10/4/2006
All is NOT well on the Western Front
by Shane Mason on 4:49 pm.
I am sure that most of you have seen this, but I wanted to be sure.
HELENA - U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg has a strong lead over his Democratic challenger, Monica Lindeen, according to a recent poll.
Fifty-three percent of Montanans surveyed said they would vote for Rehberg, compared with 33 percent for Lindeen. Libertarian Mike Fellows of Missoula was favored by 3 percent while 11 percent were undecided.
This doesn’t mean total loss yet, a lot can happen in 30 days. A whole lot (just ask Foley and Hastert) can go wrong for them and go right for us. Lindeen is a strong candidate and Rehberg is weak, so I am not sure why this went wrong. We all need to take this as a cue to redouble our efforts for Lindeen and for Tester. There are enough people reading this blog to make a difference if we all follow some of the tasks I outlined here.
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Shane, how is Rehberg weak as you say? He is well liked in polls in the state, in non-election years. He has a strong presence in Washington, and he kicked the crap out of Lindeen fundraising. Making a statement such as “Rehberg is weak”. You are clueless to how somebody like Lindeen is losing. Her TV spots are at weird times, and her bio-bus project is lamer than Clinton pardoning Rep. Mel Reynolds. The Illinois Democrat who was convicted of 12 counts of sexual assault with a 16-year-old.
I think he means “weak-minded”. As in, “Denny Rehberg is so weak-minded that he gets drunk and insults his Kazakh hosts’ culture while on a diplomatic mission.”
Matt is right, I mean to say that he is vulnerable.
he kicked the crap out of Lindeen fundraising
I suppose that is pretty easy when you are in the pocket of big oil.
her bio-bus project is lamer
Oh? Yeah, it is pretty lame to try and make a difference in the world. The mid-east oil dependent culture that Rehberg is propagating is drowning us.
How about “The bio bus is lamer than President Ronald Reagan pardoning a notorius drug dealer on the recommendation of the sainted Senator Jesse Helms?”
Speaking of her advertising… I have not seen any in Missoula. Maybe I don’t watch enough television, but I do watch the local news quite a bit. Her biobus thing probably plays okay in Missoula, but I’m not so sure about other places. It kind of says, “Look! I’m a patchouli-soaked hippy!” That’s not saying bio fuels can’t play well, it’s more that the execution really looks like a Ken Kesey project.
Unfortunately, TV advertising is still the big cheese in elections, especially in the area of visibility. She really needs to get more ads on the air so that the undecided voters can figure out who she is. Grassroots work will certainly boost her standing, but a lot of people expect serious canidates to advertise on TV. If they don’t, quite a few people will either not vote for that race, or stick with the status quo, ie. Rehberg.
Again, it is difficult to compete with big oil in the fund raising department.
yeah, that’s another reason why campaign finance needs a real reform, not little tweaks that politicians can use to say, “Hey, we’re making it better” and turn around and keep on doing what they’re doing. I agree with Molly Ivins and a lot of others who say we need publicly financed campaigns. I’d even go so far as to say that owners of broadcast licenses should have to provide free air time for candidates.
It’d at least increase trust.
Bob Lyon, God rest his soul, is gone. We needed a blind sheep to take his place. Someday you’ll sit down and analyze what Democrats have actually done for us. Bob never did, I don’t expect you will either. Ba-ah-ah-ah.
What have you done for us exactly Mark? You are contrary when you comment here, but most of the time we can find you over at what’s right in montana hangin’ with the boys. Wasn’t it you that said on wrong dog that dems like me are worse than Eric Coobs? So, what is it that you do besides lament that everyone in the world doesn’t think like you?
That wasn’t me that said that. Might have been Steve. Shane - when I look at problems and solutions, I see groups working for change, and Democrats alongside Republicans blocking change. Most recently was the re-upping of the Patriot Act, where no significant changes were made, 14 of sixteen temporary provisions made permanent, the two others extended, and only nine Democrats fighting for reform. Nine. An issue of crucial importance with tons of grassroots support nationwide, and we’re screwed by Democrats. Just one example.
There’s plenty being done in this country for reform, to get us out of Iraq, to fix our decrepit voting system, to clean up the environment and reverse global warming trends. It’s being done by activists of all stripes whose best course of action is to organize and work outside the Democratic Party, which inhibits change. Best I can tell, the true function of the Party is to collect pockets of resistance and render them futile.
What I see in you is a tireless partisan who is simply unable to self-reflect and take a dispassionate look at the party he belongs to. That was Bob Lyon too, God Rest His Soul. You’re carrying the torch.
What I see in you is a tireless partisan who is simply unable to self-reflect and take a dispassionate look at the party he belongs to. That was Bob Lyon too, God Rest His Soul. You’re carrying the torch.
Ok then, I will partly take this as a complement. However, with that said: You are wrong. I take plenty of issues with the democratic party. I will address those once we get more of them in Washington and Helena.
Why isn’t Schweitzer helping her out any? See this: http://www.actblue.com/page/schweit zer
Have you seen the debate announcements? Lindeen V Rehberg - at least two dates set - one in Poplar (?!?!?!) and one after the Bozeman Tester/Burns debate.. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/ 2006/10/04/bnews/br37.txt
Well, I suppose with Tester so well-established as the leader at this point, we need at least one quixotic campaign to pursue…
We should not let up on Tester either. Like I said, a lot can happen in 30 days.
