Howard Dean mentioned Montana on Face the Nation this morning. Are we [MT] really on the national Democratic Party radar enough to warrant mention by the Chairman? Fabulous! What can one do to help? What is the current state of the major (Senate: Tester versus Burns; House: Lindeen versus Rehberg) races? Anyone in the know, please respond with links, etc. Our newspapers and local coverage are not good here IMO.
But I have a simple explanation [if anyone is interested] as to why progressives (e.g. Brian Schweitzer) can win here, now:
deregulation -- i.e. that which was done to our State by Robert Gannon (CEO of former Montana Power), Marc Racicot (former governor) and a republican-led legislature.
Like Iraq and the response to Katrina, deregulation here has been an utter, colossal failure. And when your power rates go from among the nation's lowest to among its highest, it really changes hearts and minds.
And when their faith and trust are exploited, thoughtful, hard-working Montanans, like all Americans, will search for alternatives to the "go it alone" Republican gospel with corporations that would "privatize" the Sun, the Wind and the Rain if we let them (paying sub-standard wages and little/no taxes all the while, of course). YES. YES. YES. Today, Montanans, like most Americans are longing for change.