Did you hear that Billings? Rumor is that Missoula will become Montana's largest city after the current census is counted. But that's not the only advancement they're making.
On Monday evening in Missoula outside the city council chambers, the Montana Human Rights Network and a number of its great allies including ACLU of Montana, Forward Montana, Montana Equality Now, and Montana Women Vote, officially launched a campaign for a local non-discrimination ordinance in Missoula.
This proposed ordinance is fully inclusive of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi, and Transgender (LGBT) community, and will protect them from discrimination in the areas of housing, employment, and public accommodations.
"It could have been 10 years ago we were sitting here endorsing this," said Mark Anderlik, president of the Missoula Area Central Labor Council, before the event kicked off. "Shoulda been."
When this ordinance passes, it will be the first of its kind in Montana but I expect it won't be the last. You probably already know the names behind this work, but just in case: Kim Abbott, Jamee Greer, and Travis McAdam are three of the sharpest political and policy minds in Montana, and I expect the campaign will expand to other cities in the future.
Tomorrow, Forward Montana is hosting a celebration of young voters in Helena, MT. Why? Because in 2008, young voters turned out in record numbers and supported change in overwhelming numbers. So we're going to talk a bit about what this new generation of civically-minded citizens is doing and how Forward Montana is continuing to engage young Montanans post-election.
Hosts include Governor Brian Schweitzer, Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger, Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, Attorney General Steve Bullock, MEA-MFT, and SEIU 775.
Our co-host list goes a lot deeper with some great legislators and Helena community leaders, including some bipartisan representation (memo to Republicans: spend some time thinking about how not to get slaughtered among the youth vote if you want to find your way back to power).
Update -- Strangely, we've got some folks in comments claiming that young people in Montana vote conservatively and don't vote in large numbers, so here are the exit polls: young Montanans chose Obama over McCain 61-37. I'd call that a huge margin. Moreso, voters under the age of 30 comprised a bigger share of the electorate (22%) than voters over the age of 64 (18%) according to exit polls.
Obama lost Montana by 3%. Voters under the age of 30 were the only age demographic that went for Obama.
Voters under 30 were also Baucus's best age demographic (not statistically significant, though) and tied for Brian Schweitzer's best and Rehberg's worst. Pre-election polling showed young voters voting progressively up-and-down the ballot. They were the strongest supporters of the minimum wage hike in '06 as well.
Missoula's County Attorney is going to be looking into both potential criminal and civil penalties for the BS affidavits:
Van Valkenburg said "there's a basis" to a complaint by Missoula resident Dana Boruch, who obtained a copy of her affidavit - though none were actually mailed out here - and took issue with the fact that she was challenged based on a non-discrepancy. Boruch's voter registration had her living in an "apartment" and the U.S. Postal Service had down as living in a "unit." Obviously they are one in the same.
Boruch took her affidavit to the county attorney's office. Van Valkenburg said he's heard of other examples like this. It's too soon to know anything for sure.
Apartment? Unit? These clear examples of fraudulent voters are outrageous!
Last week, Forward Montana hosted Andrea Palm, Hillary Clinton's senior health policy advisor. Tonight we have Betsy Myers, National Chair of Women for Obama, joining us.
Badlander
5pm-7pm
Rockstar drink specials and all sorts of good times.
Today is the last day to get registered to vote for the June primary (the exception being registering under Montana's late and Election Day Registration laws, which allow you to register in person and vote at the courthouse between now and the close of Election Day with the exception of Noon of the day before the Election and 7am of Election Day itself).
As you can tell from the complexity of that parenthetical, we actively encourage folks to avoid the complex route and register to vote.
If folks need to, we have folks out on the ground in Bozeman and Missoula today. Need to register, call us at 406-542-VOTE and we'll hook you up.
Wow -- some big news on the day jobby job front. Forward Montana is spreading like a wildfire, but with fewer casualties.
Here's the cool news:
Up and Running in Bozeman -- We just hired a great new Gallatin Coordinator to do some on-the-ground organizing in Bozeman. His name is Jeff Bangs. He hails from Hill County and we're excited to have him on board.
We're Hiring Voter Registration Organizers -- With the primary coming up, we want to make sure Montanans are registered and ready to vote. Want to help with that goal? Let us know and we'll get you to work registering voters and working with volunteers to register voters.
Fake Medical School -- We're in the middle of launching a huge health care campaign to identify Montanans' concerns about health care, build a progressive majority in Montana, and fight for comprehensive health care reform. Sound interesting? Sign up for our Fake Medical School. April 12 in Missoula. We provide the food, the training, and the plan. You provide the passion and energy for change.
I'd be remiss in failing to note that this expansion is funded in part through some new found generosity. Our in-state giving by individuals has ticked up considerably recently. We also are getting more support from organized labor. And, of course, George Soros.
