In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, that we published our first two “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Montana’s At-Large Congressional District, Greg Gianforte, who after several big losses in trying to become the next Governor of Montana. having started Christian ministries that have bankrolled millions of dollars toward the construction of a the 20,000 square foot Dinosaur and Fossil Museum in Glendive, Montana, that asserts to its patrons that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, and there’s no way the skeletal remains of dinosaurs on display are millions of years old, as scientific carbon-dating technology would have you believe. No, the curators assure people passing through that the fossils are but 4,300 years old (which would mean dinosaurs roamed the Earth around the time of the pharoahs) and that there’s no proof of evolution, whatsoever.
Okay, maybe trying to willfully spread ignorance of science when you’re motivated by your faith on that subject doesn’t seem like it would be the most harmful thing, even in this day and age… it’s not like Greg Gianforte’s deeply held faiths are motivating him into any stupid policy decisions? Well, actually… he and his wife apparently lobbied the city of Bozeman, Montana to try and pass a city ordinance based on Indiana’s “religious freedom” laws that made it legal for Christians businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community. Gianforte is apparently dedicated enough to opposing LGBT rights that he also bankrolled the legal defense of Colorado baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakes, who wanted to refuse service to gay patrons (Phillips lost, of course), and further applauds Phillips for not opening his bakery on Halloween because “Christians should not promote Halloween”.
If these bizarre policy calls based on his faith weren’t already troubling, there’s Greg Gianforte’s opinion on Social Security… we shouldn’t have it because he thinks “the concept of retirement is not biblical”, citing the fact that Noah built the Ark at the totally believable age of 600. Gianforte made a last ditch effort to beat Steve Bullock in the 2016 governor’s race by trying to gin up fears over Syrian refugees, and lying and claiming Bullock had been restricting gun rights (while he had actually EXPANDED gun rights in Montana as governor.) Gianforte got absolutely trounced by Bullock in their debate, showing little understanding of the law in many instances, and providing only tired and cliche Republican talking points devoid of facts. Gianforte, however, maintained support of Donald Trump even after he boasted about getting away with sexually assaulting women… which would pay off later.
Because, just when we thought we had our last entry about Gianforte… Congressman Ryan Zinke was picked to be a member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Horrors, opening up a spot in Congress in a special election race that wouldn’t you know it, Gianforte would run for. And even though Montana still leans extremely to the right, and the Democratic candidate, Rob Quist, had some sketchy details in his background, it was nip and tuck as the last few days to that special election in Montana, with Donald Trump endorsing Gianforte, because he tolerated Trump’s sexual assault in the build up to the previous election. And… then things got weird. Weird even for a guy who thinks Jesus was fending of T-Rexes. You see, on the eve of the election, Greg Gianforte lost his goddamned mind, picked up a reporter from the Guardian, Ben Jacobs , body-slammed him and screamed at him.
This is normally unacceptable behavior for a politician, and more fitting for how a heel WWE wrestler would resolve being confronted with questions they don’t like. Well, Gianforte was charged with assault, pleaded guilty to avoid jail time that would make him a rather ineffective Congressman, and then spent most of his few months in office dodging a court’s order that he still would need to take a mug shot. Spoiler Alert: He still had to get a mug shot.
- February 14th, 2018: Gianforte celebrates Valentine’s Day by blurting out as many conspiracy theories as he can in an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo to try to cast doubt on the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with them.
- January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Gianforte voted against HR 648, because he was gleeully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
- February 28th, 2019: Greg Gianforte votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
- March 14th, 2019: Rep. Gianforte votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
- April 4th, 2019: Greg Gianforte is one of 158 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
- May 17th, 2019: Gianforte votes against The Equality Act, which would have prevented discrimination towards Americans based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
- June 4th, 2019: Rep. Gianforte votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
- July 16th, 2019: Greg Gianforte can’t be bothered to vote against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
Our main update on Greg Gianforte is that only a term and a half into his Congressional career, he’s opting to again take another crack at running for Governor of Montana in 2020. No word on if Montanans have yet decided having the chief executive of your state with a criminal record going in might be a bad idea or not.
One Year Ago, October 22nd, 2018: Greg Gianforte (MT)… 2018 Update
Two Years Ago, October 22nd, 2017: Greg Gianforte (MT)… 2017 Update
Three Years Ago, October 22nd, 2016: Greg Gianforte (MT)… 2016 Update
Four Years Ago, October 22nd, 2015: Greg Gianforte (MT)… Original Profile
Five Years Ago, October 22nd, 2014: Timothy Ray Murray (OK)