I needed some good news today. Denise Juneau delivered. From my inbox:
Montana was recognized for increasing student achievement in reading and math for both American Indian and White students over the past six years. Montana was also one of six states recognized for achieving significant progress for low-income students. The state can point to gaps between low-income students and higher-income students that are among the smallest in the nation.
Across the nation, calls for GOP Chair Michael Steele to make an apology for his racist, uneducated comments on national televison continue to mount, but he's not having any of it. Huffington Post has his comments defending his racism on the Dennis Miller radio show:
I said look you want o come after me, you want to do this job then take it from me. But until then, shut up and get in line.... This is why are at 22 percent approval in the polls, why no one wants to identify with us because we spend more time tearing each other down as opposed to talking about those principles that have defined us for generations.
What kind of "principles that have defined us for generations" is he talking about?
Here in Montana, American Indians are our state's first residents and among our most honored leaders and elders. Governor Schweitzer has worked hard to rebuild the relationships between our state and the sovereign nations within its borders. And for the first time, Montana voters elected our first American Indian woman, Denise Juneau, to statewide office.
We want leaders who will end racism, not promote it. So we want to know: Will the Montana GOP renounce the bigotry and ignorance of their national leader or will they continue to lend him their silent support?
Shawn White Wolfe yesterday wrote an open letter (pdf) condemning the racist rhetoric that's substituting for debate in the OPI race. (The full text of the letter is also below the fold.) White Wolfe ran for HD79 as a Republican. Dennis McDonald wrote a heart-felt response, reconfirming the Democratic party's and his own personal committement to civil rights. I know that, for Dennis, this is something he believes strongly in.
A couple of things.
First, I think Taylor Brown should be in the spotlight, too. After all, it's Brown's megaphone Dave Rye is using. Does Taylor Brown approve of such rhetoric? And do we want someone who would tolerate, even encourage, the Dave Ryes of the world to sit in a body representing the state of Montana?
Second, this race is in danger of quickly become about Denise Juneau's Native American heritage. But let's face it, by any standard, Denise Juneau is the perfect fit for the office she's seeking, whether it's judging her by her experience, ability, or intelligence. She's had a successful stint as an administrator in the OPI's office; she has several advanced degress from top-notch programs that are directly relevant to the job; and she's spent her entire life in education, thinking about education, and being a tireless advocate for education.
In contrast, Elaine Sollie-Herman has not taught school since...the 1970s? The 1980s? Her claim to fame -- besides wallowing in racist support this election cycle -- is that she once joked about shooting students. (At least, I hope it was a joke.)
Dear Precinct Captains and other Republicans of BV: You have probably heard people already declare that Obama has won the election, even Reps and Christians are saying it! Some are even voting for Obama. Maybe even you said or thought of it too. No wonder with all we hear from the mainstream news. Please remember parts in the Bible when God's people were few BUT God was with them? Like in Joshua? They won, Supernaturally. And it says that Life and Death are in the power of the Tongue...what we SAY has power. Just look at hypochondriacs. A year and a half ago it looked realllly bad for us financially, like we'd lose our dream home and property and 2 days before it happened...it came to me....and I yelled out to the kids, "Kids, let's clean house!" They wanted to know why. I told them, "Because we need to get ready for many parties we'll be having soon." We did not lose our home or property afterall. God made an out for us. I could go on but just will say now that, no matter what it looks like or how you feel, immediately dismiss any negative thoughts about losing, and only SPEAK words that declare that all Republicans WIN. OK? Just do it and you WILL see an immediate difference in our social and spiritual climate. Not a Christian? Doesn't matter, it still works. But yes, you still DO need to know God in a personal way. Just ask Him to make Himself real to you. Don't worry, I won't be preaching any more. It is just that I care about you too much to not say what I just did. We are in a Civil War here in America, but we are not fighting man to man, but this war is a spiritual one. Just observe the face and body language of those who hate us without even knowing us.
OK, God interupted me, ha.....back to my original plan to tell you....
At this point, the email goes on to ask the recipient to make phone calls -- and how to get their list of voters if they can't handle their voter file.
Impressive stuff.
