My Page: Pete Talbot
GUEST COMMENTARY
Montana Democratic Convention, Day 3Senate candidate Jon Tester came to my motel room yesterday. It was just a coincidence. It turned out that my room was in the perfect location for Tester to make his grand entrance for the keynote speech to Montana Democrats. The spotlight could hit him as he descended the stairs from my room to the podium.
We were able to chat for a bit while various invocations, announcements, the pledge of allegiance, etc., went on below.
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GUEST COMMENTARY
Montana Democratic Convention, Day 2You don’t give ammunition to the enemy: no exceptions. The fight for a U.S. Senate seat, and majorities in the Montana House and Senate, are prime examples of this. Message control at the Democratic Party’s platform convention this weekend in Lewistown, Montana, is job one.
In many respects, it’s grassroots democracy in action. Democratic Party peace advocates, environmentalists, social justice activists, ad infinitum, advance resolutions for the party’s platform. They negotiate language and try to build consensus to get their issues in the platform. Resolutions run the gamut from supporting gay marriage, to getting the troops out of Iraq, to incinerating scrap tires in Three Forks.
But if the resolutions are too outrageous, i.e.: they make candidates and leadership vulnerable, then “staff” steps in. The folks from the Schweitzer, Tester and Baucus camps temper the message and the resolutions. If resolutions, like gay marriage or troop withdrawal, ever make it to floor for a vote, they are considerably watered down. The Democratic Party is building a machine and wants to keep winning. Let’s not throw any wrenches into the works.
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Guest Commentary
Montana Dems Cater to State’s Literal “Center”Lewistown, Montana is smack dab in the middle of the state. Are the Democrats sending a subliminal message by holding their platform convention this weekend in the Sapphire City? They aren’t meeting in the left part of the state – at that liberal bastion called Missoula, for example. Nor are they meeting in the right part of the state – Glendive or Miles City or other conservative enclaves. No, the Montana Democratic Party is being centrist.
No rocking the boat this year. It’s a love fest. Pick up a U.S. Senate seat, a couple of seats in the Montana Senate and House, and Montana Democrats are back on the map.
Similar to herding cats, keeping Democrats in line can be a challenge. But with the electoral momentum on their side, Democratic Party leadership is working overtime to make sure this convention runs smoothly.
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Bozoulian | Guest Column by Pete Talbot
Boom to Bust in Bozeman, Big Sky and Missoula?The blush is off the rose. Twenty minutes to get across town on Main Street. Disappearing open space. Crowded fishing, floating and hiking venues.
Bozeman is starting to lose its draw. Anyone visiting Bozeman and willing to plunk down a quarter-of-a-million dollars (minimum) for a home, is thinking twice about trading the traffic jam where they came from for the bumper-to-bumper of Bozeman.
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The Bozoulian / Pete Talbot
As Billings Goes, So Goes MontanaLet’s talk about Billings.
Usually I write about the tragically hip cities of Bozeman and Missoula – the two towns where I spend most of my time. However, last week I went to a distant relative’s wedding in the Magic City.
It had been awhile since I’d traveled to Billings and I was curious to see if things had changed.
At first blush, not much had. Many of the wedding guests arrived in the Billings vehicle of choice: the Dodge diesel-dually, super crew-cab, one-ton pick up. This is a rig that’s longer than most Missoula city busses. The men were wearing new Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots and their best NASCAR baseball hats. The women were dressed, well, sort of the same although there was the occasional floral-print muumuu.
At the reception, my wife urged me not to talk about politics but as the beer flowed (Bud Light, I think) I started chatting with the guests about suburban growth issues, the economy and the upcoming senate election.
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Bozoulian | Guest Column by Pete Talbot
The Bar and Montana’s U.S. Senate RaceI 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."
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Bozoulian | Column by Pete Talbot
On Tap for Montana Elections: Coal, Coal, Coal and GrowthHere are the environmental issues that the 2007 Montana Legislature will have to deal with: coal, coal, coal and growth.
Granted, before the legislature meets next year, there's a primary election in June and a general election in November. No matter who wins, though, bills will be introduced that concern coal drilling and mining, and the rampant growth in some parts of our state (or the lack of it in the other parts).
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Bozoulian | Guest Column by Pete Talbot
Bridging Montana’s Rural/Urban DivideAnother battle shaping up in the New West could be urban v. rural. While the bigger cities are worried about too much growth, the smaller towns are doing everything they can just to survive.
Rural folk don't think that urban folk really care about what's going on beyond those big-city borders. The cities just gobble up the small towns that are close by. Those that are too far away, well, city folk can't be troubled. The farmers, ranchers, loggers and miners think city folk just like to sue -- over coal and timber, wolves and grizzlies, gold and silver -- just about anything.
While people living in the city have an almost mythical view of what goes on in the prairies and mountains. Those cowboys and farm hands and roughnecks will continue on in their colorful ways.
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Bozoulian | Guest Column by Pete Talbot
Why Not Let Global Warming Dictate Growth?If our New West cities don’t dummy up, we’re all screwed.
I’ve written about growth issues in Bozeman and Missoula, in broad strokes, because that’s what I know – but enough of the vagaries. Here’s my solution to the growing pains that all New West cities are feeling.
Base future development on global warming. Seriously. Unless we figure out a way to accommodate our growing population in a way that doesn’t deplete our resources or degrade our quality of life, we might as well be living in L.A. And by using a greenhouse gas emissions formula to steer development, we might also be helping the planet.
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Bozoulian | Column by Pete Talbot
What’s Underneath the “Snobbery” of Bozeman and MissoulaThere have been comments that this column has slighted the other cities and towns in Montana.
"You folks in Bozeman and Missoula are snobs," a woman in Kalispell remarked.
She’s right. We can be pretentious. You don’t hear the spontaneous “howdy” on Main St. in Bozeman, or Higgins Ave. in Missoula, anymore. The welcome wagon isn’t quite as welcoming.
Is it because we’re just too cool or are there underlying factors? Could it be that we’re not quite sure what to make of all these new faces on our streets, that we want this breakneck growth to slow a bit, that maybe we’re losing control over the future of our cities?
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