Free Republic

State legislators in the Flathead Valley are — like the former governor himself — unsurprised by the Montana Republican Party’s public break up with Marc Racicot. The two-term Republican governor, who served from 1993 to 2001, earned a formal rebuke from the state party organization’s executive committee on Feb. 15. The decision comes after Racicot endorsed a series of Democrats in recent state and national elections, party leadership said. “It was a difference between party platforms and principles and I decided I would choose principles,” Racicot said last week. The former governor said he was unfazed by a text from...

HELENA — Bozeman business executive and Republican Steve Daines, seeking to avoid a divisive U.S. Senate primary against U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg next year, left that race Thursday and said he'll run instead for the House being vacated by Rehberg in 2012. Daines' decision clears the way for an uncontested primary for Rehberg, a six-term congressman, in the 2012 Senate race for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Republican sources have said Rehberg plans to announce Saturday night his bid against Tester, who has said already that he's running for a second term. "By me running for...

Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to be in Billings today for a brief visit including remarks at a reception for Rep. Denny Rehberg and Montana Republicans. Earlier in the day, Cheney will be in Casper, Wyo., to deliver remarks at a luncheon for Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo. The event, which starts at 12:30 p.m., will be at the Casper Event Center. Both Cubin and Rehberg are seeking re-election on Nov. 7. Cheney is scheduled to leave Casper at 1:15 p.m. and arrive at Billings Logan International Airport at 2:15 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., he's scheduled to speak at an...

HELENA - Under scrutiny for his dealings with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., lashed out this week at Abramoff and suggestions that the senator did favors for Abramoff clients. Burns, 70, who is up for re-election in 2006, told a Kalispell television station Wednesday that he wished Abramoff had never been born. "This Abramoff guy is a bad guy," Burns told KAJ television in Kalispell. "And he's indicted, and I hope he goes to jail and we never see him again. I wish he'd never been born to be right honest with you. Because he's done...

HELENA - A new fixture on the Montana Republican Party's Web site tracks, down to the second, the elapsed time since Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer agreed to an audit of finances for the ball celebrating his inauguration. The site's "Governor's Ball Watch" was at 171 days on Sunday. "It's time to show us the money and tell the people of Montana how much was raised, who it was raised from, and what (they) did with it," said Chuck Butler, a communications adviser to Karl Ohs, the state Republican chairman. "It's like, c'mon ... what's taking so long?" Butler, who managed...