Senator Roy Brown has held on to his Democratic-lean seats in the House and Senate by portraying himself as something of a moderate. His voting record belies this claim over the years. During his days in the House, for example, Roy Brown was one of 22 Representatives who supported issuing Minor in Possession citations to young women reporting sexual assaults. If there's an epitome of "punish the slut" thinking about female sexuality, that vote would have to be it.
But Roy has maintained a moderate tone over the years. This cycle, though, he's apparently spooked, because he is falling all over himself to appeal to the most reactionary elements of the Republican Party. Roy Brown actually returned the Koopman Konservative Kwestionnaire (too far?) and earned a score of 82 -- pretty much off the charts.
Let's be clear, Koopman isn't just a conservative. He's a nutjob that conservatives make pains to distance themselves from. I just heard from a friend that she saw Scott Mendenhall, no liberal himself, and two other GOPers in a Helena coffeeshop loudly mocking Roger Koopman.
Roy Brown, though? He's responding to questionnaires and bending over backwards to get a good score from Koopdog.
Brown's district is, was, and will be a lean Democratic seat. It may be the most Democratic seat currently held by a Republican in Montana. Catering to the far right isn't just bad policy here, it is terrible politics.
It has been two weeks since I revealed that the antigovernment-faction leader in Montana had been using a state government Web site to profit personally in his business, a violation of federal law that the Labor Department dealt with by writing him numerous cease-and-desist letters throughout the last nine months, and then, several weeks ago, shutting down his profiteering scheme.
Evidently, Left in the West has become, in the eyes of the Montana press, a major news outlet! The press decided that since Koopman's transgressions were already reported on this website, they need not be covered at all in any of the state's newspapers, television or radio.
Strangely, they did cover, a week earlier, Koopman's media event in which he declared that he was going to search state-wide for right-wing candidates to oppose "big government republicans."
Perhaps there is some sort of understanding that the Bozeman Chronicle only writes positive things about Roger Koopman? (Even if they're only positive to its own editors and those with lead bunkers in the Flathead.) And if so, does mailing it in from Koopdog-and-pony shows really pass as journalism?
If the Bozeman Chronicle can't write the story because they fear Koopman will call and accuse them of ordering pizzas to his house, can't some less timid source write about it?
Sources at the Department of Labor have confirmed that Roger Koopman, the arch-conservative leader and former legislator from Bozeman, has been notified by the Department of Labor that he is violating Federal Law. It appears that he could face criminal prosecution if he continues to defy multiple cease and desist orders.
Koopman's employment firm, Career Concepts, has been collecting massive fees, which sources say are as high as $1500 in some cases, from job applicants who are unemployed and have been answering job offers on the state jobs website. That is a federal crime. There will be more to come on this. I'll keep you posted.
Koopman has in recent times become the self-appointed Anti-Government/Tea Party/Far-Right Wing leader, even recruiting super-conservatives to challenge right-wing incumbents in republican primaries.
Now, Koopman could be finished in that role.
UPDATE: I fixed the link. You can view the letters here. To view the large file size, click "all sizes" at top of photo.
***UPDATE 2***: Here's the latest letter from this month, and the second page of that letter.
Roger Koopman and his friends are up to their usual tricks, this time circulating a purity test:
In a repeat of 2008, former Bozeman Rep. Roger Koopman has set his sights on state Republicans who he accuses of being too liberal, or RINOs (Republicans in Name Only). Koopman, the chairman of the newly formed Montana Conservative Alliance, says his group is mailing questionnaires to every GOP candidate and, based on their results, will identify who will be supported and who will be targeted.
In the last legislative election, Koopman and his cronies dislodged three moderate Republicans in primaries.
I know there are leftys out there who would apply the same Koopman-esque tactics to the Democratic party - and certainly I heartily support running good progressive candidates against bad candidates - but Koopman's style demands strict ideological adherence to a narrow set of simplistic "principles" under all conditions. What you get from that kind of process is a pack of simplistic, narrow-minded legislators applying simplistic cookie-cutter policies to complex problems with monomaniacal fury.
