The Richer The Are, The Harder They Fall

"IT COULD HAPPEN"

 

 

As a television weatherman might say, "Let's go into the storm for a better look."

 

Congressman Steve Daines (R) - and rich out-of-state billionaire friends - have spent millions and will probably spend much more to gain a U.S. Senate seat.

 

Candidate Amanda Curtis (D) - and Montana friends - has a few hundred thousand and one television ad and is working hard to gain the Montana U.S. Senate seat.

 

Meanwhile, back at the political pollsters,  Daines has a whopping lead of SIXTEEN PERCENTAGE POINTS...AND NARROWING!

Since everyone knows that political offices can be bought, shouldn't that be a much bigger number than 16%?

It's time for Montanans to vote on Nov. 4th for someone who will represent them instead of those billionaires in distant states.  Those guys have bigger fish to fry and are only interested in getting a warm body from Montana - as long as he is a Republican, and even better, one with a Tea Party mentality.

So, Montana...do you want to vote for who YOU want, or do you want to let OUT-OF-STATERS vote for you?
 

 

 

  





Doing the right thing for Montana...

The following are two letters from the pages of The Bozeman Daily Chronicle's "letters to the editor:"

 

"Amanda Curtis will do right

by Montanans in Washington"

 

   "Montana's elections are decided by the independent voters in our state.  These discerning citizens place substance over money and expensive TV ads.  They can spot the manipulation of outside interests like the Koch brothers, who support fellow multi-millionaires to carry on their political agenda in Washington.

   The race for our vacant Senate seat is more important than ever.  The control of the Senate will determine whether middle-class America will be represented or will lose out to the one percent who also control Wall Street.  The vast majority of Montanans are middle-class citizens striving for representation.

   Amanda Curtis will represent us best by speaking clearly on vital issues, she will not vote to close down the government.  She knows how to work with everyone, regardless of political affiliation.  She is beholding to no one except her constituents.  The reason she is not appearing on your TV screens dozens of times during the day is because she does not have a 'political machine' who owns her, she is her own person and will remain so.

   Let's surprise the political pundits by sending Steve Daines back to the House (his fancy house)."

 

Maria C. Vazquez de Spitler

Bozeman

 

 

"Ordinary Americans benefit

when you vote Democrat"

 

   "In 2010, Mitch McConnell said, 'The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.'  And so all the obstructionism perpetuated by the Republicans has been to achieve that goal and having failed, to blacken anything Obama and the Democrats have tried to do.  Never mind that Republican efforts have hurt the majority of Americans and have stalled the proper working of our government.

   Nevertheless, the unemployment rate has dropped to under 6 percent, the economy continues to improve, even though Republicans refuse to raise the minimum wage, and the Affordable Care Act has extended health insurance to over 20 million Americans.

   So when you go to the polls, consider well who is really on the side of ordinary Americans, not millionaires.  Vote for Democratic candidates like John Lewis, who have the interests of most Americans, the State of Montana, the country and our earth as their concern."

 

Barbara Kligerman

Bozeman

 

 



 

 



The Once-Grand Symbol...

 

 

It is with such pitiful irony that the mascot for the Republican Party was chosen because of its benevolent and seemingly ageless adoration from people around the world. 

 

The elephant is one of the most admired creatures on Earth. They are known to show exceptional grief at the loss or injury of their own, and are the center of attention in circus tents around the world.  They are one of the most photographed animals, and are adored by adults and children alike.  An elephant's slow, methodical movement as it goes about the required tasks are legendary.


None of that, however, has defined the political party to which it has long been its symbol.  The political party has, in fact, become much the opposite.

The elephant's once-revered attraction - its highly-prized tusks - has become its downfall.  Much like the political party it symbolizes, it will eventually be brought to extinction because of the greed of people.

The followers of the "elephant party" will fight to poach the last tusk from the last elephant before slipping into the dust bin of American Political history.

Moral:  Next time, my Republican friends, chose a bag of gold for your symbol. It's inanimate, needs no special care, and better suits your image.

...and it will still buy you all of the elections your little hearts desire.





   

Money, Money, Money...

 

 

As of October 6, 2014, Congressman Steve Daines has spent $1.5 Million on almost 12,000 television ads.

