I'm feeling a little cramped . . .

So, you want to move to Montana. Well ain't that a hoot.

Montana has had a fairly constant influx of out-of-staters cramping our elbow room. As one guy said, "They're coming with a computer, an on-line high-paying job, and a pocket full of cash." They are able to jump on a house for sale, offer more than the asking price, and buy it before the natives even have a chance. 

A recent poll asked the question, "Where did you move from, stranger?" The top two states mentioned are Washington and California. For years, Montanans had been moving to those two states in droves. 

So why the reversal?  What do they see in Montana now? The breathing room hasn't changed all that much. Maybe it's the clean, fresh air we have that they didn't find somewhere else. Or, as an acquaintance said to me, "Montana is quite a bit "redder" these days." Lord, I hope that isn't the reason the right-wingers are coming back to "Capistrano." Think about it:  More crowds, more rich guys making money via their home computers, and. . .REDDER!

When you think about it, though, rich guys all crowded up and working at home does sound like just the place for them. They could hold their CPAC conventions high in the mountains and under the stars - away from everyone!

We have rich movie stars and ultra-rich sports stars moving to our state in droves.  They don't mess with our elbow room too much because they like to build mansions on the top of our mountains. Up there, they can be any political stripe they want and  sniff our rarified air to their hearts' content. But down here where we Montana natives live, we would kind of like to see the right-wingers in a corral or something. I ain't saying anything is terrible wrong with 'em, you understand, but I ain't saying anything is very right with 'em, either. 

The Montana I've known for 84 years doesn't deserve these high-minded, high-steppin,' power-and-money right-wingers. They have infiltrated our political offices and are in the process of changes our laws to fit their own lifestyle. 

This is highly unnerving for the "Last Best Place."

Out-of-State folks are always welcome, but we will take great offense at anyone who wants to make it into something that isn't "Montana!" 

And if it's the political scenery you admire, remember this, it's like our weather: It's bound to change - real soon!