MT-Sen: Tester Would Get Appropriations Seat

Reading one of my favorite western e-zines and blogs last week, New West, this story caught my eye:

A friend of mine, who normally would vote Democratic, asked me the other day whether a Jon Tester win over Conrad Burns in the Montana Senate race might indeed cost our state money. Burns, with his seniority and his seat on the appropriations committee, is good at bringing home the bacon, my friend pointed out, and as a rookie Tester would have no such clout. Burns himself has certainly made a point of this, and it's true: the election of Tester would likely reduce the flow of federal dollars into Montana.

This has been my primary concern about defeating Conrad Burns all along, and it's definitely one of the biggest obstacles to Jon Tester's run for the Senate. You ask any Montanan what they know about Burns, and at least seven times out of ten they'll talk about the money he brings back to the state.

Harry Reid just levelled that playing field for Jon Tester.

HELENA - The U.S. Senate's top Democratic leader on Thursday promised Senate candidate Jon Tester a seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee "as soon as possible" if Tester defeats Republican incumbent Conrad Burns next month.

At a news conference in Billings, Democratic Sen. Max Baucus released a statement from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pledging to give Tester a coveted seat on the committee, regardless of whether Democrats wrest control of the Senate from Republicans.

"Jon Tester is a man of integrity and a man that I look forward to working closely with in the U.S. Senate," Reid's statement said.

"Jon has proven to be a great leader in Montana, and I know he will bring his values of hard work and honesty to Washington."

...

Baucus, a close ally of Reid's, said Tester is the lone Democratic Senate candidate to gain a commitment from Reid for a slot on the Appropriations Committee.... It took Burns six years to gain a seat on the panel.

This is huge and incredibly welcome news for the Tester campaign. Well done, Senator Reid.

 

Update: Just have to add this from TPM reader NB:

I wish everyone in the nation could be watching the Burns-Tester debate right now just to see how much point-blank honesty devastates the GOP Party line on Iraq. When John Tester listed the things that have gone wrong in Iraq, the best Burns could come back with was that things were "going well" in Afghanistan, and that there are some areas that are almost free of the Taliban. I truly do feel sorry for the old man.