'Run, Brian, Run!' An open letter to Gov. Schweitzer

Dear Brian: You and I have had our differences — plenty of them — but I was happy to see you toying with the idea of running for president last week. 

I know, I know — it’s just a coy flirtation, not an admission that you really want to put yourself through the rigors of an uphill 2016 campaign battle against Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and who knows who else for the Democratic nomination. 

But when you told Real Clear Politics 10 days ago that the American people were getting frustrated with presidential politics as usual, you were speaking for me and millions of other Americans.

The quote was classic Brian Schweitzer, and even if you don’t run for president yourself, it could easily be used as the framework for a successful campaign by some other less likable candidate. I love it so much I’ll remind you what you said:

“There’s a whole lot of America that looks at each other and says, ‘Well, there’s 340 million people living in America. Isn’t there somebody other than a Bush or a Clinton who can be president in these modern times? Isn’t there hope for somebody who’s running a business or who has served overseas or comes from a different occupation to become president? Are we now in the era of royalty again?’ So I think there’s some level of frustration about that.”

You were absolutely right, Brian, and I hope you remember that frustration when you make your final decision about whether to join the presidential  rodeo or not. Because this isn’t just about you; it’s about saving the country’s soul, and whether you won or lost in your hypothetical bid for the White House, I have no doubt that you would shake things up and maybe nudge the country back toward common sense, self-reliance, and limited government — the three pillars of American virtue.

After all, your tenure as governor of Montana, from 2005 until you were term-limited out last year, was marked by rare fiscal sanity, a healthy disrespect for the federal government and an entertaining capacity for creative mischief. And despite so-called divided government, you were able to work with a mostly Republican Legislature and get things done.   

My Tea Party buds may think I’m crazy, Brian, but I’ll ask them if they would support a candidate who knows how to balance a budget, can run a state with a surplus when almost all the rest of the states are running a deficit, backs development of U.S. coal resources to lessen our dependence on Mideast oil, and vigorously defends states’ rights when the federal government encroaches against the clear limits imposed by the Constitution on its powers. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the part about a candidate who not only opposes gun control but proudly carries his own firearms as a badge of honor.

In fact, the biggest obstacle to a Brian Schweitzer presidency won’t be right-wing Republicans, it will be far-left Democrats, who will be terrified that a moderate Democrat may shift the balance of power back toward the middle. 

It never ceases to amaze me how Democrats can demand that Republicans should nominate a moderate like Gov. Chris Christie who can supposedly appeal across party lines by veering left, but tremble at the notion of a Democrat who doesn’t toe the party line. 

Brian, you must be chomping at the bit for a chance to put a gold-old Montana whoopin’ on some of those windbags from back East! Because, from everything I have been able to ascertain, you don’t suffer fools gladly. 

Do you remember the column I wrote in 2006 when you stopped by the office of the Daily Inter Lake for a visit with the editorial board and proudly showed off the new Browning handgun you had just purchased? The column was titled “Schweitzer dares to be himself,” and noted that you don’t fit the mold of the modern politician.

Yep, you wore blue jeans to work at the state Capitol and brought your pup Jag with you both to the governor’s office and the Inter Lake’s office. Sure, you are a showman, but so was Ronald Reagan. There’s nothing wrong with knowing how to entertain a crowd with a good story! I’ll take an entertainer over the current bunch of windbags in D.C. any day.

Like I wrote back in 2006, “I for one would pay good money to see the look on the faces of the gathered leaders of the Senate and the House when President Schweitzer pops open the fitted case on his desk and shows off his newest Browning handgun just before announcing that he expects a balanced budget on his desk by the end of the year.”

Still brings a smile to my face!

Not to say I would vote for you, Brian, but I would thoroughly enjoy living in a  country that could elect you president — and I could not make that claim about any other Democrat.

So cinch up the bolo tie, put Jag in the pickup truck, and do us all a favor. Run, Brian, Run. At the very least, it will be most entertaining Democratic Iowa caucus since the peanut farmer from Georgia cracked the back of the establishment in 1976.

And just maybe it will work — now wouldn’t that make a fun story to tell over a campfire back at the ranch!