Cowgirl on Schweitzer rumors

by: Jay Stevens

Wed Jul 21, 2010 at 14:04:26 PM MST

My take is that even if Schweitzer is interested in the Senate-and by all accounts, he is not, since he makes fun of the institution seven days a week-he would not be researching his chances against Max Baucus in a race four years from now. Politicians don't poll that far ahead, ever.

As for Chuck's anecdote about Baucus being pissed at Schweitzer for working up the crowd at the Obama event last summer by calling for universal healthcare, that story has been making the rounds for a while. Baucus gave a speech about the importance of compromise, etc., and then Schweitzer then razzed up the crowd by calling for a Canadian health system, and then Baucus supposedly got in his face and told him he was, by giving such a speech, destroying the entire health-care policy endeavor. UPDATE: A commenter found the speech on youtube! You can watch it here....

Overall, I think the rumors are nonsense. As to Tester, Schweitzer spent a fortune in political capital on Tester's campaign, raising money, barnstorming across the state, and appearing in ads wiith Jag, his dog, talking about what a great Senator Tester would be. And Tester is a great Senator,  and progressives love him, and he and Schweitzer seem to have a strong relationship. S o that part of the rumor has little basis. Nobody I know has ever even heard it. As for a Baucus-Schweitzer showdown, that's far off but it is definitely buzzed around inside the beltway. Baucus has reason to fear Schweitzer because Schweitzer gets Democrats excited, and gets progressives excited too. However, my prediction is that by 2014, one of these two men will have moved on to become a judge, an ambassador, a cabinet officer, a CEO, a Congressman, or maybe even a presidential or vice-presidential nominee. I honestly can't imagine Baucus and Schweitzer vying for a Senate seat in a primary. So while the rumor is fun, it is probably an empty one.

So there you go.  

Schweitzer ruling out a Senate bid

by: Jay Stevens

Mon Jul 19, 2010 at 13:50:40 PM MST

I asked Schweitzer if planned to run against either Tester or Baucus for the Senate, as the rumors have him doing.

"That sounds like silly talk to me," the governor replied. "I've got 2½ years of this job, and it's the most challenging and most interesting job on the planet. And I really have no interest in being part of the United States Senate. I like to get things accomplished on a weekly and monthly basis, and I know that in the U.S. Senate, it takes a long time to accomplish things."

I followed up by asking Schweitzer: "So you're ruling out running for the U.S. Senate."

"Yeah," Schweitzer said.

I pressed him further: "So you would never run for the Senate?"

"Never's a long time, but I have no interest in being in the United States Senate," Schweitzer said.

Huh. Whaddya know? I've heard the rumors, too, and even followed some of the intra-party sniping. So...if the Guv is going to bow out...why the coal letter? Why the sniping at the Democratic delegation? Why the smack talk about single-payer? Presidential bid? Jockeying for a cabinet seat? Habit?

Who knows...