The big banks are at it again. They enjoy tremendous market power over American consumers, and between government regulation and the shift to digital payments, it’s nearly impossible to function without a bank account. You can barely pay with cash for much of anything anymore. And checking accounts are notoriously sticky – anyone who has Read More…
As many small businesses struggle to find and retain qualified workers, several states across the country have implemented government-run systems to pay unemployment to individuals who voluntarily walk off the job to go on strike. Unemployment benefits for striking workers create an incentive for employees to abandon their responsibilities without negative consequences like termination or Read More…
Across our region, policymakers have been taking action that significantly moves the economic needle: cutting waste and trimming red tape. It’s a key reason Idaho, Montana and Wyoming regularly show up among the least-regulated states in the country, and is a major draw to families, job creators and taxpayers alike. Washington has made some permitting Read More…
President Trump’s tariffs and hardline trade negotiations are not just political theater; they are the backbone of a bold America First economic strategy. The results speak for themselves: stronger leverage abroad, revitalized U.S. industries, and greater economic security here at home. Critics may complain about short-term price fluctuations, but the numbers prove the policy is Read More…
Lost in the Democratic, media driven catharsis of what happened in state legislative races in Virginia this week, and last November, is the series of recent Republican victories in places as cobalt blue as Massachusetts in recent weeks. Even this week, Republicans won a special election outside Tampa, where Democrats hold a higher registration advantage. Read More…
U.S. Sen. Al Franken broke his self-imposed silence over the weekend, submitting to a series of media interviews on the sexual misconduct allegations against him, professing his shame and embarrassment. That was a necessary move — Minnesotans and the country at large deserved to hear from him. But his apology falls lamentably short in several Read More…
It has been 30 years since the last time our nation’s tax code has been overhauled. In that time, the tax rate we levy on businesses has become one of the highest in the world, the tax code itself has become an incomprehensible mess, and special interests have drilled it full of loopholes that benefit Read More…
Steve Bannon, the failed presidential adviser and alt-right sympathizer, has declared war on incumbent Republicans, particularly Sen. Mitch McConnell. From his perch at Breitbart, Mr. Bannon is vowing to defeat officeholders who back Mr. McConnell as majority leader or who won’t sign onto Mr. Bannon’s populist agenda. So what kind of challengers is Mr. Bannon Read More…
One irony of Washington these days is that a press corps that claims to loathe right-wing political operative Steve Bannon can’t get enough of him. The media broadcast his every utterance, cheering on his declaration of “civil war” against Republicans in Congress. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) captured that reality on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Read More…
The New York Times last week broke the story of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s long record of sexual harassment. Actresses including Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd came forward to detail Weinstein’s depredations, and so did former employees of the man who founded one of the most important independent film companies of the last 30 years, Read More…
The Democrats Take Their Political Problems to Court The Democrats have a political problem and a geographic problem. This problem goes beyond the number of seats Democrats must gain to control the U.S. House or many statehouses, and surpasses the unfavorable map Democrats face in the Senate. The problem facing the Democrats nationally is that Read More…
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s leaked report on President Trump’s ordered review of 27 national monument designations or expansions of the last 21 years was trebly disappointing. He failed to recommend revocation of any Clinton and Obama decrees, despite finding that many failed to satisfy the requirements of the Antiquities Act of 1906. He Read More…
Healthy democracies have ample room for politics but leave a larger space for civil society and culture that unites more than divides. With the politicization of the National Football League and the national anthem, the Divided States of America are exhibiting a very unhealthy level of polarization and mistrust. The progressive forces of identity politics Read More…
For years I’ve had a game pass package with NFL.com. Since we don’t have an NFL team in Montana, I found that I could watch games of all the teams this way. NFL players have decided that disrespecting the flag by kneeling or sitting during the playing of the national anthem before games is a Read More…