"A politics that is not sensitive to the concerns and circumstances of people's lives, a politics that does not speak to and include people, is an intellectually arrogant politics that deserves to fail."
-Paul Wellstone
So, I suppose it happened. Progressives took a clear majority of the Missoula city council. Some conservatives are trying to call this a conservative victory, since two harder-line conservatives are replacing two moderate conservatives. I think that's a weird way to measure victory, since a progressive defeated another hard-line conservative.
But now is not really the time for that. What I found most interesting about Matt Frank's New West article that Jay highlighted was that the new progressive majority so far seems to be interested in humility and restraint -- features that are ultimately good for the city.
The question now is whether the conservative minority is interested in being a governing minority or an obstructing minority. Will they seek good amendments, constructive relationships, and consensus building? Or will they just vote no?
Obviously, the burden isn't just on them. To be a governing minority, you need a majority willing to listen, compromise, and develop consensus as well.
Progressive governance, in my mind, is responsive governance -- and that includes responding to the concerns of Missoulians who ousted the last progressive majority of the council.
The biggest piece in all of this is approaching these meetings in good faith. The progressives (most of us) don't want to ghettoize the city. The conservatives (most of them) don't hate students and renters.
And, as has been noted, to some extent this is all hyperbole. The bulk of the council's work passes on the consensus agenda -- meaning there is virtually no disagreement. But on these heated issues, we need to figure out how to turn down the temperature without silencing voices. And that goes for citizens as well as council members.
There's been a lot of hubbub about the "progressive" victory in this year's city council elections - from the Missoulian, New West, and 4&20 blackbirds -- which, IMHO, is an awkward way of describing council members as disparate in personality and beliefs as, say, Pam Walzer, Jason Wiener, and Ed Childers, as if somehow they are all prefabricated council members spit out for this election. They're not, of course.
But what's clear is that a majority of forward-thinking candidates on this year's ballot were rewarded with council seats, running on a platform of smart growth and housing opportunities for all, while preserving Missoula 's unique wilderness areas. Missoulians love their new swimming pools and newly protected wild spaces; Missoulians like the housing opportunities smart infill brings - or at least understand the infrastructure and market advantages that accompany it.
In short, it was a clear choice between planning for the future, and saying no to growth. Don Nicholson, in the Missoulian:
[Nicholson] said both he and Walzer ran vigorous campaigns, showed clear differences and let the voters decide. The voters did, and Nicholson said he told people all along he would be OK, win or lose. He plans to catch up on some chores, such as yardwork, and participate in some family activities. He plans to remain involved in city life as well.
So everyone seems to be wondering why I haven't offered a full response to the dozen random right-wing blogs piling on my fake grassroots operation.
Short answer? The posts in question address the past 5 years of my life, spanning work with at least 3 different organizations while raising questions about people who have or are indirectly paying my salary (even if Carol Minjares couldn't quite figure out who those people are).
The posts in question also raise issues ranging from theories of power building to the tax code and campaign finance law -- all of those are complicated topics.
In other words, if you haven't seen my response, that ain't surprising. Election Day is a week away. I'm working with dozens of volunteers, trying to hire a replacement for Forward Montana's first ever staff person, trying to raise money to keep the door open and the lights on, and planning for a much bigger operation in 2008. Dealing with pages of inaccurate accusations mixed with personal insults wasn't really how I planned on spending this week.
During John Adams' reporting, we went through a lot of this terrain -- in interviews that spanned probably 8-10 hours.
A full response would probably require a book, but as Ed Kemmick has asked elsewhere (in comments, which I didn't even see until someone directed me), why don't I point out the clear falsehoods?
Forward Montana has never directly or indirectly to my knowledge received a dime of money from George Soros.
Forward Montana has roughly 375 dues-paying members. Over 350 of those currently reside in Montana. All but a very small handful (7 or 8) have lived in Montana at some point in their lives.
MontPIRG did not fund attack posters on Aaron Flint.
Skyline Public Works is operated by Andy and Deborah Rappaport, not Jonathan and Peter Lewis. It also is not a "money laundering" operation for multiple large donors. It is the name by which a single couple run their political operation.
Despite having seven or eight out-of-state donors who have never lived in Montana, with the exception of Skyline Public Works, none of them are major donors ($1,000+). The rest of our major donors live in Montana.
Some clear half-truths?
The Roosevelt Institution is not some super-powerful operation. Its budget is maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars. It was started by some students at Stanford who thought that just maybe some graduate students could use their research to craft new public policy solutions that could help this country out. In other words, it was an operation set up by a handful of punk kids at some college frustrated with politics as usual who found some angel donors to help them reach their dreams. Sounds familiar.
As for some of the other stuff about PSN's funding sources, I can't really speak to it. I was never really involved in the fundraising operation (as communications people rarely are).
