The Republican office is bustling with activity every time I go by the place 7 days a week. I had to personally make four trips down to the place to find a time when there weren’t people there so I could get this picture. They are open every day and in the evenings it seems the place is packed with volunteers’ busy working for their candidates. Surprisingly I am also observing people going to and fro from their office that I have never known to be involved in politics in all the years I have lived in Havre. Signs for the republican candidates are planted everywhere and they are driving me insane in my neighborhood hanging stuff on my door and mailing me voter information. Yet again this morning on my way to work I see new Republican signs that weren’t there yesterday. Even the termed out House Representative turned Senate candidate is nowhere to be seen. I have actually spotted only two “Vote for Bob Bergren” signs in all of Havre while his opponent Rowlie Hutton is plastered everywhere. Funny thing about that is Bergren had close to $8,000 dollars in his campaign chest as of the primary yet it doesn’t appear he is planning on using it for any promotion for this office.
I have yet to even hear of the Democrats having any regular candidate meetings to assist their candidates. Are they brazen enough to think that because Havre historically favors Democrat candidates that they will automatically be the victors without lifting a finger to get elected? No matter how the election turns out it is painfully obvious to everyone in Havre that the Republicans are out working their opponents by leaps and bounds. If a candidate doesn’t even have the gumption to work to get elected how much effort do you think they plan on putting forth to actually represent us? Now don't get me wrong - I am sure the Republiocans are liking this lack of effort by the local Democrats but it does puzzle everyone in town. I got to hand it to the local Republicans this year …….they are working their tails off and I give them an A for effort..
What do you suppose is going on?
It is obvious that the Democrats are out gunned this year both in amount of effort being expended and the quality of their candidates
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to get excited about promoting ho-hum candidates
That is exactly what at least one of the candidates believes. He thinks that since he is both a democrat and a local home town “hero” working at the fire hall he will win by a landslide over the republican without lifting a finger. Jake’s wife has more than once mentioned that her husband’s job puts him in “harms way” and he is one of the “heros” . Since 9-11 the firemen have taken to flying a giant flag on the city fire truck. Jack actually thinks he is part of the New York Fire crew that lost many lives on that dreadful day the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. Now he wants to go to Helena to correct the deficiencies in laws protecting firefighters and his union
ReplyDeleteWho could not keep from stumbling all over themselves to vote for our home town hero Jack?
Strange place is this Havreeee. I say vote for the friends of Hussein as he is change hero of the world and will bring about a beatiful utopia. i believe what he says and that all who believe in his platform must be rational thinkers. You see I did not read about the Presidents history with ACORN.
ReplyDeleteFreddy, I have been following this blog for quite some time. As an Independent voter I am both dismayed and confused by some of the comments I read posted on this blog from both party persuasions. I believe voting for the individual and what their position is on the issues important to me and my family - that is how I make my decision. I find it very troubling when bloggers think mocking somones profession somehow leads to a solid conclusion. Regardless of where first responders do their work, I believe they deserve respect as an organization and as a service. Havre firefighters may not be fighting blazes in high rise buildings, but they do contribute to our community. Don't forget, they also serve as first responders to accident sites; like the horrible tragedy that occured last summer when a young boy was drug down the street by a big rig. If I am not mistaken, the firefighter candidate you are trashing was the first reponder on that scene.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I hear alot of back and forth about people's spouse and positions they have taken. The last time I looked we are electing individuals.
I have not decided who I am voting for yet, my ballot is in front of me and I continue to weigh my options in what I hope is a respectful manner
Mckenzie the point I was trying to make was that Jack is not really working to achieve the goal of a victory in this election. He does think he will win because he is one of these “home town heroes” who happens to be a democrat.
ReplyDeleteYour point is well taken that many times he is doing a job no one else would want to be involved with and I will give him that. I also agree that my thinking of the Trethway name has been severely tarnished by his wife’s past comments and actions. I am still going to vote for Hansen as she desires the position enough to have worked extremely hard to win while Jack is just waiting for the win to be handed to him. She is the better choice.
The Havre Democrats are all fighting between themselves so they have no time for organizing a concentrated effort to defeat their opponents. The insane group has taken over and the rational members have thrown their hands up in disgust.
ReplyDeleteI did start hearing some Bergren radio spots today finally but it seems a little late since I voted on Monday. (not for him)
The Republicans have to remember they in numbers are the minority and do not get complacent. I just hope they appreciate all the people have done for them and don’t forget them once elected.
ReplyDeleteMy point exactly Joe. We need to send a message to politicians who forget who got them there. They need to know that they are under a watchful eye, and that we are not going to set by and let them (Republican or Democrat) ruin the country we live in with stupid decisions. You can't please everyone, so don't try. We elected them in because we were confident they would make decisions based on what was right, not what was popular.
ReplyDelete@nomorelies
ReplyDeleteThe politicians have a tendency to forget that the election process is a hiring process.
Our community is hiring these individuals to represent us, and do our business in the political process.
Unfortunately, in the larger national elections persons seeking office need so much money to compete, that they end up beholden to interests other than those they may have expressly intended.
This is particularly true when campaign monies come from foreign interests, however disguised. One more reason all national elections should be financed by the government, so the decisions are determined in the interest of the citizenry rather than being purchased by other interests.
On a local level, these people do work for us, and unfortunately have a tendency to forget that, usually until right before the next election cycle.
All of these persons should make bona fide campaign promises to
(1) always have a working manned telephone.
