Given the Republican hand-wringing about the Commissioner of Political Practices nomination process, it’s worth remembering how they treated the process the last time they were involved. No, I’m not talking about the politically motivated decision not to confirm the very qualified Jennifer Hensley, but the candidates they offered when given the chance to choose a long-term replacement for Dennis Unsworth in late 2010.

Did they nominate, as Senate President Jim Peterson, “someone who is as nonpolitical as possible?”

No. They nominated perennial Republican candidate and job applicant Brad Johnson, less than a year after his arrest for a uniquely severe DUI, and Edwin Jonas, a New Jersey lawyer who had his license suspended for “engaging in conduct in connection with the practice of law that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

Excellent work.

Over the next few days, you’re going to read more indignant self-righteousness from Montana Republicans, but it’s worth remembering that their unwillingness to treat the process (and office) seriously certainly didn’t offer any solutions.

It’s one thing to note that the national Republican Party exploited the tragedy of 9/11 both for partisan political gain and to justify a horrendously misguided foreign policy, but it’s another thing entirely to see Montana Republicans doing the same thing on the tenth anniversary of one of the most terrible days in American history.

The only words that come to mind when I see this flyer from the Montana GOP and Lewis and Clark Republican Women are “tasteless” and frankly, “despicable.

Up in the Flathead, their Republican women are hosting an event “produced” by retired Major General Paul Vallely, an Obama birther and supporter of torture.

Having watched the moving reading of the names at the World Trade Center memorial site today, it’s even more difficult to imagine how anyone could find events like these appropriate.

If you have the time, I’d say it’s appropriate to fire off a quick, polite e-mail to the Montana Republican Party, just to let them know that you don’t appreciate exploiting innocent victims of terrorism. You might also consider asking Steve Daines, Rick Hill, and the other entirely insignificant Republican officials in attendance if they feel comfortable fundraising this way.

I received a somewhat surprising campaign e-mail from Delaware-based gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill this morning. In part, it read:

First I must solicit your confidence in this transaction; this is by virtue of its nature as being utterly confidential and top secret.
Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that this is real and genuine.
Let me start by first introducing myself properly to you. I am CHUCK DENOWH, Director General, Office of the Presidency, Debt Management and Payment Commission in the Republic of Ghana, I head a five-man tender Board in charge of Foreign Contract Approvals and Payments and I am a 53 year old man, married with 4 children.
I came to know you in my search for a reliable and reputable person through OUR DELAWARE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DIRECTORY.
Sir, if you can simply prove your commitment to our cause with a small donation today, we promise you untold riches, to be deposited in your name at THE FIRST BANK OF DELAWARE.

It’s possible this whole real estate scam thing has affected him more profoundly than he realizes.

Patty Lovaas, recently championed by GOP Chairman Will Deschamps, is continuing her argument that she has uncovered massive voter fraud in the Missoula mill levy election last spring, despite a familiar lack of evidence.

Lovaas is advancing one of her favorite arguments here: when elections don’t turn out the way she wants them to, it’s certain evidence of voter fraud.

It’s kind-hearted of the Missoula County Sherriff’s office to indulge Ms. Lovaas with an investigation, but it’s hard to imagine that her complaint should be taken seriously, given her previous accusations of voter fraud.

In 2008, Ms. Lovaas received 7,632 votes in Republican primary for the Senate, placing 4th in a field charitably described as eccentric, and more accurately described as the worst slate of candidates a major party has ever fielded for federal office in Montana.

Undeterred by her defeat, Lovass sued the State of Montana, claiming that the 2008 election was fraudulent. Her evidence? That she asked 85 people in Granite County if they had voted for the winner, Bob Kelleher. Seriously.

From the District Court’s dismissal:

Although it is not entirely clear, it appears that Lovaas claims to have canvassed 85 voters in Granite County, which is one of the fifty six counties participating in the Montana Republican Party’s primary election. According to Lovaas, none of the individuals she canvassed would confirm having voted for the winner, Bob Kelleher.Lovaas alleges the results of this canvassing effort constitute “substantial evidence” that the official primary election “results differ significantly from those reported by individual voters.”

That’s certainly compelling evidence of statewide fraud, isn’t it?

Ultimately, the argument Lovaas and Deschamps are advancing is true in one respect: they don’t particularly like the messy business of voters making decisions. Consider Lovaas’s argument about 2008, in which she asserts that voters were disenfranchised because they voted for another candidate:

I initially became involved in Montana’s election process and procedures during the primary election of 2008, where Bob Kelleher, a previous Democratic party affiliate was selected as the Republican candidate… When he was elected by a majority of votes statewide in all but two counties, every electorate in Montana was disenfranchised as there was no ensuing debate on the contemporary issues, which is far more important than the individual candidate.

It’s time for Chairman Deschamps to do the right thing and to stop casting aspersions on the integrity of Missoula County election officials.

Anyone expect that to happen?