That's not a good thing.
I will say that pundits and media outlets have an irrational love of "independents." There's a romanticized vision out there that an "independent" is somehow a fierce, pragmatic thinker free from the pull and tug of mindless partisanship, bravely inhabiting the small strip of no-man's land between the two political parties. But in reality, independent voters are anything but a homogenous bloc. Maoist lefties and white supremacist righties both consider themselves "independent." Others are independent because of a single issue. Abortion, for example, may push a economic progressive, say, to vote for a rightwing pro-life Republican. Others are partisan, but call themselves independent to foil pollsters or because they like the idea of being independent. Others are partisan, but switch their vote to punish a politician for not upholding her party's values - like in the case of the recent Massachusetts special Senatorial election.
That's a long way of saying that "moderates" don't really represent "independent" voters. But a moderate politician does make sure that constituents from both sides of the political divide are represented - which isn't a bad thing. (In the national health care debate, for example, Blue Dog Democrats did bring legitimate concerns about the effects health care legislation would have on state budgets and small businesses.)
In the case of the Montana Republican party, that's crucial. That's because efforts of folks like Koopman have transformed the state Republican party into a truly radical political movement that seeks to advance the interests of a tiny faction of the state's voters.
A Nevada judge has tossed out a proposed so-called personhood initiative saying the language was too vague and violated state law that limits questions to one subject.
Like in Montana, the Nevada ballot initiative petition does not specifically mention abortion, but is a back door attempt to totally ban abortion in the state.
Carson City District Court Judge James Russell said the measure was too broad and general in nature to be put before voters in November.
"The issue to me is, are we adequately informing voters on what they're voting on," Russell said in a ruling from the bench after listening to about two hours of arguments.
Besides being vague, Russell said, the initiative violates a law limiting referendum questions to a single subject.
"There's no way for the voter to understand the effects of the initiative," he said.
The case came to court after a Nevada woman, a pharmacist and an OB-GYN together filed a legal challenge against the petition, arguing that the initiative proposes far reaching changes to the Nevada Constitution and laws, is misleading and fails to give voters a clear understanding of the changes it proposes and its purpose and effect.
It was reported today that Annie Bukacek of the Montana Policy Institute's anti-health care "conferences" and demonstrations and the abortion ban ballot initiative backed by Warburton, McGee, and Butcher, among others:
...is under investigation for alleged abuse of patients or fraud with regard to Medicaid billing involving Bukacek's medical practice. Questions about praying with patients also have been raised. Bukacek said she spent an hour and a half Wednesday with an FBI agent, a criminal investigator and two health-care fraud investigators...
National activists are again trying to use Montana as electoral proving grounds to challenge Roe v Wade since federal legislative efforts have been fruitless.
But after a whistle-stop tour from out-of-state activists failed to bring out local support, Wendy Warburton, R-Havre, and the rag-tag group of misfits who refuse to see the writing on the wall are also having trouble putting on a happy face today.
"They have a lot more money than we do," she said of local Montana-based organizations who oppose the constitutional amendment.
The amendment also failed to qualify for the ballot last election cycle.
Local Montana groups don't seem surprised at the lack of support the initiative idea is getting.
"We raise all of our money from the grassroots in Montana," [Allyson Hagen, Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Montana] said, "If we have more money, it's because we have more support."
Even those who Warburton thought would be on her side aren't supporting the amendment:
"the Montana Catholic Conference, a mainstay in the pro-life movement, is not supporting the proposal. It questions the strategy of an all-out challenge to Roe v. Wade at this time."
This weekend, one of the nations most infamous opponents of birth control will travel to Montana to pitch the so-called "personhood" amendment. The amendment is a total ban on abortion with no exceptions that is written in such a way that it could also ban many forms of birth control, some fertility treatments, and cause a host of legal and budgetary problems.
