A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

31 May 2017 — 1754 mdt

Will Gianforte’s story be one of sin and redemption, or just of sin?

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On election eve, according to eyewitnesses, Republican U.S. House candidate Greg Gianforte slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the floor, then struck him in anger. Following interviews by deputies from the Gallatin County sheriff’s department, Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. As per standard procedure, the Gallatin County Attorney is reviewing the charge.

After the initial interviews, Gianforte invoked his right to not to talk to the authorities, lawyered-up, also his right, and a smart move, and went into seclusion until the election concluded.

The details of the altercation are not in much dispute, although Gianforte’s public relations staff tried to argue that it was Jacobs’ fault that his face ran into Gianforte’s fist. The case against Gianforte appears to be strong. I do not expect the matter to go to trial. Instead, I expect a plea bargain, possibly a suspended sentence, certainly an allocution in court, possibly a requirement to perform community service, such as serving hash browns in a soup kitchen, and perhaps the expungement of his case from the formal record after completing a period of good behavior.

I gently urge all, no matter what their politics are, to remember that Gianforte’s rights are exactly the same as ours. He has the right to a fair and speedy trial, and the right of a formal presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. None of us should want a different standard for anyone else.

If convicted, in addition to the court’s sentence, there will be political punishment that’s decided and administered by public opinion. If not convicted, there still will be publicly decided and administered punishment, but it won’t have the moral force that would come from a conviction.

His takedown of Jacobs will hurt his political career. How much it will hurt it remains to be seen. History suggests that sin and redemption is not out of the question.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy survived the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident in which he drove a car off a one-lane bridge into a tidal channel. He swam to safety, but his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, receiving a two-month suspended sentence. That probably doomed his chance to become President, but he served a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Senate until his death in 2009.

State Senator Greg Barkus (R-Kalispell) sinned, but was not redeemed. Late on 27 August 2009, returning from an ethanolic evening of conviviality and good food at Lakeside, possibly under the influence of Captain Grog, he crashed his speedboat into the rocks at Wayfarers State Park south of his destination, the Bigfork harbor, at 40 mph. All aboard, among them Rep. Denny Rehberg, were injured, some seriously. Two years later, Barkus, once considered a leading candidate for governor, pleaded no contest to criminal endangerment, receiving a four-year suspended sentence and a $29,000 fine. He escaped a stint in the slammer, but not the disintegration of his political career.

Whether Gianforte can rehabilitate himself and his political career depends not just on convincing Montanans that he knows he did wrong, and that he’s genuinely remorseful for his conduct, but on proving through his actions that his trial by fire has made him a better man and occupant of elective office. That will take time and conscious effort, and a genuine change of heart akin to a religious conversion.

In the meantime, he’s going to have a very difficult time with public events and establishing a mutually respectful and productive relationship with the news media.