Stunning Poll Results for Montana GOP

Montana Cowgirl posted a poll today showing that 83% of Montanans believe that state government is being run efficiently, and 55% believe Montana’s economy is on the right track. She then tries to tie those results solely to the Executive branch of the Government. While the Executive branch runs the day to day operations of the government, the everyday citizen does not know the nuts and bolts of how the state government is run.

The vast majority of the news in the past year was about the Tea Party contingent of the Legislature. This is what people read and heard every single day about our government and as a result, in my humble opinion, is how they equate the direction of the Montana economy and the efficiency of the government.

The results of this survey bode very well for the Montana GOP, particularly the Tea Party branch of the GOP.

STATE ECONOMY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?					STATE GOVT EFFICIENT?
FL	27% YES	63% NO				47% YES	51% NO
IL	23% YES	74% NO				23% YES	76% NO
IN	28% YES	53% NO				77% YES	16% NO
MI	23% YES	56% NO				41% YES	53% NO
NY	26% YES	58% NO				62% YES	37% NO
MT	55% YES	37% NO				83% YES	17% NO
NC	18% YES	70% NO				55% YES	39% NO
OH	20% YES	71% NO				49% YES	42% NO
PA	29% YES	62% NO				45% YES	53% NO
WI	39% YES	51% NO				57% YES	37% NO

*Chart from Montana Cowgirl Blog




I get a kick how the circle jerkers at Montana Cowgirl are patting themselves on the back and feeling smug over these results. That will just make it all the more easier to defeat them in the next election and expand our majorities in the Legislature and regain the Governor's seat.

I wonder if any of the CJs will come over here to debate me on this. I know they won't because they don't have the courage or confidence to leave their small minded little world.  

Welcome Treasure State Politics!

I want to welcome Treasure State Politics to the Conservative Montana Blog family. I just discovered it by reading about it in the Missoulian, of all places.

A Butte boy and UM senior, Austin James, launched the site back in April and they now have 10 contributors throughout the state.  He saw there was an imbalance of ideology in the and decided to do

It also looks like they are on their way of being the leading voice in Montana in Conservative blogging and I look forward to seeing their growth. Makes me proud to see young, smart and hard working young folks proudly expressing their Conservative values and principles. The blog is very well done and I envy the contributor's writing skill and talent.  I will be a regular reader.

Welcome Treasure State Politics!

Missoula Reinforces Its Anti-Business Reputation

In a strong statement reinforcing Missoula's anti-business reputation, the Missoula City Council overwhelmingly voted 9-1 to urge federal and state lawmakers to amend the U.S. Constitution to state that corporations are not human beings and don't have the same rights as citizens.  Only Dick Haines had some sense and voted no.

Before members of the public spoke, Councilman Haines voiced his strong opposition and had a spat with Mayor John Engen. 

"This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've seen us do in a long time," said Haines, who noted most media outlets are corporately owned. 

Mayor Engen disagreed: "I'll suggest this is probably one of the smartest things you all have done in a long time."

Citizen John Tesdal was also against the measure:

John Tesdal, though, said the "feel-good activism" has no place in Missoula. He feared it would hurt local business that are corporations, such as the Good Food Store, Portico Real Estate and the Kettlehouse Brewing Co., one of his favorites. 

"The proposed referendum in my opinion is really anti-business," Tesdal said

I have always known Missoula is governed by ignorant Liberals but this takes the cake.  What business would ever want to start up or relocate to Missoula knowing how anti-corporate and anti-business the leaders of the community are?  Do these people have any idea at all what message they are sending?

Of course, the people quoted in support of the measure are all kooky far left wing activists - Environmental Studies UM Professor Vicki Watson, famous local self promoter Rep. Ellie Hill , and retired alternative medicine doctor Mary Stranahan.   .

Here is a quote from each:

"Corporations do not bleed or feel pain. They can't die in an unsafe workplace," Watson said. 

"This is a question of whether American democracy itself can beat back a corporate takeover," Hill said. 

"I think this is one of the most important issues we as a country face in trying to preserve what democracy we have," Stranahan said.

These three Liberal activist women along with there supporters are against corporations and businesses having the right to pay for political ads based on the first amendment.   However, they fully support the right of unions and their political and non-profit organizations the right to pay for political ads.  

How can they, if they were being honest, say it should be illegal for one type of organization to buy political ads but legal for another type of organization?  Seriously.  

