I extended my hand to shake his. His grip was firm yet gentle. A good shake, I thought to myself. On his left hand he wore a 1990s silver Timex watch complete with a traditional expansion-style stretch band. The digital Timex was set on military time and displayed the right date.
Behind his ear was a ballpoint pen. In his right pocket was a black notebook, which he’d pulled out several times during the evening when talking to locals to jot down some ideas someone mentioned.
He wore faded, straight-legged Levi’s jeans, an undershirt, and a collared cotton shirt with sleeves rolled up. On his feet were full-laced Nick’s brand heavy-duty, domestic-made logging boots. I could tell by the look of the leather on his boots and belt that they’d been well worn and maintained.
From the way that Sam Forstag looked, talked on stage, and spoke in person, it was quickly obvious that he was a working man. Sam comes across as a real person who understands what it’s like to go to work every day to live. He knows that $5.50 diesel hurts the working guy trying to make an honest living and that high fuel prices jack up the cost of everything delivered to families in faraway places like the Flathead.
I watched Sam interact with people at the public events in the Flathead. He shook hands, hugged, and looked people in the eye as he listened. I laughed to myself – this guy is listening, paying attention and not just blathering on like a bunch of podcasters.
Over the weekend, Sam attended three public events in the Flathead as multiple hundreds of people turned out to meet the candidate running to represent the people living and working in the Western Congressional District of Montana.
Sure, there’s a do-nothing, never-seen Republican currently holding the Congressional seat, but the times are a-changing. People want change and a more affordable life, where a working day’s wage still pays the way and a retiree can still retire.
Sam Forstag is running to represent a district once held by past Congressmen like Mike Mansfield, Lee Metcalf, Max Baucus, and Pat Williams. And, Sam was campaigning the old-fashioned way, by talking with people on the streets, in the pubs, at the job sites, and on doorsteps. This guy can win, I said several times at the Flathead events. But only if you help and talk to your friends and neighbors.
On stage, Sam talked about growing up in a hungry, hard-working family. About his firefighting work and ethics. About getting along and working with others to make life just a little bit better and easier for Montanans. He comes across as earnest, as someone who wants to work with people.
I watched Sam work the room, as he took time to chat with a whole bunch of people. Then he left to attend an event at the Ronan Community Center later that same evening. This guy works hard, wants to represent, doesn’t seem or act like he’s just in it for himself.
Over the weekend, Sam Forstag attended public events at the Montana Tap House in Whitefish, a bipartisan townhall at the Hub in Columbia Falls, and a music jam at Snowline Acres in Kalispell. I attended a couple events as I wanted to gauge for myself the level of enthusiasm resonating around Democrat campaigns in the valley.
And from the folks I talked with, the people I watched interact with others, and the stump speeches I heard over the microphones, I walked away with insight that a lot of folks are fired up and ready for change. The Montanans I heard just want life to be less expensive and more secure. The last six years of Republican control in Montana have proven outrageously expensive for the working stiff and retiree.
Back on the farm, I took off my work boots. Farmer boots, I chuckled, don’t take 100 hours to break in like logger boots. I sat down to breathe and reflected on the events of the past few days. I too had shaken a lot of hands with folks I knew or just met. I hugged old friends. I saw Sam embrace people he knew.
And I saw Sam smile. He genuinely smiled and exuded a can-do, willing-to-work-together kinda attitude. No-nonsense with energy. I really enjoyed seeing how Sam listened. He actually listened. Took notes. Hope, I thought. That’s what it feels like. I’ve seen it before on campaigns. It’s powerful.
The people we elect and send to Congress and the people running Montana should really be mandated by law to hold some live, in-person townhalls with the public at large. If the elected actually listened to a room full of live concerns from constituents, Americans would be better off and more secure.
Change will only happen if you help. Volunteer for Montana. Host a house party for legislative candidates like Paula Koch, a public-school teacher running in the Columbia Falls state House district. Talk to your friends. Shake it up. Ballots arrive in a month’s time. What comes next is still up to you.