Free Republic

Brian Schweitzer, the former Democratic governor of Montana who may run for president in 2016, spoke Wednesday night to Progress Iowa, a liberal grassroots organization, in Altoona, Iowa. In his speech, Schweitzer criticized Democrats who voted for the Iraq war, a group that includes a potential rival for the Democratic nomination: Hillary Clinton.

The White House is set to select outgoing Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) as its pick for ambassador to China, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and a Baucus ally confirmed Wednesday. Baucus, 72, previously announced that he won't seek reelection to the Senate in 2014. ... Assuming Baucus is confirmed sometime in 2014, it means there will be a vacancy in his seat. Gov. Steve Bullock (D) will get to make the appointment for the final year of Baucus's term. Bullock could pick his lieutenant governor, John Walsh, who is already running for the seat in 2014. But Walsh faces a primary...

A guest on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program declared that Idaho, Utah and Wyoming are racist states where black people aren’t welcome. The outrageous comments were made by black civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, who verbally sparred with Hannity and Crystal Wright, editor of Conservative Black Chick. Terrell said the fact that African-Americans make up less than two percent of the population in Idaho and Utah indicates that black people are not welcome there. “Idaho and Utah, they don’t promote blacks to go to those states. We have private clubs that are all-white and a housing pattern that is all-white,”...

Yellowstone's grizzlies, now classified as a threatened species, were briefly removed from protected status by the federal government in 2007, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared that the outsized, hump-shouldered bears had made a healthy comeback. At the time, the number of grizzlies in the region had exceeded the government's recovery goal of 500 bears, the government said. But conservationists successfully challenged the de-listing in court, arguing that the government discounted climate changes ... On Wednesday, members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee sought to reverse that decision, recommending a new de-listing after reviewing a report suggesting Yellowstone's...

As Christmas nears, two local school districts find themselves being drawn unwillingly into the battle against religion in the public square — but both districts maintain that allowing students to participate in traditional Christmas concerts does not violate anyone’s rights. Choirs from Glacier, Flathead and Whitefish high schools will perform as planned today and Friday during the “Peace on Earth Community Christmas Celebration” despite receiving requests from the Freedom from Religion Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union of Montana to cancel. The event in question is billed as a celebration of “the birth of our savior Jesus Christ,” featuring hundreds...

A new plan to protect the sage grouse in eastern Oregon would disproportionately affect ranchers in certain designated areas. The proposal would cut grazing by about 118,000 acres in the region. Cattle grazing reductions likely in some areas under proposal. Some Oregon ranchers would be disproportionately harmed by grazing restrictions under a proposed plan to protect sage grouse, according to leaders of a state cattlemen’s group. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management recently offered a draft plan for managing the greater sage grouse, a candidate for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Past experience in Idaho, northeastern Oregon and Washington state illustrate that it's time to take gray wolves completely off the federal list of endangered species. The West’s wolf problem started in 1995 and 1996. That’s when 66 wolves from Canada were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. Those wolves multiplied and spread into Wyoming, Utah and Oregon. They also took up residence in Washington state and Montana, where other wolves from Canada already lived. Today at least 1,674 wolves live in 321 packs within the region, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That’s in addition to the...

"Our lawsuit is designed to challenge the federal Commerce Clause power," Marbut said. "That is, the power given to Congress in the Constitution to regulate commerce among the state's, which has been construed to allow the federal government to prohibit any economic activity within state. And we think that that's a transgression."

Wildlife lovers clamoring to bring gray wolves to Colorado may want to pay attention to those wooden outhouse-style structures in rural Catron County, New Mexico. They’re called “kid cages,” and they’re built to protect children waiting at school bus stops–from wolves. “The wolf issue is an example, especially with the kid cages, about how you’re putting the interest of wildlife over the interests of human beings,” said filmmaker David Spady. “Every American should be concerned about seeing kids in cages and wolves out wandering around freely.” Spady’s remarks came during a Tuesday screening of his film, “Wolves in Government Clothing,”...

PPP's first Montana Senate poll since Steve Daines officially got into the race finds him starting out with pretty substantial leads for both the general and primary elections. Daines leads Democratic challengers John Bohlinger and John Walsh by spreads of 51/36 and 52/35 respectively. He also has a 66/7 lead in the primary over Champ Edmunds. Daines' leads aren't a function of his being particularly popular. He has a 37/42 approval spread, down a net 13 points from June when he was at 41/33. It does appear anger over the shutdown has had some effect on his image. But the...