It is totally political.  The goal is to muzzle organizations that lean to the right and give organizations that lean to the left a distinct advantage.    They know the Liberal message is not supported by the majority of American citizens and must do what they can to manipulate who can and cannot get their message to the public and let the public decide.

But I digress.  Bottom line, Missoula continues to reinforce their anti-business message leaving its population un and underemployed while whining and complaining there are not "living wage" jobs or good opportunities.

It makes me wonder if the Missoula Liberals really want economic prosperity.  They seem to do everything they can to drive it away.  Or they are just too dumb by thinking it comes delivered in pixie dust on unicorns.    

It breaks my heart for Missoula and its citizens when I see ignorance and stupidity like this.  Business (and corporations) give us the prosperity and lifestyle we all enjoy today.  Even the kooky Liberals who oppose them.  But the citizens of Missoula continue to vote these people into office so I guess they get what they deserve.  Sad.  

The Hammond Report's Five Year Anniversary

The Hammond Report went dark a few months after Obama became president back in the dark days of 2008-2009 and I let the URL expire and lost all my posts from October 2007 on.  I was so disgusted and dispirited along with changing careers that I simply did not have the motivation or time to keep the blog going and active.

I've made a few posts in June and July of 2010, December 2010, June 2011 and finally seem to have the motivation and time to be more active in posting.  I redesigned the site and plan on just maintaining my blogger site and not worry about having my own URL, especially since some Realtor now owns it and hasn't posted since May 2010.  

I was playing around reformatting my site and adding some new widgets and took a look at my archive and realized that I started it in July of 2006.  So I've been at it now for five years - plus a month.

At this time, I feel like I got a rhythm going and am enjoying putting up posts.  It is enjoyable seeing what an enormous failure Obama has become and how completely incompetent he and his administration is.  I am sad for the country but happy that through it all the Tea Party was born and the 2010 election started righting the ship.  I am excited about the GOP candidates running for President or who might be running.  I am also excited to see GOP run states like Wisconsin,Ohio, Texas, New Jersey, and Florida prove that Conservative policies do, in fact, work.  I'm excited to see Denny Rehberg run for senate and look forward to voting for him as he defeats Tester.

Things are looking so much better.  It will be a fun year and a half.

A Little Tit For Tat in the Montana Legislature, Nice to See

Speaker Scott Sales mirrored what the Democrats did in the State Senate when they assigned two and three member Democrat majorities in their committee assignments. He assigned Republicans a three-vote margin on the House Appropriations Committee which mirrors the Senate Democrats giving themselves a three-vote margin on the Senate Finance and Claims Committee. Both committees deal with the State Budget.

On all other committees, Sales assigned Republicans a two-vote margin again mirroring the Senate Democrats.

This seems completely fair and a refreshing bit of tit for tat since both the State Senate and State House are held by their respective majorities by only one member.

I commend Speaker Sales for having the guts to give the Democrats a taste of their own medicine. He showed some backbone and I look forward to the next Legislative session.

Turncoat Sam Kitzenberg to Switch Parties

State Sen. Sam Kitzenberg has announced that he is switching to the Democratic party.

“I’m a moderate, and there is no room left in the Republican Party for moderates,” Kitzenberg said Monday, explaining his decision. “I’m not leaving the Republican Party; it has basically left me.”

What this means to me is he is a Liberal but in order to get elected in Glasgow, he had to be a Republican. Now he's decided to switch parties which would give the Democrats a 26-24 advantage. Otherwise it would have been a tie.

Interestingly, he was hired as a state Revenue Department managment analyst by the Schweitzer administration. Of course, he says this had nothing to do with him switching. Sure.

I bet he will be offered a powerful committee chairmanship position as well, if he hasn't been already.

The people of Glasgow should be very disappointed and upset. I am sure they didn't expect to send a Democrat to represent them. I'm sure they know who he is but when one runs with an R or a D next to their name, certain values and expectations are attached.

Hundreds Show up For Tester Rally (Schweitzer Encourages Voter Fraud) While Thousands Show up For Burns.

Over 300 people showed up for a rally and there were 100 outside the UC center at UM for a Tester rally headed by Governor Schweitzer and Max Baucus! Wow, almost 400 people in Missoula came to rally for Tester. On the same day over 5000 people attended a rally in Billings for Conrad Burns headed by President Bush.

Seems that the Conservative Base is more energized at this critical point in the election while the Liberal Base seems to be fading.

