31 October 2017 — 1352 mdt

Don’t give money to candidates who don’t publish their platforms

Revised 31 October. Six Democrats (table below) have announced they’re running for Montana’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. A seventh, former State Rep. Pat Noonan, is testing the waters. Four of the six announced candidates, John Heenan, Jared Pettinato, Grant Kier, and Tom Woods, have published their platforms on their campaign websites. Thus far Pettinato’s is a one-plank wonder, but that’s one plank more than Williams and Moss offer.

Their ages range from Pettinato’s 38 to Moss’ 67. Heenan, Kier, and Pettinato, are political tyros. Moss and Williams are former state legislators. Woods is serving his third term in the MT House.

Williams, who announced her candidacy last week, has a website that asks for money — all candidate websites ask for money — but says nothing on issues. Moss has filed with the FEC, but is waiting until Saturday to kick off her campaign. Her website is just a holding page that doesn’t even ask for money.

Why some candidates fail to have a complete website ready for unveiling the day they announce their candidacies continues to baffle and infuriate me. It’s both campaign malpractice and an insult to the voters.

Candidates who refuse to publish their platforms on their campaign websites are candidates who cannot be trusted. They’re pussyfooting around the issues, trying to avoid taking a stand on questions of public policy. They want you to vote for them because they have a nice smile and what they think is a compelling life story. What will they do if they’re elected? Why, they’ll reach across the aisle. They’ll seek bipartisan solutions. They’ll work together. But they won’t tell what they’ll try to get done by working together as aisle-crossing bipartisans.

Don’t let these issue avoiders get away with running issue free campaigns. Don’t send them any money until they publish a platform with clearly defined planks.