Free Republic

Brigham argues that a significant contributing factor to Baucus’s decision to bow out was the threat of a primary challenger from the left. “If the Left wants to make a stink and veto somebody, we have the power to do that,” he said. “For local progressives, they saw, ‘Hey, when we stand up and complain, we got Baucus off the ballot. We can do that again,’ ” he added. He argued that progressives now have a chance to get their own candidate at the Aug. 16 special nominating convention. Grassroots organizers often have more success getting their candidates elected at...

Should have done it a week ago, frankly. Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., announced Thursday that he is dropping out of the Senate race after it became clear that he could not overcome the fallout from a plagiarism scandal. “The 2007 research paper from my time at the U.S. Army War College has become a distraction from the debate you expect and deserve,” Walsh said in a statement. “Distraction.” Yes, I imagine that plagiarism and academic fraud probably would qualify as such. As to the plagiarist’s replacement, well… I don’t know what’s more depressing for Democrats: that their best hope to...

HELENA — Sen. John Walsh said Thursday he is pulling out of the Senate race because his campaign was distracted by the controversy over allegations that he plagiarized a U.S. Army War College research paper. Walsh, a Democrat, said he decided to drop out of the race. He had canceled campaign events this week as he and his family discussed what he would do. The New York Times reported July 23 that Walsh had plagiarized large portions of the research paper in 2007. Walsh will serve out the rest of his Senate term, which ends in early January 2015. “I...

"Having repeatedly said that he wants to do the honorable thing, Walsh should stop campaigning and do his utmost to serve Montanans well in the remainder of his brief Senate appointment. That is the honorable course," writes the Gazette's editorial board. "We call on Walsh to devote all his time to serving as U.S. senator and bag the campaigning." The Missoulian went a step farther, suggesting that he could also immediately resign. "Walsh could resign his Senate seat immediately. [Gov. Steve] Bullock could then appoint a temporary replacement who isn’t running for election, as many Montanans had hoped he would...

Rep. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) was basking in the national spotlight of delivering the GOP’s response to President Obama’s weekly radio and internet address July 27, while the man whose job he wants, Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.), was reeling from charges of plagiarizing a healthy portion of his U.S. Army War College master’s thesis. The contest has never been a contest, although Walsh did pull closer to Daines just before the plagiarism scandal broke July 23. Daines is slaughtering Walsh in the polls. The latest survey of likely Montana voters from Public Policy Polling, which leans toward Democrats, has the Republican...

The time has come to remove the words “halfbreed” and “breed” from the names of creeks, lakes and other places around Montana, according to leaders of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Nicholas Vrooman, who works with the tribe, presented a bill draft to that effect during a recent meeting with the State-Tribal Relations Legislative Committee. The words are racist terms that demean American Indians, he said. […] The bill would require state and other agencies to identify places with the terms and remove them from maps, signs and markers when age or vandalism calls for an update. It...

Formation of district and imposition of assessments 'invalidated' by ruling . Boulder County commissioners didn't have the legal authority to establish a Local Improvement District created to charge rural residential subdivision property owners the bulk of the costs of rehabilitating those subdivisions' paved county roads, according to a Friday Boulder County District Court ruling. The Board of County Commissioners "exceeded its jurisdiction and abused its discretion in authorizing and forming the Subdivision Paving Local Improvement District and imposing assessments on properties within the District," Senior District Court Judge J. Robert Lowenbach wrote. ... The judge further ordered Boulder County to...

Rep. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) invites — no, Daines demands — Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency visit the town of Colstrip, Mont., to see for herself the impact of her agency’s Clean Power Plan on that community. So far, he has not received her RSVP. This time next year, he could have a lot more pull with the EPA. Daines could be forgiven if he is doing some early packing. He can’t be too worried about winning the November Senate election. Rasmussen Reports gives him an 18-point lead among Montana voters in his bid to replace Sen....

Senator John Walsh, Democrat of Montana, was appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock in February to fill the seat vacated by Max Baucus, a six-term senator who stepped down to become the United States ambassador to China. Relatively new to politics, Mr. Walsh, 53, was elected lieutenant governor in 2012 after more than three decades in the National Guard, which included a combat tour in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. He had already declared his candidacy for Mr. Baucus’s seat in November’s midterm elections when Mr. Bullock selected him in the hopes that raising his profile would enable the Democrats to...

