| Man, when you turn over the rock that's the current Montana Republican party, all sorts of creepy crawlies scurry about.
The first bit of news comes via Pete Talbot and Planned Parenthood of Montana:
On Thursday, the Senate may hear an amendment from Dan McGee (R-Laurel) to strip state funding for Montana's family planning clinics from the state's budget.
1. This represents a 20% cut to family planning clinics statewide
2. 70% of Montana's family planning clients were at or below 150% of poverty.
3. Every $1 spent on family planning saves $4 down the road in public funding.
Dan McGee is Mr. Abortion in the 2009 legislature. He championed a constitutional amendment that would strip privacy protection for Montana's women so as to better monitor their pregnancies, and more recently threatened a civil war over abortion. And now this, an attack on the reproductive health of Montana's women. Obviously it's his little budetary salvo on Planned Parenthood's Fort Sumnter, but if there's a better way to spur more abortions, I can't think of one.
What does this dude have against women, anyway?
The other news comes from the Flathead Democratic party's website. Senator Greg Barkus of Kalispell slipped in a $600k appropriation to fund Swank Enterprises cleanup of the Kalispell Post and Timber Co. yard, which they recently purchased. (So much for free market principles, eh?) Besides being odious for obvious reasons, the Flathead Democrats point out that Dean Swank and his family have generously donated more than $25k to Montana Republicans over the years, and that Barkus, himself, is a recipient of Swank's largesse.
A $600,000 return on a $25,000 investment is a pretty good return, eh?
Wait! It gets worse! Barkus is, of course, one of the proponents of gutting the CHIP expansion that voters -- and Flathead voters -- overwhelmingly supported this November. Apparently -- if this amendment is indicative of GOP strategy -- they're gutting CHIP expansion so as to be able to raid the funds that were originally set aside for the expanded CHIP enrollment! And giving it to friends!
Classy. |
