by David Leslie, Corvallis
You don’t have to check recent census data top know Ravalli County has a significant military veteran population. Visit any public space, grocery store, and annual county fair or a farmers market, and you will see many folks of retirement age proudly wearing ball caps signaling their branch of service. Marines and Navy seem to dominate with Army not far behind.
Veteran groups in the state, and nationally, have voiced strong support for Montana’s senior senator Jon Tester.
And for good reason. The three-term Democrat is chairman of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee, and never stops working on behalf of these American heroes. Tester was instrumental in securing funds to benefit the VA clinic in Hamilton that will expand its facilities to more than 7,000 square feet, five times the size of the current clinic AND provide a variety of enhanced services including women’s health, primary care, outpatient mental health therapy, tele-health services and laboratory support.
These veterans who served our nation so selflessly and are lucky enough to live here in the Bitterroot deserve the very best health care possible.
Jon Tester has my vote to ensure he can keep serving the people of Montana, no matter their political affiliation, income level or cultural background. I hope he’ll have yours too.
William W Matthew says
I’ve voted for Tester each time he has come up mainly because of his position on the VA committee however Over the last several campaigns I have noticed that most things he claims as helping us with have been put out by other senators and he just adds his name and trots them out as his idea I don’t know who I’ll vote for this time but I’m becoming a firm believer in term limits.
I’m not touting anybody but look at what the person you want to vote for has actually done and what he says he has done or will do. Always remember the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story. Fairy tales start with one upon a time and sea stories start with this is an A1 no #$@&&%^
L. says
Helen, you’ve gone off the rails again. Tester has consistently, and steadily worked to serve the needs of Montana citizens, particularly the veterans who deserve so much. You need a new hobby.
Helen Sabin says
DAVID – TAINTED TESTER IS STEALING IDEAS AND EVEN LANGUAGE FROM BARACK OBAMA. HE IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY.
Go look at Obama and his SHUTTING THE DOOR. Then look at Tainted Tester:
Go look at Tester and his SHUTTING THE DOOR.
Sheehey is a better candidate – Tester is in the pocket of the lobbyists – check OPEN SECRETS!
Clark P Lee says
Yep. We have gone from the ‘do nothing’ Democrats to the ‘I don’t want to do anything’ republicans.
Good thing we have a choice, eh?
helen Sabin says
David – The vets I have talked to want the new guy, Sheehey, as he is a former vet , a conservative, a rancher and not a member of the congress and politics as usual. I am surprised that you as a former navy? members would support Tester but you are a democrat so that explains that.
NBC reports that Tester’s ethics clash with the money he gets from lobbyists: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/montana-sen-jon-tester-ethics-crusade-campaign-war-chest-2024-rcna104354
We do NOT want more of the same old….same old..nor another Democrat to screw up our country like Biden has done. Fourth term? The founding fathers did NOT want long term politicians in office and tester has been in office too long…corruption takes over and possibly is true in testers case. See below:
“…:When Jon Tester first ran for Senate in 2006, the Montana Democrat promised to change the culture in Washington, in part by promptly disclosing all meetings with lobbyists and refusing to be lobbied by former colleagues.
Now seeking a fourth term, Tester is once more running as an ethics crusader, again introducing a bill that would ban members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists.
But Tester’s record over 16 years in office hasn’t always aligned with the narrative he has cultivated, nor has it always met the high standards he has set for himself and proposed for others.
Since 2006, at least two dozen former senators and House members who have gone on to lobbying careers have contributed personally or through their old campaign committees more than $100,000 combined to Tester’s campaigns and affiliated PACs, records reviewed by NBC News show. While there is no indication that any of the donations were made explicitly with political influence in mind, they are emblematic of the revolving-door behavior that Tester has long railed against publicly.
Tester is ethics challenged. We need NEW NAVY BLOOD and someone who has actually FOUGHT for this country not against it.
Carlotta Grandstaff says
Helen,
The vet I’m married to has received assistance many times from Sen. Tester and his dedicated VA staffer Chad Campbell. We’re both very grateful to the senator not only for his tireless support and obvious concern for veterans, but for his and his staff’s skill and willingness to help us navigate the often-confusing VA bureaucracy. Sen. Tester is the only representative from Montana who truly represents veterans and without him we’d have no champion in Congress.