The other statewide race this election - the House race - just isn't getting much attention. It pits incumbent Denny Rehberg (R) against challenger
Monica Lindeen (D), in another battle between a corrupt and out-of-touch DC insider and a feisty Montana Democrat with an excellent record in the state legislature.
Rehberg is a real winner. Not only has he supported Bush at every turn, he received a
failing grade from the Drum Major Institute for his votes affecting the middle class, he voted against the minimum wage the same week he gave himself a pay raise, wants to eliminate the estate tax, and opposes Net Neutrality.
Rehberg's also involved in a number of Montana-based scandals, including INSA and the Carter county lobbyist scandal; like Burns, he apparently feels that government exists to personally enrich himself and his pals.
Lindeen, on the other hand is an advocate of Net Neutrality, ethics reform, affordable health care, and energy independence, and is a strong opponent of the encroachment of the executive on our civil liberties. In the state legislature, Lindeen was an advocate of affordable secondary education.
Like Jon Tester, Monica Lindeen is a hard-nosed Montana Democrat and a lifelong native of the state. The daughter of a truck driver and a waitress, she put herself through school, started her own business - an early local Internet provider - and then served four terms in the state legislature marked by her reputation for competence, hard work, and ability to forge bipartisan coalitions.
I've met her personally, and she's just the right kind of person we need in Washington DC right now. We need someone who knows how to govern, who won't fleece the taxpayers, who won't be influenced by lobbyists, and who will stand up to the Republican party.
And she's got a real chance to win, too, especially if the INSA scandal breaks this summer as it threatens to do. And if she gets enough funding.
Unfortunately the House race is getting overshadowed by the Senate race in traditional media circles and here on the Internet. Rehberg as the incumbent has all the financial advantages. Monica needs our help.
Let's turn Montana BLUE!
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