper, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is #1 in the Big Sky state.

Schweitzer scores highly in job approval
By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
Missoulian State Bureau
December 25, 2005

HELENA - Montana voters gave Gov. Brian Schweitzer the highest job approval rating of top elected officials, a new Lee Newspapers poll found.

Sixty-four percent of voters gave Schweitzer a positive job performance score in his first year in office. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., was next with 59 percent.

A trio of Republicans followed. Rep. Denny Rehberg was at 58 percent, Sen. Conrad Burns at 51 percent and President Bush at 48 percent, falling below 50 percent for the first time in a Lee poll. All three Republicans saw their job performance scores drop since the last Lee poll in May.

Schweitzer's positive score jumped from 57 percent in the Lee Newspapers' poll in May to 64 percent in December.

In comparison, former Gov. Judy Martz, a Republican, had identical 44 percent job approval scores in May and December of her first year of office in 2001. Republican Gov. Marc Racicot was at 47 percent in May of his first year of office in 1993 and rose to 56 percent in May 1994. There was no Lee poll in December of Racicot's first year in office...

...Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., the Washington, D.C., firm that has polled for Lee Newspapers since 1990, conducted the telephone survey Dec. 13-15. Pollsters interviewed 625 Montana registered voters who said they regularly vote in state elections. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Schweitzer's numbers “look pretty good,” said the pollster, Brad Coker. “People that were undecided about him moved to supportive.”

...Schweitzer: 64 percent positive (12 percent “excellent” and 52 percent “pretty good”) and 32 percent negative (26 percent “only fair” and 6 percent “poor”) with 4 percent undecided.

By gender, Schweitzer received a 66 percent positive job approval mark from women and 28 percent negative score, while men gave him a 62 percent positive score and a 36 percent negative. The rest were undecided.

Schweitzer herding Burns into a box canyon

2005-12-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is playing the 'values' card against Jack Abramoff-infected Conrad Burns, one of the U.S. Senators from Montana. Does Burns represent Montana or the Bush-led vein of the Republican Party?
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Governor: Burns needs to 'stand with Montana' against Patriot Act
By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press
December 21, 2005

HELENA -- Montana's governor is pushing Republican Sen. Conrad Burns to oppose renewing the Patriot Act, saying the measure intended to help in the war on terror goes against what the vast majority of Montanans believe.

"Montana values are not neighbors spying on neighbors," Schweitzer, a Democrat, said Wednesday.

Burns, however, said he supports the act and indicated he expects to vote for renewing it.

The Patriot Act, passed in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was intended to give law enforcement more tools in tracking down terror suspects. Some of the most contentious parts of the act include allowing police agencies to secretly get access to library and medical records and other personal data during investigations of suspected terrorist activity.

Schweitzer said contempt for the act is widespread in Montana. The 2005 Legislature overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing parts of the act as an invasion of privacy, and a number of cities and counties across the state have passed similar resolutions -- some of which call for prohibiting local officers from helping enforce provisions of the act.

At a hearing earlier this year in the state Capitol residents from across the political spectrum lined up at a hearing on the Legislature's resolution to speak against the Patriot Act.

The country is "pretty close to what any reasonable person would say is almost a fascist state, and I don't believe I am being extreme in saying that," Dillon resident Mike Mosolf, one of those who spoke at that hearing, said Wednesday.

Burns, who said the measure also includes help to fight methamphetamine abuse, believes the measure has its place in the fight against terrorism.

"It is a Montana value to support our law enforcement, and a vote for the reauthorization of the Patriot act not only provides the tools for law enforcement to better intercept those who would do us harm but it provides the critical judicial review that is necessary to protect innocent civilians," Burns said.

President Bush is trying to break a filibuster over the Patriot Act's renewal. Recent reports that he authorized spying on Americans have fanned the flames of the debate, and Democrats are seeking more protections for civil liberties.

But Burns needs to break ranks with Bush, and side with popular sentiment in Montana, Schweitzer said. The governor sent Burns a letter on the issue Wednesday.

"This is going to be tough for him, because I understand the president wants him to vote another way," said Schweitzer, the first Democrat to be elected governor in the state in 20 years. "But he is not the senator from Texas, he is the senator from Montana."

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer gets noticed in California

2005-12-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

There are politicians in the Mountain West (and yes, the Southwest) who are providing a blue print for the resurgence of the entire Democratic Party. It isn't going to come from Hillary Clinton or John Kerry or the Democratic Leadership Council. The pathway has been and continues to be engineered in the Mountain West.

Just how do they do it? Image has been helpful but achievements and straight talk are the motherlode. These politcos have struck gold by matching word and deed.

In both 2006 and 2008, the rallying cry is going to be reform and providing government systems that work to benefit the vast majority of Americans, not just corporate contributors. Grab your pick, don your miner's hard hat and let's get to harvesting the nuggets available to us in the form of governors.

This comes from a small town newpaper, the Hollister Free Lance, based in a rural part of Santa Clara County, home of Silicon Valley, in California.

Democrats Need More Will Rogers, Less Michael Moore,

By John Yewell/City Editor
Hollister Free Lance
December 01, 2005

Republicans have been embarrassed by scandal after scandal, there's no end in sight in Iraq, and the president's poll numbers are so bad that even the unpopular Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn't be seen with him a few weeks ago.

Does the GOP have the Democrats right where they want them?

Maybe. With the mid-term elections 11 months away, Democrats have done little to dampen hopes of significant electoral gains, despite a gerrymandered electoral map that, at a glance, holds little prospect for success. They are in danger of losing the battle of expectations before the first campaign shots are even fired...

...The begged question might be: Is there an existing blueprint for that success? Or put another way: Where are those values actually working?

...But the darling of Western Democrats is clearly Schweitzer, a pro-choice, pro-hunting Democrat who currently sports a 68 percent approval rating. That's nine points higher than President Bush got in the state in 2004, and 25 points higher than Bush has there today.

It's also, by the by, the highest approval rate in the country among Democrats governors in states that went for Bush in 2004 - higher even than Virginia's Mark Warner (another likely presidential candidate), where Bush's margin of victory in 2004 was 12 points narrower (eight points v. 20 points) than in Montana.

Schweitzer's popularity is evidence that programs that put people first work politically.

His administration is pursing ambitious energy plans to promote wind power, biodiesel and clean coal, as well as a health insurance program that pays 50 percent of the costs for small businesses.

Schweitzer also created a quintessentially Western program to protect the vulnerable during Montana's brutal winters. "Warm Hearts for Warm Homes" has spurred weatherizing of homes and set up a neighborhood monitoring system. "We have neighbors calling on neighbors," he told Democrats in neighboring Idaho Tuesday night. "We will not leave anyone behind."

Convinced that Democrats can unite around, and win with, the principles that underpin such policy choices, Schweitzer told the Idaho Dems that the Republican lock on values can be broken. "I have a philosophy about elections," he said. "I believe issues divide and values unite."

What do these plain speakin', cowboy boot-wearin', gun totin', G-droppin' populists know that Democrats elsewhere can learn? It starts with mutual respect. In the West, where stridency doesn't pay, no one expects you to abandon your beliefs. But when issues such as gay marriage and abortion come up, you state your piece and move on.

The West is proof that the values Democrats hold most dear - fairness, equity in education and health care, respect for the environment - have allies in unlikely places. When they lose the effete bi-coastal image and learn the robust lessons of Western life - when they speak more like Will Rogers and less like Michael Moore - they win.

For the complete article, go here:

The Winston-Salem Journal says look at Brian Schweitzer

2005-11-27T15:34:00.000-08:00

It would be inappropriate to state that 'Schweitzer-mania' has reached North Carolina but the Winston-Salem Journal has taken notice of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.

Look at this editorial:

November 27, 2005
The Montana Solution
Winston-Salem Journal

Brian Schweitzer has an idea that could make both tree-hugging liberals and truck-driving conservatives ecstatic. In the process, his plan could greatly enhance national security, reduce the balance of payments deficit and relieve the president of the United States from the embarrassment of having to hold hands with the king of Saudi Arabia.

Schweitzer is the governor of Montana, a state with 120 billion tons of known coal reserves - enough to produce liquid fuel equal to one-quarter of all the Middle East's oil reserves.

You can almost see The New York Daily News headline now - "Bush To Saudis: Drop Dead!"

It's not a pipe dream, although the coal-to-fuel process could fill more than a few pipelines between Montana's eastern grasslands and the nation's gas stations. This is a proven technology, already in use in South Africa. The Chinese are building plants, too.

Schweitzer is trying to build the Montana economy, and it makes sense to build coal conversion plants close to the coal fields. If it happens, it will be an economic bonanza for a poor state with a small population.

Coal-to-fuel conversion has been available for almost a century, but the United States did not embrace it because the oil business has so much clout in Washington, Schweitzer says.

But many of the oil companies now consider themselves energy companies and there is interest in developing just the kind of projects that Schweitzer proposes. He's met with officials from both Shell Oil Co. and a South African firm in hopes that they'll build a conversion plant in Montana.

For the rest go here.

To Democrats looking for success: look west

2005-11-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

John B.L. Soule was right. So much so, that Horace Greeley copied him. Greeley's appropriation of Soule's original "Go west young man..." slogan about success to be found in the west is in play yet again with an article in today's New York Times.

And yes, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer receives prominent play.

The Nation
Out West, Democrats Roam Free

By TIMOTHY EGAN
Published: November 27, 2005

HELENA, Mont.

THE gun-loving, pickup truck-driving, church-going, jeans-wearing governor of Montana - a Democrat in his first year - was reveling in his poll numbers on a day when broader surveys found that barely a third of the people approved of their national government leaders.

"Look at these numbers," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer, pointing to the annual Montana State University survey showing him with a job approval rating of 69 percent - 27 points higher than President Bush in Montana and 21 points above the Republican senator, Conrad Burns, who is up for re-election next year. "People seem to like what we're doing."

Across the vast inland sea of Republican red, in states like Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Arizona, other Democratic governors are soaring at the same high level of approval in the polls. They may not look much like coastal Democrats, and they may not talk much like their party leaders. At times, they act as if they would rather catch the bird flu than have their pictures taken with Howard Dean, the Democratic Party chairman who often runs into "scheduling conflicts" with the governors whenever he visits.

But as Democrats look to nationalize the Congressional elections next year, they have been traipsing off to political backwaters likes Helena, Cheyenne, Wyo., and Topeka, Kan., for tips from Heartland Democrats. The breed that has long been ignored, but was forced early on to learn some survival strategies, is now in vogue.

For the rest of the article, go here.

The Billings Gazette gives kudos to Brian Schweitzer

2005-11-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

Contrast the following with the Bush Administration worshipping the 'secrecy-above-all-else' altar. If democracy is of, by and for the people, who do you want leading it--those who disdain the public's right to know or Brian Schweitzer?

