After a busy month on the campaign trail–and some spring rain–Jon is home, working on the family farm in Big Sandy.
This week, Jon is working the fields–getting the ground ready for seeding. They had some rain Wednesday night, so Jon got in some calls to supporters this morning before starting work. If the weather holds out, Jon and Sharla plan to begin planting tomorrow.
Jon was the keynote speaker at the Jefferson Jackson dinner in Hamilton this weekend. In a mostly rural county that has long been considered a Republican stronghold, 150 people showed up to hear Jon and voice their support for Montana Democrats.
Earlier in the day Jon met with a smaller group of Bitterroot valley residents in a town-hall meeting to answer questions about issues important to them. Jon spoke to the group about farming, ranching, and the future of Montana. The group was most concerned about the future of family farm agriculture, energy independence, the cost of the war in Iraq, and economic development in Montana.
The Ravalli Republic has the story on the town-hall meeting on their website.
Newsweek features an article on the Abramoff investigations following DeLay’s decision to not seek re-election this fall. Their sources indicate the fallout is spreading–and Conrad Burns is at the top of the list.
But after DeLay, Burns may be the ripest target for Democrats, who dream of winning six seats and regaining the Senate. Burns took more money from Abramoff and his clients than any other member of Congress???nearly $150,000, according to Federal Election Commission records. A lawyer familiar with the investigation, who declined to be named discussing an ongoing case, confirms that Burns is under scrutiny for his connections to Abramoff???in particular, whether he and his staff promoted legislation to help Abramoff’s clients in exchange for campaign contributions or gifts.
And Republicans are concerned. They’ve thrown their weight behind Burns, despite a challenge in the primary from State Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan. Republican Chair Chuck Denowh admits the Abramoff affair has gained traction, hurting Senator Burns’ character with voters.
“One of his characteristics was his trustworthiness and integrity,” says Chuck Denowh, executive director of the Montana Republican Party. The Abramoff chatter “got people questioning that.”
Interesting that Denowh uses past tense in describing Burns’ trustworthiness and integrity.
Ready for a Senator you can trust? Join the campaign today.
When Jon isn’t talking to voters or in the office working on the campaign, he takes care of his day job–running the family farm outside of Big Sandy, MT.
Yesterday Jon was hard at work loading grain and lentils into the semi to go to the cleaner.
To load up the truck, Jon shovels the grain from the bin to the auger.
The auger moves Jon’s product from the bin to the semi. In this shot, Jon is loading lentils into the truck.
Once the truck is loaded, Jon takes the product to be cleaned. Yesterday he drove this load to Havre, MT.
You’ll notice that it’s pretty gray outside in these shots. It’s a perfect time for rain as Jon is looking to plant his crops in the coming weeks. We’ll keep you posted as Jon plants on the farm and works with the grassroots on the campaign trail.