The Pill Kills project is among the more extreme and dangerous of the American Life League's activities. The campaign spreads lies such as telling women that birth inherently dangerous and may lead to "shrinking of the womb" and even death.
These "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy" signs, first seen at the 9/12 march in Washington DC, were the brainchild of Judie Brown, director of the American Life League and denounced by the Catholics she claimed to work to support as
"an outrage and an embarrassment to the Catholic community [that] scor[es] cheap political points at the expense of common good solutions to the current crisis in the health care system."
This campaign marks the fourth attempt in two years (two initiatives, two legislative referenda) in Montana to redefine personhood and interfere in Montana's constitutionally protected right to privacy. Anti-choice groups fell nearly 20,000 signatures short of qualifying for the 2008 ballot. In order to qualify for the 2010 ballot, proponents will have to collect 48,674 signatures, including 10 percent of the voters in each of 40 legislative house districts.
Three Republican state legislators defeated in the June 3 primary election said Thursday that they were the victims of "last-minute, sleazy" campaign attacks and are launching write-in bids to reclaim their seats this fall.
Republican state Rep. Michael Lange on Saturday threw another wrinkle into an already twisted U.S. Senate race in Montana, announcing that he will run as a write-in candidate...
Lange said if he wins the election, he'll make [Anton] Pearson his state director...
Another unsuccessful candidate in the U.S. Senate primary, Missoula accountant Patty Lovaas, said last week that she has distributed petitions in an effort to get 9,600 signatures of registered voters to quality as an independent candidate.
Bob Kelleher, the surprise Republican U.S. Senate nominee, won't be allowed to address the 400 delegates at the state GOP convention in Missoula this week, but he has been offered a side room for an hour to meet with anyone interested...
Kelleher learned of the decision from a reporter Wednesday after canceling a scheduled meeting with Iverson on Tuesday.
The campaign of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain says it is sticking with former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns as its state chairman, following his comments last week that McCain was not his first choice.
Earlier Thursday, Montana GOP officials had said Burns was being replaced as the campaign's speaker at the state party convention this week in Missoula.
On the eve of an expected floor fight over national convention delegates between backers of John McCain and Ron Paul, Montana Republican chairman Erik Iverson said Thursday that the GOP's philosophical diversity is good but that delegates must unite afterward.
Koopman's effort to oust moderate Republicans had three victims this week: Carol Lambart, John Ward, and Bruce Malcolm.
Here's the rationale:
Koopman said he was involved in several races, challenging less-than-conservative Republicans, while helping lawmakers big on morals and smaller government.
Here's the method:
Voters in Park and Sweet Grass counties received bulk mail cards accusing Rep. Bruce Malcolm of coddling child-molesting serial killers. The cards featured photographs of 1970s Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy and Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, arrested in Great Falls in 1999 for raping and killing young boys.
"Bruce Malcolm believes monsters like this deserve to live," read the card, which was issued by Mother's Against Child Predators, a group that only recently registered with the state's political practices commissioner.
Why was Malcolm the target of this trash? Because he voted against the death penalty.
I'll let you mull the vast gulf between Koopman's moral claims, his desire for "freedom," and the sleazy, misleading attack mailers sent to Malcolm's constituents.
IMHO, this makes the "death porn" mailers look quaint in comparison. Whoever was associated with this campaign obviously has no shame.
If there ever was a question about the so-called "morality" of Koopman, et al., the answer was always found in Matthew 7:16.
Here's an interesting letter: Rep. Krayton Kerns takes up the names of Roger Koopman and John Sinrud and compares them to Vietnam Veterans who got unfairly picked on.
For those keeping score at home, this is the second insane comparison between John Sinrud's woes and those of men and women serving our country in warzones.
Beyond that, the letter is simply inane, including quotes like this, "Politics is truly a blood sport."