Gazette opinion: Schweitzer defends public's right to know

November 17, 2005

Despite the weather, there was sunshine in Helena this week. Gov. Brian Schweitzer sought to protect the people's right to know in a complaint he filed against the board responsible for eight public pension funds.

A complaint filed for the governor in District Court alleges that the Public Employees' Retirement Board violated the state's open-meetings statute as well as the Montana Constitution's mandate for public access in meetings held between August and November. Schweitzer's complaint challenges the PERB's recent meetings on these points:

# Failing to include action items, such as the executive director's retirement and the hiring of a new executive director, on its printed agendas.

# Holding board and committee meetings in secret, having provided no public notice of the meetings.

The governor asked the court to void those meetings as well as the entire selection process for a new executive director and the job offer that was made after the meetings.

The Gazette ends its editorial with:

...Schweitzer had already taken some extraordinary steps in his administration to increase public information about state government. The governor has opened his Cabinet meetings and even meetings in his office to the media.
Montana's governor is making good on his promise of open government. That's good news for all Montanans.

To read the entire editorial, go here.

Schweitzer's coal panacea gets front-page treatment in New York Times, DailyKos

2005-11-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

Governor Schweitzer's innovative energy plan -- which we were among the first to trumpet back in July -- scores a front-page article in the New York Times today:

If the vast, empty plain of eastern Montana is the Saudi Arabia of coal, then Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a prairie populist with a bolo tie and an advanced degree in soil science, may be its Lawrence.

Rarely a day goes by that he does not lash out against the "sheiks, dictators, rats and crooks" who control the world oil supply or the people he calls their political handmaidens, "the best Congress that Big Oil can buy."

Governor Schweitzer, a Democrat, has a two-fisted idea for energy independence that he carries around with him. In one fist is a shank of Montana coal, black and hard. In the other fist is a vial of nearly odorless clear liquid - a synthetic fuel that came from the coal and could run cars, jets and trucks or heat homes without contributing to global warming or setting off a major fight with environmental groups, he said.

"Smell that," Mr. Schweitzer said, thrusting his vial of fuel under the noses of interested observers here in the capital, where he works in jeans with a border collie underfoot. "You hardly smell anything. This is a clean fuel, converted from coal by a chemical process. We can produce enough of this in Montana to power every American car for decades." ...

"I'm just a soil scientist trying to get people in Washington, D.C., to take the cotton out of their ears," Mr. Schweitzer said with somewhat practiced modesty. "But if we can change the world in Montana, why not try it?"

It's a fantastic article, and is being trumpeted on the front page of Daily Kos by Jerome a Paris, the editor of European Tribune. Jerome starts out with some pretty favorable comments on the article, but then begins asking the tough questions:

That's the major drawback of his plan. That 150,000b/d plant (which represents just 1% of imports, and even less of total consumption), apart form its price, will require about 2mt/y of coal - about 2% of Montana's current production, i.e. vast quantities of the stuff. That's why I would not tout CTL as the magic bullet. It's certainly one of the solutions that can be used to diversify gasoline/diesel sourcing, but it is unrealistic to expect it to provide more than a fraction of total demand. 20% of imports - 2.5 mb/d will require $120 billion of investment and a 30% increase in Montana's coal production, a worthy goal for the next 10 or 15 years, but unlikely to be reached without a major political push.

My answer: this reasoning is decidedly circular. What Schweitzer is proposing IS a "major political push" -- and he's got all the reins of power in Montana, the Executive and both Legislative houses, so why shouldn't he be able to pull it off? I simply don't see the logic in criticizing the idea because it needs political capital to succeed when that capital is already being provided by Schweitzer.

Jerome continues:

Governor Schweitzer has said all the right things on this topic, but we will need to hold him accountable for these promises, and make sure that the goal is not to get cheap gasoline, but to get clean gasoline, because the consequences will otherwise be pretty stark - for Montana grasslands, for the quality of air in the region, and for global warming.

But at least he is keeping energy up and center in the political debate, he is keeping the initiative with a smart proposal, and he is associating Democrats with a lot of positive concepts. We should encourage him to continue, so long as the "clean" part is not forgotten.

Here I agree with Jerome -- Schweitzer needs to enforce cleanliness regulations against the companies he invites to mine Montana for his panacea. But knowing Schweitzer, I don't think it's likely he will forget -- he's an environmentalist through and through. Again, I think this is a pretty moot point.

But hey -- I'm glad the ideas are finally out there, being discussed in national media and on national blogs. Mark my words: as I said in July, Schweitzer's coal panacea is going to revolutionize American energy, and maybe even be the Gov's ticket to national political office. Energy Secretary Schweitzer, anyone?

Brian Schweitzer gets even more 'love' in Seattle

2005-11-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

Joel Connelly, a columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, seemingly can't get enough of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. Here he is again, with Schweitzer taking a deliberate swipe at the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC):

November 18, 2005

Big Sky governor has big dreams

By JOEL CONNELLY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

CHENEY -- A sky-high dreamer from the Big Sky State, Gov. Brian Schweitzer aims to make Montana government a lobbyist-free zone and to "create the new energy center of the world."

The mint farmer and cattle rancher -- he once exported bull semen -- has already accomplished a near impossible task. He has revived the Democratic Party in an inland-west state snubbed by his party's presidential candidates.

A statewide poll released last week by Montana State UniversityBillings gives Schweitzer an approval rating of 68 percent, compared with 45 percent for President Bush. Schweitzer is getting noticed in nearby states.

The Montana governor whipped off his bolo tie for auction recently at a Spokane fund-raiser for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. It went for $2,500.

"He's not your Seattle-type Democrat," said state Rep. David Gallik, a legislator from Helena who once worked as a U.S. Senate aide in Seattle.

Schweitzer was quick to make the same point during a visit to watch Eastern Washington play his alma mater, Montana State. "Well, look," he said, "the Democratic Party has allowed a few to be defining its message, but the party is a big tent."

But the governor is no fan of the Democratic Leadership Council -- the centrist outfit, once headed by an ambitious Arkansas governor named Bill Clinton, that is populated by Washington, D.C., lobbyists and funded by their corporate overlords.

"Washington, D.C., is a giant cesspool filled with special interests," Schweitzer said. "Unless we change the culture of Washington, D.C., we're not going to change the country."

In Helena, Schweitzer has adopted a policy of not allowing any lobbyist to serve on a state board or commission.

For the rest of the column, go here.

Brian Schweitzer featured in this column

2005-11-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer received some more ink in this Joel Connelly/Seattle Post Intelligencer column. Be sure to click on the link to read the rest of the article. Schweitzer ends it with a corker.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

West is a moving target on wildlife protection

By JOEL CONNELLY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

In the buffet line at a Greater Yellowstone Coalition conference a few years back, mogul Ted Turner regaled two young Greenpeace activists on the pleasures of shooting and skinning deer, with tips on preparing venison.

The greenies, both vegans, were turning green by the time they reached the salad table.

Distinctive breeds of conservationists are found in different corners of the West. Where you stand is, in large measure, a function of where you live.

Three events yesterday underscored the point.

# Under sustained pressure from Seattle-area greens, the National Marine Fisheries Service upgraded its listing of Puget Sound orcas from a "threatened" to an "endangered" species.

The listing is the culmination of a 30-year battle against threats to the great marine mammals, from their capture by aquariums to hidden toxic dangers.

# On the same day, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to revoke Endangered Species Act protection from the grizzly bear population around Yellowstone National Park. It argued that the grizzlies have recovered and that bears will get top priority in managing 5.9 million acres of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

The revocation sets up a furious battle pitting on the one hand state wildlife managers and the hunting-oriented National Wildlife Federation -- which support delisting -- against such outfits as the National Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice, which fear "open season" on ursus horribilis.

# The ides of November saw resumption of Montana's controversial bison hunt outside boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. The first buffalo was shot by a 17-year-old who won a coveted license in a drawing.

Animal-rights activists were on hand to film the skinning. They have mounted furious protests at the close-range shooting, describing it as a "slaughter" of animals that venture outside the national park.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, one of the Democrats' rising stars in the West, has no qualms about the hunt. Schweitzer was one of 6,000 hunters who applied for 50 licenses to shoot a buffalo.

He didn't get a license but has a debt to pay. Schweitzer must deliver five buffalo steaks to Gov. Christine Gregoire as part of a bet on last Saturday's Eastern Washington-Montana State football game. The EWU Eagles beat the MSU Bobcats 35-14.

What to make of these crosscurrents?

Brian Schweitzer is proud that the Big Sky State has the largest population of grizzly bears remaining in the Lower 48 states.

He has also proposed capturing and checking every animal in the Yellowstone buffalo herd for brucellosis, a disease that bison can transmit to cattle on ranches outside the park.

At the same time, the governor owns a 12-gauge, and points out that Montana has one of America's highest gun ownership rates but one of its lowest rates of gun violence.

"We like open spaces, cherish clean water and love magnificent landscapes with few roads," Schweitzer said in an interview during last Saturday's game.

"We also fish and hunt. We like guns. I don't like it when guns get demonized. Hunters are conservationists. People live in Montana, stay in Montana, when they are paid less than elsewhere. Why? Our lifestyle."

Montana has a population of 971,000. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey, done in 2001, 723,000 of them fished, hunted or watched wildlife. Any effort to restrict hunting rights, or cut off fishing access to streams, gets danders up...

For the rest of the article, go here.

Montanans give Brian Schweitzer a big thumbs up

2005-11-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

Today's Billings Gazette contained an article about the feelings of Montanans towards various state political figures and the such. We zeroed in on this:

Schweitzer gets majority nod in poll

By MARY PICKETT
Of The Gazette Staff
November 10, 2005

Most Montanans like the way Gov. Brian Schweitzer is doing his job, according to a poll conducted by Montana State University-Billings students.

More than 68 percent of the 401 state residents interviewed for the poll taken the first week in November said that they approved of Schweitzer's job performance. More than 14 percent disapproved, and about 17 percent were undecided.

The highest approval rating that Schweitzer's predecessor, Judy Martz, received was nearly 37 percent in 2001, said Craig Wilson, MSU-Billings political science professor and a co-director of the poll with sociology professor Joe Floyd.

The Helena Independent Record gets 'personal' with Brian Schweitzer

2005-11-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

We can't really call it a 'political' article in The Helena Independent Record but it's still a worthwhile read on Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer:

He’s not all politics
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON - IR Features Writer - 11/07/05

A fan of John Cougar and author James Michener, Gov. Brian Schweitzer has a decidedly lighter side, which he’s fond of sharing when not talking politics.

His black polyester slacks don’t quite cover the scuffed toe of his equally black work boots. But as the light glints off the airplane’s window at 16,000 feet, the governor’s bolo tie shines as brightly as his enthusiasm. Even as Brian Schweitzer works the daily grind as the state’s first Democratic governor since Ted Schwinden was elected in 1981, he’s not all politics all the time.