The Democrats knew retaining Max Baucus’s Senate seat was going to be a challenge. In an attempt to hold onto that seat, Max Baucus was convinced to retire from the Senate and was shipped off to China as Ambassador. A new Senator was appointed by the Democrat governor to fill out Baucus’s term and to set him up to defend the seat using the power of incumbency. On paper it looked like a good plan. The replacement was the serving lieutenant governor John Walsh. Walsh was superficially an attractive choice. He was a career National Guardsman, rising in rank from...

Well, it seems “Papergate” just ensnared Montana Democratic Senator John Walsh. Mr. Walsh was appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock to replace outgoing Sen. Max Baucus, who decided to become the Obama administration’s Ambassador to China. Walsh is described by the New York Times as having something the Democrats lack in their political ranks: a seasoned military record. Walsh is a decorated Iraq War veteran, but his reputation might be marred by a final term paper he wrote in obtaining his master’s degree, where a substantial portion was written without crediting anyone (via NYT): An examination of the final paper required...

Democrats were thrilled when John Walsh of Montana was appointed to the United States Senate in February. A decorated veteran of the Iraq war and former adjutant general of his state’s National Guard, Mr. Walsh offered the Democratic Party something it frequently lacks: a seasoned military man. On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says his time in uniform informs his views on a range of issues. But one of the highest-profile credentials...

Montana Democrat’s Thesis Presented Others’ Work as His Own Senator John Walsh of Montana Confronts Questions of Plagiarism Democrats were thrilled when John Walsh of Montana was appointed to the United States Senate in February. A decorated veteran of the Iraq war and former adjutant general of his state’s National Guard, Mr. Walsh offered the Democratic Party something it frequently lacks: a seasoned military man. On the campaign trail this year, Mr. Walsh, 53, has made his military service a main selling point. Still wearing his hair close-cropped, he notes he was targeted for killing by Iraqi militants and says...

A new study shows the lesser prairie chicken population has exploded by 20 percent prompting concern by western lawmakers that the Obama administration acted hastily when it listed the bird as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The aerial survey conducted last month by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies showed the grouse species numbers jumped from 18,747 to 22,415. That study plus the Agriculture Department’s tardiness in reporting conservation efforts to Congress as required by law prompted a letter from lawmakers including Colorado Republican Rep. Scott Tipton demanding the report. “We request that your department provide this...

Following a merger between Mountain West Bank and First Interstate Bank, several Mountain West locations will be closing across the state ... While the merger of the two well known Montana banks is still pending, Interstate Bank has announced a list of banks that will be closing or relocating

The fate of a chicken-size bird carries huge economic and political stakes across the West. The sage grouse, long a threat to the thriving energy sector, is also a threat to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The ground-dwelling bird, which has habitat across Nevada and 10 other states, could be listed as a threatened or endangered species as soon as next year. Such a designation would place burdensome restrictions on the use of tens of millions of acres by ranchers, farmers, and oil and natural gas producers. Environmental organizations that want a halt to ranching and fossil fuel development are...

The Senate overwhelmingly advanced a bipartisan hunting and fishing bill on Monday – but not before facing objections from liberals who criticized the chamber for failing to act on gun-control measures. Senators voted 82-12 Monday evening to move forward on the sportsmen’s legislation, which would boost hunters and anglers through an array of provisions such as helping to build shooting ranges and loosening federal regulations on lead fishing tackle and bullets. The package is a political boon to the host of red-state Democrats up for reelection this year including the bill’s chief Democratic sponsor, North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan. Sen....

A top federal wildlife official said there's too much uncertainty about climate change to prove it threatens the snow-loving wolverine — overruling agency scientists who warned of impending habitat loss for the so-called "mountain devil." There's no doubt that the high-elevation range of wolverines is getting warmer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Noreen Walsh said. But any assumption about how that will change snowfall patterns is "speculation," Walsh said. She told her staff to prepare to withdraw a proposal to protect the animals under the Endangered Species Act. Walsh's comments were contained in a May 30 memo obtained...

SUPERIOR, MT -- A Montana Rail Link train derailed near Superior Thursday, sending Boeing aircraft fuselages into a river. [Photo in Comments]

DENVER (AP) -- An obscure, chicken-sized bird best known for its mating dance could help determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate in November. The federal government is considering listing the greater sage grouse as an endangered species next year. Doing so could limit development, energy exploration, hunting and ranching on the 165 million acres of the bird's habitat across 11 Western states. Apart from the potential economic disruption, which some officials in Western states discuss in tones usually reserved for natural disasters, the specter of the bird's listing is reviving the centuries-old debates about local vs. federal...