Montana’s crisis isn’t too much water or hurricanes — it’s fire. It’s smoke filling Big Sky Country and filling our lungs, communities being evacuated, structures lost and tons of fuels just lying on the forest floor waiting for a spark to ignite. In this year alone, over 1,600 fires have burned over 1 million acres in Read More…
Connecticut may be too rich for its own good. Long blessed with a disproportionate number of high-income residents, the state has entertained lavish spending habits for decades. Lawmakers have acted as if they were on a shopping spree at Christmas, confident that the money to pay off the credit cards would somehow be found in Read More…
It’s become difficult to decipher between reality and alarmism these days. To add insult to injury, President Trump can’t seem to take two steps without being ridiculed from every direction. The latest point of contention has been his decision to disengage from the Paris Climate Accord (PCA). But is all the noise justified? Perhaps not, Read More…
In April Senator Jon Tester joined an unsuccessful partisan effort to filibuster Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court. To justify his actions, Tester said at the time, “With Judge Gorsuch on the bench, I am deeply concerned that dark money will continue to drown out the voices and votes of citizens.” It seems Read More…
As the 2017 legislative session has come to an end, we want to make sure that Montanans have a clear view of what’s happened the past few months in Helena. The mission of the Senate and House Republicans from Day One has been to help create more opportunities for all Montanans by making our state Read More…
From the beginning of the 2017 session, House Republicans committed to supporting essential infrastructure which would not place an undue burden on Montana taxpayers. The Legislature is currently moving more than $1.1 Billion worth of infrastructure projects directly to Montana communities. You read that right – Billion. This is an important piece of the Read More…
The special election to select a new congressman for Montana is less than 80 days away and the process for conducting the election has been turned into a political football. First, Gov. Steve Bullock scheduled the election at the earliest possible time, 85 days after Ryan Zinke resigned to serve as President Trump’s secretary Read More…
Montana is blessed with vast landscapes of public lands. Our great outdoors attracts millions of visitors each year and is part of why I love Montana so much. And in Montana, conversations about our public land often go hand in hand with talking about the federal government. The federal government owns 28.9 percent of Montana. Read More…
IT HAS been many years since France last had a revolution, or even a serious attempt at reform. Stagnation, both political and economic, has been the hallmark of a country where little has changed for decades, even as power has rotated between the established parties of left and right. Until now. This year’s presidential election, Read More…
The Billings Gazette editorial blasting my opposition to SB305 is alarmingly short on facts. The only voters being suppressed under the bill are those that want to vote at the polls to ensure their ballot makes it to the ballot box and is counted. SB305 would actually reduce voter choice and require all voters to Read More…
MONTANA IS BROKE. As Subcommittee Chairs of House Appropriations, we are the first stop for spending bills in the Montana Legislature. We are responsible for hearing testimony in our area of focus, then making decisions and moving bills to the full Appropriations Committee. In a low budget situation, like we are currently experiencing, we are Read More…
Following the Governor’s State of the State address and the response by the Speaker of the House, the media reported on the stark differences the two made regarding Montana’s fiscal condition. However, the more important point that needs to be made is an explanation of the underlying factors contributing to these views and our differing Read More…
The state of Montana has a dire budget situation that requires leadership to repair. In 2013 the state of Montana had an ending fund balance of about $537 million and it will be down to $79 million this year. The ending fund balance is our monetary cushion for our state should it be necessary between Read More…
By: Jon Knokey (R-Bozeman) Serving on the House Appropriation Committee for the Montana Legislature has been the single most eye-opening activity of my career. Simply put, I came from the private sector and if someone ran a business or non-profit like we ran our government, they’d be finished. The latest move on infrastructure exemplifies this. Read More…
As the United States prepares for the incoming administration and President Donald Trump, there stands an opportunity for a reset of an important relationship – that of the United States and Turkey. The hope is that President Trump and his officials will cultivate more closely a diplomatic relationship with Turkish President Erdogan than President Obama Read More…
