Neil Livingstone

Even Ryan Zinke Knows Livingstone and Hill Are Wrong on War Rhetoric

by Don Pogreba on May 10, 2012 · 2 comments

in 2012 Statewide, Montana Politics, Neil Livingstone, Rick Hill

Do you ever wonder what Ryan Zinke was thinking when he hitched his political future to Neil Livingstone’s wobbly cart? We’re talking about someone who was seen as a series Republican contender for the governor’s chair in his own right just a year ago but who’s now found himself in the awkward position of having to walk back inflammatory rhetoric from the top of the ticket.

On his Facebook page today, Zinke posted:

Waging War on Environmental Groups. A number of friends and colleagues have expressed concern with our campaigns choice of words in saying we are going to "wage war against environmental groups ". Point well taken. To those who have served and know the horror of war, the term is misplaced.

While Zinke would like to suggest that their “war” rhetoric was some sort of slip of the tongue, it’s been the dominant message of the Livingstone campaign for months. On February 27, Livingstone told a Republican candidate forum in Great Falls that Montana needs “to go to war with the radical environmentalists.”

On March 8, the Billings Outpost said that Livingstone was prepared to go to war with the federal government:

But Mr. Livingstone did say that he was prepared as governor to arrest federal officials who tried to enforce federal regulations (as opposed to acts of Congress). They probably would be released within three hours but, he said, “We will have made a statement, and we will go to war with the federal government.

Zinke’s retraction for Livingstone, while well-intended, seems awfully late.

Of course, Livingstone’s not alone in his use of the rhetoric of warfare. Rick Hill, who’s never opposed sending other people to fight his wars, also plans to go war against environmentalists:

Former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill of Helena also condemned the “trial lawyers and environmentalists” whose regulatory bearing he said is preventing Montana from unleashing its economic potential.

“I intend to go to war with the environmentalists and simplify our regulatory structure,” he said. “Serial lawsuits and state regulators are obstructionists when they should be trying to facilitate these projects.”

Of course Zinke is right. War is a terrible metaphor for what these armchair combatants intend to do. The language demonizes their opponents and trivializes the sacrifices of members of the armed forces, many of who have fought and continuing to fight today.

Republican Gubernatorial Ad Roundup

by Don Pogreba on May 9, 2012 · 20 comments

in 2012 Statewide, Corey Stapleton, Montana Politics, Neil Livingstone, Rick Hill

Three Men and a Super Spy

The Republican candidates for governor hit Montana television this week with a series of advertisements designed to sell their agenda to the voters of Montana just as absentee ballots reached many mailboxes.

Frontrunner Rick Hill promised to “Get the Job Done,” offering the same kind of vague promises that have marked his campaign from the outset. He’s continuing to play it safe with no real rival emerging in Republican field.

Neil Livingstone eschewed his typical comic book and gunfire approach in favor of an ad that has the production values of a middle school iMovie project combined with narration that would cure the most severe case of insomnia known to man. I still prefer Livingstone’s initial ad, which offered a bit more excitement while giving a more accurate view of the man’s career and temperament.

Corey Stapleton, who can’t count campaign donations, used his ad to demonstrate that he can’t count the ranks of the unemployed, lying that Montana’s unemployment rate is higher today than ever. Flatly untrue.

Once again the clear Republican theme is distorting Montana’s economic record, a record of real success in trying times. Instead of making Montana seem attractive to businesses, these three would rather promote the idea that Montana doesn’t welcome them. I prefer a governor who not only believes in the state, but who works for it—and promotes it.

Bullock, Hill Tied; Other Republican Candidates Entirely Unknown

by Don Pogreba on May 3, 2012 · 0 comments

in 2012 Statewide, Corey Stapleton, Jim Lynch, Ken Miller, Montana Politics, Neil Livingstone, Rick Hill, Steve Bullock

PPP just published a Montana poll which shows Steve Bullock and Rick Hill tied in a November matchup at 39-39. Despite the tie, Bullock is both better liked and known that Representative Hill:

Bullock is more popular than Hill. 34% of voters have a positive opinion of him to 21% with a negative one. Hill’s under water with 20% of voters rating him favorably to 28% with an unfavorable view. Usually that kind of disparity in favorability numbers would have Bullock ahead overall but of course Montana’s a Republican state and Hill’s taking the GOP vote 77-8, allowing him to achieve the tie.