Heaven knows that this is only a partial response to the shotgun blast of accusations. But like I said, Election Day is a week away and I've got a job to do. If you're especially perturbed by any allegation and want to know what's up, I'm pretty easy to track down.
Forward Montana is, after all, listed in the phone book.
Seeing all the hyperbole and misstatements recently made to trash Matt and Forward Montana has frankly p*ssed me off. I'm not going to speak about Forward Montana, its charter, membership, or funding sources, because that's all Matt's gig. I will say this: I trust Matt, I believe he's committed to certain ideas that Forward Montana is working towards - and that includes getting young people and communities excited about politics and participating in our political system - I know he's not using us - the dozens or hundreds of local members - or his organization for any George Soros schemes. As far as I can tell, Forward Montana is exactly what it claims it is.
I hosted a Forward Montana even in my house on Sunday, part of the "beer, brat, and ballots" push to get neighborhoods conversing. I went out this past week and knocked on my neighbors' doors and invited them to my house to meet Ward 6's council candidates, to have some sausage or veggie burger, salad, to drink beer, and to talk politics. It was not a partisan event. As host I tried to lead the conversation, I never offered my personal opinion on any issue or candidate, and made sure both Ed Childers and Lewie Schneller had their full say. (Not an easy task if you know how gregarious Lewie is.) Turnout wasn't great, but the conversation was.
That's Forward Montana.
No one was brainwashed. No one was talked into voting for any Forward Montana candidate - but who the "Forward Montana candidates" are, you'd have to guess. Neither Matt or Forward Montana has endorsed any city council candidate. Look it up.
I'm a progressive, and I joined Forward Montana because it's a progressive group working towards progressive goals. And one of those goals - maybe the most important for me - is to get people involved in the political process. Without public interest and scrutiny I believe our representatives - whether at the local, state, or federal level - would scr*w us in a heartbeat. If we don't care, why should they? It's our government, it's our responsibility, and only we can make sure it's working in our interests on our behalf. That's progressivism. And there are Republicans who share these sentiments, and Democrats who don't like what Forward Montana is doing.
And that's what Forward Montana works for, too. If you don't like people participating in our democracy, fine. But how about debating the substantive issues instead of slinging mud, accusing legitimate organizations of being astroturf fronts built for some insidious purpose, without having a shred of evidence to support your allegations? And why repeat these rumors if all you have to go on is some anonymous comments and an unfounded blog post? Did you email Matt and ask him your questions? Have you met any Forward Montana members? Have you attended an event? Do you know what a 501c4 organization is?
Enough already. Of course it's Matt's obligation, not mine, to correct the misunderstandings and explain the legal status of his group, its mission, history, and membership. Let this post serve only as a testament to Matt's work, a character reference for a colleague and a friend.
If you've perused Montana's right-wing blogs this weekend, you already know that they've uncovered a startling fact: Forward Montana received money from out-of-state donors. That puts us in a class of our own, especially for a political operation.
Fact: No political candidate or party committee in Montana has received out-of-state funds since 1956.
How they stumbled onto our dirty little secret is beyond me. Sure, I suppose they could have read one of the stories published right after we got the grant (or the press release we put out ourselves announcing it). Or they may have read about it in the Independent last week.
In today's Missoula Independent appears a full feature of our very own Matt Singer written up by John Adams. It's a very fair piece and accurately, IMHO, represents Matt's "style," organizational skills, and ideology. Forward Montana 's been doing excellent work lately, and it and Matt deserve the attention.
That said, this cracked me up:
Singer has a burly, often disheveled appearance. His closely cropped beard, deep-set eyes, oval glasses, shaggy receding hair, and slack shouldered posture disguise his low-key charisma and bright political mind. He speaks in a flat, almost inflectionless voice that at times seems barely above a whisper. At first it's hard to imagine an average Joe like Singer inspiring legions of young activists.
Heh heh.
And now, let's play, "guess who it!" I'll post a quote from the piece. Your job is to guess who said it. Here's the quote:
"We're both young guys interested in politics and interested in Montana," [mystery guest #2] says of the impetus behind their meeting over beers earlier this year. "I obviously want young people to get involved in politics and paying attention and volunteering and voting. It's better for democracy and better for Montana."
If you'd have guessed Erik Iverson, the chairman of the Montana Republican party, you're a sharper knife than me! Or you're Erik Iverson. Let's hope that this feeling trickles on down to Missoula conservatives who accuse Forward Montana of all sorts of liberal outrages?
For all the candidates, we've provided responses to our voter guide, plus links to video from Candidates Gone Wild, profiles in other media outlets, endorsement lists, and whatever else we can find that would be helpful for folks in making the endorsement.
