Election mail bag Sept. 26

Bullock is anti-gun

Vote for Sen. Steve Daines for U.S. Senate if you want to protect your 2nd Amendment rights. Daines has an A+ rating from the NRA. His opponent, Gov. Steve Bullock has an F rating from the NRA, is anti-gun.

In an article in Real Clear Politics on Aug. 6, 2019, Bullock made his anti-gun agenda crystal clear in his own words: “As a hunter and a gun owner,” Bullock told RCP, “I know that no real hunter needs a 30-round clip, no real hunter needs a weapon of war.”

“Let’s be clear, the NRA divides us. It is a dark-money-filled group that uses guns and the threat of everyone’s guns being taken away to polarize the issue and get to the point where we can never have a reasonable discussion about it.”

According to the RCP article, Bullock was absolutely running on gun control. At that time he was running for president in the Democrat primary. The article described what Bullock’s gun control steps would have looked like in a Bullock presidency. Universal background checks, for starters, combined with an effort to make sure that federal and national databases have all the relevant information needed to run a thorough search. He also would support so-called red flag laws currently being discussed to keep guns away from the mentally ill or those convicted of domestic abuse. High-capacity magazines would be outlawed.

So would assault weapons, which he does not define but says they “are not used for self-defense," arguing that the AR-15 (the most popular rifle in America), “is not used for hunting.”

“I think that there should be voluntary buy-back,” Bullock says when asked, “but not a mandatory one.”

So there you have it, the Bullock anti-gun agenda in a nut shell. There is no other choice for U.S. Senate that Steve Daines if you want to protect your right to keep and bear arms and protect the 2nd Amendment. Please join me in voting for Steve Daines with his A+ rating for U.S. Senate in the general election.

—Jeff Larsen, Lakeside

Waterman will get things done

With politics becoming increasingly divisive and tribal, pragmatic and solutions-oriented politicians are becoming rarer. There are, thankfully, those willing to serve Montana with a genuine commitment to actually getting things done. One such person is my friend Kyle Waterman, who is running for Montana Senate District 2.

Kyle graduated from a program called “Leadership Montana” which has the motto “Listen, Learn, Lead” and promotes “building a better Montana through knowledge, collaboration, and civility.”

Indeed, actually getting things done in a meaningful and lasting way is a lot of work and does not happen through chest pounding and rhetoric. It requires identifying, listening to, and learning from all stakeholders, and including the many interests and perspectives in the process.

This is a process that not only takes time, but can be difficult insofar as one might walk away with a much different plan or idea of the problem itself. It may not align with the party line, which is uncomfortable for politicians. It truly takes humility, curiosity, an open mind, and dedication to service to be a true public servant willing to serve all constituents (Kyle is also in my Rotary Club which commits itself to “Service Above Self”).  

Most of the problems facing Montanans are not “hot button” issues and what we need are people ready to roll up their sleeves and solve concrete problems rather than fan the flames of the dumpster fire politics has become. I trust Kyle Waterman to follow in the footsteps of other esteemed Leadership Montana alums, such as Frank Garner (another Rotarian), whose reputation for fairness, pragmatism, and results is well known, and represent all Montanans with a focus on getting things done that also actually need to get done.

—Danielle Coffman, Kalispell

Don't vote by a candidate's letter

This year, we need to vote for the best people for the job, not the people who have your letter by their name.

I am afraid of Rep. Greg Gianforte limiting our access to public lands and implementing a statewide sales tax. I am concerned about six more years of Sen. Steve Daines photo ops while health care becomes even more expensive and social security becomes unrecoverable.

I am worried about sending Matt Rosendale to continue to tow the party line.

I am apprehensive Austin Knudsen can only focus on one issue at a time. I am alarmed about Christi Jacobsen’s inadequate policy positions. I am disturbed Troy Downing does not know what a state auditor does, and I am afraid that Elsie Arntzen will continue to place politics above Montana students.

As voters, our job is to educate ourselves on where candidates stand on the issues that will have a meaningful and timely impact on our lives. We cannot continue to listen to the superficial, partisan mudslinging.

Mike Cooney, Steve Bullock, Kathleen Williams, Raph Graybill, Bryce Bennett, Shane Morigeau, and Melissa Romano will exercise their independent voices in performing the duties of their offices.

Each of these candidates has a (D) by their name, but let me be clear, I am an independent voter. In the center of the country, my constituents consider me a flaming leftist, and on the coasts, they consider me a raging right-winger. However, these labels are grossly mistaken. I vote for who will execute their office with the utmost level of competency and grace. In Montana, those people happen to have a (D) by their name in 2020.

Elevating our state above the national stage is indispensable, so as a fellow Montanan, I urge you to vote for the best candidate for the job, not the candidate that has your letter by their name.

—Cole Dykhuizen, Kalispell

Jacobsen a winner

It is my privilege to express support for current Deputy Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen who is the best candidate for secretary of state. This is why:

•Opposes all-mail ballots. Believes in choice to vote at polls.

•Supports strengthening integrity of elections.

•Supports use of Land Board leases to benefit Montana schools and ranchers, and supports public access.

•Has a master’s degree in public administration and 20 years’ experience.

•Pro-agriculture.

•Pro-military.

•Pro-2nd Amendment.

•Pro-business.

•Pro-law enforcement.

•Pro-Montana and family values.

•Mother of five children.

•Christi Jacobsen is a winner in every way.

Christi and I have worked together for over 10 years, and my knowledge of her beliefs and work ethic is firsthand. Under Christi’s watch, the Secretary of State’s Office has saved millions of dollars by letting go of unneeded leased office space, reducing current staff by a third through attrition, and incorporating efficiencies for improved customer service. In the process of moving the office forward with fewer employees, she has been successful in keeping office morale and engagement at an all-time high.

Christi is loved and respected inside the office and out.

—Susan Ames, Helena

Williams best for public lands, health care

I strongly support Kathleen Williams for the Montana at-large House seat. She understands the importance of protecting Montana’s environment and outdoor heritage. She knows the field well, having been a hunter all her life and having served as Montana Legislature’s nonpartisan staff expert on water, mining and outdoor recreation policy during the 1990s. 

She is a product of public schools, and recognizes that America’s strength depends on high quality, accessible education. 

Kathleen will be a strong advocate for the rights of Montana’s Native Americans, as shown by her experience as a key negotiator for the CKST Water Compact.

As for health care, the Republican candidate, Matt Rosendale believes that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed in its entirety, and that Medicaid expansion should be ended. However, he has presented no alternative to the thousands that would consequently lose coverage. He offers a vague plan to cover those with preexisting conditions with “high risk pools,” a strategy that has failed in states where it has been tried. He has opposed the individual mandate, believing somehow that health costs would diminish now that healthy young people are able to opt out of the insurance pool.

Kathleen Williams, on the other hand, believes that the ACA, which has led to the insurance of 18 million Americans, can be improved so that coverage is maintained and costs reduced. Those presently covered with pre-existing conditions would have no affordable coverage without the ACA. She supports medicaid expansion which has improved medical care for thousands of Montanans.  

Kathleen would also like to lower medicare optionally to those over the age of 55, giving them the same efficient health care coverage now enjoyed by seniors.

I encourage you to vote for Kathleen Williams in the coming national election.

—Samuel H. Neff, Whitefish

Allen for HD-10

I want to say that I think Jennifer Allen is a great candidate for HD-10 in Montana. I have known her for about four years and in that time I have seen her incredible intellect as well as her amazing people skills. It is important for a person in this position to have both. She is a person who can extend a hand across the aisle, listen to wisdom and impart it also.

—Lynne Bradley, Kalispell