Shortly before Christmas, men and women across Montana were notified that the road construction projects they were depending on to put presents under the tree this year would be canceled. The jobs they were depending on to provide for their families in 2017 would be lost. The construction of critical state highway projects would be Read More…
The 65th Montana Legislature just started. We are all aboard a ship without a captain in the middle of an ugly storm. Republicans left Gov. Steve Bullock with a balanced budget and $500 million to spare in 2013 and $300 million in 2015, so we expected to come into calmer waters. Instead, Gov. Bullock seems Read More…
Welcome to a new year and a new legislative session. With our eyes toward Montana’s future, we are hopeful that the next 90 days will bring badly needed changes. We must put our state back on a path toward economic stability that creates greater opportunities for all Montanans. This November, the people of Montana sent Read More…
“America is a nation of laws, not of men and women.” These words, spoken countless times throughout our nation’s history, should always be a guiding principle for policymakers in America. As citizens of this great nation, we must ask those who lead our country to respect the supremacy of law, as it’s only then Read More…
This past year was a rough one for the coal industry. In 2016 we saw President Barack Obama’s final push to kill coal before the end of his term. The result was a significant drop in production due to closure of power plants the state had supplied, the loss of hundreds of Montana coal jobs, Read More…
The Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil pipeline which starts in North Dakota and will route to Illinois, has been marred by a steady stream of misinformation and rumor. As governor of North Dakota, I feel it is important to share the facts of how the route was permitted through our state, as well as our Read More…
So here it is, a month after Greg Gianforte lost his election bid for governor, and Evan Barrett is still denigrating him (Dec. 7 opinion). Maybe we should call him Evan “kick-them-while-they’re down” Barrett. This time Evan is alarmed about Greg using his own money to fund some of his campaign. I would think Evan Read More…
Republican Corey Stapleton’s goals, if elected Montana secretary of state, are to: Improve business services. Protect the integrity of the elections process. Be a great steward on the State Land Board. That’s what Montanans want in their state elections and information chief. To Stapleton, a financial planner in Billings, “election security is a big deal.” Read More…
The dominant fact emerging this year is that whatever faith in government voters once had has been pretty well destroyed both by self-serving politicians willing to disingenuously promise anything for their votes and the failure of government at all levels to deliver on those promises. Establishment politicos of both party’s couldn’t believe the appeal of Read More…
I support Kristen Juras for the Montana Supreme Court for a number of reasons. One of them is her opponent’s record on sentencing defendants convicted in criminal cases involving possession of child pornography and other offenses with children as intended victims. During my term as United States attorney (for Montana) from 2001 to 2009, Read More…
I have known Kristen Juras for a long time. Born and raised in Montana, Juras practiced law for many years and has a broad range of legal experience. She taught extensively at the Law School, has a keen intellect, and would bring to the Court new expertise in multiple areas of the law, including family Read More…
As your sitting district judge in Stillwater, Carbon, and Big Horn Counties, I wanted to let you know that I am endorsing Kristen Juras in the contested race for the Montana Supreme Court. I believe that she has the right temperament, experience, and ability to make an excellent Supreme Court Justice. Not only is Kristen Read More…
Since taking office in January 2013, Attorney General Tim Fox has worked to: Streamline voter registration with driver’s licensing. Raise awareness of the number of untested rape evidence kits stored by Montana law enforcement agencies. He obtained a federal grant for testing that could lead to prosecution of rapists. Reduce the wait for chemical testing Read More…
The Missoula city council recently passed a city ordinance requiring all firearm transfers within the city be subject to a background check, even private transfers between individuals. This new ordinance is in direct violation of Montana Code Annotated section 45-8-351 (2015), which states a local government may not restrict or regulate the purchase, sale, or Read More…
As I campaign for secretary of state across Montana, I am reminded of how important it is to balance our desire for larger voter participation with assuring the integrity of our voting process isn’t compromised by expediency or carelessness. If we have the mindset that it’s not a matter of if we get hacked, but Read More…