From Thursday's
Billings Gazette (hat tip
Stateside Dispatch):
Gov. Brian Schweitzer ... contrasted his proposal to a rival Republican plan that he said would give far less money to most households, while spreading big portions of the relief instead to big business and wealthy homeowners.
... Schweitzer unveiled what he said was the first plank of his "Square Deal" for Montana. Schweitzer borrowed the term from Republican President Theodore Roosevelt who used Square Deal as his slogan as he campaigned against corporate trusts a century ago. Schweitzer plans to announce other Square Deal elements in the coming weeks to cover education, health care, energy, outdoor recreation and business.
Don't get me wrong - I like my governor, Ed Rendell. But can we clone Schweitzer? :-)
Schweitzer really gets it -- I think it was in Markos' book that he said our one-sentence summary of what Democrats stand for should be "They're the ones on your side."
And he's fearless in terms of standing up to the Republicans and doing compare-and-contrast.
This doubling occurred, Schweitzer said, because homeowners saw more property taxes shifted to them when Republican governors and GOP-controlled Legislatures handed out millions of dollars of property-tax relief to businesses and large corporations.
Under the Republicans' "Handshake with Montanans," Schweitzer said PPL of Allentown, Pa., would rake in $1.8 million in annual tax relief, while BNSF Railway of Fort Worth, Texas, would collect $1.03 million. These large corporations and all businesses would get nothing under Schweitzer's plan.
"Would you rather have a Montana Square Deal or a Republican Handshake?" Schweitzer asked. Pointing to his border collie, Jag, Schweitzer said later: "They can get a handshake from Jag and that doesn't pay much."
Here's the mention of Tester:
"I think this is a very good idea," said Senate President Jon Tester of Big Sandy, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. "I'm anxious to see what else is in the Square Deal."