Letters to the editor Sept. 29

Protect a woman’s autonomy

If you support women’s reproductive rights, please be aware of those running for office who adamantly oppose a woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body. 

In July, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights collected 117,000 signatures. Over double the amount needed to get the initiative No. 128 on the ballot. 

Attorney General, Austin Knudsen blocked the ballot initiative saying it was, “legally insufficient.” The Montana Supreme Court overturned Knudsen’s decision. After the Supreme Court ruling Knudsen then tried to rewrite the text of the ballot initiative to include politically charged rhetoric in an attempt to defeat the measure on the ballot. Knudsen’s effort was once again rebuffed by the Montana Supreme Court. 

Tim Sheehy states, “I find abortion to be a terrible, terrible thing. I want it to end tomorrow.” He was endorsed by anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. On his site, Sheehy lies about healthy, full-term babies being aborted the day before it’s due. This is a horrific, politically charged lie. It is already considered homicide in the U.S. to intentionally kill an infant that is born alive. 

Gov. Greg Gianforte in May 2023 signed a collection of bills restricting access to abortion. This prompted legal action and challenged a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the nearly 25-year-old legal precedent allowing abortion access under the state Constitution’s “right to privacy.”  

Please support Sen. Jon Tester, candidate Ryan Busse for governor and candidate Ben Alke for attorney general. They will protect women’s rights. They trust women to make decisions about their own bodies and lives.  

Doctors are running scared in many states with repressive abortion bans. Doctors have been threatened with jail or losing their license if they help women who miscarry or are suffering from sepsis. Some of these women were actually near death and left to bleed out in parking lots. Women have actually been arrested for having a miscarriage. 

Don’t allow a bunch of politicians to make medical decisions for patients and families instead of doctors. Vote for those who will stand to protect a woman’s autonomy. 

— Barbara Palmer, Kalispell

Who are the party bosses?

CI–126 will remove party ballots during the primary and replace them with a single ballot containing all candidates. The top four will then be on the general election ballot.

According to the sponsors, this provides “we the people” with accountability instead of “party bosses.” I have been involved in party politics for over 12 years and am currently focused on increasing accountability. Below is my analysis.

If approved, CI-126 will actually decrease accountability, making it easier for big money to purchase influence (note the $5 million in out of state dark money financing these initiatives).

Do you know who the “party bosses” are? They are elected precinct people from across the state who are your neighbors, live in your precinct and are people you can talk to and influence.

In each Montana county, these precinct representatives come together to form county central committees. They represent and make decisions on behalf of the people in their precincts. When functioning properly, these county committees are strong accountability mechanisms.

Individually, can we hold our elected officials accountable? Not at all.

These committees *are* the collective accountability structures in our political system.

Yes, it’s hard to get elected as an independent ... and it should be because there is no structure to hold independents accountable.

If the objective of CI-126 is to bypass the party accountability system, then how do we hold our elected officials accountable? We don’t. This simply widens the door for big money to purchase influence.

Vote no on CI-126.

— Todd Bernhardt, Kalispell

Informed consent

Don’t let the pro-abortion language of CI-128 fool you into believing it will promote voluntary full consent. Sadly enough the abortion industry is known for cases that did lack informed consent and sadly it was among the younger mothers. 

In 2012, Montanans voted 70% to 30% that parental notification of 48 hours before the abortion be required for girls under 16 years of age. This is the only remaining law in Montana that ensures parents are informed when their young daughter is seeking an abortion. But CI-128 will abolish this law just as did the Montana Supreme Court striking down a parental consent in August. 

Most of the unplanned pregnancies among these young girls (children) and women were not given enough information to make an informed choice. Leaving these once mothers the aftermath of (Why did I do this?) always and forever in their minds.   

This is truly the total opposite of serving the rights of the mothers as the pro-abortionists states. 

Please vote no on CI-128. 

— Amber Golliday, Kalispell

Tester cares about Montana

As we travel around our beautiful state, many projects are underway, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  Flathead County infrastructure projects include water line replacement, bridge inspection with scheduled repairs, broadband access, sewage treatment and more.  

The reason for this letter is to remind people progress can be made, when parties work together. Fortunately, citizens of Flathead County aren’t responsible for the entire cost of these projects, thanks to the bipartisan bill.  

Most of us are sick of the political polarization. We need senators and representatives to  focus on what is best for Montanans. Who vote on issues, not loyalty to a single party.

Montanas typically vote Republican, but we’ve had many well respected Democratic congressional representatives from our State, including William A. Clark, Burton Wheeler, James Murray, Mike Mansfield, Lee Metcalf, Max Baucus, John Melcher, Jon Tester and more. We’ve never been an entirely red state, so don’t be fooled this election year.  

Vote for someone who will represent Montana, not someone who will serve as a puppet to a party. Tester cares about Montana.  He voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. He voted for the bipartisan immigration bill to help secure the border. Donald Trump wanted immigration as a campaign issue, so the House didn’t pass the bill. This type of political polarization is ineffective.  

As for Jon voting against a bill to block white farmers from getting aid, is only part of the story.  The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program for Farm Aid has more than 60 direct and indirect programs of farm aid. Only one or two were for Indian farmers, with disproportionate rates of loan forgiveness. Tester’s vote broaden the terms of the Inflation Reduction Act, (to improve tax laws and services) to include farmers who’ve suffered decades of discrimination.  

Vote for Jon Tester.

— Laura Gebhart, Kalispell