Jon Tester for U.S. Senate

–from Bill Lombardi

???In the staid halls of the U.S. Senate, Montana Republican Conrad Burns is known for his booming voice and his cheery, back-slapping confidence. But when it comes to talking about his upcoming bid for re-election, his demeanor turns more serious.???

- Associated Press, 10/29/05

Just in case you didn??t see it, there??s an article in this morning??s Great Falls Tribune you need to check out.

When you read the article, you see that Senator Burns is acknowledging what Jon Tester has been talking about since day one in this campaign:
Health care is too expensive, energy prices are too high, and we need a change in direction in this country.

But after seventeen years in Washington, it doesn??t look like Senator Burns has a solution on any of these fronts.

The fact is that while Senator Burns at the end points out that he??s in Washington, that he??s got seniority, and that he??s in the majority, he still has trouble pointing to anything he??s done about these two most pressing problems facing Montana: health care costs and energy prices.

The fact is that back here in Montana, Jon Tester has been a leader on both of these issues, passing new health insurance and prescription drug plans and taking the lead in diversifying our energy portfolio and decreasing our dependence on foreign oil.

The fact of the matter is that Conrad Burns is worried about Jon Tester. Where Burns has his claim to seniority, Tester has a history of getting the job done.

Five years ago, an upstart Montana rancher nearly knocked Conrad Burns out of office.

Next year, an upstart Montana farmer will finish the job.

Tell your friends: Conrad is vulnerable. He knows it. Washington knows it. Most importantly, Montanans know it, because we need a change in direction in this country and an end to the culture of corruption in Washington.

Thanks for your support,

Bill Lombardi
Montanans for Tester

Senator Burns is wringing his hands in Washington, D.C. because his own party keeps shutting down efforts to get Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) implemented. He even goes so far as to accuse his own party of selling out to special interests. Who would have thought?

But here’s the thing. When it comes to COOL, Washington has a little bit to learn from Montana. Frustrated with years of delay in D.C., Jon Tester, Rep. Bob Bergren, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer passed their own COOL bill in Montana, earning a status as heroes among the Montana Cattlemen Association. Republicans criticized the effort, saying it was grandstanding since the federal government would deliver.

If only that were the case.

But while Conrad Burns wrings his hands, Jon Tester rolls up his sleeves and gets the job done.

That’s the difference here in Montana.

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[Note: Jon sent the following email to supporters of the campaign today. To sign up to receive free email updates, click here.]

In the last three months, you raised more money for our campaign than any other Democrat in this race against Conrad Burns.

Thanks to your efforts and support, we??re reporting $324,000 raised in the third quarter, with a total of $382,000 raised since I entered the race in late May.

But the most amazing thing is not the amount of money we??ve raised, but the number of people who have taken part in our effort to bring Montana values to Washington, D.C.

Nearly 3,000 individuals have contributed to this campaign, demonstrating that our support comes from the bottom-up — from everyday working Montanans — and not from the top-down special interests who are financing Conrad Burns.

Montanans are making it loud and clear that they want real change in Washington, D.C.

As I??ve traveled across the state, I??ve heard Montanans tell me that they want access to affordable health care for their families, good-paying jobs, and quality education for their kids.

I??ve heard their concerns about protecting Social Security and their retirement income. And I??ve heard from many people the complaint that politicians in Washington just don??t seem concerned about regular working people.

But we??re going to change that.

You??ve accomplished a tremendous amount in the last few months. But what we??ve accomplished together is just the beginning. Please take a moment to tell your friends about our campaign. Ask them to join us in the fight to bring real change to Washington. They can join for free by visiting this link:

http://www.testerforsenate.com/join/

And if you haven??t yet done so, please consider volunteering for the campaign. Your time and commitment can make a huge difference in winning this race. You can sign up to lend a hand by visiting this link.

Thank you all for all that you do,

Jon Tester

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