Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 5.25.16

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS UNPOPULAR CANDIDATES
KELLYN BROWN
CAMPAIGN GAME
JUST THREE WEEKS BEFORE MONTANA’S primary election, a federal judge shot down Mon- tana’s campaign contribution limits, perhaps opening up state elections to a lot more money. Perhaps not, as U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell provided no opinion on what the limits should be; he just found ours too low.
Either way, the ruling drew strong opinions on both sides. This was expected, given Montana’s history and the state’s dogged resistance to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling that said unlimited polit- ical spending by corporations and unions is protected under the First Amendment.
Democrats largely criticized Lovell’s decision. For his part, Gov. Steve Bullock called it a “travesty” and a “step back toward the era of the Copper Kings.” He was referring to the era of industrialists Marcus Daly and William A. Clark, the latter who bribed Montana law- makers for their votes (this was when U.S. senators were chosen by their respective Legislatures).
True, it could get ugly with more money pouring into campaign co ers. It is, however, unlikely to get as ugly as it was in 1900 when the U.S. Senate was so horri ed by Clark’s brazen corruption that it helped usher in the 17th Amendment, which requires that citizens instead of Legislatures elect senators.
Republicans were more supportive of Lovell’s ruling. Je Essmann, chairman of the Montana Republican Party, said, “evidence shows that Montana politicians are relatively incorruptible. Montana voters are able to see for themselves where contributions are coming from under our campaign disclosure laws.”
Meanwhile, Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl has dropped his 2012 com- plaint against former GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill. That year, Lovell (yes, the same judge) struck down state limits before an appeals court reinstated them. In the time in between those rulings, Hill accepted a $500,000 donation from the Republican Party.
Motl continues to warn of “unlimited amounts of money contributed to political candidates” and asked the federal judge for an immediate stay on the ruling. He also raised contribution limits for individual and polit- ical action committees, but not political parties. Now, individuals can contribute up to $1,990 to gubernatorial candidates and $990 for other statewide election cycles. PACs can contribute up to $10,610 to gubernatorial can- didates and $2,650 for other statewide election cycles.
Whether these numbers stand is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear the ght isn’t over. GOP attorney Matthew Monforton told Lee Newspapers that the larger limits are “de ance yet again by Commissioner Motl of a fed- eral court order. He should anticipate renewed litigation if he continues to give the nger to Judge Lovell.”
Monforton argues there shouldn’t be any contribu- tion limits on anything. Maybe, there is a middle ground between the two sides, but it appears far o . And right now, it’s also unclear if a third party exceeds the state’s new limits the state could do anything about it.
Lovell’s decision seemed inevitable. Despite Montan- ans overwhelmingly passing an initiative in 2012 that prohibits corporate spending in state and national elec- tions, the state’s campaign rules continue to be chal- lenged and are legally di cult to defend.
Despite this new normal, where elections are littered with dark money, the recent presidential primary has proven candidates can cap themselves. A super PAC spent a whopping $100 million supporting Jeb Bush for president. Look how well that worked out for him.
BY TIM BALDWIN
Naturally, political candidates cannot appease the masses on myriad issues, but this election is worse than that. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have major problems with voters, the root of which stems from people’s distrust and even hatred for their candidacies.
Trump is an unknown quantity and his rhetoric suggests that he may be dangerous internationally and authoritarian domestically. I heard a Chris- tian pastor recently say Trump is not a candidate for whom a Christian should vote. Many agree, but large percentages of Christians feel the same about Hillary. This leaves voting for Gary Johnson (liber- tarian) or a third party that has even less chances of winning than Johnson. If Christians stay home, Clinton will be elected. Are conservatives willing to live with this consequence? Or do they have a duty to defeat the “greater evil?”
Clinton is well known and possesses some of the worst characteristics of a Republican and Demo- crat. Her connections to foreign interests and inter- national banks add to her un-trustworthiness. Her positions on core issues have changed over her career, depending on what seems popular, but she doesn’t have “slick Willy’s” personality to de ect criticism. Many hardcore Democrats have expressed they will not vote for Hillary if she’s the nominee. Hillary, like Trump, may face a problem with disin- terested voters.
BY JOE CARBONARI
Donald Trump is an embarrassing dilettante and
Hillary Clinton is annoying. Nice. We have collectively brought ourselves to this place. Not enough of our best and our brightest go into politics. That leaves the eld to a lower mix of talent.
With the Tea Party came some very good people with some strongly held views. In my opinion, however, those views may not have been fully thought through. Often religion, the Constitution, and the armed forces of the United States of America were presented as threatened by those who disagreed with them. They were exceed- ingly slow to compromise. Very little got done. We need change.
Donald Trump is about change. Hillary Clinton less so. How much change do you want? How fast? Use good sense.
Donald Trump is smart enough, but not nice enough. He does not inspire good behavior. It’s every man for himself; and watch out for the elbows. This does not lead to a well-functioning, free society. It is dangerous, and it does not serve.
Annoyingly, Hillary tries so hard to be perfect she can be relentlessly defensive. In hindsight, for instance, going for the home server was a poor decision ... under- standable, but wrong. Own it. Take the whipping. Stop the whining.
Still, Hillary is smart, and has an experienced team. In our volatile world she is far safer than Trump. Don- ald Trump is not an angel of change. He is a showman. The world his circus.
AMERICAN RURAL DIANE SMITH MEMORIAL DAY AND THE TRIBE
G
“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with owers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their coun- try during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet church- yard in the land ... Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest owers of springtime, let us raise above them the dear old ag they saved from dishonor, let us in this solemn pres- ence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude, – the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.”
This year, Memorial Day coincides with the release of “Tribe,” a new book by bestselling author Sebastian Junger. Tribe explores post-traumatic stress among our veterans and the challenges they face returning from war in today’s disconnected society.
According to Junger, ancient human behaviors such as loyalty, inter-reliance, and cooperation are common among soldiers in wartime but aren’t easily found in modern U.S. society. These cultural de ciencies create daunting challenges for our veterans returning from combat. He also cites studies that show that rising a uence and urbanization correlate with rising rates of depression, suicide, and schizophrenia.
In an earlier article on veterans and PTSD, Junger said, “When I was with American soldiers at a remote outpost in Afghanistan, we slept in narrow plywood huts where I could reach out and touch three other men from where I slept ... The Taliban attacked the position regularly ... And yet I slept better surrounded by those noisy, snoring men than I ever did camping alone in the woods of New England.”
“Many soldiers will tell you that one of the hardest things about coming home is learning to sleep without the security of a group of heavily armed men around them. In that sense, being in a war zone with your pla- toon feels safer than being in an American suburb by yourself. “ Wow.
Junger’s take on tribe and inter-personal reliance touched my heart. Here, in rural and small town America, so many of our friends and neighbors are veterans. Rural Americans opt for military service in large numbers so I always presumed they returned to rural and small towns because of family connections or upbringing. But, if Junger’s right, that’s probably not the whole story. Maybe small town ways, including the sense of belonging and purpose that we expect, indeed embrace, in our small hamlets, create more of the con- ditions that our veterans rightly need and deserve. I sure hope so because they enrich our communities immeasurably as I’m sure General Logan would agree.
With enduring gratitude and admiration, Happy Memorial Day.
Diane Smith is founder and CEO of American Rural
ENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN, A UNION SOLDIER and member of Congress established Memorial
Day, known then as Decoration Day, in 1868.
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MAY 25, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM