LR-131 sucks. Why I’m voting No and yelling about it.
Come with me my friends, back to 2021, during the Montana Republican-led legislative session. During that session, Republicans held majorities in both chambers of the legislature and the governorship. They pretty much could cram any bill they wanted down our throats. And they kind of did with bills helping to poison the environment, steal our human rights, and restrict voting rights. During their rapid-fire shitty session, the Montana GOP also planned out a little treat for our ballots in November 2022. They could have passed this garbage during the session, but they saved LR-131 for the ballot box. Why? Because they wanted to play on voters’ heart strings and push anti-abortion lies to drum up votes in 2022.
The Montana GOP wants voters to ignore their track record of selling Montana to the highest bidder and undermining everyday Montanans. Diversion time! Hmmm, how can we make Montanans big mad at Democrats? I’ve got it! Let’s tell our voters that doctors are murdering infants at birth! How can Democrats not be outraged at that? They must be monsters! Vote with us!
Just out of curiosity, how did our Great Falls legislators vote to put LR-131 on the ballot? Shocker almost the complete Republican slate voted in favor: Fitzpatrick, Galloway, Gist, Kerns, McKamey, Sheldon-Galloway, and Trebas.
What a bunch of bullshit.
Doctors already try to save their patients’ lives to every extent possible. Under Montana law, homicide charges can be filed “if a person purposely, knowingly or negligently causes the death of a premature infant birth alive, if the infant is viable.” Meanwhile, dumb ass LR-131 comes in and provides penalties of up to $50,000 in fines and up to 20 years in prison. What doctor wouldn’t perform unnecessary care to avoid that? What this bill does is force doctors to perform medical treatment for incurable issues. Grieving parents having to watch their dying infant undergo hopeless, expensive medical intervention – without being able to hold their child during their last moments of life.
All for political jockeying at the polls.
Republican Representative Matt Regier (out of Kalispell) is a sponsor of this cow patty, I mean, bill. He is on record stating that the proposed referendum simply means that medical providers can’t intentionally take the life of an independent, living, breathing infant. ::Cough, cough, Bullshit::
Standard of care won’t change? Even with a threat of 20 years prison time over doctors’ heads? Tell that to the patients suffering from ectopic pregnancies in Texas and Missouri with their total abortion bans. Doctors are scared to intervene until the patient’s health is completely deteriorated, even though they know no ectopic pregnancy is survivable.
Why are Republicans so adamant about inserting themselves in people’s private medical decisions? Why are you so obsessed with uteruses, my duderuses? (Rhetorical questions of course.) We know why. They want to control us. And they aren’t afraid to lie and tap into voters’ protective instincts to do it. What a travesty if this it gets voted into law. Please vote no on LR-131.
Across the country Trump supporters falsely say the last election was stolen. They demand “reform”
which really means they are demanding changes that disenfranchise millions of voters and threaten to
make our election system less secure and easier to manipulate so they can “win” future elections. Many
of these people are true believers but the farther up the far-right food chain the promoters of election
fraud myths understand that the best way to assure that they remain in power is to undermine the
public’s faith in free and fair elections.
Having lost their efforts to destabilize our elections at the national level after the court system
consistently rejected their allegations of fraud, they have turned to state and local organizing. In state
after state, legislators have introduced bills to limit and complicate elections. All funded and supported
by right-wing organizations and activists (Like Mike Lindell, the My Pillow Guy).
The voter fraud road show has also shown up in Cascade County and helped create a cadre of activists
who have busily been wasting local government’s time and resources. Two weeks before the primary
election, on May 24th Teressa Manzella brought featured speaker, Mark Cook, a shadowy figure from
Colorado who purports to be a computer expert specializing in “root cause analysis, for a community
meeting held Heritage Hall at MSU Great Falls as part of a state-wide tour promoting the conspiracy
theory that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
Here in Cascade County, there is a very active group of election deniers. As in Nevada and Colorado
voting fraud activists are targeting the county commission. Election deniers across the country are
getting almost no help from local clerk and recorders regardless of political beliefs or party affiliation.
The reason is simple. Clerk and Recorders are intimately involved in our election process, and they
know that the allegations of fraud are a baseless waste of time.
