In case you were wondering whether Greg Gianforte will ever live down his body slam of a reporter for the Guardian, here’s a clue. The Associated Press reported last week that Gianforte drew boos from the Republican side of the aisle during his brief speech following his swearing in as Montana’s representative in the U.S. House. The murmurs apparently had nothing to do with misdemeanor assault but came in response to Gianforte’s call to “drain the swamp” and for a bill denying pay to members of Congress if they fail to balance the budget. Background noise is pretty hard to evaluate in a recording, but you can judge for yourself here. Perhaps an easier way to determine how Congress feels about tying members’ pay to balancing the budget is to look at the identically titled bill touted by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. Continue Reading →
Greg Gianforte
Recent Posts
Daines goes after symbol, not substance
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So tranquil is life in Washington, D.C., that U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., took time last week to introduce a constitutional amendment banning flag desecration. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Greg Gianforte, Jon Tester, Mitch McConnell, Steve Daines
Incivility, political correctness push all our buttons
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A 2016 survey found that 70 percent of Americans believe incivility has reached crisis proportions. A 2015 poll found that 68 percent of Americans believe that “a big problem this country has is being politically correct.” (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Bill Maher, Greg Gianforte, Kathy Griffin, Marx Brothers
Prairie Lights: When ‘taking responsibility’ is not enough
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If Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte appears in Justice Court in Bozeman this week to enter a plea on a charge of misdemeanor assault, he won’t be able to say anything deliberately untrue without putting himself at risk of being charged with perjury. So, is there nothing we can do about the deliberate untruth his campaign released in the immediate aftermath of Gianforte’s attack on a newspaper reporter? (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Prairie Lights, Ben Jacobs, Greg Gianforte, Newseum, U.S. House
Gianforte learns D.C.’s bullying ways
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In my salad days as a reporter, an angry source stormed into the newspaper office and reached across the counter to lift a fellow reporter by his collar. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Opinion, Greg Gianforte, Rob Quist, Steve Daines
A postmortem look at the special election results
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Until just about 24 hours before the polls closed, the race for Montana’s sole congressional seat seemed to be focused on health care, Donald Trump and gun rights. Republican businessman Greg Gianforte appeared to be headed for a victory in the race against another political newcomer, musician and Democrat Rob Quist. Then came Wednesday night. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Montana, News, Ben Jacobs, Greg Gianforte, Guardian, Rob Quist
Prairie Lights: New life drives away post-election blues
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Allow me to be the last person in Montana to publicly state his views on the recent special election. I’m so tardy because I was in Sacramento, Calif., on business, business of such importance that I couldn’t bring myself to jump on Facebook first thing Friday morning to lament the election of the Bible-thumping pugilist from New Jersey. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Prairie Lights, Donald Trump, Greg Gianforte, special election
Democrats resigned to U.S. House loss
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Yellowstone County Democrats seemed disappointed but resigned Thursday night as chances for an upset win by Rob Quist over Greg Gianforte slowly faded. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: News, Denise Juneau, Donald Trump, Greg Gianforte, Kelly McCarthy, Rob Quist
Officials weigh in on Gianforte charge
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Gov. Steve Bullock and two Montana members of Congress have weighed in on assault charges filed against Greg Gianforte after an altercation with a reporter for the Guardian on Wednesday. (more…) Continue Reading →
Filed under: Last Best Blog, Greg Gianforte, Jon Tester, Steve Bullock, Steve Daines
Sailing on the good, but sinking, ship ‘Healthcare’
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Nothing summarizes the emptiness of Montana’s special election for the U.S. House better than the candidates’ stances on what may be the second-most important issue to come before Congress in the next two years: healthcare. Those 30-second TV ads leave little time to flesh out plans for reforming healthcare. But the candidates’ websites, with virtually unlimited and cheap space, aren’t much better. (more…) Continue Reading →