In fact, there’s a decidedly lighter side to the man who has made developing Montana’s energy resources one of his top political issues.

On a recent flight to Washington to welcome the first wave of Montana soldiers back from Iraq, the governor showed he could banter with the best of them, telling stories and, on the way home, even singing a song or two.

When the conversations died he turned to his newest book, “More Montana Campfire Tales,” by Dave Walter, before pulling out a game of Trivial Pursuit and putting his passengers to the test.

“What 1975 blockbuster sees Roy Schneider utter, ‘We need a bigger boat’?” the governor read from the card. The answer came from the back of the plane. “Jaws.”

That was an easy one. But truth be told, Schweitzer said he doesn’t have time to watch movies.

“I might watch a movie on TV or HBO or something,” he said. “But even when I wasn’t governor, I didn’t have time to go to the movies.”

Schweitzer does make time for music, though he doesn’t yet have an iPod and his taste for pop culture goes back to an earlier time. In passing, he did mention Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, but he left the likes of Nelly, Atomic Kitten and Shakira out of the conversation.

Pressed with the question, Schweitzer showed little hesitation as he declared his two favorite songs — John Cougar’s 1985 hit “Small Town,” and Jerry Jeff Walker’s 1975 release, “LA Freeway.”

“Pack up all your dishes, make note of all good wishes,” Schweitzer sang. “Say goodbye to the landlord for me; Sons of b….s always bore me.”

It doesn’t sound familiar but that’s no surprise given how most of the reporters on this flight could pass as one of the governor’s children.

But the generation gap hasn’t hurt Schweitzer’s “cool” factor. In fact, Rolling Stone Magazine recently ranked him as the nation’s “hot governor” in its 2005 “Hot List” issue.

Schweitzer only grinned about the publicity and said his daughter doesn’t think he’s as “cool” as Rolling Stone does.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer and others governors to Bush: don't even think about it

2005-11-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

The federal effort to involve the United States military in command-and-control of state disaster relief efforts isn't going over to well with some of the nation's governors, Brian Schweitzer included:

Governors chafe at greater military role
By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer
Friday, November 4, 2005

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Several governors are fuming over a Bush administration suggestion that the active military take a greater role in disaster response, calling it an attempt to usurp state authority over National Guard units.

Governors in Washington, Mississippi, Michigan, Arkansas, West Virginia, Delaware and Alabama are among those who have panned the idea, questioning whether it would even be constitutional.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, among the harshest critics, said the issue promises to be a major topic at the Western Governors Association meeting in Phoenix next week.

"I'm going to stand up among a bunch of elected governors and say, 'Are we going to allow the military without a shot being fired to effectively do an end-run coup on civilian government? Are we going to allow that?'" Schweitzer said. "We're going to have a little civics lesson for some leaders who are apparently out of touch in the military."

For the rest of the article, go here.

Even the folks at REASON Magazine are getting aboard the Brian Schweitzer bandwagon

2005-11-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well, one 'folk' is, Matt Welch, the associate editor of REASON. Tell me, is this a blessing or a curse?

November 2, 2005
latimes.com
Democrats need a breath of mountain-fresh air
By Matt Welch

FOR MAYBE the first time since the Gingrich revolution rocked their world in 1994, Democrats smell electoral blood in the water.

The conservative crackup over Harriet E. Miers, followed by the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby — both directly on the heels of the bungled federal response to Hurricane Katrina — have unleashed a long-suppressed crisis of conscience and faith within the Republican church.

After more than a decade of controlling the House of Representatives, and after five years of a White House spending binge that would make even Lyndon Johnson blush, Republicans are coming to the awkward realization that they have become the party of Big Government as we know it.

Instead of balancing budgets, eliminating government agencies and paring back entitlements, Republicans have run up the largest debt in history, birthed the biggest new federal bureaucracy in 50 years and created the most expensive entitlement since Medicare. Instead of "restoring dignity to the White House," as they promised, Republican leaders are being charged with criminal corruption and obstruction of justice. President Bush's popularity is getting lower by the week, and a housing bubble is looming precariously over an already fragile economy...

...If voters are fed up with irresponsible Big Government cronyism, why not offer a responsible alternative that keeps government out of people's lives except when necessary? After all, libertarian-leaning Republicans and independents are in play like they haven't been since at least 1996, and there's no saying they can't be won over by the Democrats...

...Montana's Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer, a gun-toting farmer, has won massive popularity in a deeply red state with his pragmatic environmentalism and emphasis on energy production...

For the complete article, go here.

Josh Goodman covers Brian Schweitzer

2005-10-31T08:50:00.000-08:00

Credit Josh Goodman for alerting us to his article on Governor Brian Schweitzer at the 13th Floor Governing.com blog. Additional kudos to Josh for his mention of us later in the article:

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Media's Favorite Governor

I just finished Craig Crawford's new book, Attack the Messenger, in which he claims that officeholders have increasingly turned to criticizing the media to deflect unwanted scrutiny. Crawford argues that this trend is undermining the freedom of the press and weakening our democracy. To me, however, the tendency of elected officials to blame the press reflects something far more pernicious: a lack of creativity.

There are dozens of media strategies that don't involve crying bias or casting aspersions against reporters. A prototypical example is the way Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has become a darling of the press.

Schweitzer has been portrayed favorably in publications ranging from Salon.com to the Wall Street Journal. His trick is little more than being interesting and providing access.

Both of these tactics were on full display in a New York Times article published last week on Montana's upcoming (and controversial) bison hunt. Rather than quote an environmental official or one of the governor's aides, the article quotes Schweitzer himself. It also includes the sort of colorful detail that reporters love about Schweitzer: The governor himself entered a lottery to participate in the bison hunt.

For the complete article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer in TIME on energy policy for this country

2005-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

In our quest to cover all things Schweitzer, we would be remiss not to mention the recent TIME article that contained information on Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's quest to aid in the development of U.S. energy policy:

Sunday, Oct. 23, 2005
Coal is Back
Long dismissed as backwards and dirty, some new (and not-so-new) technologies are turning the rock into black gold
By ERIC ROSTON

At a Defense Department briefing this spring for the nation's governors on potential future international conflicts, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was intrigued by one war scenario. In the hypothetical case, conflict with an oil-exporting nation interrupted U.S. petroleum supplies and forced reliance on alternative energy sources that have yet to exist. The official's message: Leaders should think about tomorrow's needs today. If mining states could make gasoline from abundant coal, for example, the military would buy every drop. "That piqued my interest," says Schweitzer, whose state may hold about a third of the United States' coal deposits. Now he's spreading the word. Schweizter has campaigned aggressively all year to launch such a project. "I have people contacting us weekly, saying 'We want in.'"

Talk about back to the future: Coal, the miracle fossil fuel that jumpstarted the industrial age, but has been viewed in recent decades as backwards and dirty, is hot once again. Technology and economics may be aligning to make the black rock more useful and economically efficient than ever. And guess what: the U.S. has more of it than any place else27 percent of the world's total. Coal-burning power plants fuel half of the nation's electricity. That was true even during the 1990s, when utilities built plants that burn cleaner natural gas. Back then, natural gas, which cost a quarter what it does today, was viewed as the bankable alternative souce for electricity generation. Now, coal is the darling. More than 120 new plants have been proposed and domestic and international demand are soaring.

But what fires up Schweitzer and a growing number of industrialists is an 80 year-old chemical trick that actually allows coal to run cars. The process, in which coal is converted into synthetic gasoline or diesel, was first developed by two German scientists in 1928, allowing Nazi Germany to produce more than 124,000 barrels a day in 1944, the last full year of World War II. Sasol, a South African firm, has the only existing large-scale plants, and operates in 20 countries. In the U.S. advocates have suggested for decades that "coal-to-liquid" production is a way to reduce dependence on foreign oil. At least nine other states are looking into it, including Illinois, West Virginia and Arizona...

...Schweitzer acknowledges some concerns environmentalists and others have about developing state land, but still argues coal-to-diesel plants can be developed with smokestack-free potential. The Billings-based Northern Plains Resource Council says that Schweitzer has not realistically confronted the emissions of heavy metals and other pollution from the would-be plant.

Like most schemes for strengthening the nation's energy options, Schweitzer's is equal parts pie-in-the-sky, politically impractical, prohibitively expensiveand worthy of consideration. . "We don't respond to vision in this country. We respond to crisis," he says. "This is big thinking for a farm boy. But if not Montana, who? And if not now, when?"

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer, Democrats support American Indians

2005-10-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here is an Alternet post that lays out why most American Indians support Democrats and has a few tidbits on Governor Brian Schweitzer's relationship with the American Indian population in Montana:

The Blue Tint of Indian Country
Rose Aguilar, AlterNet
October 24, 2005

During the 2004 presidential election, Democrats and Republicans heavily courted the most underrepresented group in the country: Native Americans. Although Indians make up less than 1 percent of the U.S. population, many live in swing states and their influence in determining the outcome of state and local elections is growing. Perhaps even more importantly, 95 percent of Indians are Democrats.

Thurston County -- the only county in Nebraska that voted for John Kerry for president -- is home to the Winnebago and Omaha Indian reservations. Kerry won six of Montana's 56 counties, three of which are home to Indian reservations.

"The Democrats, I believe, have taken some of the leading steps forward for Indian country," says Janine Pease, a Crow Indian and vice president for American Indian Affairs at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont.

"If you go back and study some of the legislation that's been passed, it's happened under Democratic administrations," Pease points out. "Jimmy Carter signed the law on tribal colleges. Bill Clinton signed the executive order on tribal colleges and on tribal sovereignty. There just isn't any way you can compare legislation under Republican administrations. I spent my entire dissertation looking into civil rights and education acts and the leading pieces of legislation that bring what little has happened in Indian country alive have been Democratic initiatives."

Republicans, on the other have, have "dismantled Indian country big time," says Pease. "The Reagan administration didn't appropriate any money for programs in Indian country and let them basically starve to death. We had 35 tribal programs that were contracted from federal funds for a whole number of issue areas, from the EPA to abandoned land mines. After Reagan's first term, we were down to five. That is starvation."

Century-old treaties signed between tribes and the United States government guaranteed Indians basic services in exchange for their land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Services were created to provide education and healthcare, respectively. Those promises have not been kept, as proven by extremely high unemployment rates and poor access to healthcare...

...Montana's Indians see a glimmer of hope in Governor Brian Schweitzer, the state's first Democratic governor since 1988. A statement on Schweitzer's website reads, "Montanans need to understand the treaties made between Native Americans and the federal government pre-date the creation of the state of Montana. These treaties state that the reservations are sovereign nations."

Making good on his promise to reach out to Indians, Schweitzer has appointed six Indians to key positions within his administration and another six to state boards and councils. "He's done more for Indian country in a month and a half than the other 23 governors in Montana history," said Democratic Representative Jonathon Windy Boy at one of Schweitzer's inaugural balls held back in February.