It almost seems unfair writing about Will Deschamps, the chair of the Montana Republican Party, because, quite honestly, he makes it too easy. When someone makes a fool of himself as often as Deschamps does, he hardly needs the help of a blogger.

Deschamps decided to undermine the integrity of the electoral process in Missoula County, legitimizing charges made by the always-credible and somewhat litigious Patty Lovaas that 600 votes were counted three times in the last mill levy election:

I am writing you today to express my concern about recent reports of possible voting irregularities in the past Mill Levy election. My information, as well as yours, comes from a local CPA, Patty Lovaas. Apparently there appears to be 600 individual voters, whose votes were counted three times, and are listed on an official printout of the questioned election. If, in fact, this turns out to be true, this is a very serious charge and warrants an investigation on your part. You three, once made aware of, have a fiduciary duty to make sure our election process is pristine and secure. If these events did occur, a dark cloud will be cast upon voter confidence, in all elections past, present and future. I am sure your attorneys have told you that lack of performance on your part could have a very serious outcome.

Now, I’m no expert, but before throwing out accusations and demanding investigations, perhaps Mr. Deschamps might consider an offer of proof. It’s worth noting that Ms. Lovaas refused to meet with County Election Supervisor Vicki Zeier, stating that Lovaas had evidence in her possession that was not available at the county.

That seems…credible.

Following his stirring defense of democracy, Mr. Deschamps felt the need to attack the people in his hometown once again on Facebook:

I’d say you can learn a lot about a party through examining the kind of person it chooses to represent it in the public. Deschamps? Perhaps the perfect embodiment of the Montana Republican Party today.

While the ongoing farce of John Boehner’s default meltdown in Washington has led every single political leader in the nation other than Denny Rehberg to take a position, back home, today’s news provided a stark illustration about the difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to budgeting.

The Democrats believe in using facts and honest revenue calculations; the latter believe in using distortions and being deliberately obtuse to deny workers small raises, the needy social services, and children better schools.

Let’s look back at the session, shall we?

Republican House Speaker Mike Milburn, in February:

What he is doing is making our job difficult, because we have a responsibility to do. We still are short and we are short a lot of money and it is not looking that good into the future….We are doing better, but we are doing it at a less rate of growth than we have seen in the past. We have to deal with that, those are real numbers we have to deal with that, we can’t play games, we can’t play politics.”

Republican Budget Guru Dave Lewis in January:

Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena and chairman of the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, said Democrats, including Gov. Schweitzer, are being too optimistic. He said most Republicans believe the economy isn’t ready to take off, and that state spending must be reduced to match what they believe may be depressed tax revenue for some time.
“I could be a little less hard on that issue if I thought the economy was improving, but I just don’t see it,” Lewis said. “I think that’s the big policy debate of the session.”

Throughout the session Democratic leaders like Carol Williams, Jon Sesso, and Governor Schweitzer made it clear that a fact-based examination of tax revenue made draconian cuts and broken promises entirely unnecessary.

And they were right. How does the state look today? $340 million in the bank:

Schweitzer says Montana will start this new fiscal year with about $340 million dollars in the bank.This is the largest amount of money the state has ever had set aside for emergencies.

It’s bad enough that Montana Republicans acted the way they did during the session. It’s even worse that they couldn’t be bothered to be intellectually honest while they did it.

While it seems to have escaped the notice of the Montana media, the PSC work session on May 10th ended with Commissioner Bill Gallagher leveling accusations of ethics violations against Chairman Travis Kavulla. Gallagher claimed that Kavulla, in a trip to Las Vegas to speak to utility investors, violated the law in three ways:

• that he has demonstrated a “defiant insistence to meet with with lobbyists and utility investors.”
• that he, while in Las Vegas, inappropriately took a personal trip to Arizona to watch a college basketball game.
• that he inappropriately received gifts of travel, food, and lodging for the expenses for his expenses during the Las Vegas trip.

Gallagher initially called for an in-house investigation, independent investigation, or an investigation by the Commissioner of Political Practices, but action was delayed pending a continuation of the meeting. Commissioner Gallagher sent 36 questions to Kavulla—and plans to continue this discussion once he has reviewed Kavulla’s response.

At the core, the allegations rest on the idea that Commissioner Kavulla is engaging in inappropriate meetings with utility investors and lobbyists. Commissioner Kavulla, both at the meeting and in an interview in late April, argues that not only are such meetings permissible under the “Blue Book” that governs the PSC, but that past commissioners have had similar meetings and attended conferences like the one in Las Vegas.

Gallagher’s allegations aren’t new—and don’t seem entirely honest. During the April 15th meeting that saw Commissioner Gallagher unseated as chairman, he made these same claims and asserted that the PSC counsel has issued a legal opinion arguing that Kavulla’s trip was inappropriate. When I contacted both Commissioner Gallagher and PSC counsel Al Brogan, I was told that “no such opinion or memo” existed. It’s certainly troubling that Commissioner Gallagher would make an unfounded accusation premised on a legal opinion that simply does not exist.