Update -- Another GOP reader writes:
Subject: Could be the best vote I cast
Denise Juneau. And I did it gladly.
When ESH ran in 2000, she was referred to as 'Elaine Holy Sermon' by the other campaigns. Her campaign floundered when she advocated lining up students and shooting them.
A good friend of mine noted her billboard signs are the same color scheme as the 'Teasers' sign near Three Forks. No irony there.
Update 2 -- Just to clarify, after looking more closely at the first email, it appears not to come from Elaine, but from a strong supporter of hers. Still a very bizarre email.
Wow. Too weird for words. I find myself agreeing with these words from today's article on Elaine Sollie Herman:
Herman's Web site lists one child, a daughter born in 1976.
"It's not appropriate to bring up my daughter in this campaign," she said. "If you bring my daughter into this election, I will really, really be upset. No one wants their daughter brought into an election for dirty campaigning."
That's true. What kind of outrageous stunt is this? Dragging the woman's family into the campaign through dirty tricks? Who would do such a thing?
Herman said the Web page is not hers.
"That was my daughter who wrote that - she lives in Seattle," said Herman. "I didn't do it. I had nothing to do with it. I am not a young girl looking for meet-ups in Puyallup."
Wait, you mean Herman brought her daughter into the campaign?
Crazy.
Also, apparently it isn't a big deal that she/her daughter/someone just described Denise Juneau as "a young Indian" since that clearly means that those darn libruls see "Indian" as an insult. Meanwhile, Dave Rye is calling Denise Juneau a "professional Indian." I suppose anyone taking offense at that would have to have a problem with professionals or Indians.
Dave Rye is a professional aggrieved white man and a an amateur douchebag (although he silver medaled in the event at the Olympics, I think).
It really is fascinating how the right loves to inject race into this shit and then get all whiny when they get called on it. I talked to Denise a while ago about her campaign and how people seem to always reduce her campaign to Indian Education for All.
Look, Indian Education for All is a good thing. I support it. I'm glad that Denise has been administering it and learning executive skills in the process, but it isn't exactly central to the campaign that she has been running.
The front page of her campaign web site doesn't mention "Indian" or "Native" once. It does mention, however, her high marks from both the Great Falls Tribune (which compares her favorably with two decades worth of candidates) and the Billings Gazette.
The Gazette goes so far as to note her "excellent resume," a pretty good indication for people who listen to Dave Rye that the resume probably reads more than "Professional Indian, 1995-Present."
She's also praised by both for her intelligence.
Meanwhile, Elaine Sollie Herman (or her daughter) can't even spell "conservative." That's edacution we can beleie in, my fiends!
By the way, that MSU-B poll contains a number of goodies. Unmentioned in my post last night about the gubernatorial race are the poll results for the Land Board races, and, according to MSU-B, Democrats are sittin' pretty:
The poll also had Democrats leading in three of the four remaining top statewide races, with no polling data available for the superintendent of Public Instruction race.
The MSU-Billings poll shows Linda McCulloch leading incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson by 40.6 percent to 34.6 percent, with 21 percent undecided. Democrat Monica Lindeen leads Republican Duane Grimes in the race for state auditor by a margin of 41.1 percent to 34.6 percent, with 24.3 percent undecided. Democrat Steve Bullock leads Republican Tim Fox in the race for attorney general by a margin of 45.1 to 37.6 percent, with 17.3 percent undecided.
The polls also showed that 42.6% of respondents planned to vote Democratic for their local state House representative -- up from 34% in 2006 -- and two points higher than those planning to vote Republican.
That's good news, but there's a lot of uncertainty to this poll. For one, the margin of error is pretty high because of the sample size, and there's a lot of undecided voters out there. And a majority of Montanans could still vote Democratic for legislative races, and we'd still see a Republican majority if the wrong races turn out the wrong way.
If anything, this should be a big red flag for anyone out there espousing progressive values; if we relax now and don't work our tails off to get the word and the vote out, we could wake up to a nasty surprise next Wedneday morning.
