How FM will evaluate candidates on the issues
Updated. Early voting starts in two weeks. Flathead Memo’s examination of your stands on the issues begins next week. Here, in order of importance, is how we’ll determine your positions.
- Your political party’s platforms, national and Montana. We’ll assume you agree with all planks unless you explicitly repudiate them in writing.
- Votes on bills in Congress or another legislative body, including votes in committee, and testimony on bills delivered as a member of a legislative body.
- Your issues page on your campaign’s website. If your website does not have an issues page — for example, Amanda Curtis’ still does not — that will be reported.
- Opeds and position papers issued by your campaign, and transcripts of speeches you deliver.
- News media reports, including reports from blogs and other internet sources that Flathead Memo considers credible.
- Third party reports by organizations that Flathead Memo finds reputable.
- Campaign print ads and television and internet spots. You should know we take a dim view of 30-second television spots.
- Campaign literature that comes to our attention. Mainly, we’ll look at these targeted pieces of propaganda to see whether their messages conflict with anything you’ve said to everyone.
- Opposition supplied information that can be independently verified and for which an honest and meaningful context can be supplied.
Clarity and taking stands work in your favor. Pussyfooting around issues works against you. So does a deliberate or feckless error of fact.
If you’d like to send information to Flathead Memo, use the CONTACT link in the left column. Everything is on the record.