Gallagher also claimed that Kavulla had traveled from Las Vegas to Arizona to watch a basketball game, seeming to ignore that sporting contests are often broadcast in the betting capital of North America.

Kavulla responded to the accusations angrily, suggesting that Commissioner Gallagher was “sliming” both Kavulla and other commissioners who have attended similar meetings. Alluding to the chairmanship debacle, Kavulla told Gallagher he “needs to get over it, to do the job the people of Montana elected you to do.” He further claimed that Gallagher had requested four work sessions, “not one a case before the PSC, all extraneous, grasping at straws attempts to malign others.”

Kavulla raises a fair point. It seems clear that Commissioner Gallagher is so upset about losing the chairmanship that he is determined to expend his energy attacking Commissioner Kavulla rather than doing the work of the PSC.

Before the discussion about the Las Vegas trip, Gallagher actually raised the critical issue of seating arrangements at PSC meetings, because he apparently believes that five adults are incapable of seating themselves at a desk with six seats, including one for the secretary at the meeting.

When Kavulla argued that Gallagher was wasting the time of the commission, Gallagher responded by arguing that Kavulla’s “habit of demeaning those who you disagree with is not only annoying, but it is unbecoming for your position as chairman.”

Whether it’s “grasping at straws” or “unbecoming,” the actions of the GOP majority during the past few months have clearly been inappropriate—and a distraction from the business of the PSC. It’s time for Commissioners Gallagher and Molnar to put aside their petulant childishness and do their jobs.

Let’s be honest. The Montana GOP is such an amateurish organization that it actually chose budding juvenile fiction auteur and anti-voting activist Will Deschamps as its chair, has a web page that was banned by Geocities for being too ugly for the web in 1997, and uses a series of short-lived astroturf blogs to regurgitate whatever idiotic talking point is generated when one overdoses on Rush Limbaugh and the fluid use for fracking.

All that being said, I have to marvel at today’s effort to stir up a controversy—claiming that Senator Tester was caught on film “running over” a GOP staffer.It must be serious stuff. It was breathless reported by both the Montana GOP and its latest  blog, Treasure State Politics.

It might also make for an interesting story if, of course, there was a shred of truth to the claim. As the poor, struggling victim’s own video attests, the only accident was choosing to record his voice.

I’ve seen some pathetic, desperate campaigning before, but this reaches a new Rehbergian low. The only thing being thrown under a vehicle here is what little credibility the Montana GOP has left.

When he’s not posting inflammatory lies on Twitter personally attacking Missoula’s legislative delegation, it seems that Will Deschamps, chairman of the Montana Republican Party, is spending his time writing entirely unhinged letters to the editor. His last missive, published on Friday in the Missoulian, truly has to be read in its entirety to be appreciated, but one excerpt best exemplifies the values of the current Montana Republican Party better than any sentence I have read in the past year. Descamps writes:

They may well represent the majority of the folks who vote, but certainly do not represent the majority of citizens who want safe neighborhoods, pay taxes, create jobs and can vote.

And there it is: the majority of voters don’t matter. Whether it’s cyanide in our water, medicine for our neighbors or funding for our schools, the Republican Party believes it can overturn the will of the voters because they know better than the humble peons who vote. They believe that they are the only ones who pay taxes and contribute to our society, and that the interests of big business matter more than the interests of the working men and women, the majority  who truly built this country.

It’s appropriate that Deschamps wrote about Snow White; it’s just too bad that he apparently doesn’t own a mirror that tells him the truth.

Update: Pete Talbot’s take on the letter is not to be missed.

Just an absolutely amazing story in the Havre Daily News today, in which local legislators complain about unfair media attention regarding their “work” in the session thus far. Representative Hansen offered this heartfelt complaint:

Rep. Kris Hansen said the media has been focusing on issues that are controversial, while ignoring other issues the Legislature is dealing with.

“From headlines and in-depth articles, you probably think we’re doing nothing but crazy, ” she said.

You might imagine where my criticism is headed here: to remind you just how crazy the proposals from the Havre contingent have been during the session. After all, these are the people who wanted to create a local militia, mandate ultrasounds before abortions, and invalidate local anti-discrimination initiatives.

But no, that’s not it. You need to keep reading what Representative Hansen had to say. What did Representative Hansen offer as an example of critical job creating legislation?  Not requiring landlords to include carbon monoxide detectors in their units.

Finally, Representative Hansen talked about the response she has received during the session–thousands of critical e-mails for every 3-4 positive ones. Frankly, that’s hard to believe. Who possibly could be praising her work?

Representative Warburton, worried that she might not get as much as attention as her colleague in delusion, eloquently opined that Republicans are more focused on employment:

“Everyone knows the Republicans are really about jobs, but they’re sure trying to look like Republicans this session, ” she said. “Or if they have this ridiculous bill, they’ll stand up and try to convince us how this is a jobs bill, you’ve got to vote for this crap. It’s entertaining sometimes.
”

Yeah, it’s certainly the media that’s making the Republicans look bad, isn’t it?