Secretary Zinke’s $138,670 Door
Saying Secretary Zinke has a few ethics concerns is like saying Missoula has a fewbreweries or Garfield County has a few Republicans. Even the Trump White House is pretending to be embarrassed by the optics of his free-wheeling behavior. Let’s break down some of the most concerning Zinke accusations.
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Of all the ethics concerns surrounding Secretary Zinke, installing $138,670 doors in his Department of the Interior office is arguably the silliest. It’s not a ton of money in the grand scheme of things, but like HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson’s $31,000 dining room set, it makes us wonder what’s going on in the Trump Administration’s office suites back in the swamp.
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Misusing taxpayer-funded travel privileges have been a concern with Secretary Zinke virtually since he was sworn in as Secretary. Most memorably, he took a $6,250 helicopter ride in July to avoid a three hour drive back to DC in order to go horseback riding with Vice President Pence. We could go on about Secretary Zinke’s and travel. Recently, he’s been pressed by watchdogs in the last few days regarding official travel to Pennsylvania that closely resembled a campaign rally for GOP candidate Rick Saccone.
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Whitefish Energy in Puerto Rico. How did a tiny Montana company based in Whitefish (Secretary Zinke’s hometown) score a $300 million contract in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria? Many, including the FBI,want to know the answer to that question. The Whitefish Energy contract is perhaps the swampiest of all the questionable entanglements.
Looking for more great Montana political content? Check out the Montana Middle hosted by Dan West (former NASA staffer and Congressional candidate). The Montana Middle provides a balanced take on politics in Montana, as important state issues are often overshadowed by national news or it just gets too polarized to talk about. The Montana Middle seeks to overcome these problems by serving balanced and informative political programming to those in the middle who want to stay engaged. Check it out here.
Tester Hits the Campaign Trail
Senator Tester introduced his first campaign commercial of the 2018 cycle. The commercial touts his genuinely impressive accomplishment of having 13 bills signed into law this congress. He also noticeably cozies-up to President Trump in the commercial. Probably not a bad idea in a state where President Trump beat Secretary Clinton by more than 20 points in 2016.
Let’s just hope Trump and Tester don’t start trading fashion secrets.
Biden Visits Montana
Biden ripped Trump and stumped for Senator Tester in Helena last weekend. Biden was quoted saying, “Our power is diminishing because of this naked and phony nationalism and this populism designed to clear space for selfish people to be able to operate. So folks, I think it’s important to send Jon back.” Vice President Joe Biden’s speech was received at the annual Montana Democrat’s Mansfield-Metcalf fundraiser. Speaking of Tester in 2018, remember to stayed tuned as we cover the Republican Senatorial Primary Debate on March 22.
Vote in 2018 Montana Brewery Championship Bracket
This week, the Montana Mint (the mothership) announced the 2018 Montana Brewery Championship Bracket. The Bracket features 60 breweries from 44 Montana cities and towns. Listen to the Montana Mint Sports team break down the bracket on this week’s podcast.
Voting for the first round to determine the Sweet 16 ends Sunday at 8pm. You can vote at www.montan-mint.com and/or on Twitter.
Cheers to good beers!
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