(2)promptly respond to all written and electronic correspondence
(3)hold frequent and well promoted "town hall" meetings so the direct sediment of the community can be accurately measured.
When President Clinton spoke here, he mentioned that being the prez can be lonely, and between riding around on AF One and being in the Oval Office a President can really lose touch with the people he is representing. One could argue the same thing happens in Helena as our representatives spend more time with lobbyists than with the people they represent.
It will be interesting to watch how this turns out.
DeCon, what evidence do you have that money is coming from foreign interests? You have none, so stop with the insane allegations! You and David Axelrod really should be careful when waving around serious allegations of illegal fundraising when you have absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing. And any insinuation to the contrary is just pure political gamesmanship.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you talk about how politicians should really work for the people they represent as opposed to special interests and then you promote the same ideological tripe that those special interests spew!
On the whole though I agree with your sentiments that money is the improper influence in most contests and because it takes so much we often do get left out to dry as those with money do get there way. But such is life as well is it not?
Oh sure the Republicans are the only ones that ever would have dared try and use foreign money in politics??? Remember Norman Hsu or Maria Hsia, Charlie Trie & James Riady who were all convicted of campaign finance fraud? No just the Chamber of Commerce!!! Give me a break, throw all the bums out!!
ReplyDeleteI said there were contributions that were disguised, and represent foreign interests.
ReplyDeleteThe best example of this would be the bailout of Citigroup, who made substantial campaign contributions to many people and political orgaizations. $20 Billion was given to Citi without much public debate.
5% of shares of Citi are owned by Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, nephew of Saudi King Abdullah.
Obama gets blamed for this bailout, which is just wrong, and people know it.
The orgy of incompetence of the Bush Administration brought the world to the brink of financial collapse, and bold action needed to be taken. But we must not forget that as these foriegn interests (particualrly soveirn wealth funds) become more intertwined in our financial systems, and the necessity of the US dollar in the world economy, these interests do have a profound interest in US politics, and certainly make huge financial contributions to candidates through corporate channels.
Ok DeCon I will give you that international corps make contributions in political campaigns in the U.S. it is called Freedom of Speech and they have interests too. Is it right? Not for me to decide.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Citigroup issue, Bush should have never allowed the bailout of Citigroup or any other institution. Artificial financial life support offered nothing in return for the U.S. economy. Poor advice given by a bunch of Wall Street hatchet men who have always called the shots. But please let's not lay the entire mess at Bush's feet. Did Congress do nothing to contribute? Did the Clinton administration before it have anything to do with lowering the standards of regulation in the Sweeping Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 which paved the way for such huge bank mergers such as Citigroup in the first place! Let's not forget Clinton's darling treasury chief Bob Rubin's involvement first as Secretary of the Treasury and then as an executive at noneother than Citigroup!!!! And his son Jamie Rubin was brought in by Obama to be one of economic advisors!
The unholy alliance between Congress, the White House and Wall Street has gone on long enough. And it affects both parties!!
Obama got more money from these firms than any other President in American history. Over $700,000 for his Presidential campaign from Citigroup alone, that's 30% of the $2.4 Million in campaign cash from the big three. Goldman Sachs was just under $1M and JP Morgan Chase was just under $700K.
Let's be fair here and blame all the "bums" as Noam calls them. I agree lets work to throw them all out!
I think we are in agreement.
ReplyDeleteObama did take a lot of money from these companies, as did so many other politicians.
As I stated before this is the tragedy of the current state of politics. These companies "hedge" their bets by contributing to all candidates in the political races that they have interest in, and thereby make the candidate if not beholden at least far more accessible than the average citizen.
With the vast amount of money that is needed to elect a national candidate, good and honest people are forced to these unholy alliances, and once again the average American gets stuck with the bill, and policy that is not in their best interest.
Outright lies are marketed in sound bites and people who may not have an interest in really studying the issues get swayed by very slick, professional TV spots telling profoundly different versions of actual truth.
Certainly Citi is not the only one.
It would be a very good long term investment for the American taxpayer to foot the bill for elections, even if took a constitutional amendment for that to happen.
@Tax Cheat G
ReplyDeleteCertainly Citi should not have bailed out, at least not in the fashion that it was. The real tragedy of the bailout is that it may be needed again on account that direvatives, "weapons of mass financial destruction" according to Warren Buffet, are now at a higher level than before the bailout.
It was not an "emergency" The Bush Administration was fully aware of the situation.
What should have been done is the use of that money so that the American people got something in return.
That money should have been directly put in place to rebuild the crumbling infrastucture in this country. The enormous power of the financial systems in this country would then work for the country instead of against it.
It would have taken a lot of oversight, to make sure not only was the money used efficiently, but to also make sure that the citizens of the country were getting a quality product.
Our unemployed could have been rebuilding bridges, roads, and high efficient electrical grids, instead of getting foreclosure notices.
The enormous power of competition would have put Citi, Morgan, and Goldman Sachs in the drivers seat, as efficient use of capital would have been necessary.
Instead the Amercian people got nothing, but a bigger IOU to China, Saudi, Canada, UAE, and Norway.
The orgy of incompetence of the Bush Administration brought the world to the brink of financial collapse
ReplyDeleteRemind me again what party was in charge of the house & senate during the final year Bush was in office.
Maybe everyone is finally tired enough of those gun control nuts to not even bother to help them get elected?
ReplyDelete