Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 12.3.14

12 | DECEMBER 3, 2014
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Sen. Jon Tester, left, talks with former Sen. Max Baucus along the rocky bank of where the North Fork and Middle Fork rivers converge north of Columbia Falls. BEACON FILE PHOTO
TESTER
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“The fact is there are a lot of folks who stayed home because they were unhappy with the job we did, and who say we were not paying attention to the middle class. And they are right,” Tester said. “We need to work harder on making a clear, refined message that tells those folks we are working for them, and then we need to show them that we mean it.”
Tester said he would tout measures that create jobs and empower the mid- dle class “so folks can make a good liv- ing and live the American dream. I know that sounds rich in prose and lean in meat, but the truth is we can do things in the Senate that can help the middle class in this country.”
In selecting Tester to head the DSCC – the leadership committee responsible for spearheading the campaign efforts of the Democratic Party in the Senate, including messaging, candidate recruit- ment and prodigious fundraising – the party chose a farmer and former school teacher from Big Sandy who has won two difficult, high-profile U.S. Senate races, gained traction in traditionally Republi- can constituencies in a red state and says he understands rural values.
It’s also not his first time recruiting qualified, competitive candidates, and he points to his decade on the Big Sandy school board and recruitment efforts in the state Senate as proof of his ability to work with others and appeal to varied ranks of voters.
When Tester was elected to the Montana Senate in 1998, his colleagues tapped him for party leadership early on because they recognized his ability to bring people from diverse backgrounds and ideologies together.
During the 2004 campaign cycle, Tester crisscrossed Montana recruiting candidates to run for the state Senate, helping Democrats win back six seats to capture the Montana Senate for the first time since 1992.
Tester said the experiences helped hone a valuable skillset, and that he’ll rely on the same on-the-ground tactics while leading the DSCC campaign arm, benefiting Democrats in 2016, as well as Montana.
Tester said his proven appeal to ru- ral and middle class voters will also buoy the campaign efforts as he recruits can- didates who personify the American middle class, and not the flash and dys- function of Beltway politics.
“I think the people I appeal to are people who like real people in politics and not politicians,” he said. “The truth is I am still one of those guys. I still farm almost every weekend. I have a second job. People like real. And sometimes that is all I can be. I can’t be something I’m not, and I don’t always toe the party line.”
Pragmatic problem solving rather than divisive politicking is the future of a vibrant Democratic party and a func- tioning Congress, Tester said, and he and others driving the massive recruit- ment and fundraising campaign share those values.
Acknowledging that the chairman- ship will add to his already time-con- suming workload, Tester dismissed crit- icism that it will distract him from his senatorial duties, saying the influential leadership position is a boon for Mon- tana.
“I think that it gives me the oppor- tunity to have more influence, to go out and recruit more people, have more of a say in leadership meetings that I have never sat in on before, and it gives me the opportunity to really push forward a policy agenda that will move this coun- try forward,” he said. “Having a seat at the table is going to be a good thing for me to capitalize on.”
He said he will make small business, agriculture and the middle class top priorities, and “recruit folks who share those values.”
“That is the first priority right now,”
he said.
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