Jon Tester voted against the DREAM Act this past weekend, a sorry and inexplicable vote. He's hearing from his base about this right now, and from many progressive voices around the country like me.
I'm writing this diary to try to put this vote in perspective. I write as a Montanan, as a liberal Democrat, as a person who worked hard on his campaign, and as a strong supporter of many of the things Tester has done since he was elected in 2006, and an outspoken critic of his votes I disagreed with.
The first diary I ever wrote on here was about Jon Tester. (I'd been a lurker for some time.) I was active in politics in Ravalli County at that time, working on my dear friend Phyllis Bookbinder's campaign for legislative office in Montana. We linked up with Tester for some Ravalli County events.
In 2006, you'll recall, the election went pretty well for Democrats across the nation. Jack Abramoff and his associates were in the news, and quite a few politicians went down due to their association with him. One of his associates was Conrad Burns.
In 1988 Burns ran successfully for his U.S. Senate. He campaigned initially on the promise of being a two term senator, but ignored questions about the issue while campaigning for his third term.
Burns was reelected in 2000 when he beat now-Governor Brian Schweitzer 51%-48%.
Burns had a legislative history of supporting measures and bills which would reduce Native American tribal sovereignty, including a bill, co-sponsored with then-Washington Republican Senator Slade Gorton, that would require tribes to waive sovereignty rights such as immunity from lawsuits, in addition to meeting means testing, before they could receive federal funds. He also sponsored legislation that some say would overturn treaties by eliminating Indian jurisdiction of reservation land owned by non-Indians.
...In 2006, the Democrats nominated Jon Tester to face Burns in his November 2006 bid for reelection. ...In a widely watched and closely fought race, Tester defeated Burns by less than three thousand votes.
So Burns ended up serving only 2 terms, as he originally vowed he would do. Thank you Senator Burns.
Sadly, Phyllis Bookbinder lost in her election bid. And Tester lost in Ravalli County, as well. We are, after all, one of the most conservative counties in the state. For example, it took an unusual confluence of events to get THREE Democratic candidates elected to the Ravalli County Commissioners office two years later. Unusual, and unrepeatable.
In 2010, all three of these now-incumbent Commissioners were defeated by large margins by the most right-wing Republican candidates you will find anywhere in the country. They rose from a special brand of Tea Party here in Western Montana called Celebrating Conservatism. That mainstream Republicans would vote for them by a large margin tells you something about how important the (R) is after a name on the ballot.
Montana is a majority-Republican state. I believe it is 'redder' now than it was in 2006 or 2008. I do not believe it is tending 'purple.' Don't be fooled by our 2 Democratic Senators and our Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer. They weren't up for re-election in 2010. Our sole U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R) was, and he won reelection by a large margin. As of 2010, we have both a Republican-majority State House and Senate.
Senator Tester has been a pretty cautious freshman Senator. He voted against some things that I lobbied him to vote for very hard, and I know many others were calling him as well. I can't recall specific votes, but they had to do with climate change legislation or environmental legislation, because that's what I work hardest to get passed. His 'no' votes didn't matter, because the bills weren't going to move forward anyway. It was a chance for him to build a bit of conservative cred. It was politics, pure and simple, and I gave him a pass because the bills weren't going to move forward anyway. And the media gave him a pass for the same reason. I recall that narrative distinctly.
For Tester's DREAM Act vote, the narrative has changed, and I'm not sure why. In my opinion, his vote was once again political, pure and simple. The bill wasn't going to move forward anyway, so he was given a chance to vote 'no.'
The support Senator Tester will need to win reelection in 2012 will have to come from at least some Montanans who oppose the DREAM Act, who are against Clean Air Act legislation, and who oppose addressing climate change. These are a suite of issues which define the Republican Party.
I supported the DREAM Act, and called my Senators to vote for it. As in other votes, I was very disappointed in Senator Tester. But I give him a pass (again). It was obviously politics. Heavy sigh; move forward to the next battle.
Tester's vote on the DREAM Act deserves our anger, but when we're done, we need to move on, once more, to the next battle. And in 2012, we need to support Senator Tester's reelection.