I have not seen any t.v. ads promoting Monica Lindeen–or they have been so poorly done that I didn’t notice them? Where are the out-of-state Democratic advertising machines that have helped Tester? Monica needs their help too!!!
No, you cannot let up on Tester if you want him to win. Polls taken in Montana have a reputation for being wrong. And even if Tester is ahead 7 points (even though I think reality is much closer) you cannot afford to get complacent.
My fear is that it will look like an easy win for Tester and a lot of Dems will choose to stay home, while Burns hardline supporters will turn out in droves because they’re desperate.
So, I beg of you, no matter what the polls say show up on election day. And make sure your friends show up too. Because none of us want to be sitting in front of the TV at 2am hearing that Burns eeked it out because turnout was down.
AB, I disagree. Dems will NOT stay home. They are voting by absentee ballots this year. LOTS of them. Me included for the first time ever in my life. There is a big push on for abstentee balloting. And it’s working. I don’t know WHY Dopey Rehburp is so far ahead. I guess because that most Montanans don’t understand that he is a nasty little mean spirited bully of a “man”! Dopey’s basically a retarded greedy little venal dink, much like a lot of Rethuglicans. Interesting to not that Richard Viguerie has called for a complete housecleaning of these scumsucking scumbaggage from capitol hill. And regarding the Foley follies, I STILL want to know just what Dopey Rehburp knew and when did he know it? Dopey claims that he lives in his office. Did he not suspect anything?? That’d be our Dopey. Doesn’t know anyting, doesn’s suspect anything! But I think that Dopey knew.
You nailed it Larry: “he is a nasty little mean spirited bully of a manâ€, and those are his good points. Both Burns and Rehberg are an embarassment to a state that once sent such giants as Mike Mansfield, Lee Metcalf and Pat Williams to the U.S. Congress.
Is Monica running for some office? If so she should have told someone. It might have helped her chances.
Get over Lindeen, there is no chance in hell, you would be doing better for Montana picking up trash on the roadside.
I don’t even know what this woman looks like. Is she old or young? What she stands for? Sorry, but her campaign is weak weak weak.
Well, it’s finally nice to know that someone is running against that fool Rehburg.
I have not seen a single ad for Monica Lindeen–just a couple yard signs–and I pay attention to this stuff. Are we hoping that she rides in on Tester’s coattails, or that the ‘throw the bums out’ sentiment wafts her into office?
Seriously, I’ve had people ask me if someone is running against rehburg, and I’ve really had to stop & think. Why isn’t she getting any coverage?
I think that this is the central question Deb. Why has her campaign yet to take off when she is a very qualified and very strong candidate. Especially when we consider the fact that Rehberg is (as larry puts it above) nasty little mean spirited bully of a “manâ€.
Is it possible that it has something to do with Montana’s attention span? We can only concentrate on one bad politician at a time? I think that we can partially blame the media for not covering her campaign. I think that we can partially blame ourselves for not getting the message out.
I have heard quiet a bit of talk centered around ‘I didn’t even know who was running against rehberg’ or ‘I don’t know anything about her’. in many ways, isn’t that partly our responsibility? No criticisism intended. It is just that we have become so used to sitting back and having the television, the media and the candidate tell us what they think we need to know or what they want us to know. Isn’t it our responsibility to educate ourselves?
That is likely the main problem here, most Montanans have been relying on the press to give them meaningful information on how Dennis Rehberg has spent his time in Washington. With the 3 seconds sound bites, recycling of press releases and rewritten ap stories the average Montanan is clueless to what Dennis has been up to. There is no accountability.
Shane, I think it’s ‘all of the above’, with the addition that Jon’s race has sucked all the oxygen out of the other campaigns: the Senate is such a huge deal–and Burns is such a disgraceful, sleazy, incompetent moron–that the Senate campaign has received an enormous amount of time & money, and Lindeen has been just kinda left out there dangling.
I wish we could focus our energies on more than 1 race, but I totally agree that we have to fire Burns at all costs, and can’t begrudge the money & attention going to Jon.
Are there going to be any big ad buys for Monica?
I have been hugely disappointed in the Lindeen campaign this year. Of course she’s got my vote, but it really seems like the Montana Democrats don’t want to win.
It really isn’t that hard to articulate a clear message and get it visible. Voters would need a good reason to unseat the incumbent. I think Rehburg is vulnerable on Iraq, the estate tax, the environment, national debt, and a host of other issues. Monica Lindeen has not taken any risks with her message.
I have a wild hope that disillusionment with Republicans may yet give her a chance, but seriously, she could give us something other than wild hope.
Dennis Rehburg, like Conrad Burns, has sold his soul to Joe Camel. I submitted letters to the editor to Montana newspapers some months ago. The letter:
Sen. Conrad Burns and Congressman Dennis Rehberg would like to thank your children for smoking, dipping and chewing tobacco.
According to the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, Sen. Burns has accepted $62,000 in campaign contributions from the tobacco industry since 1999, and Congressman Rehberg has accepted $42,500 in the same period. If being hand-picked cronies of Joe Camel is a moral value shared by Burns and Rehberg, then I’d hate to see what immoral values they share.
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