A liberal in SEAL's clothing

What thought immediately comes to mind when you hear a political candidate is a Navy SEAL? All-American, integrity, courage, a stalwart defender of the U.S. Constitution, particularly the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

And what comes to mind when you hear that a candidate is a former state senator, supported by a 92 percent rating from the AFL-CIO, and an 88 percent rating from the Teamsters Union? Perhaps you don’t want to go there.

Ryan Zinke is a product of both institutions and his amalgam may not be electable in November 2014. Several pieces of his baggage will gleefully be fully disclosed by his adversaries which will irretrievably exclude him from Republican political success.

First, he has not always fully supported the Second Amendment and even in recent times has been ambivalent about a possible federal gun registration requirement (historically the first step to gun confiscation throughout the world) and whether or not to support the State Department backed U.S. acceptance of the United Nations Small Arms Treaty, which also requires registration.

He is against allowing concealed carry on military bases, which, if allowed may have saved many lives over the past year. He has also voted against allowing open carry for protection in state parks.

As a result of his gun rights positions, Ryan Zinke has earned a dismal B minus rating from the National Rifle Association versus the A rating achieved by all three of his major congressional competitors.

In addition, Zinke is the most liberal candidate running, and can be counted on to move dramatically to the left if he is successful in the primaries. It is a well known fact that conservatives dominate primaries, but liberals come out for general elections. Ryan Zinke has raised large donations from out of state, particularly from liberal California where he has held successful fundraisers near a home in Santa Barbara where his family lives. He has also raised significant funds in liberal Whitefish where he was raised and also owns a residence.

Lastly, three past chairmen of the state Republican Party have all voiced concern about Zinke’s electability on a statewide basis due to his ethics in money raising (his formerly in-house PAC), lack of constitutional principles and his flip-flopping accommodations to the audience of the moment. All three are supporting other primary candidates, with one supporting “anyone besides Zinke.”

Let’s hope one of the other Republican candidates wins a primary majority for true conservatism. Lt. Commander Zinke is a union-leaning liberal in conservative SEAL clothing.

Freeman Robinson is a resident of Big Arm.