Here in Cascade County, Lewis Zanto, a local realtor who works for Dustin Young and Company, was
given 1 hour on the County Commission agenda to discuss “election integrity” on April 25th. About 35
people attended the meeting including local far-right legislators Lola and Steven Galloway, County
Commission candidate and conspiracy promoter Rae Grulkowski, and various local republican activists.
County Commissioner Joe Briggs pointed out the irony of republican activists complaining about the
2020 election since Republicans won all Cascade County offices. “As I look around the room, I see the
people that I can identify by party roles. Republicans. I’ll just put it that way,” Briggs said. “I would have
expected our folks across the aisle to be the ones that were concerned about what happened in the last
election.”
Following this presentation, the Commissioners received a follow-up letter dated June 21 from Jan
Wenaas. In the letter Wenaas said that she wanted to know if action had been taken on the information
“her group” had presented at the April meeting. She also presented her analysis of certain election
software and audit procedures.
On June 24th Deputy County Attorney, Jennifer Quick, responded to the points in Wenaas previous letter with a four-page memo to the County Commissioners. Though the memo obviously took hours to
prepare, in essence the response to Wenaas was that items listed fall under the purview of the clerk and
recorder and/or the Secretary of State. On July 15th the County Commission formally responded to
Wenass and to her ally, Devereaux Biddick, using the information and memo from Deputy County
Attorney Quick.
On July 29 County Commission candidate Rae Grulkowski was back in front of the County Commission,
this time presenting a letter from Devereaux Biddick. In this letter Biddick alleged that the county
primary election did not conform to standards set by the Secretary of State. She requested two
precincts be “reviewed for reconciliation.”
Freemen revisited?
In the early 1990s Montana was plagued by the Freemen, a group conspiracy driven “wing nuts” who
attended public meeting making wild and unsubstantiated allegations of government misconduct. They
also filed blizzards of paperwork snowing over local elected officials. And when their demands weren’t
met, they convened their own courts and issued arrest warrants for local officials. They continued their
efforts to gum up the work of local and state government until the whole scheme came crashing down
in a confrontation with the FBI. At the end of the day these election deniers aren’t much different.
Who’s Who in the Big Lie?
Mark Cook (Mesa County, Colorado) Computer Expert Presenter
Theresa Manzella (legislator from Ravalli County area)
Ron Stahley (Cascade County Republican PAC)
Lou Zanto (Cascade County Republican PAC) – Realtor at Dustin Young & Company andPresident of Prairie
Garage sale season is wrapping up, but bargain hunters stumbled across more than grandma’s old craft supplies at a recent “Tactical Civics Fundraiser.”
What the Funk is Tactical Civics?
Don’t be misled by the title. This group has little to do with civics and far more to due with the far-right fantasy of overthrowing our government. Members of this militia organization encourage citizens to take the law into their own hands. To the average non-cultist, this sounds a lot like encouraging neighbors to commit crimes against each other. The group gained momentum during the Covid-era, opposing mask mandates and yelling “Oppression!” when what they meant was “Minor Inconvenience!” Chief among their propaganda is an urgent message- We are not a militia! However, that’s a hard sell when chief among the group’s goals is to challenge our Democracy and send armed citizens out to enforce laws as they see fit.
Masking their true intentions is a key, well, tactic of Tactical Civics. This was evident in Great Falls’ garage sale/fundraiser, which encouraged folks to bring a canned food donation. Unfortunately for Republicans, many Great Falls citizens are actually paying attention. We can spot militia organization when we see it, and this event was clearly an attempt to recruit new members into this insane ideology.
What’s more terrifying than a militia group holding a fundraiser under the guise of helping the poor? Having 2 wealthy and well-known elected officials play host. This fundraiser was held on property owned by Republican Legislators Steven and Lola Galloway. The Galloways make no attempt to hide their crazy, with Lola Sheldon-Galloway frequently protesting outside of Planned Parenthood, threatening our school boards, and making up lies about stolen elections. Still, hosting a fundraiser for a militia group is questionable when both Steven and Lola are currently seeking re-election.
The Galloways’ continued scorn for our system of government begs the question, why the funk are they running for office when they clearly hate our country?
