Kitzenberg's Betrayal

Sam Kizenberg's betrayal to the Republican Party is stirring things up in Montana. In a clear case of Liberal media bias, this article claims Kizenberg is a "moderate Republican" implying "regular" Republicans are extreme and on the fringe and Democrats are closer to the mainstream. Here is the opening line of the article.

HELENA - A moderate Republican state senator who is switching parties was blasted by GOP leadership for giving Democrats firm control of the state Senate...

Kitzenberg is clearly a Liberal who switched parties as a payoff to Schweitzer for hiring him a few months ago as a Revenue Department analyst.

But the timing of Kitzenberg's move, which breaks a 25-25 tie in the Senate following last week's elections and comes on the heals of Kitzenberg's new job, miffs Republicans."We had serious concerns last year when he took that position," said state Sen. Corey Stapleton, R-Billings. "It was quid pro quo, what did they want from him? "Our worst fears came true."

Kitzenberg did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday morning.

It "smelled of political payoff," Valley County GOP chair Peter Hellend said of Kitzenberg's job and party affiliation switch.The Senate now goes to 26-24 in favor of the Democrats.

Rep. John Sinrud, R-Bozeman has even posted Kitzenberg's resume and the Department of Revenue job description on his web site. It's pretty clear to me that Kitzenberg is not qualified for the job.

The Schweitzer Administration is tying themselves in knots trying to defend his hiring. But it's very transparent why they did now that he's switched parties.

Bucks said he heard from the governor's staff that Kitzenberg had applied for a state job, then called him about the outreach position. Bucks said Kitzenberg's experience as a member of the Senate Taxation Committee and as a senator representing a rural district made him perfect for the job.

Kitzenberg was hired as a temporary employee, allowing him to be offered the position without a competitive hiring process. Kitzenberg said he would have been happy to compete for the job. As it is, he must reapply within a year and compete against any other applicants.If he continues in the job, it still expires by 2009, when the reappraisal process will be completed, Bucks said.

It looks like some serious ethical issues here in our State Democratic Party.