by Tara Jones, Dillon
Representatives like David Bedey are not confused about who they work for. In response to Shannon Mannes’ recent article in the Dillon Tribune, “Who are the Party Bosses?” It seems many Republican legislators are.
Who the bosses are NOT: outspoken, power-hungry politicians who think their opinion is the only opinion.
Out of state dark money
“Dark money” is anonymously funded corporations to influence policy and legislation making it more favorable for their industry, or wealthy individuals/special interest groups promoting personal, political, or economic agendas.
An example of one of these groups that’s extremely active in Montana is Americans for Prosperity, a northern Virginia based organi-zation founded by the Koch brothers that has already spent over $420,000 in Montana in 2026 attacking Republicans deemed out of step with the interests of their faceless funders.
This matters because organizations like Americans for Prosperity who list legislators with a score of how well they are matching up with the Republican party’s platform disallows those voted into a legislative role to think inde-pendently and vote on bills which they believe are best for Montanans, regardless of staunch “these-are-the-rules-you’ll-follow-if-you-say-you’re-one-of-us” threats.
As for Mr. Maness’ proud suggestion that the MTGOP is holding Republican legislators “accountable” for their role in government, this is a swing and a miss. Perhaps the state budget needed to grow after education needs were unfunded in the past, as evidenced by lacking proficiency scores for 8th grade reading and math, a trendline only a local representative using critical thinking skills would be able to see.
I certainly understand Maness’ concern that those running for election should not lie to voters about who they are. This is valid. So why are these dark money groups making up significant lies about honest candidates? Why should their opinions be the only ones that bear the Republican brand?
Who the bosses ACTUALLY ARE: you and me, your neighbors and coworkers. You get the idea.
When somebody gets a job, the boss is the one that gives it to them. Constituents deter-mine who gets the job by way of votes, and elected officials have to reapply every election cycle.
MTGOP in-fighting and ugly acts towards legislators who put their hearts and souls into doing what they think is right isn’t a group I see myself represented by. A word of warning from one regular Montana born-and-raised Republican; you all might be doing yourselves more harm than good with this whole deal. Petty playground bullies don’t get to decide who is part of the in-crowd. That kind of behavior is exactly what it seems like: schoolyard bull.
Vote David Bedey in Senate District 43.
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