BREAKING: Montanans Don’t Want An Out-of-State Millionaire Buying Their Governor’s Mansion
Montanans know Greg Gianforte would be a disaster as governor, but don’t take our word for it. Here are the Montanans — Republicans, Democrats, public health experts, and public lands advocates — who have spoken up against his bid for governor.
1. It’s been months since the primary, but Republican Tim Fox still hasn’t endorsed Gianforte, and given his veiled criticism of Gianforte in his concession email to supporters, we don’t expect he will any time soon.
“…leadership means more than just expensive TV ads and flashy mail pieces. That having a vision for the future means showing up, rolling-up your sleeves, and putting in the work.”
2. When Dr. R.D. Marks backed Tim Fox in the primary, he got a call from Gianforte’s wife insinuating that Fox wasn’t fit for office because he previously had cancer. Marks told the Montana Standard:
“She asked, ‘Well, what about Tim’s health?’ I was taken back… to have it thrown up as an issue to change my mind about who I was going to support seemed as a very ‘Eastern Politics’ approach and certainly not the Montana way.
3. When Former Kalispell Mayor Tammi Fisher heard about the attack on Tim Fox’s health, she called out Gianforte on the Montana Values podcast:
“Gianforte’s dirty trick wasn’t a campaign violation, it was just a super shitty thing to do and it follows a long list of super-shitty things that Gianforte has done while trying to obtain and while holding elected office ”
4. Speaking of sh*tty things, Greg Gianforte skipped a vote on CDC funding to announce his run for governor. Public health experts took notice, including Dr. Cora Neumann who penned an op-ed stating:
“It’s difficult to say what’s more disqualifying — Gianforte’s disregard for funding public health agencies, or his disregard for work in general.”
5. Despite owning a private jet, Gianforte has missed 93% of his votes in Congress. David Ewer, Montana’s former budget director, called him out:
“Greg Gianforte’s truant record in Congress demonstrates his unwillingness to put in the hard work in service to Montanans. Mr. Gianforte has been a ‘No Show’ Congressman. Now he wants to be your ‘No Show’ governor. As Brian Schweitzer would say, ‘That dog don’t hunt.’”
6. Greg Gianforte is so out-of-touch that Bob Brown – former state senator, Secretary of State, and 2004 GOP nominee for governor – is leaving the Republican Party. In a Missoulian column he said:
“But after watching Trump’s consistently ignorant and irresponsible leadership, I’ve concluded that in good conscience, I can’t remain a member of the party he has taken over. I won’t vote for him, nor will I vote for his puppets, Greg Gianforte and Steve Daines.”
7. Even Susan Carstensen, Gianforte’s former CFO at RightNow Technologies, has spoked up against him. During his failed 2016 bid for governor she said in the Missoulian:
“I don’t believe that his success in business translates to success in public service… While Greg is spending millions of his own fortune to tout his business credentials, he should be clear with Montanans about RightNow Technologies’ business model. The purpose of our business was to cut costs for companies, by eliminating and outsourcing jobs overseas.”
8. Ryan Busse, outdoor industry veteran and former chair of two conservation groups, warned of the dangers Greg Gianforte poses to public lands in the Missoula Current:
“The threat he poses to our public lands cannot be overstated…. He even authored legislation in Congress to strip protections from nearly 700,000 acres of public lands — without any input from Montanans.”
9. In the Helena Independent Record, former Bureau of Land Management employees, Tim Bozorth & Mike Penfold, slammed Gianforte for trying to strip away public land protections.
“Representative Greg Gianforte is following Senator Steve Daines’ lead into the wilderness study area elimination fray, introducing two bills to strip protections from cherished public lands — seemingly with zero public input.”
10. Even Gianforte’s neighbors aren’t supporting him. There’s rumors circulating that one neighbor wrote into their will that Gianforte can’t buy their land.
Published: Sep 14, 2020