Pease anticipates major changes from the governor on down. "Where Indians live, they're in the majority, so we have a number of counties that are Indian majority," she says. "That hasn't always been the case. Fifteen years ago, two counties, Glacier and Big Horn, became Indian and so in those areas we now have county officials and school board members who are tribal members and you wouldn't have seen that 20 years ago. I believe it will slowly make a difference in the quality of life."

For the rest of the article, go here.

The Missoulian presents the scoop on Brian Schweitzer's part in revamping education in Montana

2005-10-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

The Missoulian newspaper presented an editorial today that makes transparent the role that Brian Schweitzer is attempting to and should play in revamping education in Montana. On top of that, the newspaper takes well-deserved aim at some of the critics on various sides:

Cries for ‘leadership' are disingenuous - Sunday, October 23, 2005

SUMMARY: Governor's critics want compliance, campaign fodder, not leadership.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer is under fire from Educrats and Republicans to “show leadership” in coming up with a new system for funding public schools.

What the Republicans want, of course, is for the Democratic Golden Boy to say or do something they can whack him for - anything. They're looking for something to oppose, not to support. Nobody should believe Republicans are milling around, waiting for the Democrats' Red State Wonder to tell them how high to jump.
Meanwhile, the Public Education Cartel is calling for Schweitzer's leadership, but what it really wants is his compliance. They have a school funding plan, one that involves pumping a whole lot more of your tax dollars into school budgets, and it seems rather unlikely that they'd prefer something different from the governor. At least they wouldn't if they stopped shouting long enough to listen to what the governor's been saying. The leading advocates of school funding reform are transparent in approaching this matter as an extension of union contract talks, with wages and benefits for teachers and school staff overshadowing all tangible measures of school quality. Consistently, these folks emphasize input over output, measuring the quality of education by dollars spent rather than results achieved. Without greater emphasis on how the money gets spent and the results it achieves, actual improvements to education will be elusive.

In any event, let the record show that Gov. Schweitzer is offering leadership on the school-funding issue. It started shortly after he took the oath of office last winter, when he announced that state government would live within its means. He reiterated that point during a recent visit with us when he noted that the

$82 million increase for public education he signed into law last spring comprises the second-largest increase in school funding in state history and suggested he doesn't see a whole lot more money in the offing. Coming up with a better funding system is the Legislature's job, but the governor certainly has been a meaningful partner in the efforts.

For the rest of the editorial, go here.

Brian Schweitzer and the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)

2005-10-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Even though not being a Montana resident, I am (obviously-duh) a big Brian Schweitzer supporter and hope there is some politically viable way for him to be in the 2008 Democratic presidential mix.

With the recent and past back-and-forth, pro-and-con posts I've read about the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), I want to submit a question:

Would the DLC visibly support a Schweitzer candidacy if he were to become the 2008 nominee for the Democrats?

One would think so based upon Schweitzer's ability to win the governorship in Montana (a state with a registered-Republican majority).and his 'centrist' image. After all, how in the world could the DLC think Schweitzer is too 'left' if he won in Montana? C'mon.

But I submit that the DLC would reject a Schweitzer candidacy and vow to 'sit this one out' if Schwetizer was at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket in 2008.

Why?

Because of Schweitzer's unwillingness to swallow the DLC kool-aid about corporate-financed (influenced) candidacies. Because of Schweitzer's attempts to pass legislation in Montana ending the revolving door and re-writing the rules for being a lobbyist-turned-legislator-turned-lobbyist-turned-legislator...

Hell, these are some of the reason why Schweitzer won the support of the electorate in Montana.

Schweitzer is an economic populist who supports legislation that benefits everyday people, not corporate bought-and-paid-for interests. Such a positon is anathema to the DLC.

Am I being too harsh on our Democratic brethren?

Well, look at some of the DLC's own talking points.

One example sounds pretty good:

We believe that as advocates of activist government, we need to reinvent government so that it is both more responsive and more accountable to those it serves and to the taxpayers who pay for it.

So does this until the actions of the DLC are examined:

We believe that the promise of America is equal opportunity for all and special privilege for none

Just why would (and this is just a sampling) British Petroleum, Boeing, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coca-Cola, Dell, Eli Lilly, Federal Express, Glaxo Wellcome, Intel, Motorola, U.S. Tobacco, Union Carbide, and Xerox, AOL, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citigroup, Dow, GE, IBM, Oracle, UBS PacifiCare, PaineWebber, Pfizer, Pharmacia and Upjohn, and TRW, Aetna, AT&T, American Airlines, AIG, BellSouth, Chevron, DuPont, Enron, IBM, Merck and Company, Microsoft, Philip Morris, Texaco, and Verizon Communications be financial donors to the DLC if it is not for the purpose of influence? Can you spell s-p-e-c-i-a-l p-r-i-v-i-l-e-g-e? No, then try h-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y.

For another helping of hypocrisy, why does the DLC slam members of its own party for so-called 'catering to special interests,' when the DLC does exactly what it accuses others of doing?

I, for one, would rather be representing your average Joe and Jane on Social Security, health care, budget reform, the environment and consumer protection than the financial elite of this country. Apparently not so for the DLC.

But I come here not to completely bash. There are other positions and policies put forth by the DLC that I can and do support.

But until it can demonstrate an independence from being in lockstep with the corporatocracy, until the DLC can show a difference between accepting the 'show-me-the-love' financial contributions that is also the hallmark of the Republicans, then I cannot trust the DLC to honestly represent me.

If somehow it comes to be, which lame excuse will the DLC employ?

Yeah, that radical Schweitzer guy. A flaming lefty, I tell you. Too dangerous. Who wants to back the governor of the Massachusetts of the Mountain West?

Riiiiigggghhhhhht.

Brian Schweitzer has a plan for lobbying and lobbyists

2005-10-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

In today's issue of The Missoulian, the first part of a three day editorial is presented on the subjects of Montana, lobbying and Washington D.C.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has a plan to clean up the rancid practice of lobbying, at least in the state of Montana:

Cash games and taking names in Washington, D.C.

JENNIFER McKEE
Missoulian State Bureau
October 9, 2005

Editor's note: Today, the Missoulian begins a three-part series on the business of influence: how lobbyists represent Montana's interests in Washington, D.C.

HELENA - Desolate Carter County is where the blacktop ends. Literally.

About 20 miles south of Ekalaka, Highway 323 - the north-south route that connects Ekalaka to Carter County's other town, Alzada - becomes a gravel road. On a wet day, it's gumbo, usually impassable.

After trying for almost half a century to get federal money to pave the road, Carter County two years ago joined a growing number of state and local government entities in Montana and hired a Washington, D.C., lobbyist. Since then, the county has spent $92,250 in public and private money to lobby for the road project.

The investment seems to be paying off. Congress gave more than $8 million for the road work in 2003 and allocated another $9.6 million this year, a total of more than $13,000 for every one of the county's 1,324 residents.

Not bad for a sparsely populated county in Montana's extreme southeastern corner, where the U.S. Census Bureau counts 0.4 people per square mile.

Crews are preparing to pave another section of the highway this month.

”I would think within four years, we would see it paved all the way through here,“ said Carter County Commissioner Bill Loehding.

Montana officials who - like Loehding - have hired D.C. lobbyists say the practice works, reaping far more in federal dollars than local governments spend on lobbying.

Alex Knott, political editor at the Center for Public Integrity, a D.C.-based nonprofit group, takes a different view, characterizing the industry as a network of money, influence and power. Often, Knott said, lobbyists donate money to the lawmakers they're lobbying; their corporate clients do the same, and in many cases, the lobbyists are former lawmakers or staffers of former lawmakers making profitable use of their experience in public service. The ongoing scandal surrounding indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff underscores the need to track the industry more closely, he said.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has taken a stand: He won't employ registered lobbyists in state government and has referred to the industry as part of the ”manure piled around government.“ Schweitzer has also questioned the millions that Montana government entities have spent on lobbying, often to hire lobbyists who compete against other Montana projects. Schweitzer would like to see one lobbyist represent the state, something 47 other states already have. But he also wonders why Montana's three-man congressional delegation can't go to bat for Montana projects.

”These (lobbyist) guys aren't elected officials, but they're acting as gatekeepers to elected officials,“ he said.

Other Schweitzer comments in the article:

"...Democrat Schweitzer questioned why lobbyists and their corporate clients would donate money to lawmakers if not to buy a little influence, creating a situation where citizens who want help from Washington may be better off going to a lobbyist who gives money to their congressman than going to the congressman himself..."

"...During the 2005 Legislature, Schweitzer unsuccessfully proposed a plan to spend $250,000 to hire one D.C. lobbyist for the entire state - an idea he still supports. That way, Schweitzer said in a recent interview, the lobbyists earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money could be replaced by one and the state would save money..."

For the rest, go here.

Brian Schweitzer editorializes in The New York Times

2005-10-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has an 'energy' editorial in today's New York Times on what this country can do to rely less on foreign oil:

The Other Black Gold

By BRIAN SCHWEITZER
Helena, Mont.
October 3, 2005

AMERIA has a substance abuse problem, and Montana may have a cure.

It is easy to forget, but before the hurricanes bumped up already outrageous fuel prices, President Bush was forced to ask the royals of Saudi Arabia - the country that gave us 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers - to lower the price of oil so Americans could afford to drive. He was refused.

In truth, he had no choice. America is addicted to foreign oil, and like any addict we are at the mercy of the pushers and require an intervention. Montana, among other states, is trying to help America get clean by promoting a range of modern domestic energy strategies. Yet our biggest idea is actually a very old recipe: gasoline made from coal instead of oil.

Most people are surprised to learn that we can produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products out of coal. Indeed, the process was used in America as early as 1928. In World War II, 92 percent of Germany's aviation fuel and half its total petroleum came from synthetic-fuel plants. South Africa has used a similar technology for 50 years, and now makes 200,000 barrels per day of synthetic gasoline and diesel.

"Synfuels" have remarkable properties: they are high-performing substances that run in existing engines without any technical modifications, and they burn much more cleanly than conventional fuels. The synfuel process, which is nothing like conventional coal use, removes greenhouse gases as well as toxins like sulfur, mercury and arsenic. And the technology has other applications: a synfuel plant can generate electric power, make synthetic natural gas, and produce the hydrogen that many (including President Bush) believe is the energy source of the future.

Montana thinks synfuels make a lot of sense for America, especially since our state has 120 billion tons of coal, more than a third of America's reserves. That's the liquid fuel equivalent of one-quarter of the oil underlying the Middle East. Responsible development of even a small fraction of these reserves could give America control over the price of gas, dissolve the oil bonds that tie us to the Middle East, and create wealth and jobs that would remain on American soil.

Synfuel can also aid military security. The Department of Defense - America's largest consumer of foreign oil - has stated a desire to run all battlefield equipment on a single, multipurpose synthetic fuel. A Pentagon report released last year, which presciently warned of Gulf Coast hurricanes as a major threat to military fuel supply, says synfuel is ideal as a stable, clean, domestically made battlefield fuel.