No. It's not Mr. Kerns. Neither Roger Koopman nor John Sinrud got shot at in the line of duty.
Honestly, Martyrs appear to be a dime a dozen in the GOP House ranks.
The Grand Canyon, carved out over the eons by rushing river water, began to form 17 million years ago, making it nearly three times older than previously thought, scientists said on Thursday.
Scientists are using a technique "called uranium-lead isotope" to "date mineral deposits" from the canyon.
Makes me wonder how today's kicking-boy, Roger Koopman, will explain away today's report. Did Angels dig the Grand Canyon, and sprinkle uranium isotopes in different stages of decay over the landscape?
"The Koop's position here is representative of a lot of what is wrong with the Montana GOP. Throwing up hyper partisan candidates against men such as Jones will not work, because the market of voters most assuredly won't want it. It looks to me like the state GOP Koopman thinks that their problem is with soft candidates, when the "problem," to the extent that any exists, is with the political opinions of their constituents, we Montanans."
"Koopman, known for his deep scientific knowledge, certainly understands politics. How long has taken for the elite, liberal media to expose the shameful Marxism of Dave Lewis and the other Stalinist-Republicans of the Montana Republican Party?
"Keep at it, Roger. You, sir, are an inspiration to Commie-hunters everywhere.
"P.S. Stay away from city water. I hear fluoride saps our vital fluids."
"Koopman, I think by all standards and definitions, is a wingnut. He wiles away his hours in Helena proposing legislation that goes nowhere while at the same time alienating the people he has to work with to get anything accomplished. He's a classic crank. Even when he speaks in a friendly manner and tries to sound reasonable, I can feel the rage beneath. This is not a sane man."
"...Rep. Roger Koopman crossed a line when he created what amounts to an "enemies list" made up of his fellow legislators. It would be one thing if Koopman could rationally believe that conservative Republicans of his defined level of ideological purity could win a majority in the Montana House and Senate. But he knows good and well that they can't. Either that, or he is delusional."
"Resident lunatic state rep Roger Koopman wants to punish the not conservative enough from the MT GOP. He's using Natelson's voting index to pick the targets. Judging by that index (all of Montana's Democrats are labeled liberal, while the majority of the Republicans are moderate or liberal), we live in a socialist paradise.
"I must point out, though, Koopman registered a 98 on the 100 point scale. What's this 2% ideological infidelity? Doesn't he know that our very freedom is at stake here? There's no place for even the slightest waffling."
You'll notice that these posts come from all ideological corners of the blogosphere. That's a good thing. I think, as acrimonious as we all can be towards one other, there's an understanding that we're all here in the same state and we need tolerance and compromise to keep the wheels spinning, a fact that seems to elude Roger Koopman. I'm sure he deserves whatever political fate awaits him.
One of the Legislature's most conservative members is trying to recruit challengers to run in certain legislative primaries to purge the Republican Party of what he calls 14 "socialist incumbent Republicans."'
Apparently, Koopman's calling his purge, "the liberty project," and has a list of targeted Republicans:
Republican House incumbents targeted, in what Koopman said was "in rough order of priority," are Reps. Llew Jones of Conrad, Walter McNutt of Sidney, Duane Ankney of Colstrip, Jesse O'Hara of Great Falls, Harry Klock of Great Falls, Bill Glaser of Huntley, Bruce Malcolm of Emigrant, John Ward of Helena, Carol Lambert of Broadus, Elsie Arntzen of Billings, Gary MacLaren of Victor and Mike Milburn of Cascade.
Republican Senate incumbents targeted are Sens. John Brueggeman of Polson and Dave Lewis of Helena.
Naturally those targeted and party chair, Erik Iverson, are not amused.
But it's just another item in the radicalization of the state's Republican party, of which the acrimony of the 2006 legislative session is the natural result. Following close on the heels of the closed caucus, reports like this only underscores the Missoulian's recent remarks:
Meanwhile, we'd like to ask them a few questions of our own: What does it take to be a "true" Republican? Is there some sort of test? Do you have to toe the party line? Refuse to associate with Democrats? How about Independents? Are they off-limits?