 

Also, Americans for Prosperity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Karl Rove's American Crossroads - categorized as "Republicans and Allies" have spent $188,000 on an additional 2,600 television ads.

 

Amanda Curtis has $505,000 on hand and has not spent a dime on television ads, thus far.

All of that said, you would think Daines should be leading by thirty or forty points.  He isn't, and the margin is narrowing.  Many think the outcome will be decided by who shows up to vote. There are enough following Curtis in their hearts, but whether they show up to support her at the ballot box is another matter.

Daines is a Tea Party multi-millionaire who is not necessarily loved by mainstream Republicans, but they will tolerate him if he can add to their count in the U.S. Senate.  They'll try to deal with him after he is seated.

Curtis is the obvious favorite of many Montanans because of her desire to resurrect the Middle and Lower Class who have been plowed under by the  rich and their relentless drive to "buy" political office seats and further feather the nests of America's richest.  But, those Curtis followers will have to get off their butts and get to the ballot boxes or it will be another win for the money guys.

I have often wondered what a guy feels like when he knows he can afford to spend millions just to "buy" a Senate seat and satisfy his own ego? The return on his investment, based on Senator wages, is certainly no great enticement.  I would rather know that I got the win because people voted for me, and not because I had the most money.  And, why are all of those out-of-state money bags dictating our Montana election?  Think about that one.  What are they expecting in return for their money?

Determining winners in races based on who holds the most money is a hard thing to swallow and it leaves a terrible taste in your mouth.  Even worse, that taste will last until the next election and undergo many more hardships to 99% of the American citizens.




The "Rich Grinch"...

 

 

A huge and terrifying issue is lurking just over the horizon. At the close of the day on November 4th, after all of the votes are counted, Montana may be in for a nightmare they didn't count on happening. 

 

So soon after Halloween and less than two months before Christmas, the massive money monsters will do their best to "buy" a seat in the United States Senate with none other than Steve "Shut 'er Down" Daines from Montana.

 

It's unlikely, but anything is possible in politics these days.

 

Who, you ask, could possibly vote for a guy who is a multi-millionaire Tea Party Republican with evil intentions on his mind?  Intentions, to be specific, such as:  Turning Medicare into a voucher system, Privatizing Social Security, Eliminating Medicaid altogether, and Repealing "Obamacare," to name just a few. 

 

If you haven't mailed in your ballot yet, please give serious thought to the two candidates running for the U.S. Senate from Montana.

 

You already know what you'll get from Daines.

 

Listen, and learn, from his opponent Amanda Curtis.  She is, simply stated, the exact opposite. She will cast votes in the U.S. Senate for the Middle and Lower Class in Montana...and that amounts to about 99% of us.

 

If you are sympathetic toward the corrupt manipulation of the rich in our political system, then by all means - vote for "Shut-'er-Down" Daines.

 

But if you think the "Rich Grinch" has damaged America enough, and you are in favor of returning things to our Middle and Lower Class citizens - vote for Amanda Curtis.

 

Don't let the Grinch steal from us again!

 

 

 

An 'unhealthy' fight...

It's hard to believe that the Grand Ol' Party is still trying to scare the heck out of folks with their warped version of the Affordable Care Act - better known by their sarcastic name: "Obamacare."

 

They insist on telling us that it's not worth the paper it's written on.  Tell that to my son and his family.  They are saving close to $600 per month and they are enjoying better coverage and a lower deduction!  Millions of Americans are enjoying similar coverage.  Is the ACA perfect?  Of course not!  After all, Republican Politicians facing re-election fought the bill tooth and nail.  If not for them, we certainly could see a bill closer to perfection.

 

Depending on which party gets control in November, we will either see the GOP try to cut the funding of the ACA or the Democrats try to make improvements.

 

America ranks far down on the list of countries that offer better health care coverage.  Considering the wealth of our nation, that is an atrocity!  There are so many other things we find ways to fund, while we neglect the health of our citizens.  When it comes to listing the accepted human rights of a nation, good, affordable health care coverage should be at or near the top of the list.  Instead, the Republican Party of America consider it something they can personally afford but too expensive to offer the other 98%.  Sad.

 

Here in Montana, we have a candidate for the U.S. Senate that stands with the 1% regarding "Obamacare.  (Of course, he also stands with them on gutting just about all of the government programs for the Middle and Lower Class Americans.)