So what are the drawbacks? The hurdle in making synfuel has always been the cost of production, about $35 a barrel, more expensive than oil has historically been. But as we all know, times have changed. Yes, there will be significant start-up costs for private companies, but risk can be alleviated with long-term buyers like the military and with new federal loan guarantees. And while Montana will do its part to help with appropriate transportation and other public facilities, a stronger federal investment - like the billions in annual subsidies and tax breaks big oil companies have long received - could really kick-start the industry.

Once, our government made such investments. In the 1930's and 40's, the United States made more than a million barrels of synthetic gasoline at several test plants. But the oil industry persuaded Washington to abandon the research. Ever since, presidents and Congresses have been unwilling, or unable, to combat Big Oil and make energy independence a top priority. The pattern continues. Four years after 9/11, Congress and the administration have given us an energy bill that by the president's own admission provides no relief from foreign oil any time soon. Meanwhile, less-advanced nations are passing us by. China, Malaysia and Qatar are building large synfuel facilities; Brazil has a new generation of cars that run on any combination of ethanol or gasoline in a single tank, allowing drivers to use whichever is cheaper that day.

Like all Americans, Montanans are tired of this nonsense. We are tired of paying $3 a gallon for gas, tired of watching third-world nations overtake us in energy innovation, and tired of supporting the kind of tyrants that young Americans have spent two centuries fighting and dying to defeat.

Synfuel, ethanol, biodiesel, wind power, solar power, hydrogen - these are no longer dreamy ideas. They are now real and ready solutions, and with a national committment behind them, America can kick the foreign oil habit for good.

Brian Schweitzer, a former soil scientist and a Democrat, is the governor of Montana.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...

2005-10-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

We have written this before and this week none other than The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol said such---that maybe, just maybe, the American public is going to be so fed up with the Corruption, Incorporated that is presently Washington D.C. that anyone affiliated with Congress, Democrat or Republican, will have no chance for the presidency in 2008.

Oh, for it to be so!

Well, we truly believe that 2008 will be the Year of the Outsider, a la little known Jimmy Carter coming out of Georgia to win the presidency in the wake of the scandal-ridden Nixon era.

That is why we have our plan of presenting Montana Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer with a petition laden with thousands of signatures in 2007, asking and urging that he consider running for President of the United States in 2008.

Straight talk and action, coupled with integrity, transparent values and ethics on display---all will be like manna from heaven to so, so many of the electorate desperate for a time of integrity.

And that description is representative of Brian Schweitzer, who was elected by a majority of Montanans looking for such a change in 2004.

Think about it--Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry loses Republican Montana by close to 30 points while Schweitzer pulls out a victory. Montana became Lourdes for at least a day!

This happened because Schweitzer talked-and-walked his values, stating it was time for the average Joe-and-Jane to have a representative in government, that government policy solely by-and-for the corporatocracy would be over with his election. Schweitzer had no interest in governing as a means of enriching himself or his cronies.

No, Schweitzer is not a candidate for sainthood. He would be the first to say this, along with his usual caveat that such is not a position of any interest to him. What drives him is his vision to return control of Montana to its citizens who just want a fair economic shake, a fair educational shake, affordable health care coverage, a healthy land to enjoy and just plain honesty from its elected officials.

Please check out the Schweitzer For President petition to the right of this post. For your sake, for this country's sake.

Even Rolling Stone gets in on the act!

2005-10-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't featured as strongly as first thought, but national news coverage is national news coverage:

Montana has hottest governor, says Rolling Stone

Saturday, October 01, 2005

HELENA (LEE) -- Rolling Stone magazine ranks Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer as the nation's "hot governor" in its 2005 "Hot List" issue, but a planned story about Schweitzer and his photo didn't get into print.

Instead, Schweitzer received his mention in the crawler running across the bottom of one of the 50 pages in the Rolling Stone's 20th annual "Hot List" issue. Someone from the magazine called Schweitzer a couple of months ago and interviewed him briefly, and the Rolling Stone requested photos.

The Rolling Stone cover features a photo of a scantily clad actress, Evangeline Lilly from the television show "Lost," and there's plenty of female and male skin shown throughout the "hot" section.

Schweitzer was squeezed out by stories such other hot topics such as L.A. Sunday pool parties, a fantasy girl, actor Joaquin Phoenix, singer Fiona Apple, bathhouses and recreational drugs.

In the end, Schweitzer wound up on a page with stories about Microsoft's Bill Gates, the company's Xbox 360 video game player and a couple of video hot games.

After hearing about the issue, Schweitzer said he was pleased to be mentioned "on the boring page with Bill Gates."

Schweitzer said he doesn't subscribe to Rolling Stone, but does take Better Beef, Progressive Hay Producer, Montana Farmer Stockman and the Wall Street Journal.

"Since Hunter S. Thompson left, Rolling Stone hasn't been worth reading," Schweitzer said.

Sarah Elliott, Schweitzer's spokeswoman, said, "I don't think he reads the magazine. He relies on some of more hip staff."

Brian Schweitzer gets profiled by cattlenetwork.com

2005-10-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Here is yet another profile of Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer:

Five Minutes With Brian Schweitzer

The Washington Post, America’s most influential political Bible and occasional newspaper, recently quoted Brian Schweitzer this way: "You know, if John Kerry could do what I do, he'd be president."

That kind of language might be considered bragging in some quarters if it weren’t true. The cattle ranching, mint farming, first-term governor of Montana is a fast learner who got his backside kicked in his first try at political office, a run at the Senate in 2000. Four years later, he shocked the Democratic power elite when he won the Montana governorship by 4 points while Kerry was losing the state to Bush by a 20 point landslide.

Landslide, hell. Let’s call it an avalanche of historic proportions. Heat sensors, helicopters and a dozen St. Bernards couldn’t have found Kerry under the Montana snow pack. The difference in vote count between Schweitzer and Kerry was astounding in a general election where tenths of a percentage point was the norm. Suddenly, Hillary wanted to be his best friend.

Here’s what he told the Post’s Blaine Harden about that first political try. "In politics, it doesn't matter what the facts are. It matters what the perceptions are. It is the way you frame it." In politics, especially states like Montana, he explained, “it’s important to be likable, be self-deprecating, don't be a know-it-all using a lot of big words."

It’s a lesson that seems to escape 21st century Democrats everywhere, much to the delight of the Republican party.

Montana is a ranching state that has an innate distrust for the big East and I’m not talking about the college sports conference. The folks of Big Sky Country (or is it “The last best place?”) tend to cover their hip pocket - the side with the wallet, not the side with the tin of Skoal - and slowly back out of the room when they hear a politician talking with an Eastern accent. They reacted with a speedier retreat, almost a stampede, when John Kerry got anywhere near the state during his campaign.

Schweitzer believes the best way to frame an issue in Montana is to get horses and guns into the picture. Maybe a mule or two in the background would help, a lesson learned after he lost his Senatorial campaign when he discovered a significant percentage of Montana men “are mule-headed, unwilling to change their minds on issues, even when presented with information showing that their views are not supported by facts.”

It was the male gender gap that cost him the Senate post. Polls showed that he won among the ladies but lost the farm when the men of Montana stepped into the voting booth. So he started doing ads John Wayne style - sitting on a horse, often with a rifle in hand. All he needed was an eye patch and a bottle of redeye and he could have been Rooster Cogburn, a character with true grit.

Explaining his approach to male voters, he said, "Ninety percent of them don't ride horses and many of them don't shoot a gun, but my ads said visually that I understand Montana. My gender gap disappeared. I think I have just summed up why Democrats lose elections."

He’s not afraid to shoot his rifle, either – the rhetorical firearm, that is. He hit Alberta cattlemen hard on the trade issue, threatening to slow down the flow of Canadian animals through his state after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously countermanded Montana Judge Cebull’s border closure order and re-established cattle trade. Not trusting the USDA to do its job, Schweitzer said he would require the state’s vets to check every animal. Alberta’s premier, Ralph Klein, followed up on Schweitzer’s declaration of a renewed border war by inviting him to party with an annoyed group of provincial cattlemen during their centennial celebration last month. Schweitzer quickly accepted.

Not content with firing a shot across international borders, Schweitzer called USDA officials “a bunch of stooges” that were in bed with the big four meat packers. He fired this verbal volley at the boys in Washington: "All I said was Montana will watch the regulators and the USDA became unglued because we were going to require that they actually do their jobs.”

Schweitzer yelled long and loud when the feds, perhaps reacting to that political flesh wound, temporarily shut down Ranchland Packing in Butte for violating sanitation standards. He saw it as a cause-and-effect; the USDA denied it, of course. The plant quickly reopened and Gary Wold, Ranchland’s owner, acknowledged Schweitzer’s political clout in the issue when he said "Montana is being singled out, and we circled the wagons here and got to where there's enough pressure on them (the USDA)."

From his command post in Helena, Schweitzer is definitely an influential man in the cattle business. Politically speaking, he’ll have a voice in the national scene when it comes time to nominate the next Democratic presidential candidate. It’s time to spend five minutes with the new man in the national power elite.

Q - You're from a ranching background. Can you give us a little bit of history on the Schweitzer family?

A - Ranching is a big part of my family history, and it continues to shape the way I live and do business. Both sets of my grandparents homesteaded in north central Montana near the Canadian border. Following in their footsteps, my parents made their living in agriculture as well, expanding their operation in the 1950’s when they moved to Geyser, Montana. They raised primarily Registered Hereford cattle and a few grain crops like wheat and barley. In the late 60's, my parents became leaders in the Simmental industry after having the first Simmental calf born in the USA. I’ve been in the cattle industry my whole life. I’ve exported American cattle, semen and embryos around the world. I understand free and fair trade issues.

Q - What do you do to relax when you're not in Helena or battling the Feds?

A - I don’t have much free time, but I have been able sneak in a couple of fishing trips on some of the streams near Helena. Now and again, I make it back to the ranch with my wife, kids and border collies, but as you can imagine there is plenty work to be done there too.

Q - You took the governorship in one of the reddest states in the country. The lone member of the House of Representatives is the far-right Denny Rehberg, and Montana's senators include an ultra-conservative Republican and a conservative Democrat who many consider a Republican in disguise. How did you pull off such a huge political coup?

A - It was not an easy campaign, but I worked very hard and traveled to all 56 Montana counties more than once. In each community, I would head right to where people were gathered, usually the local coffee shop, and listen. Folks from all corners of Montana and all walks of life told me their concerns and their ideas to improve government. I can tell you one thing - the people of Montana are not concerned about democrats or republicans, right or left. They are worried about quality education for their children, affordable healthcare and good paying jobs that will keep their families near them here in Montana. People in Montana want to make sure we have clean places to hike, fish and hunt for generations to come. That’s what we spent our time talking about, the issues that Montanans were concerned with and how we could ensure that government was a help, not a hindrance.

