Cabinet Mountains
It’s the end of the week but a few things are happening.
First, I shouldn’t even be writing this right now.
Instead I should be coming out of the theatre thrilled and awed and amazed by the story of Hugh Glass.
I’m talking about the film The Revenant that opened today. I went up to the theatre here in Missoula for the 4 o’clock showing but it was sold out.
The 7:30 was sold out too so now I’m heading to the 10:30 showing.
You can read my detailed 2013 biography of Hugh Glass here.
First, I shouldn’t even be writing this right now.
Instead I should be coming out of the theatre thrilled and awed and amazed by the story of Hugh Glass.
I’m talking about the film The Revenant that opened today. I went up to the theatre here in Missoula for the 4 o’clock showing but it was sold out.
The 7:30 was sold out too so now I’m heading to the 10:30 showing.
You can read my detailed 2013 biography of Hugh Glass here.
Besides that, I’d like to point out a few things.
Twitter Anonymous Attackers
Perhaps you’ve noticed the anonymous troll Twitter account that is attacking me as of today:
This one is sending out tweets on #mtpol that…I guess are designed to belittle me, make me look stupid, and make me, I dunno, I guess break down and attack…someone, maybe them.
You might remember another account that was similar from last year:
So that’s two fake Twitter accounts that were started to accost me.
Golly, I must be doing something right. Clearly, my content must be getting to someone.
What do you think I said that pissed people off so much?
Who knows.
- Maybe this is the D.C. consulting work that Bullock gets for that $20,000 or so he spent.
- Maybe it’s Gianforte operatives that are pissed I pointed out their salaries to everyone.
- Maybe it’s just some college students or political wannabes that have a week or two left before spring semester starts.
Who knows.
Does it matter? Anyone that’s read my book Social Media Politics knows that I have a few chapters on disrupting your opponent’s social media campaign.
Far from disrupting me, I feel this most recent account will simply lose steam and blow away like a husk in the wind.
It takes discipline to stay consistent. Few have that. Fewer anonymous troll accounts do.
And really…am I even worth attacking?
Someone thinks so.
Friday Podcasts
Each Friday Montana Public Radio will be doing a podcast called Campaign Beat.
You can see the first episode of the year, which features Chuck Johnson and UM Poly-Sci professor Rob Saldin.
Of course, Sally Mauk is the main person doing that and I’m sure it’ll be interesting each week.
Dirk’s Troubles
I’d like to start this section by saying I got some complaints today.
I got some complaints that I speculate too much.
I’m sorry, but that’s often what opinions and thoughts are – speculation, on what was, what is and even what will be. I feel that a lot of people like to read this and that’s why I’ll say what I’m about to say.
I was informed today that Dirk Adams is not as popular in his Park County position as we might think.
Now, I’ve never been to a Park County committee meeting…and I know I don’t have to.
I know that they’re just as boring as those in Missoula, though the one after the 2014 elections was kind of interesting.
That said, oftentimes we don’t see much action here and perhaps worse we just don’t meet enough.
I’d like monthly meetings myself, and with the governor or other high-ranking state officials going around the state on occasion to visit some of the far-flung places.
That’s how you build goodwill and relationships and get a feel for a place.
Alas, we’ve neglected that for far too long.
That said, I was told there’s little chance that Dirk Adams would get much support in a run in a primary against Bullock.
If you go by murmurings from Park County Democrats, it sounds like Adams might, on occasion, say some disparaging things about women.
I guess what I’m saying is that he can sometimes say sexist things.
Lots of men do this. Lots of older men do this as well. Hell, I bet I’ve done it a few times, maybe more than a few.
But when you’re representing a county, and one that might have a of active women trying to make a difference politically, this could hurt you.
If you do so at a Party dinner that Nancy Keenan may or may not have attended, this could hurt you more.
Mainly, it’s a good lesson for us younger men.
Try not to say stupid things about women, and when you do, apologize quickly (making fun of yourself a bit helps too sometimes).
One final note – what the hell kind of committee meetings are we running?
I personally feel that everyone should be allowed to talk, and if you don’t agree with something, say something.
That goes doubly so for sexist remarks, racist remarks, anti-religious remarks and a lot of other stuff.
I hate political correctness, but I hate sitting on our tongues more. That just breeds frustration and resentment.
Better to pipe up and talk.
Getting Rid of Jennifer Fielder
I got a comment on my Jennifer Fielder post today via email.
Mainly, we’re trying to figure out how Democrats can get rid of that woman.
She might be real nice and have some good ideas – I like the GMO labeling law from 2013 and said so – but we can’t transfer federal lands to the state.
The main reason for this is the state can’t afford the budget requirements those national forests have.
This means we’d have to sell them to private interests.
That sucks for you and I, people that want to hike and hunt and stuff, but for people like Jennifer Fielder it means a lot of corporate cronyism.
That’s not good for Montana.
What I’ve been told might be good for Montana is if Democrats stop all this DINO/RINO nonsense and decide to support candidates that they can work with and that have the state’s best long-term interests at heart.
I’m talking about supporting Mark Sheets for one thing, who ran against Fielder in 2012 and who’s currently the mayor of Thompson Falls.
Overall, people want to see a map that’s a bit more purplish in the Sanders County and Montana-Idaho border region as opposed to being solidly red.
We’re talking areas like Thompson Falls, Libby, Trout Creek, De Borgia, St. Regis, and even across the Cabinet Mountains into the western portion of the Flathead.
Democrat…Republican – those people don’t want to see their land access cut off.
Jennifer Fielder doesn’t much care about that.
It’s time Democrats do some soul-searching at the state level.
I hope they realize that people in that area know what’s best for them and that the candidates they field – even if they lean to the right sometimes on some issues – are probably worth supporting if it means getting rid of imbeciles like Fielder.
And that’s all I have for you tonight.
Have a swell weekend.