A Facebook post advertising the Fundraiser shows the Galloway-owned property playing host.
We recently posted an article on the Montana Republican Party Platform. Yikes. It was creepy and disturbing. Today, I figured we could take a look at the Montana Democratic Party Platform and see what the Vote Blue crowd supported during their Party Convention in July 2022. The meeting came a few weeks after the Montana Republicans and, unlike their Republican counterparts, the Democrats had near unanimous agreement to their platform.
The party added new language around Democrats’ support for the right to abortion in Montana: “Protecting a person’s right to abortion, contraception, and other reproductive healthcare.” Delegates didn’t fixate on the issue, unlike at the Montana Republican convention. As noted by Democratic Representative Laurie Bishop of Livingston, Montana Democrats have long focused on defending the right to abortion.
What about the other issues that we highlighted in our article about the Montana GOP platform? Here is a side-by-side comparison of the relevant quotes from each party’s platform.
Issue of Concern
Montana Democratic Positions
Montana Republican Positions
LGBTQ+ Rights
“We support equal treatment of all individuals before the law, regardless of race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical or intellectual ability, physical or mental health status, language of origin, national origin, or marital status.”
“We believe the ideal traditional family structure is a father and a mother….” “We support policies and services that preserve and strengthen the traditional family units as well as promoting the wellbeing and innocence of children and youth.”
Public Education
“We are…committed to a continuum of high-quality, equitable public education opportunities with adequate state funding to develop the potential of every Montanan.”
“Adopt school choice policies.” “Facilitating programs that allow money to follow the child for education opportunities…inside or outside the public school system.”
Climate Change
“Montana Democrats believe we must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels through a combination of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the development of clean, renewable energy sources.” “We believe we can achieve this goal and create – or provide transitions into – good Montana jobs.
“We…oppose any regulation on domestic energy production or consumption. We oppose any and all parts of the Green New Deal, the ‘War on Fossil Fuels’, the Paris Climate Accord…”
Workers’ Rights
“We support the right of workers to establish democracy in the workplace by forming or joining independent unions for purposes of bargaining and advocating collectively.
“We believe that membership in labor bargaining units should be optional.”
Affordable housing: “We support increased state investment in affordable, quality housing for all Montanans.”
Property tax relief: “A fair and equitable property tax system that provides funding for necessary local government services, requires wealthy property owners to pay their fair share.”
Mental health: “expansion of affordable access to crisis support, substance use disorder treatment…and other mental health care.”
Child care: “Ensure access to affordable, high quality child care…reducing out-of-pocket costs for working and middle-class families.”
Montana constitution: “We support Montana’s constitution…and we’ll resist any partisan effort to repeal and replace Montana’s constitution.”
Well, what the funk! I have to say that sounds pretty appealing to me. What future vision are Montana voters going to select in November?
Candidate Rae Grulkowski’s lies were the subject of a New York Times article.
Both photos taken from individuals respective websites
County Commissioner Don Ryan
Cascade County Commission Race, District #3. Where facts are no match for fear!
The Cascade County Commission race between Don Ryan (Democrat) and Rae Grulkowski (Republican) is the only contested commission race this cycle in our county. Who are these people?
Commissioner Don Ryan was appointed in early 2021, after the retirement of Jane Weber. Don Ryan previously served in the Montana Senate for two terms and was elected four times for the Great Falls School Board. Ryan has been serving on the Cascade County Commission without any newsworthy problems. His website provides a long list of accomplishments during his tenure as commissioner…but what about his opponent Rae Grulkowski?
You might recognize the name from Grulkowski’s disinformation campaign against the National Heritage Area (NHA) effort in Central Montana. Based on conspiracy theory-filled information she gleaned from the internet, Grulkowski decided to fight the proposed heritage area in 2020. Her dishonest efforts were notable enough to make the national news, starting when she spent $1,300 to send out packets full of lies to hundreds of voters. According to the New York Times, Grulkowski told the voters that “the designation would forbid landowners to build sheds, drill wells or use fertilizers and pesticides. It would alter water rights, give tourists access to private property, create a new taxation district and prohibit new septic systems and burials on private land, she said. None of this was true [emphasis added].”