Q - Despite your outspoken position against importing Canadian cattle, your neighbors to the north still invited you to help celebrate their Centennial. How warm was your welcome in Alberta?

A - I love Alberta, heck, my wife was born in Calgary. I had a great visit to Alberta and I was honored to help them celebrate their centennial. I took some time to visit with Premier Klein about the border and cattle imports and we had a good discussion. He understands that I am committed to the ranchers and consumers of Montana and that we will take every precaution available to us to protect Montanans and the Montana cattle industry. I assured Premier Klein that Montana's Department of Livestock will inspect cattle imported into Montana from Canada in compliance with the USDA rule, nothing more and nothing less. If the USDA won’t do their job, we’ll do it for them. It’s important to note that cattle, goats, hogs, sheep and horses cannot be exported from Montana to Alberta. I’ll say that again, Montana is NOT ALLOWED to export livestock to Canada. The border has been used for decades to stem the flow of Montana cattle into Canada on weak health arguments. Alberta cattleman who criticize Montana’s inspection regime is like the pot calling the kettle black. The Premier assured me he would work toward opening the border North for Montana cattle, not just south into Montana. Premier Klein is a good man and I think I was able to explain my position and my commitment to the producers and consumers of Montana. I’ll be back in Alberta again and I look forward to it.

Q - The rumors persist that you might be tempted by the national stage. What circumstances would make a presidential bid a likely proposition?

A - I already have the best job in America and live in the greatest place on the plane.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Two Thirds of Montana Residents Approve of Governor Schweitzer's Performance

2005-09-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

In a state with a registered Republican majority, Montana Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer is getting love from two thirds of his state.

A recent SurveyUSA poll indicates that 66% of Montanans believe Schweitzer is doing a good job.

Here are the numbers from the article:

Montana Schweitzer, Brian Democrat approve 66% disapprove 27%

Talk about across the board appeal!

Brian Schweitzer to host energy conference

2005-09-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Leave it to Governor Schweitzer to take the lead in hosting what is a conference to plan for Montana's energy needs but also a blueprint for the current resident of the White House to emulate:

September 08, 2005
Eight governors to attend energy conference in Bozeman
By Walt Williams - Bozeman Daily Chronicle Staff Writer
The governors of eight states will gather in Bozeman next month for a two-day conference being held to develop a long-term energy policy for the state of Montana.

Govs. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Christine Gregoire of Washington and Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming will be among those attending the Montana's Energy Future Symposium, taking place Oct. 18 and 19 at Montana State University.
The conference is the brainchild of Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who is using it to bring together the best minds to tackle everything from energy production to environmental protection.

"Only by working together will we be able to form a stable, long-term energy policy that protects the citizens and ratepayers of Montana, protects our environment, while further strengthening our economy," Schweitzer said in a prepared statement released Wednesday.

The conference will mostly consist of work sessions, covering such topics as natural gas production and transmission; the state's coal industry; renewable resources; biofuels; tribal perspectives on energy development; and carbon sequestration, which has been touted as a possible solution to global warming.

Panelists will include representatives from the energy industry, environmental groups and a wide variety of other interests.
"The overall goal is to bring together experts from all walks of life to come up with the most effective energy policy in the state of Montana," Rhonda Whiting of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council said. She is one of two people organizing the conference for the governor's office.

The main event will be a governor's panel on energy policy moderated by Schweitzer on Oct. 18. All the governors will participate except Richardson, a former U.S. secretary of energy. He will instead deliver the lunchtime address on Oct. 19.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Joshua Frank profiles Brian Schweitzer, Montana politics and winning the west

2005-09-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer receives praise in this Joshua Frank article for counterbias.com.
(Joshua Frank is the author of "Left Out!: How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush", published by Common Courage Press. To contact Joshua or to learn more about his new book, visit brickburner.org.)

Winning the West: Progressives 'Stand Up'

September 9 2005
Counterbias.com
by Joshua Frank
I N M O N T A N A

There is something going on in Montana. Call it neo-populism. Last November, Montanans voted in favor of medical marijuana and shot down an initiative that would have returned open-pit, cyanide heap-leach mining to the state. Mining companies put up millions to raise support for the bill, but Montanans didn't bite. The barons were defeated.

Montanans also forced Republican Gov. Judy Martz from office. She had a horrible record and her popularity plummeted in the waning months of her tenure. In fact, Martz was so hated that she decided not to run for reelection. Instead of replacing Martz with another conservative, Montanans opted to elect Brian Schweitzer, a wealthy cattle rancher from the state. Schweitzer is fast becoming recognized as a prototype of the leadership the Democratic establishment is looking for. Indeed, Democrats could learn a few things from Schweitzer. He's vocal. He isn't fond of Bush's Iraq venture, insisting that National Guard troops ought to return immediately and he lets up know it. He thinks Bush's war on Social Security is also bogus. He is working hard to put money back into the pockets of Montana farmers and has a consistent record of speaking out against neoliberal trade agreements. Besides, he's said he thinks Washington is blatantly corrupt.

"If I stay in Washington for more than 72 hours," Schweitzer said after a recent visit, "I have to bathe myself in the same stuff I use when my dog gets into a fight with a skunk."

This doesn't mean Schweitzer is a radical by any means. He's got a long way to go before Trotsky enthusiasts will ever embrace him. Indeed, progressives and others in Montana should continue to pressure Schweitzer to adopt the issues they believe in.

That is how victory is won.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer, in his own words, on energy policy

2005-09-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

This entry speaks for itself. It is Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer addressing one aspect of what is so badly needed in our country: a national energy policy.

Gov: Synfuels are the future
Gov. Brian Schweitzer
09/20/05

I have a passion for energy, particularly clean, affordable energy like biodiesel, ethanol and wind power that can be produced in America. So when earlier this year a top Pentagon official told me of the military's interest in using clean-burning diesel fuel made from coal rather than oil, I was all ears.

Most people are surprised to learn that the technology for using coal to make fuels like diesel, gasoline and jet fuel has existed for 80 years, and was used in America as early as 1928. The largest applications of synfuel technology were notorious: Germany in the 1940's, and South Africa during apartheid. Both made their synfuel out of coal when the world would not sell them oil. Today, South Africa produces 200,000 barrels a day of clean fuel each day. Commonly called "Fischer-Tropsch" or "synfuels", these liquids have remarkable properties: they burn cleaner and perform better than petroleum fuels, and require no engine modifications.

Jobs and Economic Benefits

With 120 billion tons of coal in the ground, Montana is as well suited to make synfuels as any state in America. This is why over the last several months I have been meeting with top energy executives, scientists and investors to get the ball rolling on a coal-to-liquids fuel complex in eastern Montana.

The benefits to our state would be tremendous. In liquid fuel terms, Montana's coal is the equivalent of one-quarter of the oil in the entire Middle East. Even by developing a fraction of these reserves, we can create jobs, bring much-needed economic development to eastern Montana, and produce ultra-clean fuel to distribute around the West.

Energy Independence

In the larger context, synfuel production would give America energy independence in the purest sense: American fuel, made on American soil by American workers. With additional domestic fuel supplementing foreign imports, the U.S. would not be at the mercy of price-fixing dictators, or international speculators that cause wild market fluctuations in the price of fuel.

At the same time, we could provide valuable independence to our military, currently the largest single consumer of foreign oil in the country. The Department of Defense, expected to be a key player in the Montana fuel project, needs a fuel supply that is stable, dependable and made in America. Montana can fill this order.

Clean Technology

We all want to reduce emissions. Synfuel moves beyond "clean coal technology" to accomplish that goal. In the production process, coal is first turned into syngas. Sulfur, arsenic and mercury, as well as greenhouse gases, are safely removed and the syngas is then converted to crude products that can be distilled into a variety of fuels that burn dramatically cleaner than conventional fuels. Furthermore, the technology is flexible. While one by-product is electricity, the end product can be diesel, gasoline, syngas, or looking toward the future, hydrogen to power ultra-clean fuel cells.

Montana's Energy Future

Given the benefits of this technology, it is tragic that America has sat idly as countries like South Africa, and more recently China, Qatar and Malaysia, have built synthetic fuel plants. We put a man on the moon 67 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight. It's now been 80 years since the U.S. government first made fuel from coal, yet American citizens are being forced to empty their bank accounts to buy fuel. Four years after 9-11, our federal government has not devised a national strategy for dissolving the foreign oil chains that bind us to the world's dictators.

I, for one, have had enough. Next month in Bozeman, I am hosting a summit of seven governors along with state and national leading energy experts to discuss the future of domestic energy in both Montana and America. While only one of many promising solutions to America's dependence on foreign oil, coal-to-liquids technology is going to be a major topic of discussion at that conference. With an oil crisis in America and a war being waged in the world's oil center, it is time to invest in a clean, affordable American fuel. Working together, we Montanans will lead the way.

Brian Schweitzer and other governors smell a rat

2005-09-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

That good 'ol free market system manages itself.

How many times have we heard that bromide?

Unfortunately, far more times than we have heard of the various HealthSouth, Tyco, Enron, Adelphia, World.com, Halliburton, etc. economic scandals where we cynically surmise that the free market was JUST ABOUT to step in and take control right before all those respective hells broke lose.

Yes, there are those ghouls who live to profit from the hardship and misery of others. Many are currently descending on the Gulf Coast.

But sometimes it not just the amoral individual doing such nasty deeds. Sometimes, it is a cabal at work utilizing precise and heartless decision-making

Congratulations to the appointed officals mentioned in the following article. Nothing will come of the call for a governmental investigation but at least we know where these officials stand.

Gov. joins call for gas price probe By The Associated Press - 09/21/2005
Gov. Brian Schweitzer and seven other Democratic governors are asking Congress to investigate possible gasoline-price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and refund any ill-gotten profits to consumers.
The letter, sent to the Bush administration, cited a study by University of Wisconsin-Madison economist Don Nichols that found the hurricane was not fully to blame for high gasoline prices. The study estimated that for pump prices to reach $3 a gallon, the price of crude oil would have to be about $95 a barrel. Prices for crude have been holding at around $65 a barrel.
Ten refineries were knocked out by Katrina but Nichols said windfall profits are still involved.
‘‘Somebody is sitting on money they didn't earn,'' he said, ‘‘because they were in the right place at the right time.''
Ed Murphy of the Washington D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute said refining capacity was tight before Katrina hit and that it was reduced further by the storm. ‘‘That put upward pessure on petroleum prices,'' he said. ‘‘It's a no-brainer.''
Historically, Nichols said, the markup between the price of a gallon of crude and a gallon of gasoline is about 85 to 90 cents a gallon including refining, distribution and taxes.
At $50 for a 44-gallon barrel of crude, he said, the pump price should be about $2 a gallon, a little more or less in some states depending on taxes. At $65 a barrel — nearly identical to the price in Tuesday afternoon trading — a gallon should be about $2.30.
But as of Monday, the average cost of a gallon of regular was $2.78 nationwide. A week ago, it was $2.95 a gallon.
In Montana, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.82, 31 cents higher than a month ago, according to AAA MountainWest.
Jim Rink, a spokesman for AAA, said many factors influence the price of gasoline, such as state taxes and retailers who raise prices to drive down demand and preserve low inventories. The automobile association spokesman said he would rather see different state attorneys general or the Federal Trade Commission start an investigation.
Besides Schweitzer, governors signing the letter were Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois; Jennifer Granholm of Michigan; Christine Gregoire of Washington; Ted Kulongoski of Oregon; Bill Richardson of New Mexico; and Tom Vilsack of Iowa.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer teams up with United Stockgrowers of America & Ranchers-Cattlemen Legal Action Fund

2005-09-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer displays yet again his willingness to go to bat for the little guy in the following article. Wouldn't having such a person in the office of the Presidency of the United States be such a turn-around from the current and longstanding Washington D.C. method of operation of only-greed-is-good, corporate rule? You bet.

