Don Pogreba
A life-long Montanan, teacher, and supporter of Democrat and Left politics since I was child forlornly supporting Jimmy Carter’s re-election campaign back when I was in elementary school. I am concerned that the Democratic Party has lost its soul in its acquiescence to big business, the military, and social conservatives. I think that we need to be proud of the rich Democratic tradition of helping those who need help, using the military as a last resort, and remembering that the worker is as, if not more, important than the owner of the business.
I spend far too many hours of my life working at school and on my small business, Big Sky Debate.
Bob Funk
A lifelong Democrat and a proud Democrat. I believe that we, as people, have more binding us together than dividing us; I guess you could call me a cosmopolitan humanist. I hold dear personnel freedom and responsibility; I hold dear a responsive government. I believe that once people look past shallow, divisive rhetoric, common ground is established and success is created. I believe that progress is founded in the arduous task of bringing people together around common values and beliefs.
I am currently in my final year of undergraduate study in the humanities.
Jason Neiffer
Although I am not a lifelong liberal, I came about my liberal thoughts in a way that suggests I was always left-leaning…by attending a small, conservative college. I am a teacher, life-long Montanan, and I am a partner in a small business. I tire of the mantra that candidates have to sell their soul to causes they don’t believe in to be electable. I long for a day when politics is about what the candidates believe, not about who has more money or who is “more electable.” In my free time, I enjoy technology’s many splendors, the outdoors, travel, and spending time with my wife, who works for a progressive non-profit.
The Polish Wolf
I’m a Junior at Seattle University, majoring in International Studies. I love Seattle, but Helena is my home and I love it too, though I love it most when I don’t look at the opinion page of the IR. I think the most important political questions arise because of two truths: the truth that every person is an individual, and the truth that no individual is independent of others. I believe that ultimately an open, democratic society will fix whatever problems come its way if Democratic institutions have enough power relative to non-democratic ones. If one could combine Marx and Levinas into one coherent political philosophy, that’s what I’d be.