As noted in the article, Grulkowski did not identify a single instance of a property owner’s being adversely affected by a heritage area. What she is worried about is not anything specific, but “wide open things that could happened.” National Heritage Areas have been around since the 1980s. I guess nearly 40 years is not enough precedent for Grulkowski.
Emboldened by her success in spreading lies and conspiracy theories, she is now running for our county commission!
Aside from her lies on the NHA, what else can we expect from Grulkowski?
Luckily, the New York Timesarticle provides a nice summary of her stated beliefs for us:
“Outside of a poultry coop, as her chickens and ducks squawked, Ms. Grulkowski ticked through the falsehoods she had read online and accepted as truths in the past year: The Covid vaccine is more dangerous than the coronavirus. Global child-trafficking rings control the political system. Black Lives Matter was responsible for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The United Nations is plotting to control world population and seize private land. Mr. Trump was the rightful winner of last year’s election. Even in Cascade County, where Mr. Trump won 59 percent of the vote, Ms. Grulkowski argued that 3,000 illegal votes were cast.”
One of the greatest hits on her public Facebook posts is spreading the “Big Lie” about election integrity. In one example, Grulkowski wants us to “write to the Secretary of State, Legislators, and Congressman to encourage them to investigate Montana’s 2020 election.” What information is Grulkowski looking for? Does she think the elected Republicans she is asking people to write to were illegitimately elected? Did Trump not get 56.9% of the vote in Montana in 2020? Were Democrats robbed of their seats?
It really makes a person wonder. What kind of detachment from reality can we expect next if she is elected?
Montana Republicans want to ban all abortion and more with their 2022 Party Platform
In July 2022, the Montana Republican party approved a new party platform at their platform convention. You might be asking yourself. What the funk is a party platform? Why should I care? Well, well, well, you’ve come to the right place and you absolutely should care.
What the funk is a party platform?
A political party platform is a formalized set of goals supported by a political party. By checking out a party’s platform you can see a party’s principles, goals and positions. This helps predict what legislators and leaders will actually do if they’re elected. For example, this data analysis found that “Overall, Democrats in Congress voted for positions that matched their platforms 74 percent of the time in the past 30 years, while Republicans did so 89 percent of the time.” This year the Montana GOP successfully introduced platform language to explicitly call on the Republican legislators to identify bills that link to specific elements in the platform and to pass at least 20 such bills in each chamber to ensure that “Party Platform goals become a priority each session.” We absolutely can expect the MT GOP platform to have a direct connection to the laws passed by Montana Republicans in the future.
What does a Montana Republican majority in 2023 look like?
Glad you asked! Let’s take a gander at what Montana Republicans have put in their party platform to see what kind of shit they’re bringing for us in 2023.
For abortion rights, the Montana Republican platform now states, “We support complete ban on elective abortion.” And yes, they mean a complete ban on abortions with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. At the Republican convention, a couple of moderate Republicans tried to soften the language to provide exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. Those attempted arguments were met with boos and voted down. Cheers were heard when Republican Derek Skees of Kalispell interjected, “I was involved in helping put this language in here: life begins at conception. Period.”
What other areas do we have to worry about? Too many to list. Here are some other areas with concerning language from the Republican party platform:
LGBTQ+ issues “We believe the ideal traditional family structure is a father and a mother….” “We support policies and services that preserve and strengthen the traditional family units as well as promoting the wellbeing and innocence of children and youth.” Where do these positions leave space for our LGBTQ+ citizens?
Undermining of public schools, “adopt school choice policies.” “Facilitating programs that allow money to follow the child for education opportunities…inside or outside the public school system.”
Inaction on climate change “we…oppose any regulation on domestic energy production or consumption. We oppose any and all parts of the Green New Deal, the ‘War on Fossil Fuels’, the Paris Climate Accord…”
Attacks on worker rights “We believe that membership in labor bargaining units should be optional.”
Wow.
I do not look forward to living in a state moving full speed ahead towards this agenda. Republicans have made it clear that they intend to reshape Montana into a Big-Government haven with no respect for individual privacy. If Republicans maintain their stranglehold on state offices, Montana’s future looks dystopian indeed.
