Purple Politics
Schweitzer Bandwagon Out of Control
By Courtney Lowery, 3-10-05
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Brian Schweitzer is something of a media darling this week - especially among Democratic bloggers. After getting some oblique kudos from the national press last week for delivering a folksy brush-off to President Bush, the gun-toting Democratic governor is now being touted for the presidency himself by influential liberal blogger Kos. Other bloggers are calling him the Democrats' "Howard Dean on the Ranch."
The Montana State Republican Party is having no laughs at any of this. On their Web site they ask if Schweitzer himself is pushing all the blogging himself or if it strangely has something to do with blogger David Sirota's support of him. Meanwhile Republican legislators are livid over what they consider to be disrespectful treatment by the rookie governor.
It's nice to see ol' Brian in the limelight, and it's hard to have much sympathy for Montana Republicans, whose unexpected minority status has left them whining like small children whose mom has taken away a toy.
But those stirring Schweitzer-mania don't seem to know all that much about him. Kos' take on Schweitzer is a bit trite, reflecting the governor's "purple" positioning far more than any actual actions: "His brand of Western economic populism, conservationism (not "environmentalism"), and strict supporter of gun rights is the ticket to taking the Mountain West, hence, the whole country."
All this aside, we should point out that we like Gov. Schweitzer and what he's been up to. He's a helluva nice guy. But, what everyone likes at this point is his soft-hearted, Yosemite-Sam persona. He's still only a few months in office and frankly, hasn't done much but kick up dust, piss off a few Republicans, make promises and throw parties -- what any normal Governor would do his first few months in office. A few months does not a Governor make, much less a presidential candidate. So, before we jump on his bandwagon with "purple power" shirts and banners, let's see what he does with natural resource development, the economy, social issues and our region's image. See our previous story about Gov. Schweitzer.
What's good for politics isn't always good for the public. Schweizter's already a big win for Democratic politics, but we'll wait for him to prove he's good for the citizens of the West.
UPDATE: The mania continues on Daily Kos.
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Comments
Hey, if anyone can bring positive changes to Montana through the thick haze of partianship, so be it, Democrat or Republican!
Odds are the same old political ponies will be trotted out, argued over with biased teeth gnashing, and, as usual, the good citizens of Montana will again be short-changed.
In the long run, it's sad political game that's played out here in Montana and across the nation: Forgive "our guy" all his obvious faults and string up "their guy" for tying his shoes wrong.
We all grow older, yet so few of us grow up. Journalists included.
Secondly, there is NO comparison between Dean and Schweitzer other than the apparent Pixie Stick & Jolt Cola addiction.