It is really disappointing. Congressman Matt Rosendale running for U.S. Senator in the Republican primary would have produced a good, hard competition that would have sharpened the debate, allowed valuable evaluation of each candidate, and a good exploration of stances relative to the current issues. Now it is up to Tim Sheehy by himself, and he can start by producing a cohesive report outlining who he is, where he grew up, how long he has been in Montana, and how he developed such a vibrant business.
As far as the issues are concerned, Sheehy has been strangely quiet about everything except generalities. But where is he on issues like the following: The Senate border bill; the two nation solution to the Israel/Hamas war; his position on the Ukraine war and aid to it; the out of control government deficits and debt – how would he correct it; the FBI/CIA obvious political bias when looking into and prosecuting alleged malfeasance; our totally out of control bureaucracies – will he eliminate some and downsize others; does he advocate for more local and state control of our natural resources, wildlife and particularly water; where does he stand on the CSKT water compact; does he stand against the “green new deal” and does he support McConnell for Senate majority leader.
One thing for certain: we all know where Sen. Jon Tester stands on almost all these issues – he votes in full lockstep with the Biden agenda (91%). It will be interesting to see if Sheehy can effectively expose Tester’s liberal agenda while clarifying his own past and current positions. Slogans like “less government, more jobs” or “I was a Seal” just will not suffice.
In addition, he must overcome the sour taste many people have who feel uncomfortable with the Washington, D.C. power brokers who hand-picked an unknown, unvetted person as “the candidate” for Montana while apparently forcing Rosendale to the sidelines. That is a heck of a gamble, one that we hope ends well. But given Tester’s support for the liberal agenda, if a Republican candidate does not win this Senate seat this year, the fault will be with those power brokers in general, but Gianforte, Daines and Zinke in particular. And if that happens, the disappointment could resonate for another six years. God forbid.
Mark Agather
Kalispell