Let's get ready to rumble ... Zinke vs. Tester

When the Democratic Party tapped Sen. Jon Tester of Montana to chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a war was sure to break out.

The lines were immediately drawn between buzz-cut Big Sandy farmer-turned-legislator Tester and the Democratic Party’s own urban base.

Markos “kos” Moulitsas, the founder and publisher of the far-left Daily Kos blog, cautioned in November that Montana “is a homogenous state, with 90 percent of its population white. American Indians, at 6.5 percent, are the largest (and pretty much only) non-white group.” This led Moulitsas to conclude that Tester’s is “not a profile that matches that of the Democratic Party, and he’s shown no ability to understand what drives the new Democratic (and American) electorate.”

In case you are not familiar with the vitriolic hatred of the left for the kinds of policies and values that are popular in Montana, listen to Moulitsas complain about Tester’s vote against the DREAM Act, which would have granted legal status to certain younger illegal immigrants:

“Tester, in essence, took a baseball bat to innocent children, attacking my brothers and sisters for the supposed sins of their parents.”

So, you can be sure that Tester faces opposition within the liberal base of the Democratic Party for being too conservative, but ironically, the senator is also going to have to explain to the Montana electorate why he is not too liberal to represent them. No matter what he says about his own positions, he will be working hard in his new job to elect the most liberal Senate candidates across the country, who will then vote against Montana interests on immigration, the Keystone pipeline, spending, Obamacare and much more.

Remember, Tester was elected in 2006 on a platform of bringing Montana values to Washington, D.C. He has occasionally gone against his party such as in his support of the Keystone pipeline, but more often he has been one more vote for President Obama and Sen. Harry Reid to count on to pass their liberal policies. Without his vote, for instance, Congress could not have passed Obamacare.

It’s no wonder, then, that Sen. Tester’s increased role in electing liberal Democratic senators has also caught the attention of newly elected Rep. Ryan Zinke, the Republican from Whitefish.

In an interview with Breitbart.com’s Matthew Boyle, Zinke said that Tester is “in a tough spot” because as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, “he’s raising money for Elizabeth Warren” and for “many in the Democratic caucus who don’t represent Montana values.”

It’s way too early to predict, but Zinke could be landing some jabs now with the boxing strategy in mind of weakening an opponent early in hopes of landing a disabling body blow later, let’s say 2018 when Sen. Tester will be up for re-election.

Zinke is certainly not holding back in his criticism of his colleague’s willingness to vote with the Democratic leadership instead of with his own stated views on issues.

In particular, Zinke told Breitbart.com he is puzzled by Sen. Tester’s role in helping to block the bill the House passed to fund the Department of Homeland Security but at the same time ban funding for Obama’s executive order to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

While Tester has not directly opposed the president’s executive orders, Rep. Zinke is challenging him to do so.

“I would encourage my friend, my fellow legislator, Sen. Tester, to uphold his duty and to reject the president’s unlawful and unconstitutional actions,” Zinke said. “It isn’t just about immigration. It’s about the unconstitutional overreach of the president, to disregard Article I or Article II of our Constitution.”

Zinke concluded: “I’m hopeful that Sen. Tester ends up sticking up for Montana and that he does his duty to Montana values. And I would guarantee you, Montanans respect the Constitution of the United States.”

Considering that Zinke was considered by many voters to be a “squishy soft” Republican who would play ball with Democrats when he got to Washington, this kind of language is sending a message to Montana voters as well as to Sen. Tester.