If the Montana Republican Party wants to operate like some sort of exclusive club, they should at least be clear about their requirements. Otherwise, self-professed Republicans across the state are sure to start wondering: Am I a Democrat, too?
Roger Koopman is thinking about running for Governor due to the veritable groundswell of public support demanding a nutjob in the Governor's mansion.
A number of people have approached me in recent weeks, asking me to run for governor.
Is that number zero, Roger? Is it one?
There is a real fear out there that if a pro-freedom, limited government conservative doesn't soon emerge, we may end up with a Marc Racicot liberal as our standard bearer, or a drab, wishy-washy "moderate" incapable of articulating the positive Republican vision for our state.
Wait, Marc "deregulate" Racicot was a liberal? I mean, I know he didn't hate gay people, but that's a pretty low bar for characterizing someone as a liberal. You've really let your standards slip, Roger.
Plus, would it really be so awful for the Republican Party to have a popular standard bearer?
Roger Koopman would no doubt make Judy Martz look like an unstoppable electoral force.
Which is why I say: Get in the race, Roger. I got a $50 contribution I'm just waiting to make.
It sure looks like that was the mood in the House Education Committee as students descended to speak out against a measure supported by Koopman (and -- based on Gwen Florio's reporting and word from a few friends of mine who attended the hearing -- a handful of spokespeople for national right-wing front groups). The Tribune story can't even find a Montana student testifying for the bill.
What would the bill do? It would institute a new system where every Montana college would have to start producing an expensive new annual report on intellectual diversity on campus. In reality, that means another layer of committees, more use of staff resources for purposes other than education, and more bureaucracy.
As Denver Henderson, lobbying for students at UM, pointed out, there's already a system in place to deal with complaints about political discrimination. The collective bargaining agreement with the faculty outlines it. Students have a paid resolution officer who represents any student on campus with a grievance against a faculty member.
The system is responsive, focused on solving problems, and efficient. It also deals with a whole host of academic problems, ranging from political and academic diversity to inappropriate faculty behavior.
Koopman's bill cost something like $4 million to implement in Florida.
At Jay's blog, Mark Tokarski notes in comments that this is hardly a conservative bill and that Koopman is no conservative. He's right. I'll be shocked to see this bill get out of committee, since I can't even really see Rick Jore supporting it (more bureaucracy in the higher ed system -- why would Jore vote for it?).
In comments at Montana Netroots, Rocky, a moderate Republican, chimes in:
As a Republican, I can’t support the views of these gentlemen. Education is a tool toward making this world a better place. We should be working toward high quality education and greater access for all. The bare minimum should be a high school diploma. To actually succeed today, some college is a must. The cost involved with attending univrsity has gotten completely out of hand. We need to work toward making it more affordable and not taking state funds away. Does this make me a liberal education-wise?
No, Rocky -- it places you well within the mainstream in Montana. That's why independents like Moorcat are upset, moderate Democrats like Jeff Mangan are blogging about it and nothing else, and Forward Montana launched a petition on it.
There's a lot at stake here. When we've got a surplus, we've got a unique opportunity to get our education system on track. Done right -- it can be a powerful economic development tool, both for the state and for the individual Montanans moving through it.
Forward Montana has launched a petition calling for new leadership on the House Education Committee. As Jeff Mangan notes, "While the initial appointment of Jore (C) to Chair the House Education committee was telling, to then appoint Koopman as Vice-Chair and place Butcher on the committee certainly confirms the Leadership's extremist attitude towards public education."
Forward Montana is calling on Speaker Sales to replace both Rep. Rick Jore and Rep. Roger Koopman with new leaders on the education committee.
Please, sign the petition and encourage your family and friends to do the same.
