by Dana Gentry, Corvallis
Are there imposters in our midst? I have been part of our local Republican Central Committee for over a year now and I was astounded to find out that four of our Republican legislators signed a letter that they will not adhere to the Montana Republican platform. The platform is the statement of our beliefs and is the glue that holds the party together. It is reviewed by Republican leadership every two years and amended to keep our guidelines current to issues that our country and state are facing. It articulates our principles to guide our government officials and form a basis for legislative and civic policies. I admire the ideals held within this document which basically follows the tenets of our Constitution and its biblically based values. It can be viewed on the MTGOP.org website.
I was excited to see many bills proposed in the 2023 legislative session that would reinforce the Constitution, something that Republicans give credence to. Unfortunately, many of those bills did not pass thanks to the imposter Republicans refusal to vote the way the majority desired.
One such example is SJ 15 Resolution to Marbury vs. Madison. Rep. Dave Bedey, Rep. Wayne Rusk, Rep. Michele Binkley and Sen. Jason Elsworth voted against this bill. In summary, it would correct the myth that the Supreme Court has exclusive authority to interpret the Constitution and that its decisions are binding on the other two branches. Not so. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government have a co-equal responsibility under oath to interpret and maintain loyalty to the constitution. It is contradictory to the Constitutional doctrines of separation of powers and checks and balances to grant exclusive responsibility and power in any of the three branches of government to say what the law is, or to be the final arbiter of what the constitution means. It is ‘We the People’ who determine the original intent of the Constitution, by voting in legislators who will uphold our ideals. This bill was one of many that could have helped Montanans return to the Constitution and gain back control of our overbearing Supreme Court.
In our view, it’s not the Ravalli County Republican Central Committee that struggles to grasp what it means to be a Republican. Instead, it’s Representatives Bedey, Binkley, Rusk and Sen. Elsworth, who appear confused. If they do not desire to preserve our Republican values, why did they run on the Republican ticket? It seems logical, if they want to represent their own values, they should run as independents.