A couple of legislative sessions ago, I sponsored a bill to make it easier for independents to run for the county commission and state legislature. As part of my homework, I corresponded with elected independents. I can recall a member of the Vermont House stating, “I believe I am socially liberal, but I’m pro-business as well. Being a Democrat would force me to align too close to unions and being a Republican would compromise my social values.” This legislator, as an elected independent, found herself being a significant point person and problem solver within Vermont state politics. Recently I corresponded with another Vermont legislator, also an independent who found no home instilled what might be characterized as a more progressive Catholic philosophy … pro-life, pro-healthcare, pro social programs but also an eye to responsible taxation and spending. This legislator took a chance, withstood the Planned Parenthood negativity and won an election as an independent candidate.
My friend Scott, a neighbor and longtime volunteer extraordinaire since day one of my legislative campaigns, asked me if I could possibly sit down with U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar. I confess that I had signed on as a Democratic legislator supporting Bodnar’s quixotic attempt to win a Senate seat. In preparation for our meeting, I prepared a half index card worth of questions and concerns that interested me most.
The question and concerns that I posed to the candidate were something like this:
The failure of our two-party system:
- Monopolistic
- Has allowed political civil discourse to erode to partisan animosity, which has fostered extreme toxicity and distrust among the American public.
- The national debt. Implications of a $40 trillion debt and how it imperils future generations. (How would we pay for a Medicare for All model?).
- The need for a tax rewrite (last done during the Reagan administration).
“I have nothing against the Montana Democratic Party” said Bodnar, “but I don’t want Chuck Schumer to dictate to me what’s best for Montana.” In separating himself from the national party’s, Bodnar addressed, in great detail, my concerns. He reflected upon the need for Congress to take a long recess rather than passing needed bills that might find credit with the opposition. We are far gone from the era when Mike Mansfield and Everett Dirksen wrote civil rights legislation and a nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviet Union. My gosh, do we desperately need such bipartisan leadership; country over party; can you imagine?
There are four candidates running for Montana’s Senate race. Strip away the party affiliations and search for what candidate might be in your best interest. I have listed my priorities, and I believe Bodnar is the strongest of the four, with a stellar background in the military, private sector and holding the most political of jobs: the president of a flagship center of higher learning, the University of Montana.
I’ve communicated with many independents, and I believe the sky won’t fall if more are elected. As a matter of fact, breaking the toxic political party monopoly will serve us well.
Dave Fern is a Democratic state senator from Whitefish.