Montana Democrats must be feeling a bit desperate as Gov Schweitzer encouraged the "huge" crowd to "vote early and vote often". Publicly encouraging voter fraud is pretty bold. I am hoping the Missoulian and The Missoula Independent investigates this.

Schweitzer also said something that bothers me. I've heard a lot of Liberals say this about Burns.

Said Schweitzer: “Missoula will decide if a man of the prairie, a man of Montana,” will be the next U.S. senator, or if it will be an “auctioneer from Missouri ... a man bought and paid for by Washington, D.C., lobbyists.”

It's interesting that he is cutting down Burns for not being a born and raised Montanan. I would venture that half of Missoula's population are not native Montanans. So to use this as an argument seems to be foolish as it will alianate those who are not native.

Just another example of Liberal elitism and arrogance.

Governer Schwietzer Wants Oil Refineries in Montana!

It's nice to see our Democrat governer is a common sense guy.

I've met him and have seen him speak and took a liking to him and this makes me like him even more!

Thank you Governer!

I Changed My Mind on Burns

Well, I changed my mind on voting for Conrad Burns. Despite my earlier frustration with him and his comments towards the firefighters, I will do my part in ensuring that Montana has a Republican representative in the Senate. We all say things we wish we didn't in the heat of the moment. I did in my post about how Burns blew it. Now that some time has passed and the initial emotions have softened, I am 100% behind Conrad Burns

Missoula Independent Against American's Property Rights by Opposing Montana's I-154

The Missoula Independent ran an article this week expressing their opposition to Montana's Protect Our Homes Initiative or I-154 which states:

POH (Protect Our Homes) supports property rights protections for private landowners which protect such owners from property takings when the government takes private property with the intent of conveying an interest in the property to another private party. POH also supports private landowner protections whereby compensation for interests in land are equal to compensation to government landowners for similar interest; declaring rights to property as a fundamental self executing constitutional right; requiring compensation based upon the highest and best possible use for such land and the sum necessary to return a person to their same position including costs incurred and interest; and requiring compensation to landowners for reductions in value or for other economic loss when government action negatively impacts value, income or other economic condition of a person's private land.

Makes perfect sense to me! The liberals, however, are not happy because they are concerned that private property owners will have the right to oppose the government from telling them what they can do to their property. That the initiative will "lay waste to land-use regulations used by state and local governments to protect the landscape, the environment, and neighborhoods." The liberal belief that government knows best and private citizens and companies don't is in clear view here.

If I own property that the government wants to protect because of environmental concerns or because of an endangered species and this protection affects how I want to use or develop the land, I should be compensated for that. Or they can buy the land from me and do whatever they want to it.

These people are anti-growth, anti-progress, and anti-business and want the government to restrict what people will do with their private property. One of the most important tenants of our free and capitalist society if private property rights. It's what makes America great!

Montana State University Egyptian Exchange Students

I can't help but think the recent terrorist scare in England and the eleven missing Egyptian MSU exchange students are somehow connected. As we near the fifth anniversary of 9/11, all of this is happening and it can't just be coincidental. These hate filled Muslims are bent on killing as many of us as they can and disrupting our way of life.

At first I was proud of Montana State University for reporting the missing "students" to Homeland Security but then I became angry that they would even consider bringing in seventeen young men who fit the profile of terrorists. 99% of all the terrorists are young Arab Muslim men. Why even invite them in? I'm all for profiling. To heck with political correctness when we are dealing with terrorists. We need to focus on young Arab Muslim men, period.

It again confirms to me that President Bush is right. The war in Iraq, the NSA phone taps, the banking records, Gitmo, etc. If we did not have these and the Patriot Act working for us, who knows what terrorist attacks we would have faced. I am confident we have stopped more than the government can tell us.

History will be kind to President Bush. I am confident that his war on terror will succeed even with the liberal crazys at Moveon.org and the Daily Kos supporting the terrorists.

What About the Parents?

The Missoulian had an article on Sunday about the State of Montana starting a Pre-Kindergarten program. It talks about the importance of starting schooling at the age of 3 and how important it is for boosting academic and social performance in later years. Right now, Montana doesn't require compulsory education until age 7.

Kelly Rosenleafe, the director of Missoula Childcare Resources is concerned that Montana is behind other states' pre-kindergarten programs even though we have high graduation rates. She is concerned about children entering school not ready to learn. There are also several other "experts" quoted about the importance of early brain development and the need to start education earlier.