The other Republican candidates simply haven’t gained any traction in the race, no matter how well they do in TEA Party straw polls. Hill leads the field with 33%. Ken Miller checks in at 12%, with Corey Stapleton coming in at 7%.

The race is really in the same position it has been for months. While 35% of likely Republican primary voters are undecided, it’s almost unimaginable that all will throw their support behind one of Hill’s challengers.

With six minor candidates to divide up the nullification wing of the Republican Party, Hill should coast to victory in June.

GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Endorse Discrimination Against Women

by Don Pogreba on April 19, 2012

in 2012 Statewide, Corey Stapleton, Jim Lynch, Ken Miller, Montana Politics, Neil Livingstone, Rick Hill

KXLH’s Marnee Banks is reporting that six of the GOP candidates for governor have endorsed the idea of repealing Montana’s decades-long prohibition against gender discrimination in insurance policies, claiming it will “lower the cost of insurance.”

I don’t mean to be cynical, but does it seem likely that insurance executives would fight for decades to reduce the rates they can charge? Experience seems to show that the opposite is true—and that rates, especially for women, are likely to go up if the Republican candidates get their way. While it’s stunning to imagine that the Republican Party would put the interests of large insurance companies ahead of the interests of women, it’s happening once again.

The National Women’s Law Center says that women pay significantly higher premiums than men.

Gender rating, the practice of charging women different premiums than men, results in significantly higher rates charged to women throughout the country. In states that have not banned the practice, the vast majority, 92%, of best-selling plans gender rate, for example, charging 40-year-old women more than 40-year-old men for coverage. Only 3% of these plans cover maternity services.

The total cost for women across the nation is over one billion dollars:

Nationwide, the effect of these discrepancies can be staggering. New analysis by the National Women’s Law Center, finds that gender rating costs U.S. women approximately $1 billion a year. Insurance companies, despite being aware of the problem, have not voluntarily taken steps to eliminate it.

For a group of candidates who seem so eager to proclaim their fealty to state sovereignty, these gentlemen are awfully willing to give up central tenets of Montana’s constitution just to enrich the insurance industry.

I suspect the rest of us would rather protect Montana’s proud heritage of non-discrimination in the law.

Addendum: It’s also awfully amusing to see these champions of limited government, united in their opposition to things like mandated insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, defend more government:

NAIFA also asked each candidate if they would support tightening up the law which requires drivers to carry liability insurance. All the candidates say they would.

Neil Livingstone on Death Squads: Pro-Democracy and Stalin-Approved!

by Don Pogreba on March 27, 2012 · 7 comments

in 2012 Statewide, Montana Politics, Neil Livingstone

A little more search about Neil Livingstone’s approval of death squads revealed an article in World Affairs in Winter of 1983-84. In it, Livingstone offered a perspective on government-sponsored death squads that not only invalidates him as a candidate for governor but as a human being.

Criticism of death squads is just “propoganda.” They are effective, so they must be okay.

Death squads create democracy!

Stalin said that brutal methods of repression and murder are okay, so they must be!

The kind of tactics that Livingstone explicitly endorses here are the worst of American foreign policy, war crimes of the highest order. They led to the deaths of untold thousands, did enormous damage to American foreign policy, and jeopardized the lives of Americans traveling and serving abroad.

Vote for Neil Livingstone—Or Else

March 27, 2012

Earlier I worried that critics of the Neil Livingstone campaign might need to be concerned about the prospect of kidnapping. It turns out I underestimated him—they really need to worry about death squads, as Mother Jones reports. Mr. Livingstone, it seems, thinks that there are times when government death squads are necessary: He stressed that [...]

Read the full article →

Money, Money, Money: March Campaign Finance Update Governor and Attorney General

March 12, 2012

Today was a busy today in Montana politics, with both filing deadlines and the latest deadline for reporting campaign finance. As always, while there are certainly more important issues than how candidates raise and spend money, the numbers do provide a sense of where each campaign is—and how effective it will be going forward. Governor [...]

Read the full article →

Neil Livingstone’s Terrorist Connections Make the News Again

March 9, 2012

In its typically non-partisan approach, the Washington Times is reporting about a Treasury Department investigation into political lobbying for the Iranian terrorist group MEK. Who is the MEK? According to the Treasury Department: “But the MEK is a designated terrorist group, therefore U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with or providing services [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries