by Larry Keogh, Hamilton
There sure is a lotta spending going on in Montana for the election coming up.
Just this week I have received a couple more cards sponsored by out of state organizations informing me of how an incumbent candidate hasn’t been working for me, a Montanan, for years now. Weird that they would promote an alternate candidate that hasn’t been in the state nearly as long as the other candidate has been in office.
I notice the dirt mining that has been going on. A whole lotta mining for little dirt and nary a trace of substance.
Yep, seems that there is all kinds of money available to buy a Montana election. We’ve seen this before, though. We already have a Senator that bought his seat, a Congressman that bought his seat, a Governor that bought his seat. I reckon that as long as Montana keeps her “for sale” sign up, there will be a representative that will pony up the bucks to be our representative.
Weird though. I’m an American, a transplanted Montanan (other than about 6% of our state’s population we or our ancestors are all here from somewhere else), a Veteran, and when I cast my vote, I cast it for someone to represent me.
Weird again, I suppose, I am not wealthy – I grew up in Montana. I am able to recognize the difference between business and governing. Business is to generate a profit and government is to benefit the people. Optimally a business will benefit the people. Being good at one isn’t always a qualifier for being good at the other. Being bad at one isn’t a disqualifier for the other, though maybe it should be. I recognize that the two need to work together.
There sure is a lotta spending going on by organizations outside Montana, trying to buy your vote. Mine isn’t for sale. My vote will be for candidates that are able to represent me at our federal, state and local level of government. I reckon I don’t need some yahoo from outta state selling me their idea of what is good for Montana. Where does their qualification come from anyway? Money? I hope that I’m not the only one that isn’t going to sell my vote. What about you? Will your vote be formed (by someone else) or an informed vote? Is your vote for sale to the highest spender? Or will you vote for someone that can represent you?