Gov. Schweitzer has joined in by suggesting all-day kindergarten to all Montanans which would cost $15 Million per year and the State Board of Education has created a committee "Kindergarten to College Workgroup" to coordinate long-term student development efforts.The article goes on and on emphasizing the importance of pre-kindergarten for two thirds of its length until it even mentions the parent's role in early childhood education. And that mention is insulting and condescending.

And "they" are not just 4- and 5-year-olds. Pre-kindergarten is a family affair, according to Missoula County Public Schools special education director Candy Lubansky. The children learn their ABCs and how to work in a classroom. Meanwhile, pre-K teachers work with the parents on how to recognize when their children show signs of reading readiness, test for eyeglasses and hearing, and other childrearing tips.

That parental involvement comes with its own challenges. Some might see pre-kindergarten as an additional layer of the public education institution, which would grow from 13 years of school to 14. And then there's the question of which parents would be involved. Would pre-kindergarten be voluntary or compulsory (currently Montana begins compulsory education at age 7). Would it be all-inclusive, like Social Security, or targeted at families of children who show signs of needing extra help? The all-inclusive style would cost more but benefit more. The targeted model would ensure children who needed it would get help, but there would be constant debate over where the threshold should be.

These education experts don't seem to think that parents are qualified to prepare their own children. Only they can and need to help parents with "childrearing tips" to prepare them for learning.There is also the mention of it becoming another welfare program. But I thought I was paying taxes for Head Start. Isn't that what Head Start is supposed to do? Prepare those poor children for school. Are only poor people bad parents that cannot raise their children properly and need government and expert help?

What about the parents?

Burns Just Blew It

Conrad Burns' critisim of firefighters in the Billings airport last week just sealed his fate that he will be returning to Montana next year. Montana will now have two liberals representing us in the US Senate. I'm very angry and disappointed with Senator Burns. He had a very difficult political campaign ahead of him going against a much more personable and likeable Jon Tester. After watching the debate a few weeks ago, I was very nervous for him as he seemed defensive, mean and grouchy while Tester seemed informed, polished and likeable.

Then he goes and attacks a heroic Montana icon - the wildlands firefighter. How dumb regardless of whether he was right or not. He was sticking up for ranchers in Eastern Montana who complained to him about firefighters driving past fires on their ranches while going to other fires. I'm guessing it was a couple of his buddies who are big supporters of his but it just was the wrong thing to do where most Montanans will shift their vote to Testor because of it. I may not even vote for him as he seems to be one who sticks his foot in his mouth too much. I won't vote for Tester either as I will never vote for a liberal.It just makes me mad that we will now have a liberal Gov and two liberal Senators. Thank God for Dennis Rehberg!

Raising the Minimum Wage is a Bad Idea

I was navigating through the New West Missoula web site yesterday and ran across an article about the minimum wage vote coming up in November's election. I read with interest the debate in the comments that followed and, of course, was reminded how many uninformed and uneducated people there are out there. I was compelled to add to the comments, particularly one that attacked republicans and President Bush's tax cuts. The entire minimum wage argument is one of the Liberal's classic class warfare techniques. They attack President Bush's tax cuts for the rich while keeping the minimum wage so low without acknowledging that the top 1% of wage earners pay 34% of the taxes and the top 50% pay 94.5% of the taxes. That tax cuts fuel economic growth by putting more money into the hands of people that know how to generate more economic production. I would argue that the tax cuts help increase the wages of the bottom 50% of wage earners.

People who count on the government to pass a law increasing the minimum wage to give them a raise are not what an employer would consider a good employee. Those people who cannot earn a raise on their own work ethic or drive deserve to earn the minimum wage. When I was a teenager making the minimum wage at my first job, I worked hard and quickly became an asset to my employer who, in turn, gave me a raise within two months - that was the last time I ever earned minimum wage. Now, as an employer, I rarely hire anybody at minimum wage because the job market is so competitive in Missoula. Those that work hard and produce for me, I give regular wage increases to show my gratitude and reward them for their contribution and to not lose them to another employer. Those that are mediocre or poor performing employees, I will not increase their wages. Why reward mediocrity and poor performance? I hope the mediocre find other jobs and I dismiss the poor performers. This is the reality.

If one can only make minimum wage, that is all he is really worth to an employer. If one honestly is a hard working, good producing employee but finds himself with a rotten employer who does not pay fairly, there will be hundreds of other employers willing to pay more for that employee. If he is a mediocre or poor employee, he will be paid poorly. It's that simple.