Montana Legislature

Poisonous Words on Day 88

By Dan Testa, 4-25-07

With the threat of a special session looming over a Legislature on Day 88 that has ground to a screeching halt on Montana’s biggest issues, Majority Leader Mike Lange of Billings tore into Gov. Brian Schweitzer at Wednesday’s House Republican Caucus meeting.

“I will never let this guy (Schweitzer) or anybody else cross the line that we set on Day One,” Lange said. “So my message to the governor is ‘Stick it up your ass!’ That’s my message to him. Stick it up your ass!”

Some Republicans applauded, others looked sheepish.

Lange’s remarks to fellow Republicans came after a failed early-morning attempt to negotiate a tax relief plan with Schweitzer and his staff, and offered a glimpse into the intense strain on lawmakers utterly unable to reach a plan balancing the state budget for the next two years while providing some tax relief.

“I give a crap about honor and dignity and sticking up for what you believe in. Today’s the day I’m pissed off at that S-O-B on the second floor (Schweitzer) that thinks he’s going to run the state like a dictator,” Lange said. “So I want each and every one of you to get pissed off today because your way of lifestyle is under threat. It isn’t about a few million bucks in the budget or a deal for a thousand-dollar bill or any other of that crap. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Lange’s quotes come from video shot by Beartooth NBC.

Lange and Schweitzer’s meeting dealt with House Bill 833, a conglomeration of 14 different tax relief and loophole-closing plans. They discussed whether Republicans would back the bill in exchange for Democratic support of Lange’s House Bill 678, which boosts school funding to relieve local property taxes.

“He can table every bill I have, I don’t give a shit!” Lange said. “I will not be offered a bribe.”

Lange, a potential Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, later apologized for his remarks during the House’s afternoon floor session.

“It was inappropriate,” he said. “I certainly meant no offense, I just happened to be frustrated.”

Great Falls Democrat Bill Wilson was in the room for Lange’s remarks and called the experience “surreal.” Typically a few members of the opposing party sit in on caucus meetings.

“We had pages in the room today,” Wilson said, noting the teenage volunteers who help out in the House and Senate. “They witnessed a massive denigration of this institution.”

“I’ve seen this place slide so far, I’ve seen compromise go out the window,” Wilson added. “This is a very low point in the history of this body, for that to happen publicly.”

Schweitzer sought to dispel any notion that he bullied Lange, characterizing their meeting as “very cordial, very friendly, shook hands.”

“I have the utmost respect for Rep. Lange,” Schweitzer said. “One small outburst is certainly not the measure of the man.”

Schweitzer said he is still hopeful a deal can be worked out by Friday, the session’s final day, but if not he will call a special session without pay for legislators “as soon as possible.”

If the Legislature does spill over into a special session, Schweitzer added, “it’s only because they wanted to, not because they couldn’t get it done.”

As the day wore on after the morning’s inflammatory remarks, the breakdown over that deal seemed to signal an increase in the distrust between House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans.

The Legislature has been at a stalemate all week with the four bills funding the state budget now stalled in the House. Speaker of the House Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, has said he wants Schweitzer to sign off on permanent property tax relief before he will move on the budget. Schweitzer has said he will not sign off on any tax cut until he can assess the state budget in its entirety.

But with two days left in the session, the brinksmanship is approaching a new level. The main K-12 education funding bill(PDF) is linked to Lange’s HB 678, so no action can be taken until a tax cut plan is worked out.

Even if the House does take action on some of the budget bills, there are a number of procedural maneuvers that must take place: debates, the drafting of amendments, the formation of conference committees to reconcile differences between the House and Senate.

House Democrats moved to take action on budget bills dealing with funding the state executive branch and other agencies(PDF), the judicial branch (PDF), SB 833, Schweitzer’s “Clean and Green” energy incentive plan and others, but all were shot down on party-line votes. Only two bills were successfully blasted: one to expand the Childrens Health Insurance Program, and another to fund the Legislature(PDF).

Many are still hopeful a special session can be avoided.

“We’ve got plenty of time,” said Senate Minority Whip Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell. “The debates are far, far shorter now. People are tired; people want to get out of here.”

At noon, the female Senate leadership were in the office of Majority Leader Carol Williams, D-Missoula, eating lunch and watching the House debates on TV.

“As you can see, we’re hanging on every word,” Williams said, pointing to the TV.

“I really do think the Senate Republicans are going to help us out of this dilemma,” Williams added.

But House Democrats were not as hopeful.

“We didn’t get enough done today,” said Minority Leader John Parker, D-Great Falls. “We’re right on track for a special session.”

Republicans maintain their only goal for this session is permanent property tax relief and say Democrats are trying to muscle that option out of the way with a bloated budget and rampant government expansion. Dems counter that any ongoing tax cuts must be sustainable.

It’s the same argument the parties have been having for months, with no solution in sight.

“We were no different on Day One than on Day 88,” Lange said. 

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