Pat Davison joins the lineup of Burns’ friends under investigation:
Just as Republican Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana was aiming to distance himself from corruption scandals, a new one surfaced. A prominent Montana Republican, Pat Davison, who recently volunteered as cochair of Burns’s campaign fundraising committee, is now under investigation for securities fraud, according to the Montana state auditor.
Heading into the Labor Day weekend, Montana consumers are paying for Dick Cheney and Conrad Burns’ failed energy policy at the pump. The price of gasoline here is the second highest in the country, following only Hawaii in a national survey of fuel prices conducted by AAA.
A gallon of regular gasoline in Montana averaged $3.12 on Wednesday, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Report Gauge. That was 20 cents a gallon over the national average of $2.82. Montana’s price was second in the nation; Hawaii stations charged an average of $3.34 and California was third at $3.10.
Here in Helena prices at many stations fell to $2.99 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. That’s still far above the national average of $2.82 a gallon.
Interesting Guest Opinion from John Gibson in the Billings Gazette yesterday, related to access to public land in the Crazies. Landowners wanted a proposed road through public National Forest land to remain private.
Enter politics. The ranch owners hired a lobbyist to encourage our congressional delegation to intervene on their behalf. It appears that Sen. Max Baucus asked questions of both parties and was satisfied with the answer from the Forest Service. Rep. Dennis Rehberg sent at least two letters with tones that appear to favor the landowner’s position.
. . .
Then Sen. Conrad Burns included an item in an appropriation bill from his Senate committee directing the chief of the Forest Service to accept administrative access only on the Big Elk Canyon proposed road, whereby only Forest Service employees on official business could use the road - not the public.
It’s clear that with this proposal, Burns’ priorities oppose run contrary to the public interest and close the door on access to a large chunk of public land, a fact that Gibson presents in closing the op-ed.
It’s time these “good old boy” politicians realized that they can’t deal with the Forest Service without dealing with the public. We own the land. They better stop trying to do special favors for political buddies that run counter to public land policy.
Quote of the week
“The only one of Burns’ Washington friends that hasn’t been hauled out here to help save his job is Jack Abramoff, and he’s on his way to the Crowbar Hotel.”
—Matt McKenna, press secretary to Democratic Senate candidate Jon Tester of Montana, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina Republican, appearing in Montana in recent days to campaign for Republican Sen. Conrad Burns. First lady Laura Bush is scheduled to arrive in Montana next week.
In today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Joel Connelly gives the best argument I’ve seen to date for 2006 as a “change election”: the arrogance of power.
The evidence is right here in front of us in Montana. Lately, Republicans like Conrad Burns have done their best to alienate voters with their remarks. And the worst part — they don’t seem to know or care about how out of touch they become.
In the Northwest, we can hope Conrad Burns goes down to a flaming defeat.
. . .
Even after the airport incident, Burns persisted in saying that the Virginia firefighters “didn’t do a goddamned thing” and that members of the elite firefighting team “just sit around.”
Now, Burns eventually issued an apology, but only after a public outcry about his remarks. Voters are ready for a change, and candidates like Jon Tester mark a change of pace, and a change of attitude in Washington.
Montana has a history of turning out great U.S. senators. As Senate majority leader, Mike Mansfield tried to steer Lyndon Johnson away from the fiasco of Vietnam.
Burton Wheeler helped block Franklin D. Roosevelt’s bid to pack the U.S. Supreme Court.
A plainspoken organic farmer from Big Sandy, Mont., could be in that tradition. Jon Tester, president of the Montana state Senate, is pulling ahead of Burns in the polls.
