Posted on 08/01/2005 6:39:41 PM PDT by BigSkyFreeper
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 communications for Schweitzer's Republican predecessor, Judy Martz, said he and the state GOP's executive director came up with the "Governor's Ball Watch" idea.
Schweitzer spokeswoman Sarah Elliott said a Helena accounting firm is working on an audit, and when it is finished, it will be made public. Final bills from the February ball in Helena were due June 30.
Schweitzer agreed to the independent audit Feb. 10. Republicans had raised questions about his brother, Walt, using state offices to solicit private donations to help pay for the ball.
The fundraising led by the governor's brother sought money from businesses and individuals. Walt Schweitzer has said he will be reimbursed for expenses he incurred.
Private donations traditionally have financed balls celebrating the inaugurations of Montana governors.
Schweitzer's ball cost an estimated $200,000 and was open to all Montanans. Tickets, costing $5 and $10, fell far short of covering the entire cost. The ball held at three Helena locations drew more than 3,000 people.
Republicans did not demand an accounting for Republican governors' balls. Butler said the difference this time is that Schweitzer has made a point of criticizing lobbyists and corporate influence in politics, yet helped finance the ball with money solicited from such sources.
Elliott said Schweitzer has refused campaign contributions from business groups, but the ball stood apart because it was "a party for the people of Montana."
There are soooo many ways this can go.
Did dead people in Missoula vote?
From what I understand I think the last Republican governor tried to cover up some scandal... Left a bad taste in voters mouths.
Democrats born and raised in Montana aren't like your typical Democrats in New York or California. Democrats who are born and raised here in Montana believe in alot of the same things Republicans believe in (staunch 2nd Amendment supporters, private property rights, pro-life). These are the planks by which Schweitzer based his campaign on, supporting each one, while promising not to get enmeshed with lobbyists and corporate donors. He's everything I thought he would be and more; your garden variety idiot socialist Liberal lying scumbag.
Wrong. One of her staff members was involved in a drunk driving accident, charged with vehicular homicide. He took full responsibility for his actions, and is now doing time at the Montana State Penitentiary in Deer Lodge. He immediately resigned from his post in the Judy Martz administration and told the media that he didn't want his problems to reflect poorly on her work.
While the Montana GOP plays high-school crap like this, Schweitzer cleaned their clocks at almost every turn of the recent legislative session. I don't know a single soul who gives a tinker's damn about the Governor's Ball, or how many he has or had. Instead of concentrating on getting their local organizations in order, which is where they had their clocks cleaned last November, they try to get cute with a loser issue. The shining legacy of Marc Racicot on dsplay for all to see. At this rate, it's going to be a long time before things are put right here in the Last Best Place.
This "high school crap" is all the fault of Schweitzer. He promised not to get involved with corporate or out-of-state interests, but the fact that he hasn't made public the audit of his own Governor's Ball, certainly leads to the conclusion he's full of $&*^.
True. The only real scandal was the fact that Racicot's hand-picked sucessor, Governor Judy, was so far in over her head that she didn't know which way was up. She hired whiz-kids like the staffer in question to head practically every department, little snot-nosed college boys who were smarter than everyone else in the state, then let them run amok. they were all over the state pushing for a sales tax, "tourist" taxes, anything they could without saying they were ging to increase existing taxes, and expected the citizenry to accept it. Hubris is an ugly thing, especially out here.
Politics aside, Martz was a numbskull at PR. She opened her term in office with the statement that she would gladly be a "lapdog" for industry if that would bring them to this state. That comment followed her through her term. That's the "bad taste" she left in everyone's mouth.
Yeah, teah, and he bought trucks out-of-state, and he screwed over his old business partners in their peppermint farm, yada yada yada. Losing both legislative houses and the governorship was not "close", although we will probably take back the senate next time. W's margin was not nearly what it should have been, and I lay the blame squarely on the state "organization", if you can call it that. And yes, I worked on Brown's campaign and on local campaigns as well. I can tell you first-hand that the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing at the state level. Outdated call lists, no get-out-the-vote organization, nothing. Scweitzer is more popular now than when he was running. Now, Burns is tainted with the indian scandal, and Morrison is a very strong candidate. I would be shocked if Conrad holds his seat.
Bummer, Montana deserves better.
I just got back from vacation there and I loved it!
I stayed in your neck of the woods, 320 Ranch off US191 about 12 miles south of Big Sky and hiked Beehive Basin, so very beautiful...
I would be too. But, you're right though, there is little if any organization within the GOP in Montana. I will venture a guess that there's very little organization in the Democrat camp either. Schweitzer got lucky, everything fell his way, while on the other hand, Bob Brown was uncharismatic and only started campaigning heavily about 6 months before the statewide primary election.
Montana, on the other hand, will be lucky if Schweitzer can only muster one term and the Republicans regain complete control of the Legislature.
In my neck o' the woods, the Flathead, the Dums ran a tight ship from the bottom up. They had volunteers pounding on doors repeatedly throughout the election cycle, calling incessantly, push-polling, the whole nine yards. I had to make several calls to the candidates themselves to even volunteer for the GOP guys, and they didn't have a clue about what to do once we got there. The population explosion here has helped the Dums in two ways: many of the "conservatives" leaving elsewhere to come here are liberal by our standards; and the newby voters who don't care one way or the other are swayed by the attention given them by the same old tired hacks like Schweitzer.
Bob Brown is a nice enough fellow, but he really hasn't stood for much of anything, anytime. He was a back-room guy running for a front-office job, and it showed. I don't think Scweitzer was as lucky as he was, and is, shrewd. It will take a minor miracle to unseat him next time around, especially if there are no national coattails for our guy to ride. At least at the executive and U.S. Senate levels, it isn't looking good.
There are soooo many ways this can go.
If you're going to dangle possibilities like that, don't leave us hanging--those of us who aren't in the know will get testy!
I think you're thinking Arkansas.
(/retro humor)
What about testes?
"What about testes?"
Thank you very little...that was my line. But I knew someone was gonna-add that s.
With a Dim gov now, it becomes necesssary to scrotumize even events auch as the govs ball.
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