 

Amanda Curtis strongly disagrees with him.

 

 

A Newspaper's lame endorsement...

 

 

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle says hometown guy, Cong. Steve Daines, deserves Senate support. Yeah, we know...shock!  The real shock, however, is in the reasoning behind the newspaper's endorsement.

 

I had to read their opinion a couple of times, looking for found reasoning as to their decision.  The headline certainly states that "Daines deserves Senate support," but the body copy leaves you asking, "Why?"

 

The best I could come up with was the fact that his opponent, Amanda Curtis - "while a rising star in the Democratic Party and came to the race too late with too few resources and too little experience" - isn't worth wasting our vote.

 

Is that a reason to vote for Steve Daines?

 

Is the fact he wants to privatize Social Security a reason to vote for him?  Is the fact that he wants to turn Medicare into a voucher program for our seniors a reason to vote for him?  Is the fact he wants to obliterate Medicaid and "Obamacare" a reason to vote for him?

 

This endorsement is a hatchet job on Amanda Curtis from the get-go and an endorsement for Steve Daines without any good reason. They end the endorsement by stating they "urge him to work with Montana's senior senator Jon Tester, particularly on issues related to the management of public lands, issues that are so important to Montanans."  Doesn't the Chronicle have access to Daines' voting record?

 

If the only reason the Chronicle could come up with for not voting for Curtis was her inexperience, then I will give you my endorsement:

 

I will take an INEXPERIENCED Amanda Curtis over an EXPERIENCED hatchet-wielding Tea Party Republican Steve Daines any day! 

 

 



Really...I'm just like one of you...

 

 

I am usually quick enough on the TV remote control mute button to stifle the outrageous claims made by Congressman Steve Daines. 

 

This evening, I was caught at the dinner table without the remote and had to suffer through most of the "No, really...I'm just like one of you" tall tales.  There's fibs, white lies, lies, bald-face lies, and whoppers.  This was a super-sized whooper.

 

Everyone knows Daines wants to repeal "Obamacare."  We also know he wants to privatize Medicare and hand out vouchers, instead, to Seniors.  Bluntly spoken, he would like to do away with Medicaid, altogether.  And when it comes to Social Security, he wants to carve it up until it isn't worth the powder to blow it to you-know-where.

 

All of that is about ten light years from what he said on his television advertisement this evening.  He said:  "I want to protect Social Security, save Medicare, and make sure Americans have good health care coverage."  (Of course, he didn't have the courage to say what is really on his greedy little Conservative Tea Party agenda.) 

 

The alarming thing about his views on the programs that he and his rich friends are so anxious to chop up in little pieces are never revealed to the voters prior to the election.  If he wins, however, they will found out soon enough.

 

As a multi-millionaire (he reported somewhere between $9 and $33 million) he could care less about the programs the rest of us find so necessary.

 

His opponent, Amanda Curtis, understands the fight she - and most Montanans - fight in the trenches on a daily basis. Daines and his friends hold most of the money in the country and their only plans, if elected, are to make even more.

 

Good for them...but they shouldn't plan on doing it by taking away from the Middle and Lower Classes.

 

We need Amanda Curtis in the U.S. Senate.



 

Minimum Wage Hype...

 

 

 

We've all heard small business owners whine about a proposed increase in the minimum wage.  Whine, whine, whine!

 

Several years ago, a friend of mine owned a small business.  He, his wife, and two part time minimum wage young people supplied the retail sales for the store.  On the horizon, a twenty-five cent an hour minimum wage increase was being proposed.  He and his wife ran around town like chicken little, crying that if their store survived at all, at the very least, prices would have to go up significantly.  Being a believer in fair wages, I sat down at my computer and zeroed-in on just how destructive this was going to be.  His two part timers were averaging 1000 hours per year.  One thousand hours times two part timers equals two thousand hours, times $.25 per hour equals $500 for the year.

 

My friend and his wife spilled more coffee than that!

 

Along with part time and below poverty level living, a worker quickly develops an attitude of poor company and employer loyalty.  They see no need to show pride in their work and they will be constantly looking for a better paying job. Absenteeism is high, and frustrated employees produce constant turnover for the company.