Republicans see Montana’s open Senate seat as a key piece of their puzzle to win the chamber next year — and a new poll suggests that Rep. Steve Daines, the top GOP candidate in the race, is in good shape to pick up the seat. He leads both Democratic candidates, current Lt. Gov. John Walsh and former Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger, by double digits in the survey from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. Against Walsh, national Democrats’ preferred candidate, Daines leads by 17 points, 52 percent to 35 percent. Bohlinger does slightly better than Walsh, but he’s still far...

WILLISTON, N.D. – The entire U.S. Williston Basin produced more than 1 million barrels of oil per day in September, driven by another record month of North Dakota oil production. North Dakota produced 931,940 barrels per day, a 2 percent increase over August, according to preliminary numbers released Friday by the Department of Mineral Resources. The U.S. Williston Basin also includes portions of South Dakota, which produced 5,017 barrels per day in September, and Montana, which produced 75,460 barrels per day in August. ... Bakken oil production in North Dakota and Montana is projected to top 1 million barrels of...

HELENA — The Obama administration’s attempt Thursday to allow people to keep old health-insurance plans slated for cancellation is creating more confusion in an already tumultuous market, Montana’s insurance commissioner said. “This really does kind of turn everything on its head, in terms of how we’ve been operating for the past three-and-a-half years,” said Monica Lindeen, a Democrat. “This is causing a lot of confusion for all of the (health insurance) markets across Montana.” Montana’s major health insurers — who sent cancellation notices to as many as 20,000 individual policyholders a few weeks ago — also said Thursday they’re not...

Former Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger just jumped in the Montana Senate race last week – but he says national Democrats are already trying to push him out. Foremost among them, according to the Democratic candidate? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “[Reid] said, you know, ‘John, you know, you’re a nice guy, but we’ve chosen Walsh. We’d like you to drop out. We don’t want to have a primary,’” Bohlinger said, according to local news reports. Bohlinger was referring to current Lt. Gov. John Walsh, the preferred choice of the party to run for the seat of retiring Democratic...

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R) Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran (R) Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) Massachusetts Senator William "Mo" Cowan (D) Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (R) Minnesota Senator Al Franken (DFL) South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (D) Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R) Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns (R) South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson (D) Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D) Kentucky...

Former Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger announced his 2014 Senate campaign this week with a bang. Instead of giving a mundane announcement of his intentions to run as a Democrat for the outgoing Max Baucus‘ Senate seat, Bohlinger made a comparison between House Republicans and the Taliban. “We need to challenge the Tea Party representatives who like the Taliban shut our country down,” Bohlinger told reporters, according to the Billings Gazette. The Montana paper reports that Bohlinger compared to the House GOP’s actions in last month’s government shutdown to that of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,...

Rep. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) officially announced his Senate bid on Wednesday, giving Republicans a top-tier recruit for retiring Sen. Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) seat. "I humbly ask for your support to be Montana's senator, " Daines said at an event in his hometown of Bozeman. ADVERTISEMENT The freshman senator has long been expected to run, and sources told The Hill last week that he would announce Wednesday. Daines begins the race as a slight favorite to succeed Baucus in the GOP-leaning state. National Democrats are hopeful Montana Lt. Gov. John Walsh (D) will run a strong race, though he got a...

Students on the University health insurance plan may see an increase in premiums, a change in benefits or even closure next year in the wake of the Affordable Care Act. “So whether or not there will be a student health insurance program next year is going to be really dependent on a really simple question: Can we offer an equal or better plan for less?” said Rick Curtis, director of Curry Health Center. Since 2010, the student program has faced declining enrollment and higher monthly premiums. Enrollment in SHIP declined sharply with the passing of health care reform in 2010,...

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears unmoved by growing calls from Montana officials and political candidates to hold listening sessions on new regulations for coal-fired power plants in Montana. The EPA has planned hearings in 11 large urban centers across the country, but none in places like Montana where jobs are heavily dependent upon coal production. ... Republican Attorney General Tim Fox was officially calling on the EPA to schedule a session in Montana, saying “the EPA shouldn’t be afraid of listening to viewpoints they won’t hear in New York City.” On Monday, Ryan Zinke, the newly-declared GOP candidate...

HELENA – In Montana, as many as 20,000 holders of individual health insurance are getting or will get letters from insurers saying their current policy doesn’t comply with "Obamacare" regulations, and is being “discontinued.“ But insurers say the letter is not a cancellation, and that they’re instructing those policyholders how to get comparable coverage, which may or may not cost more. Blue Cross sent notices to about 13,500 individual policyholders in Montana this fall, telling them their current policies are being discontinued because of the ACA. PacificSource, which has more than 5,000 Montana customers with individual policies, is sending letters...