Bozoulian | Guest Column by Pete Talbot
The Bar and Montana’s U.S. Senate Race
By Pete Talbot, 5-17-06
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I ran into a herd of trial attorneys the other day.
No, this isn't a lawyer joke. I was at a local watering hole downtown and we bumped shoulders at the bar.
I asked them who they were supporting in the primary election for Senator from Montana.
No comment from the lawyers.
After a couple more cervezas I asked again. Said the lawyers, "anyone who can beat Conrad Burns in November."
"Yeah, but who are you supporting in the primary?" I asked. They said they'd all given money, lots of money, to John Morrison.
"But what about Jon Tester?" I asked.
Silence.
These guys didn't want to talk about it (unusual for lawyers) and stated that they had to be careful. They seemed worried about their names appearing on the wrong campaign contribution lists or endorsement ads, or having the wrong yard sign pop up in their yards.
By their averted eyes, you could tell that most of them wanted to support Tester. I never got to the base of their fears but as the conversation continued, this is what I learned: Morrison has had his eyes on a senate seat for close to a decade and has been lining up lawyer support for years. By the time Tester got in the race, most lawyers were in the Morrison camp and they weren't going back on their commitment, even after the Morrison scandal broke.
There was some concern that if Morrison loses and continues on as auditor, there could be retribution for those who didn't support him. Or if Morrison wins the senate seat, non- supportive lawyers might not curry as many favors. Mostly though, there seemed to be some sort of unwritten code that says lawyers must support other lawyers when they're running for office.
I continued to press. They mumbled some excuses about the challenger with the biggest war chest being the best candidate to take on Sen. Burns. I'm not sure they really believed it, though.
It was an awkward conversation and I left the establishment frustrated.
Someday there'll be an election where the grassroots candidate wins – not the candidate whose key constituency is driven by fear or greed or insider connections – but the one with the most candor, highest integrity and best policy. And someday the candidate with the biggest TV buy won't necessarily be the next Montana Senator. Yeah, right.
Guest columnist Pete Talbot is a film and video producer who works with WestRidge Creative, an advertising firm in Missoula that provides marketing for nonprofits, and coordinates issue and candidate campaigns. He also does freelance film and video production under the name Sterling Productions, a company he founded nearly 30 years ago. Pete is a board member of Missoula’s Sustainable Business Council and treasurer for Missoula Community Access Television (MCAT). Politically, Pete has served on the Montana Democratic Party Executive Board and was chairman of the Missoula County Democrats.
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Comments
I think that you're right in that many attorneys pledged support to Morrison long ago, but I disagree with your theory of retribution from the Auditor's office. As for the currying of favors - are you saying that the Auditor's office is currently handing out favors to friends? If so, I must extend my disagreement.
Whether you support Jon Tester or John Morrison in this primary, we must keep in mind that one of them will win the primary, and then we must all get behind him to defeat Conrad Burns. Big Picture. Both men have given years in service to this state.
Disagree with their politics, disagree with their policies, but don't fling poo such as this so freely without thinking that some will end up dripping from Democrats the morning of June 7.
This is not a contribution to the public discourse on important issues of policy in Montana and the country. In fact, the made up innuendos make me sick.
I'm curious why all these vague references to problems, and unsubstantiated claims are all coming from the blogosphere of people who are supporting Jon Tester. I guess that's what you do when your candidates' real campaign isn't working so well.
Let me recommend something --- you want Tester to win .. go campaign for him. Go convince Montanans that he's the guy that they should send to Washington and take Mike Mansfield's seat.
All the people working out on airy accusations and lack of attribution charges should go back and post a blog entry about an issue that's important to Montanans.
How about access to health care? How about energy independece or the increasing cost of higher education in America. That's why most people run for office, to try and solve real problems.
It's sad that those on the sidelines are more concerned about making a name for themselves slinging arrows into the night hoping someone gets hit.
You write that the attacks on Morrison come from Tester supporters. Some of them come from people who only recently became Tester supporters. But, honeslty, what do you expect? Morrison supporters to attack Morrison?
The only reason the Republican machine is biting its tongue is because they want a lamb for the slaughter.
Montana needs and deserves a creative, loyal, Senator whose only goal is to make the great State of Montana better for all of the residents of the State, and he approaches every problem with the attitude of "Why Not". Send him to Washington where he can serve all Montanans.
John
Montana needs and deserves a
John made a mistake, but his accomplishments far out-weigh and short coming. I ask each of you to look into the mirror and ask yourselves whether you should be throwing stones.
John made it possible for thousands of employees of small business to get affordable health insurance for themselves, their employees and their families. The health plan is funded by $1.00 per-pack of cigarette tax that was passed by the voters passed with a huge margin. He has protected the senior citizens of Montana from fradulent practices that were threatening their life savings. John does not just talk a solution to a problem, he is on the front lines resolving the problems that face the people of Montana on a daily basis. He deserves your vote, and he will represent all of the people of Montana, not just the wealthy special interests.
Maybe we should all just withdraw from politics.
Not true. I think we are making note of all the great quotes from democrats so we can use them in the fall. Here's one: "I really can't see any good reason to support Morrison."
Who investigates Morrison?
Montana investors lost millions of dollars due to his handling of the David Tacke/Venue Tech investigation and his refusal to enforce his own cease and desist order apparently so that he wouldn't have to reveal before his 2004 re-election campaign that he had had an affair with David Tacke's then-fiance', now wife Suzanne Harding.
I too can forgive Morrison for an extra-marital affair. President Clinton had many affairs, was a philanderer of the first order, yet was a good president.
What I can't forgive is Morrison putting his political ambitions/career ahead of the investors of Montana whom he was supposed to protect. Had he complied with the Montana Ethics Code in 2002 and publically announced his conflict of interest as required and completely separated himself from the case, I would have no problem with him.
Doing so would have required Morrison to publically disclose his affair with Harding, and Morrison wasn't about to do that before his 2004 election. Maybe Tacke even implicitly or explicitly balckmailed the state auditor, one the reasons he was allowed to stay in business until the Feds finally shut him down and sent him to prison in 2005.
At the debate here in Billings on May 9, Morrison responded to Jon Tester that his office had done an oustanding job in the Tacke/Venue Tech investigation, that he was not involved in the investigation, and that the Idaho State Securities Commissioner had Morrison deserved an A+ for the way he handled this mess.
Elizabeth Baker, the outside attorney hired to investigate Tacke, and Carol Powell, Morrison's own deputy auditor have both stated that Morrison was directly involved in the investigation and the enforcement action taken against Tacke and Venue Tech.
And since Morrison is so popular in our neighboring state to the west, maybe he should run for the US Senate from Idaho?
The legislature needs to investigate Morrison and the Tacke/Venue Tech mess as the Montana legislature does have the power to impeach the executive officers--of which the state auditor is one.
Conrad is being investigated in the Abramoff scandal by the DOJ, and that's great. Morrison is not being investigated yet for Tacke/Venue Tech, and that stinks. No one--Conrad Burns or John Morrison--is above the law.
And if I'm Burns' campaign manager, I am hoping and praying that my oppponent will not be the Big Sandy farmer but the unethical Missoula personal-injury lawyer.