Why I Voted for Mark Wicks Today

Casting my ballot 13 days early

You might remember when I told you that I wouldn’t vote for John Walsh if you paid me.
 
I’m beginning to feel the same way about Rob Quist.
 
That’s why I just decided to go down and get it done today.
 
So I went down to the Missoula Fairgrounds after dropping my son off at school.
 
And I voted for Mark Wicks once I got there.

Remember - this is after I gave Rob $25 back on March 6 and after I supported him on this site for a long time.
 
I don’t need to explain myself or explain why, but what the hell, right?

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For me it was the constant drip…drip…drip of the negative news cycle.
 
Rob has no one but himself to blame for this.
 
My final decision to vote for Wicks came on Tuesday, May 9.
 
That was the day we saw the Lee Enterprises story about Rob trying to hide his apartment rental income.
 
For me that was enough.
 

• I’d already told you why the special election was over way back on January 26.

 

• I’d already told you 10 reasons why Quist would lose way back on March 30.

 
Since then we’ve only had more bad news.
 
This is how Bobby Calvan put it on May 7, two days before the apartment deception story broke:

“Democrats were caught off guard two months ago when Quist acknowledged years of financial travails, including three liens for unpaid state income taxes, a lawsuit alleging breach of contract and a $10,000 loan default.
 
The tax liens were settled last year and a campaign staffer provided documentation Saturday that the loan has been repaid.
 
Just recently, he refiled a federally required financial disclosure statement after The Associated Press raised questions about its accuracy. His 2016 federal tax return shows Quist and his wife Bonni had $64,805 in income.”

 
For me, that extra $60,000 or so of income that he didn’t report for last year was a big one.
 
That’s deception, or willfully deceiving others for your own personal gain.
 
When I saw the apartment story it was exactly the same: deceiving others so you profit personally.
 
That’s what hiding rental unit income from the IRS and the Department of Revenue is.
 
You do that so you pay less taxes, keeping more money in your pocket.
 
Deception for personal gain.
 
Isn’t Congress full of people like that, and isn’t that kinda the picture Dems are trying to paint of Gianforte?
 
They should look closer to home.
 
And listen – you can justify Quist’s financial dealings all you want.
 
His New York campaign manager Tina Olechowski said the Quists “did not have a full accounting of their income” when they completed their campaign reports.
 
I just don’t buy that, nor do I buy these arguments that are cropping up to justify the rental apartments.
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To me it all stinks, so I did what I felt like doing right after the debate – I voted for Mark Wicks.
 
And when it comes to that debate, they really should have never let Wicks in.
 
I can see why they wanted to stop him – he did the best job and won the bore-fest of a thing.
 
The closing statement was what did it for me.
 

 
So I went down and voted for Wicks today, both because I think he’s the best person for the job, and because I’m just sick of it.
 
I’m sick of this campaign.
 
We’ve been talking about it ever since the Zinke Interior rumors started way back in November.
 
That’s about 6 months now.
 
Boy did we get fooled.
 
This is what I wrote about Quist on January 11:
 
“I think Quist is an affable fellow that doesn’t have any baggage or people wanting to grind an axe.
 
I can’t think of any real negatives when it comes to Quist.”
 
 
Boy was I wrong. I should have went with my gut from the very beginning.
 
Back then I figured Quist’s campaign was a joke. I’d never heard of the guy, and I’m 35.
 
Every voter from 18 to 35 would be saying the same thing, therefore.
 
But then Schweitzer got in there and endorsed him.
 
Many are still wondering why, especially in the light of no campaign appearances together.
 
Well, if I knew it was over more than a month ago then others did too.
 
On Wednesday I took down my Rob Quist campaign sign, again, because of the apartment story.
 
It was the last straw.
 
I dunno how others in the state feel, but I just didn’t feel good about Quist anymore.
 
So I voted with my heart, and my heart told me that the right person for this job is Mark Wicks.
 
Will he win?
 
I’d be damn surprised if he did. I’d be surprised if he got 10% of the vote, but he might.
 
People don’t like Gianforte and for many, Quist has now left a bad taste in their mouths.
 
I dunno what’s gonna happen, but like I told you a few days ago I see it like this:
 

• Gianforte 52%
• Quist 40%
• Wicks 7%
• Other: 1%

 
I’m sure I’ll be lambasted and lampooned for voting for Wicks, and that’s fine.
 
If I wanted a friend in politics I’d go out and buy a dog.
 
But I didn’t start this site more than 4 years ago to make friends.
 
I started it to try and make Montana a better place.
 
And that’s why I voted for Mark Wicks for Congress today.
 
13 days to go.
 
Happy voting.