Forward Montana has a message: get re-registered to vote. With vote by mail, you need to be registered at your current. Because of old registration information, 10,997 ballots bounced back to the courthouse for the primary election.
That's why we're working hard to make sure people know about the need to re-register and we've even got a slick online tool to help make it happen at www.pinkbunnies.org (the sweeter version of this site will launch later today).
This whole thing has been an awesome undertaking by a great bunch of volunteers, Westridge Creative, Mountain Kid Pictures, and ModWest. The online voter reg tool comes courtesy of Working Assets and Rock the Vote. We've got what we think is a compelling message, but we need your help to spread it.
Want to hear a story of Iraq that will make you laugh and cry? Look no further than Rolling Stone's new article by Matt Taibbi, Hunter Thompson's natural journalistic heir, exposing how big corporate contractors in Iraq are threatening American lives, wasting taxpayer dollars, and screwing up the rebuilding of Iraq.
Operation Iraqi Freedom, it turns out, was never a war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It was an invasion of the federal budget, and no occupying force in history has ever been this efficient.... In Iraq the lines between essential government services and for-profit enterprises have been blurred to the point of absurdity -- to the point where wounded soldiers have to pay retail prices for fresh underwear, where modern-day chattel are imported from the Third World at slave wages to peel the potatoes we once assigned to grunts in KP, where private companies are guaranteed huge profits no matter how badly they f--- things up.
Read Taibbi's whole article . By the time you're done, your blood will be boiling -- guaranteed.
It's because of this kind of news that Forward Montana is proud to support the Out of Iraq referendum in Missoula this fall. But, as with all things, we need you -- Forward Montana's members, supporters, and allies -- to help us actually get stuff done. On our own, we're nothing but a nice name, a pretty logo, and a ten gallon hat with no cattle.
Find out more about the Out of Iraq - Missoula campaign -- and help us out by signing up to volunteer or intern. We'll literally need hundreds of volunteers with this effort before Election Day.
We can use all sorts of help, from traditional political work talking to voters and entering data to helping us make sure that our volunteers are well-taken care of (think organizing celebratory BBQs and parties).
At the beginning of August, I ventured to Chicago to attend the yearly Kos convention. Part of that experience was talking about the Progressive Youth Movement, of which I am part and, apparently, an expert (ha! i say).
To add injury to injury, C-SPAN recorded the panel and Mike Connery of FutureMajority.com, who was also the moderator, has gotten the video on YouTube. So if you want to hear my keen insights into getting young people involved (don't get a hair cut! don't wear suits! get people down to the bar!), here you go.
Forward Montana is hosting Western Progress's Missoula office at Progressive Happy Hour this evening. So come down to the Badlander in Missoula between 5pm and 7pm to chat with former Congressman Pat Williams and the rest of the gang about the West's new think tank.
David Sirota is launching a new syndicated column in September -- so now would be a good time to politely ask Montana newspaper editors to start including Sirota, a Western-based progressive voice, alongside those lovely Coastal folks they currently publish like Mona Charen.
Rep. John Parker (D-Great Falls) is running for Attorney General. He's also coming to Progressive Happy Hour on Monday at the Badlander from 5-7pm (hosted by Forward Montana) to talk about why he's running and answer questions from interested citizens. Come on down and find out what he'd do as the state's chief law enforcement officer. We'll have more candidates coming as time rolls on.
Democracy Corps has a new national poll of young voters out. Youth care more about economics than the war in Iraq (margin is even bigger if health insurance is rightly considered an economic issue). Also, young voters want a bigger, more activist government -- squarely at odds with far-right goals.
Matt and Forward Montana got a good write-up in today's Missoula Independent centered around the organization's new t-shirt, "Guns, God & Gays."
[Matt] Singer says conservatives don't have a monopoly on the Second Amendment, liberals do have religion, and most Montanans just want the government to stay out of their personal lives--and bedrooms.
"Over the last 20 or 30 years there have been people who have tried to use these hot-button issues to try to divide the country in places where there really isn't that strong of a divide," Singer says. "But instead of listening to what we're saying about this, we're hoping people will take a look at the shirt, think about it themselves, talk to their friends, and hopefully get a little less angry about this whole thing."
Can you think of any other state than Montana that would generate a shirt like this? I think we're in a pretty special place, not just geographically, but ideologically.
Tomorrow, Forward Montana is having another volunteer meeting. Want to help end the war in Iraq? Maybe register some voters? Help educate people about Missoula's new vote-by-mail system for the fall elections and get folks talking about the elections? Join us for our volunteer meeting. 6pm @ the Kiwanis Park Shelter.
Next Monday, 6pm, The Badlander -- we're hosting the ACLU of Montana at Progressive Happy Hour. It's an opportunity to learn more about the American Civil Liberties Union's mission, their recent Montana expansion, and how you can get involved in protecting the Bill o' Rights.