Let Schweitzer-ism out of the barn in 2008. It's time. Check that, it's past time.

September 14, 2005
Cattlemen's Group Wrangles With Its Former Allies
By JIM ROBBIN

BILLINGS, Mont., Sept. 10- In a cramped office sandwiched between cattle auction yards and the looming white tanks of an oil refinery is the headquarters of a growing cowboy rebellion against federal trade policies and the large beef-packing companies they once regarded as allies.
It is the office of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, or R-Calf USA, an organization of ranchers founded in 1999 that says its membership has doubled to 18,000 in the last year.
The organization has found an ally in Montana's governor, a former rancher who last month called the Agriculture Department "stooges" of the meatpacking industry. And it has drawn the ire of a rival beef group and Canadian ranchers by managing to keep the border closed to Canadian cattle for several months this year.
Staking its ground against the Bush administration and meatpackers, who depend on a steady supply of cattle, R-Calf contends that the threat of mad cow disease is still too great to allow Canadian cattle into the United States.
"Our competitive advantage is we produce the best beef under the best conditions," said Bill Bullard, chief executive of R-Calf. The Department of Agriculture, Mr. Bullard said, was "attempting to compromise those very health and safety standards" by allowing the import of Canadian cattle.
For years, most cattle producers were part of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, based in Colorado, whose members include large packers and cattle feeding operations.
But issues like the North American Free Trade Act, the recent Central America Free Trade Act, mad cow disease and mandatory country of origin labeling have fenced off segments of the industry. Producers have found themselves on the other side of many of these issues from packing houses like IBP and Tyson.
"Anything we've brought forward to help U.S. cattle producers be more competitive, N.C.B.A. has been opposed," said Leo McDonnell, the president and founder of R-Calf, who breeds bulls near Columbus, Mont. "As great as the global market is, we're a dying industry."
An obituary may be premature, but the number of cattle has fallen, to 104 million this year from 125 million in 1981, and producers declined to 989,000 in 2004 from 1.3 million in 1989, according to Agriculture Department statistics.
Some industry observers are surprised by the growth of R-Calf. If anything, ranchers are seen as independent types not quick to join organizations. But the group speaks the same language as its members and is narrowly focused on ranchers' concerns.
"R-Calf is run by people who look and talk like cowboys," said Mikkel Pates, a reporter for Agweek in Fargo, N.D., who has written about the organization. "And they are."
...The ranchers' rebellion has received support from Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, a Democrat who has cultivated a populist streak. He says the large meatpackers have grown too powerful.
"They control not only the market, but the regulatory agencies," Mr. Schweitzer said.
"It's a revolving door," he said...

For the rest of the article, go here.

The Washington Post Discovers Brian Schweitzer

2005-09-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Today's Washington Post carries an excellent profile on Brian Schweitzer. Schweitzer diagnoses the ills of the national Democratic Party and details what it will take to win back the hearts and minds of this nation:

Putting the Big Sky In a Populist Frame
Montana's Rookie Democratic Governor Shows Party What It Takes in Red State

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writer
September 5, 2005

BUTTE, Mont. -- The Democratic governor of this red state was discussing his "God-given" political gifts while seated in his gubernatorial aircraft.

"You know, if John Kerry could do what I do, he'd be president," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who was a mint farmer until last November and is now being talked about as the kind of brassy populist the Democrats need to win back the White House.

Schweitzer, broad of shoulder, red of face and sure of self, was barnstorming in Big Sky country -- four towns in 11 hours, sweet-talking local Republicans, praising random Montanans for the excellence of their dogs and slapping backs in barrooms. He was advertising all that he has done for the 917,000 people of his state since they elected him as their first Democratic governor in 16 years. Schweitzer won by four percentage points, while Kerry lost here to President Bush by 20 points.

In the airplane between the mining town of Butte and the ranching town of Dillon, Schweitzer raised the altitude of his pronouncements and diagnosed the Big Picture: how Democrats could change their losing ways, seize the levers of power and be, well, like him.

"Be likable, be self-deprecating, don't be a know-it-all using a lot of big words," said Schweitzer, 50, who mixes plain speaking with ranch dressing: blue jeans, a bolo tie, cowboy boots and, always somewhere nearby, a border collie named Jag.

"In politics, it doesn't matter what the facts are," he said. "It matters what the perceptions are. It is the way you frame it."

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer, Democratic revival in the Mountain West get props in this article

2005-08-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Washington Examiner and David Mark deserve credit for latching on to this evolving story:

Look west, Democrats!

August 30 '05
By David Mark
President George W. Bush's Rocky Mountain state sweep in 2004 was broad but shallow, as Democrats performed surprisingly well in several down-ballot races.

The Colorado and Montana legislatures went Democratic. Brian Schweitzer won the Montana governorship, following up on the 2002 victory of Gov. Dave Freudenthal in rock-ribbed Republican Wyoming. In Colorado, Ken Salazar picked up a Senate seat for the Democrats, running four points ahead of presidential nominee John F. Kerry.

These recent Western successes point to potentially fertile political ground for Democrats mapping out Electoral College game plans for the 2008 presidential election. With the South now a Republican lock in presidential politics, the competitiveness of Western states has taken on increasing importance.
Factors for the Democratic resurgence out west vary state to state, but some common themes are clear. With Republicans controlling the White House, Congress and several state houses, Western Democrats can legitimately portray the GOP as the status quo and argue they are the party of change.

In an ironic twist, Democrats can run as quasi-libertarians, arguing that people in their region just want to be left alone from meddlesome government bureaucrats. Out West, many more people are pro-choice on abortion than in the South. And Western Democrats regularly push to curb federal mandates, such as the test-heavy No Child Left Behind law.
Democrats also take advantage of environmental and land use issues: They favor improved access to public lands for hunting and fishing, which have a ripple effect in helping local economies. Environmentalism is becoming a major wedge issue against Republicans. Western voters last year supported several green-friendly ballot measures. Montanans refused (by a 58 percent-to-42 percent margin) to reverse a six-year-old ban on cyanide leach mining, for example. And Coloradans passed the Renewable Energy Amendment, which requires major public utilities to get 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015.

Gun control is the issue on which these Western Democrats break with their urban and coastal brethren. Govs. Schweitzer and Freudenthal have stressed their hunting credentials and made a point of distancing themselves from national Democratic leaders, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who back strict gun control measures.

To be sure, Democrats have a long way to go in translating victories for governor, Senate and state legislature into Electoral College gains for their presidential candidates. Wyoming gave Bush 68.9 percent of its vote last year, Idaho 68.4 percent and Utah a chart-topping 71.5 percent. These states are not worth Democrats' time, energy and valuable resources. But Montana (where Bush won with 58 percent), Colorado (where he garnered 52 percent), Arizona (where he earned 55 percent) and New Mexico (where he edged out Kerry 50 percent to 49 percent) are all, to varying degrees, viable Democratic pickup targets.
Democrats outside Washington, D.C., have begun to sense the opportunities.
For the rest of the article, go here.

Love this "Life of Brian" headline and story

2005-08-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Kudos to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Carol Schmidt for this 'early' look at Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer:

Life of Brian: Former MSU professor predicted great things for Schweitzer

By CAROL SCHMIDT, MSU News Service

Twenty years ago, when Brian Schweitzer was a gregarious grad student with dreams of hitting it big in international agribusiness, a Montana State University mentor made a prediction that has stayed with Schweitzer.

"'Brian, if you can keep them from killing you over there in Africa, one day you'll come back and be governor,'" Larry Munn, Schweitzer's soils professor at MSU, told him over dinner the night before Schweitzer graduated in 1981.

"It struck me as unusual then, because I hadn't been involved in politics except as the president of the agronomy students at Colorado State," where he earned his undergraduate degree, Schweitzer said on a recent visit to MSU.

Of course, Schweitzer did return from Libya, his first stop in an ag career that also took him to Saudi Arabia, South America and Europe. And after a couple decades as a mint farmer and businessman, Schweitzer launched a political career and was elected in November as Montana's first Democratic governor since 1988.

"Brian was always very outgoing and interested in people," said Munn, now a soils professor at the University of Wyoming. "And he was a 'doer.' It took a tremendous amount of ambition and self-confidence to start his career as he did. He thrived on social interaction and he could take as well as give -- be the butt of a joke, laugh with everyone and come back with a better story of his own."

That ability to tell a good story has held Schweitzer in good stead. Recently, Lee Newspapers conducted a poll of Montana voters that found Schweitzer had a 57 percent job approval rating after his first five months in office. That compared with Judy Martz's 44 percent and Marc Racicot's 47 percent rating, both after five months in office.

Schweitzer's pragmatic and populist politics have also drawn him into the national spotlight. He's been featured in Washington Monthly, and Salon.com magazine recently called him the "Howard Dean on the Range." Salon also said Schweitzer "may be the next best hope of the Democratic Party."

For the rest of the story, go here.

Brian Schweitzer touts a non-foreign energy source

2005-08-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is a topic that has been previously posted about here and elsewhere but it's worth re-visiting, especially if one has been to a gas station anytime recently:

Montana's governor eyes coal to solve U.S. fuel costsBy Adam TannerReuters
August 25, 2005
HELENA, Montana (Reuters) - Montana's governor wants to solve America's rising energy costs using a technology discovered in Germany 80 years ago that converts coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.
The Fischer-Tropsch technology, discovered by German researchers in 1923 and later used by the Nazis to convert coal into wartime fuels, was not economical as long as oil cost less than $30 a barrel.
But with U.S. crude oil now hitting more than double that price, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's plan is getting more attention across the country and some analysts are taking him very seriously.
Montana is "sitting on more energy than they have in the Middle East," Schweitzer told Reuters in an interview this week.
"I am leading this country in this desire and demand to convert coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. We can do it in Montana for $1 per gallon," he said.
"We can do it cheaper than importing oil from the sheiks, dictators, rats and crooks that we're bringing it from right now."
The governor estimated the cost of producing a barrel of oil through the Fischer-Tropsch method at $32, and said that with its 120 billion tons of coal -- a little less than a third of the U.S total -- Montana could supply the entire United States with its aviation, gas and diesel fuel for 40 years without creating environmental damage.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Brian Schweitzer: Leadership & Telling It Like It Is

2005-08-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

No, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is not now nor will he ever be a candidate for sainthood. Hey, even I can admit that!

