Archives for 2024

I heard from our friends at Four Directions today, who wanted to bring this to our attention.

Right-Wing Congressman to Run for Senate in Montana, Igniting G.O.P. Fight (New York Times)

As Republicans try to take down Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, and win back control of the chamber, Representative Matt Rosendale is set to enter the race and start a primary clash.

Some excerpts:

Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana is expected to announce a campaign for Senate as soon as this weekend, torching plans from top Republican officials to avoid a bruising primary battle in a state that many in the party view as their best chance to win back control of the chamber.

Mr. Rosendale, an anti-abortion Republican agitator who voted to overturn the 2020 election.

Awaiting the results of the Republican primary is Senator Jon Tester of Montana, a Democrat seeking his fourth term. Mr. Tester is a top target for Republicans given Montana’s deep-red political complexion: Former President Donald J. Trump won the state by more than 16 percentage points in 2020.

More traditional Republican leaders in Washington are pushing the already-announced candidacy of Tim Sheehy, a wealthy businessman seen as a more palatable choice for moderate voters in the general election.

A coterie of powerful Republican super PACs and some of the party’s biggest donors are pouring money behind Mr. Sheehy, who was quick to endorse Mr. Trump’s 2024 presidential bid and campaigned for him during the Iowa caucuses last month.

But Mr. Rosendale, who has long coveted a Senate seat, hasn’t flinched in the face of an intense flex from both sides of the Republican establishment — the deep-pocketed Reagan-era traditionalists as well as the new class of consultants and elected officials who have risen to power alongside Mr. Trump.

To win the nomination, Mr. Rosendale — who in addition to voting to reverse the 2020 results, has voiced support for banning abortion without exceptions — is banking on his own reservoir of good will inside MAGA Nation as well as a base of conservative support in Montana.

Mr. Rosendale, 63, has become a well-known figure in Montana after two state legislative races, four statewide campaigns and most recently a U.S. House contest in 2022. In those seven campaigns over 12 years, Mr. Rosendale has won five contests and lost two.

One of those losses, notably, was his failed bid in 2018 to win the same Senate seat he wants now. Mr. Rosendale finished three points behind Mr. Tester in that race after narrowly winning the primary with 34 percent of the vote.
But that Senate bid strengthened his relationship with Mr. Trump, who as president made multiple trips to Montana in 2018 to campaign with Mr. Rosendale, even though he had initially backed Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in the 2016 presidential primary.

While Mr. Trump remains on the sideline in Montana, Mr. Rosendale been polishing his own America First credentials, in part by hiring Caroline Wren, a longtime Trump fund-raiser who is expected to serve as a key adviser for his Senate campaign.

Last month, Mr. Rosendale hosted a series of campaign-style events in Montana with Representative Matt Gaetz, a provocative and scandal-prone Floridian who maintains close ties to Mar-a-Lago.

Mr. Rosendale and Mr. Gaetz were part of the small band of Republicans who dethroned Representative Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, temporarily shutting down business in the chamber. Mr. Rosendale had objected to installing Mr. McCarthy in the role in the first place, appearing to brush off a phone call on the House floor from Mr. Trump, who had rung up Ms. Greene to urge his support.

Mr. Rosendale also has the backing of Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump White House strategist who is planning a blitz of campaign events in Montana next month. Mr. Rosendale has been a frequent guest on Mr. Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, which is popular with conservatives and has often spread misinformation.

Mr. Rosendale entered 2024 with $1.7 million in his federal campaign account. That’s about 40 percent of what he spent against Mr. Tester six years ago, but a small fraction of the money that is expected to go into the effort to nominate Mr. Sheehy, a retired Navy SEAL who founded an aerial firefighting company.

Let. Them. Fight.

Open thread.

News from Montana – Let. Them. Fight.Post + Comments (31)

Did I ever tell y’all about that time I witnessed a crime, but I was such a bad witness that not only did I fail to contribute to solving the case, but the cops asked my neighbors if I was mentally disabled?

In a way, I was. This happened in the late 1990s in Tampa when I was the frazzled, sleep-deprived mother of a newborn. We lived in a tiny bungalow with a huge front porch near the Hillsborough River.

I spent many sleepless hours on that porch. Once at about 3 AM, I wandered out looking for my glasses (which had been missing for a couple of days). A gigantic raccoon was on the porch toying with the cat’s water dish, and I grabbed a broom and chased it off.

A few minutes later from the porch swing, I saw a car pull up at a house next door to the house directly across the street. I knew all the neighbors and figured it was that family’s teens.

I’m extremely near-sighted, so I couldn’t really see anyone without my glasses. Didn’t think I needed to until a few minutes later, when I heard a loud ruckus and saw people pile into the car at the curb and drive away too fast for a sleepy neighborhood, tires squealing.

Moments later, several cop cars converged on the house across the street. I should have gone inside, but I kept watching from the porch swing as best I could with faulty eyesight. Eventually I saw two cops coming up my walkway.

At the same time, I saw a raccoon scuttling across the porch to the cat’s water dish again, so I reemployed the broom and remarked to the approaching cops, exasperated, “These damn raccoons won’t stay off my porch!”

A cop replied, “Ma’am, that’s a cat.”

I bent over to take a closer look at the animal and exclaimed, “Oh my God, that’s MY cat! Cosmo, I’m so sorry!” and I let him in the house.

The cops questioned me about what I’d seen, which turned out to be an attempted home invasion where people kicked in a door. I couldn’t tell them anything except I saw a car. White maybe? Definitely not black.

I had zero useful information on the occupants. It was dark, I did not have my specs, and their backs were to me. I had no idea what gender or race or whatever. The cops soon grew impatient and left, then slandered me to the neighbors.

My husband slept through all of this, and when I told him about it the next morning, he said fuck the budget — go put new glasses on the credit card. Jesus. I don’t think the missing pair ever turned up.

All this to say:

Yeah, pretty much. Open thread!

Unreliable Narrator (Open Thread)Post + Comments (54)