by Timothy Adams, Stevensville
I’m becoming concerned that Ryan Zinke is going to walk into Congress without the simplest of scrutiny of his record or values from Republican voters. While I’m sure Republicans are eager to capitalize on the abject lunacy that has become gospel among Democrats, this doesn’t excuse their own incompetencies and corruptions. Running the same stale party figures because of vague concepts like “military!” and “free markets!” gave us years of Jon Tester, Brian Schweitzer and Steve Bullock. As a conservative I’d rather see true family-values candidates who stand firm on their principles instead of cashing in, and Ryan Zinke endlessly promoting his military service tells me nothing about his positions or reliability once facing lobbyists and their fistfuls of cash.
When Ryan Zinke left Congress to lead the Bureau of the Interior in 2017, it was an odd choice. Since winning Montana’s only House seat, he was widely believed to be preparing to take on Jon Tester in 2018. His decision to abandon the seat left Republicans with a huge void to fill in developing a competent candidate while he moved on to richer pastures. It was also odd considering Ryan Zinke spent 2016 pretending Donald Trump didn’t exist. It seems like ancient history now, but Ryan and Daines barely said a word of support of Trump in all of 2016. Daines even skipped the convention, so sure they were that Hillary would win and any support of Trump would hurt their chances of bipartisanship after her election.
When Zinke left his seat in 2017, in addition to leaving the taxpayers of this state with the cost and pain of a new election to fill the seat, his Congressional disclosures showed wealth around $3 million. His current disclosures now list that as high as $30+ million. I’m still waiting for Zinke or anyone to explain to me how you multiply your wealth tenfold in just 4 years. Zinke has been involved constantly in scandal involving land deals in Whitefish, his claiming a bed and breakfast no one lived in as his “primary” residence, and his wife active on social media showing their properties in Santa Barbara, Ryan fixing up their deck there, and his wife entertaining people on their yacht. The head of the Republican party, Don “K”, even told Politico that it’s “not unusual for Montanans to have second residences out of state.” Lola Zinke also joined Republicans Ken Bogner and Troy Downing on social media in welcoming Afghan refugees last summer, just weeks before one living in a Missoula hotel allegedly raped a woman.
According to the Interior Department’s internal watchdog, Ryan made improper use of his office to secure land deals with Halliburton executives in Whitefish to help start a brewery with his “charitable foundation.” Questions still swirl over how a small unknown company in Whitefish secured a $300 million federal contract for repairs in Puerto Rico after the 2017 hurricane there. There have also been questions about his use of D.C. area political fundraisers who scam donors into thinking they are supporting conservative causes when most of the money just goes to salaries and benefits of super PAC employees in D.C.
If you missed it, last year on CBS News several former Navy SEALs spoke out anonymously against their compatriots in arms, like Mr. Zinke, who went on after their service to make millions of dollars from book sales, TV appearances, lucrative contracts and fees from large industry, etc. Citing their commitment to service to others above fame and fortune, they see Mr. Zinke and others undercutting their mission and honor by so publicly and profitably using their SEAL status for gain. I admire the humble service of everyday veterans who’ve given for this country, not the bombastic self-promotion for power and money.
Where are the real conservatives anymore? Almost all of our major candidates are rich out-of-state transplants, and forgive me, but the rich hamlets of Bozeman, Big Sky and Whitefish really don’t strike me as best representative of Montana as a whole. Republicans in Missoula couldn’t even field a decent candidate against a deeply unpopular Democratic mayor who continues shady dealings, higher taxes and opaque government with the blessing of the news media. Theresa Manzella is screeching at churches that vaccines are turning kids gay, and that gay people should be scared for their safety because of their sexuality. Where are the people who care about government transparency, citizen participation and good governance before all these fringe issues? Where are the kitchen table Republicans who aren’t rich enough to live in Big Sky or have 2nd homes in Cali?
Where are the people in touch with everyday Montanans fighting for their issues? Where are the bills to stop the constant computerized robocalls? Where are the bills to fight rising property taxes pushing people out of their homes? Did you know most video games for kids today include gambling mechanics? The average child now sees hard core pornography at age 10, with half seeing it earlier. Montana schools struggle to get even half of their students to read, write and do math at a competent level, and those numbers were pre-Covid, which I’m sure are now worse. I’ve struggled for years to get ANY Republican officeholders to even mention or look into these.
I would really like to see some better caliber of candidates. Utah and Wyoming, two states more conservative than Montana, elected Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney based upon their name/brand, and look where that’s got them. Two empty suits who have become D.C. swamp creatures, completely out of touch with the people they vowed to serve. The danger of electing RINOs like Zinke is they can always turn against you for a nice check or TV gig, which he’s already done to Montanans once. Doesn’t it harm the party long-term to elect people without real long-term investment in the party, the state or its values? Ryan Zinke can and will be bought, mark my words.
Are you really telling me there isn’t one mama bear who’s been fighting this school mandate lunacy or one competent lifelong businessman who couldn’t be a more reliable principled vote than Ryan? Since the state has been cut in two, I think an upstart candidate who had the temerity to get a small crew together to knock on doors, talk to voters and make phone calls could easily beat Ryan in the primary. We all know what Ryan’s playbook is. Get as much money from out-of-state and corporate cash as possible and use it to pay D.C. insiders and consultants to blanket the state in pro-military and anti-Democratic messages.
I’m on the verge of just not voting anymore. If my only choices are smug, safety-obsessed Karens who think a college degree and woke judgment of regular people makes them superior OR corrupt figurehead puppets in camo whose strings run everywhere from California to Halliburton, perhaps it’s time for something new. The two major parties have become so enmeshed in their own echo chambers they no longer appear to care about how well government operates or how much money it takes or how poorly it is spent.