But if there is some sort of special dispensation available to the worthiest of politicians, well, Schweitzer is leading the herd of the deserving.

Here's why:

At the recent launch of the Progressive Legislation Action Network (PLAN), Schweitzer was quoted thusly:

"We cannot govern this country depending on Washington D.C. Washington is a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America."

Schweitzer also detailed his version of a national energy policy that would make America independent of the:

"sheikhs, dictators, rats, and crooks"

Schweitzer will be pushing again for a Montana state ethics reform bill that prohibits legislators, state elected officials and their top staff from becoming lobbyists unti two years after they leave office.

He will also re-introduce his proposal for a Corps of Discovery that creates a bipartisan committee of business execitives and legislators to determine where waste and duplication can be eliminated in state government.He succeeded in improving access for outdoor enthusiasts by making permanent the Habitat Montana, block management and fishing access enhancement programs.

Schweitzer added $80 million into funding for the state's K-12 educational system over the next two years.
He submitted a balanced budget that projects a surplus of $80 million, without raising taxes, as of mid-2007.

Contrast this truth-telling and leadership with how the current occupant of the White House goes about the 'business' of governing:

Social Security reform: current White House occupant says a crisis is looming (lie) and then initially offers a plan that fails to even address the actual problem (lie).

Defeating Terrorism: current White House occupant demonstrates that Saddam Hussein poses a greater threat to the world than Osama Ben Laden (lie) and invades Iraq--then allows his Vice President to recently state the insurgency is in its last throes (lie). For the sake of the readers of this blog entry and to preserve bandwidth, we've limited the subject of Iraq to just two of the falsehoods perpetrated by the current administration.

Medicare reform: current White House occupant says reform legislation will cost under $400 million for the first 10 years (lie)--when the chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, produced a $551 billion cost estimate but was threatened with the loss of his job if he stated this (abuse of power)

Estate Tax reform: current White House occupant prefers the term 'death tax' stating it is unfair to many Americans and their farms and businesses (lie)--when In fact, less than 3 percent of deceased adults in 2002 had estates subject to the tax, according to the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and figures from the IRS. According to The Tax Policy Center, roughly 440 taxable estates were primarily made up of farm and business assets in 2004.

Intelligent Life: current White House occupant repeatedly opens his mouth, demonstrating basis for Unintelligent Life theory while providing absolute proof of evolution, but more importantly, de-evolution.

Let's choose: Brian Schweitzer's leadership to date and his penchant for accurately describing reality or current occupant of the White House giftwrapping his 'truths' in ribbons of manure and continuing his shoveling coal for Satan--hmmmm, who might just be best to captain this country?

Governor Schweitzer 'inspects' the USDA

2005-08-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Brian Schweitzer is again displaying the difference between representing constituents and representing 'corporatocracy' with the following article:

Montana governor: USDA 'bunch of stooges'
By Adam Tanner
Aug 20, 2005
CROW AGENCY, Montana (Reuters) - Montana's governor, who has fought the importation of young Canadian cattle, on Saturday said U.S. states need to oversee federal inspectors of Canadian beef because the U.S. Department of Agriculture is acting in the interest of beef companies.
"A few years ago, the four big meat companies, they expanded their role in this country. They bought a U.S. company called the United States Department of Agriculture," Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said in an interview. "They are a bunch of stooges."
"The USDA crawled right into bed with them (the meat companies) and they run our internal policy and our international (beef) policy," Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer, a Democrat in a majority Republican state, has led a state fight against imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months of age after a federal appeals court lifted a two-year ban on Canadian cattle in July.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Montana court's ruling and said U.S. imports of young Canadian cattle posed a negligible risk of spreading mad cow disease two years after Canada found its first domestic case.
Schweitzer then announced Montana would test Canadian cattle entering the state and charge for the extra inspection. The Montana-based Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund has fought for a permanent injunction against the Canadian imports.
The governor's move angered Canada and the USDA, which said it inspects imported cattle and that Montana may not have the authority to conduct extra tests.
"All I said was Montana will watch the regulators of the USDA and ... the Canadians, and the USDA became unglued because we were going to require that they actually do their jobs," Schweitzer said.
Critics have said Schweitzer is embracing a protectionist policy, but the governor said he was concerned about Canadian cattle imports driving down the price of Montana cattle.
"Bottom line, I'm trying to keep family ranchers in business," he said.

For the rest of the article, go here.

Schweitzer comment overheard at the PLAN kickoff

2005-08-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

by blogfriend Kari Chisholm:

"We cannot govern this country depending on Washington D.C. Washington is a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America."

Schweitzer also apparently talked more about his coal panacea and declared that America should be a hydrogen economy in 15 years.

Rock on, Gov!

David Sirota gets it --- progressive political reform over party politics

2005-08-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

We're veering off again a bit with this post but it's an important one because David Sirota lays out not only what ails the national Democratic Party but offers a remedy. It is a dose of 'tough love' that needs to be administered to a currently uncooperative patient.

Just how does one perform an 'intervention' on a national political party? Read on.

How this ties into Brian Schweitzer is that Schweitzer understands and practices what Sirota is writing about.

Here is Sirota addressing the United Steelworker Union on August 8:

Progressives have spent the last four years in a state of shock, unable to believe what's going on in this country, and holding out hope that things will get better by themselves. We watch as poverty rises and job growth declines; corporate profits skyrocket while employee healthcare and retirement benefits get eliminated; CEO pay rises as workers' wages fall. Worse, the core economic issues that should be at the center of America's political debate have been depoliticized, while the issues of personal and religious conviction that should be removed from politics have been most politicized, leaving us with a political debate almost entirely divorced from Americans' day-to-day challenges.
This reality is shocking. But it shouldn't be surprising, because it is thirty years in the making. Conservatives long ago realized what our side is only starting to comprehend: that successful politics starts with successful ideological movements, and that those movements are a prerequisite to any serious partisan gain.

In the context of President Bush nominating John Roberts, a wealthy corporate lawyer, to the Supreme Court, it is important to note that much of this movement began in 1971 with a memo from another wealthy-corporate-lawyer-turned-Supreme-Court-Justice, Lewis Powell. He argued that conservatives needed to ally with corporate interests to manufacture an ideological movement that would justify all of the economic results we progressives are stunned to see today. Powell, corporate interests and major conservative funders ultimately took to heart three very important points:

First, they understood that movements based on ideology and ideas are far more powerful than loyalties to any political party. Though many in the Washington, DC, bubble believe that Americans think of their world in purely partisan terms, it just isn't true. People think of things in terms of their values and their worldview. Even the most politically disengaged citizen has some sort of personal ideology, and that ideology will always be far more powerful than any loyalty to a party label.

Second, conservatives understood that if the goal is seeing a more conservative country, then it doesn't matter whether conservatism comes from Republicans or bought-off Democrats. In their subsequent efforts, that meant conservatives were willing not only to go after liberal Democrats, but also moderate Republicans. It is why, even today, you see right-wing icons like Grover Norquist loudly criticizing Republican turncoats--because conservatives realize that movements are built with carrots and sticks, and that those sticks put other potential defectors on notice that there are consequences to ideological disloyalty.

But these conservatives were not ignorant of partisan concerns, which gets to the final point: They understood that if they built a movement around a conservative ideology, the political benefits would naturally flow almost exclusively to the innately more conservative Republican Party. Get people to believe in a movement that supports destroying the government, destroying the tax base and permitting corporations to do whatever they want regardless of social cost, and you get people to be far more loyal and willing to devote time to the GOP than you would if you spent resources on purely partisan activities.

There are many who are understandably nervous about emulating anything that comes from the right. But progressives must get over our disgust at how the right has applied its odious ideology to these tactics, and use some of these tactics ourselves.

The Democratic Party is caught in a downward spiral and is using its supposed "big tent" as an excuse for its weaknesses. Democratic politicians have always said that "ideological diversity is the Democrats strength," but that refrain is now being shamelessly used as a way to obscure the fact that the Democratic Party is ideologically rudderless. The party often permits and even congratulates those within its ranks who sell out America's middle class, whether it be those who voted for the bankruptcy bill or those who consistently vote for corporate-written trade deals like CAFTA or NAFTA. The party elites--many of whom follow the corporate apologism of business-funded groups within its ranks--still believe they can ascend to power on the public's loyalty to a Democratic Party label, even as that party label is almost completely meaningless to much of the public.

The only solution, then, is for progressives to stop solely focusing on partisan politics, and start focusing on movement politics. On every single issue, we must have a clear position that articulates not just a policy stance, but an overarching progressive ideology. Because without a movement, we have no ability to hold politicians' feet to the fire, no ability to develop credibility with voters and no ability to win elections.

For the rest, go here.

Montana environmental groups praise, decry Brian Schweitzer

2005-08-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

The headline on the following Bozeman Daily Chronicle article is misleading because the article itself is fairly balanced---some yays and some nays on Brian Schweitzer's environmental policies to date:

Green group accuses Schweitzer of betraying the environment
By WALT WILLIAMS Chronicle Staff Writer
August 12, 2005

An environmental group battling Holcim Inc. over the company's plan to burn tires says that Gov. Brian Schweitzer is turning his back on protecting the environment.

To make its point, the Montana Environmental Information Center of Helena noted the state's recent decision allowing Holcim to continue using waste slag at its Trident cement plant while it waits for an environmental study to be completed.
The group also criticized Schweitzer, a Democrat, for an energy symposium he is hosting in Bozeman later this year, saying the conference is skewed toward nonrenewable energy.

So far, Schweitzer's record is hard to distinguish from that of his Republican predecessor, Gov. Judy Martz, who often clashed with green groups, Jim Jensen, MEIC's executive director, wrote in a column posted on the organization's Web site.

"The point is, in terms of the administration of government by (state) departments ... I can find little evidence of a 'new day,'" Jensen said in a phone interview, referring to the governor's catch phrase for his administration.

Schweitzer defended his environmental record in a phone interview Thursday.

He noted that his administration successfully pushed for laws requiring gasoline be blended with clean-burning ethanol and mandating that 15 percent of the state's energy come from renewable resources by 2015.

If there is any group that believes it's not important for the nation to be energy independent or to support clean coal emissions, "then I would like them to stop by because they are missing the point," he said.

For the rest (and do read the entire article to get the full spectrum of responses by the various environmental groups), go here.