Unfortunately data on the Superintendent's race isn't available. (There was a sampling error.) That's a shame, largely because I can't think of a more lopsided race as far as experience, ability and intelligence are concerned, and, frankly, the future of Montana's schools are at stake. Needless to say, Pogie feels the same way. Of course Don's a teacher, so he actually cares about this race.
Juneau's credentials are impressive, starting with degrees from Montana State University, Harvard's Graduate School of Education and the University of Montana School of Law.
She's been a classroom teacher, a law clerk at the state Supreme Court and most recently Director of Indian Education at OPI.
She is familiar with the department's operations, and she has a good grasp of its role.
The Republican nominee for the office, Elaine Sollie Herman, says she has four perspectives on education in Montana: first as a student in tiny Broadview and in Billings; as a teacher with a degree from MSU; as a "customer" with a daughter who was educated in Helena; and as a taxpayer.
Heh. Oh, and Herman hasn't worked as a teacher since...when? The mid-1980s?
Anyway. Things are looking up, but we still need to do our final push to get the vote out before next week. So...what are you waiting for?
I am in MT running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. I am asking for HELP from young concervative Bloggers. My web site is: electelainesololieherman.com "I live in the "Peoples Republic of Helena."My opposition is a young Indian.
Eek! Boy, if the thought of a "young Indian" doesn't get those "concervative Blogger" fingers a-tappin', what will????
Misspelling and punctuation errors are her own. Reminds you of the Dave Rye comment, doesn't it?
By the way, Elaine, I hope the folks in Lewis & Clark co. read this post. Maybe they'll be extra excited about your race now.
Basically we're seeing a similar line on the national level. If you don't have the ability, intelligence, experience, and issues on your side all you have...is this.
So, Dave Rye encounters someone with an advanced degree from the Harvard School of Education, a law degree from the University of Montana, who clerked for the Montana Supreme Court, who taught school in Browning and New Town, North Dakota, who worked in a law firm and in the Office of Public Instruction...
My question isn't for Dave Rye, it's for his boss, Taylor Brown -- now running for a state senate seat -- why the h*ll is this guy working for you as the voice of your radio network? Is this the kind of "leadership" you're going to bring to the state legislature?
Well, I finally got around to writing the transcript. (It's below the fold.)
And coming on the heels of the unveiling of Elaine Herman's website, who Montana Headlines dutifully and somewhat laboriously calls a "solid candidate" despite the pink scheme and egregious typo (still not fixed, two weeks later), rereading this interview is like a blast of cold, clean air into a stuffy, overheaded room.
For if you look at Herman's issues, it's all about the land board and taxes. But when you read the interview with Juneau, it's about the future, our democracy, and the students.
An excerpt:
...public education is the last great public venture we have going on in this nation and in this state. It's the great equalizer. It can bring people out of poverty, it can do a lot of good for individuals. It creates a system and a society of educated people, that are able to go out and vote. That participate in democracy. That have jobs.
And...it's a way to make sure that there's participation across the board in all sections in life, to bring diversity together. And public education...it means so much to society. And it's important that we get back to those root causes of what our democracy, what America, what our state should be about.
Rest assured, I'll be writing a lot more about Juneau in the upcoming weeks (yes, and fundraising, too), but if you're inclined to go immediately to Left in the West's ActBlue page for statewide candidates and drop a fiver in her coffers, who am I to stand in your way?
Dear Lord Jesus, I do not often speak with you and ask for things, but now, I really must insist that you help me win the election tomorrow because I deserve it and Paul Metzler doesn't, as you well know. I realize that it was your divine hand that disqualified Tammy Metzler and now I'm asking that you go that one last mile and make sure to put me in office where I belong so that I may carry out your will on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Oh, and some endorsements - these are going to be quick because I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow working for the first candidate I'll endorse - Hillary Clinton! Shocking, I know. Health care, health care, health care, health care.
I voted absentee a few hours before attending a Missoula County Democrats meeting where Claudette Morton and the AG candidates spoke.
After attending the meeting, I was pleased that I voted for Steve Bullock for AG.
I wished I had voted for Claudette Morton, however. I was really impressed with the breadth and depth of her experience. I think I have a little vote-swapping action going on with a Juneau supporter, though, so I don't feel as bad about this anymore.