 

When we talk to someone who works in a store and actually makes a living wage, most of them are proud of the company.  That attitude is contagious and it makes us want to do business there.  Fairly-paid employees will come to work happy and display improved productivity.  The employer can experience much lower turnover, as well.

 

Many employers fight minimum wage increases with untruthful and deceptive arguments, threatening all consumers that their merchandise pricing will have to increase.

 

Instead, they should be looking at the benefits of happy, satisfied employees making a decent living and staying around for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 



What else do you need to know?

"How did you people get so screwed-up?"

 

 

Our hometown newspaper has announced that they will be publishing "highlights" of the Republican and Democrat platforms in print, and "complete" platforms on line.

 

That caused me to think about the importance of that.

 

Since an unofficial guess on my part would say 95% of the people are voting party line instead of by candidate, the platform information would be about as helpful as giving an IQ test to a fence post.

 

It also raises a question in my mind as to which platform issues will be chosen as "highlights?"  While I don't know what percentage of Montanans have access to the newspaper's web page, we can assume a fair number of them aren't able - or will not take the time - to see the entire platforms.  That, of course, is not the newspaper's fault.  To publish the entire platforms is not their job.  The political parties should see that all Montanans have that information.

 

In order to do my small part in assisting voters to know the facts about Republicans and Democrats, I will wrap up the differences this way:

 

     Republicans are for big business, lower taxes for themselves and their rich friends, and no regulations that would impede corporations from making money while overlooking dirty air, unclean water, and a blind eye to global warming information.  They want to repeal or privatize Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and "Obamacare."  They are against raising minimum wages to help millions of people climb out of poverty.  They are against all unions.  They want their children educated in private schools by well-paid teachers, but want public school teachers living in poverty and working two jobs.  They are also known as a group that can't seem to find the room for minorities in their small tent.  Lastly, they seem to feel it is okay for their mega-rich friends to "buy" political offices.

 

     Democrats are - point-for-point - opposed to everything listed above.  They want to take entry-level minimum wages  out of poverty.  They want to force corporations to bring back the jobs they sent overseas or face huge tax penalties.  They want to toughen the regulations on companies. They are in favor of government programs that were conceived to assist our less fortunate as well as our hard-working Americans.  They are in favor of giving good, decent wages to the classroom teachers we entrust to educate our children.  The money we pay these people is deplorable.  Finally, they know the importance that minorities have, and always will have, in this country's success.  Finally, they adamantly believe the rich of this country should not be allowed to "buy" politicians.

 

Those points are what steers me in my voting process.  Maybe some day we'll be able to get back to voting for the best man or woman instead of the "best political party," with the understanding that he or she will represent the people instead of the special interests that put them in office.

 

Until then, as a wise woman once said, "A man's gotta' do what a man's gotta' do."

 

...and I gotta' trust that voters will be registered, ready,  and running to the polls. 

 

 

Frankenstein, the GOP, and the Lady

 

 

Word has it, Republicans have stepped up their efforts to show women they truly care. They have even gone to great lengths to slide a few dollars toward a GOP candidate out there in the vast hinterland of America.  After all, a Republican woman in the Senate is better than no Republican at all!  Or, as the RWGs (Rich White Guys) say,  "A woman is as good as a man...only cheaper."

 

We are fast approaching Halloween and the GOP guys with "neck bolts" are hoping to create a surge of voters among the fairer sex.  A lightening bolt here, a puff of smoke there...voila!...they create women "followers" to help their men get elected.  A sort of revamping of the old story  "...and woman sprung forth from the rib of man."  In the original story, however, woman was given life to propagate the species.  Today, a GOP woman is only useful for her vote and little else.

 

The Democrats, however, have a different way of doing things.  There are women who deserve to be "leaders," instead of "followers."  They no longer need to walk three paces behind their man, and they can actually raise the IQ and Common Sense level within the chambers of the U.S. House and Senate beyond party politics.

We all know there is a "neck bolt" guy running for the U.S. Senate from Montana this November.  The lady in the race doesn't get the media attention she deserves but she makes more sense to Montana Voters than anyone has for a long time.  She speaks their language...not the ramblings of a mega-millionaire.

I highly recommend you listen to her closely.  The truth is refreshing!