Letters to the editor Jan. 9

Rosendale deserves thanks

I want to thank Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, for putting the interests of the people of Montana ahead of the interests of the “United States of Lobbyists” in Washington D.C., otherwise known as Congress.

Mr. Rosendale was one of the 20 principled members out of 435 who refused to allow lobbyists to pick the speaker of the House this time without any conditions attached. Make no mistake, this recent exercise in actual democracy with its substantive debate about the speaker of the House, was a fight between the lobbyists class and the people. The prior practice was for lobbyists to pick the speaker and then threaten withholding campaign contributions to congresspersons who might not support the lobbyists’ pick.

However, when Mr. Rosendale and the other 19 members refused to allow that type of intimidation to continue, Rosendale showed an enormous amount of dedication to the people of our state. After all, congresspersons must raise about $5,000 a day from lobbyists just to be able to run for re-election. Mr. Rosendale and the other principled members who fought to now require the speaker of the House to allow bills to come to the floor that lobbyists do not want as well as require the speaker to allow real investigations into FBI corruption, Biden Administration failures with the border, and other matters that are long overdue, Congress may actually have the chance to change ever so slightly for the betterment of the people.

Anyone who attempts that today in politics should be thanked endlessly and strongly supported. We can only hope Speaker McCarthy will honor his word.

— Rick Maedje, Fortine, served two terms in the Montana House.

Shame on Rosendale

While many of us knew that Rep. Matt Rosendale was (and is) grossly incompetent and should never hold any public office, most of us did not expect him to become such a radical anti-American.

For two years Rosendale has acted against core Montana and American values and beliefs in a constitutional government. The rule of law and pledge to uphold the Constitution are being shredded by the actions of Rosendale and his autocratic comrades.

Shame on Rosendale, but also shame on us for electing such an incompetent tyrant. How do you spell treason?

— Pat Malone, Columbia Falls