In my opinion, the race for state Superintendent of Public Instruction comes down to Denise Juneau and Claudette Morton. Both are supremely qualified for the job -- and it's hard to ignore Morton's experience and knowledge -- but Denise Juneau is getting my vote.
We're at a critical juncture in Montana when it comes to education. The radical Republican legislators of the last legislative session made it clear that there's a force in the state that simply wants to eradicate public education. Our school system is facing intense budgetary problems, teacher salaries lag far behind even neighboring states, and No Child Left Behind is likely facing a massive overhaul under a new presidential administration.
Simply put, the state of our state's education is going to undergo a radical transformation in the next decade.
And I think Denise Juneau is the best person to head our schools at that time.
Both Morton and Juneau will be more than capable administrators. And neither Morton nor Juneau have been involved in the bitter infighting of recent legislative sessions, which, I think, frees them more than the other two Democratic candidates to engage in discussion with moderate Republicans in the next legislative session. Both Morton and Juneau are knowlegeable and obviously capable of running the state's school administration. Both have the background to understand and work with rural and Native American school districts across the state.
But two things decide the race for me.
First, Juneau is running an excellent race. She's raised a lot of money, and has worked very hard on her name recognition across the state. She's by far the best campaigner of the bunch, and that's critical given the political nature of this job. (Whether this job should be political or appointed is a discussion for another day.)
Second, Juneau recognizes that what we're facing isn't an administrative or fiscal crisis for our state's system of public education, we're facing a moral and philosophical crisis. And Juneau was the only Superintendent candidate that vowed to work to change the discourse on education in the state, to promote and debate the very meaning of public education itself.
To me, that has to be a major component of the future of progressivism: owning the narratives for the issues we're fighting for. And I feel that Denise Juneau is the best spokesperson and promoter of public education in the race.
Okay, here's the audio of my interview with Denise Juneau. Actually -- I don't think there's much background noise in this one! Check it out...
As always, if you want to learn more, check out her website, and if you're so inclined, donate at her ActBlue page.
Be sure to catch my chat withSam Kitzenberg, another OPI candidate. I'll be interviewing Claudette Morton on Wednesday, and I still have calls out to Holly Raser.
Wow. Denise Juneau is pulling over 75% of the vote in the 4-way OPI straw poll.
That's huge. Her strongest opponent is picking up 1/6 of the votes she is. She is getting 3 times the support of all 3 of her opponents combined.
Crazy.
I'll be writing up my thoughts on the primary soon -- not who I'm voting for, but some things to watch for, things to be aware of, etc.
Jay is still plugging away on some candidate interviews -- and by all means, I would recommend folks study these candidates and figure out whom they prefer.
But those numbers have to give the Juneau campaign some good cause for hope. Even as a tiny sample of the Democratic base, those are extremely positive numbers. The AG race, by comparison, very much showed a three-way contest.
Brian Schweitzer has over $500,000 in the bank and over $600,000 raised (he raised about $1.5m in his successful '04 race). That's an intimidating number for potential opponents (and that's a great argument for clean election public financing alternatives). Back of the envelope calculations reveal that about .8% of the voters in the state have now contributed to his re-election campaign. By Election Day, expect that to be a much higher figure at his fundraising clip.
Steve Bullock's fundraising has continued at a monster clip, with his total being $77,500 and change raised ($12k online, good enough to make a top 10 list of state candidates on ActBlue). He's banked $65k of that. Mike Wheat is only down by about $500, but nearly half his money is self-financed. John Parker of Great Falls got a later start, but my understanding is he raised close to $30,000 this quarter (his numbers weren't available yesterday) -- an impressive showing. Meanwhile, the two Republicans running for AG are sitting about about $2k raised each. They both got a much later start, but are clearly behind in the money chase.
Monica Lindeen has $20k in the bank for her Auditor race -- formidable for this early with no opponent. Brad Johnson, by comparison, has $15k banked for his as yet uncontested re-election campaign for Secretary of State.
Denise Juneau has nearly $15k in the bank in her OPI bid. Holly Raser has raised a bit over $2k.
Democrats shot out of the gates faster and are raising far more money. Indication of things to come?
