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FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS JUNE 4, 2014 | 11

GOP House Candidates Highlight

Th
pardon
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Conservative Views at Final Debate

gun, anti-abortion and pro-business, but he won’t vote for leg-
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
re
Our
islation in lockstep if it’s not good for Montana.
m
The textured ield of Republican candidates chasing after “I don’t work for the NRA,” he said. “I’m a member. I appre-
Montana’s lone U.S. House seat adopted new conservative con- ciate and respect the NRA, but I don’t work for them.”
tours in the weeks before the June 3 primary as contenders de- Turiano used the opportunity to ask Zinke whether he
nounced climate change, called for President Barack Obama’s would support eforts to impeach Obama over his handling
mess
impeachment and urged a pro-
of the 2012 terrorist attack in
hibition on all immigration. Benghazi, Libya.

The ive GOP candidates vy- Zinke said Benghazi is a
ing for Montana’s House seat “sensitive” issue for him.
y
also sparred over their stances “I do believe we can put the
on spending, health care, abor- president on the run. He’s had
tion and gun rights in a inal six years of doing his will to this
debate before the primary elec-
country, and I believe that’s in-
tions.
tentional dismantling of Ameri-
The primary candidates
can power both domestically

were former state Sen. Ryan and abroad,” Zinke said. “So
Zinke, of Whiteish, state Sen. is impeachment in the cards?
Elsie Arntzen, of Billings, state Let’s hope we have the votes.”
Sen. Matt Rosendale, of Glen- Zinke said he was conident
dive, former state Sen. Corey Republicans would win back
Stapleton, of Billings, and Drew the House and the Senate in the
Turiano, of Helena.
fall midterm elections, meaning The Republican U.S. House debate. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON

The Republican nominee the party would be better posi-
faces the winner of the Demo- tioned to ind answers to these FOR COMPLETE RESULTS FROM THE JUNE 3
cratic primary race between questions.
former Sen. Max Baucus aide Turiano then pressed Zin- PRIMARY, VISIT FLATHEADBEACON.COM
John Lewis and former state ke on his answer, asking, “so, is
Rep. John Driscoll in Novem- that a yes or a no?”
ber’s general election.
“Yes,” Zinke said.
The makeup of the general election race was decided after When asked about climate change, four of the ive candi-

the Beacon went to press, but up-to-date coverage is available dates, all of whom encouraged natural resource extraction and
at www.latheadbeacon.com.
energy independence, said they did not believe it was human-
Last week’s May 28 debate was hosted by the Glacier Coun- caused.
try Forum and the Montana chapter of Americans for Prosper- Zinke, who has campaigned on the notion that energy in-
ity, an advocacy group funded by the billionaire Koch broth- dependence is critical in order to emerge from debt within 10
ers, and featured lively exchanges between candidates trying years, was more reluctant to shoot down the claim that global
to distinguish themselves in a contentious GOP race.
warming is human-caused.
Although most candidates agreed on bedrock conservative “The truth of the matter is I don’t know. I don’t think any-

principles, ranging from health care to spending and climate one in this room knows,” Zinke said. “What I do know is that
change, they difered on how to achieve the goals they believe you don’t disassemble American power and industry on a may-
would put the country on the mend and back on track.
be. It is a war of fossil fuels against pixie dust and hope, and I
The exception was Turiano, a tea party activist who un- choose fossil fuels.”
abashedly promoted his controversial views on immigration, Arntzen said the issue of climate change is part of a power
often dropping soundbites that amused audience members, grab by Democrats, who wish to interfere with states’ rights
but failing to use more than a fraction of his allotted time.
and shift more control to the federal government.

“The most important issue facing America and conserva- The candidates all agreed that the Afordable Care Act,
tism is immigration,” he said, arguing that immigrants voting or Obamacare, was a disaster, and three candidates called for
in elections favor Democrats who advocate government-fund- outright repeal of the massive health care overhaul.
ed social programs. “If we don’t place a moratorium on immi- The candidates united in their belief that health care is not
gration, conservatives are looking at an extinction level event. a constitutional right, with Turiano arguing that it is the inal
It will be the conservative singularity.”
step toward a single-payer system, and Rosendale and Zinke
Still, the tone of the mostly genial debate only turned acri- ofering more measured solutions.
monious when the candidates were given the opportunity to “I don’t believe it’s a right, I believe it’s a responsibility of a

ask questions of one another, with all candidates taking the great nation to make sure that access to health care is there,”
opportunity to ire pot shots at Zinke’s voting record, which Zinke said.
they said was neither conservative enough nor consistent.
All ive candidates said there should be no additional Wil-
Zinke, who had raised more money than any of the other derness or Wild and Scenic designations, with Rosendale and
candidates in contention for the Republican nomination, ab- Turiano calling for the return of all federal lands to state con-
sorbed the lion’s share of attacks from his opponents.
trol.
Stapleton used his opportunity to accuse Zinke of having About 35 percent of Montana land is controlled by the U.S.

“had the most liberal voting record” of any other candidate, government, and Arntzen said she would support returning
and accused the former senator of “lip-lopping” on issues like federal land to state control, but only if it did not require grow-
unions, guns and abortion.
ing state government.
“I think we need to elect a congressman that has the con- Zinke said reforms are needed to access and develop the
sistent conservative principles that we never compromise natural resources on those lands more quickly, and Stapleton
on,” Stapleton said, adding that Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, said low taxes would boost resource development.
received a scant 42 percent rating from the National Rile As- [email protected]
sociation.

www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
Zinke responded with conviction, asserting that he is pro-
www.T