4 February 2020 — 0538 mst
Tuesday morning roundup: Iowa, Rodney, Casey
Iowa Democratic caucus reporting debacle. The results of the 1,600 precinct caucuses were recorded on paper worksheets, so what went down is on the record in plain text and at some point — probably today — will be centrally tallied and the results released.
But the reporting system collapsed because Iowa’s Democratic Party tried to go high tech without knowing how. Its leaders commissioned, apparently in near secrecy, and evidently on a whim, a smartphone application that was supposed to transmit the data on the worksheet to Democratic headquarters at the speed of light. The app wasn’t vetted by security experts. It wasn’t fully tested. Not all precinct captains were trained in its use. It was bound to fail and did.
My hunch is that some party leaders, giddy with their personal mastery of their smartphones, confused that mastery with expertise in app development and security and plunged ahead with the project oblivious to its risks and complexities.
State Rep. Rodney Garcia rumbles and rants into the twilight zone. Friday, in Helena, Garcia, the Billings Republican representing HD-52, unveiled his unique understanding of the U.S. Constitution:
In his question after a speech by former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who was Montana’s representative in the U.S. House for two years, Garcia said he was concerned about socialists “entering our government” and socialists “everywhere” in Billings, before saying the Constitution says to either shoot socialists or put them in jail. [Holly Michels]
Republicans denounced his remarks. Yesterday, Republican legislative leaders asked him to resign. He declined, instead filing for SD-26, now represented by Democrat Margie MacDonald, who is running for re-election. Meanwhile, his remarks were reported in the national news media, a major embarrassment to Montana.
As noted by Don Pogreba at The Montana Post, Garcia has a history of advancing reprehensible ideas in colorful language. But his latest howl at the moon is so blood curdling and so far removed from reality that one could well wonder whether a professional intervention may be necessary.
It’s clear Garcia is not fit for public office. Therefore, Montana’s Republican Party must oppose him in the SD-26 primary — and if he wins the primary, the party must endorse and work for the re-election of MacDonald.
Casey Schreiner ends his campaign for governor. His fundraising was an order of magnitude behind Mike Cooney and Whitney Williams, the last two Democrats running for the office, leaving him not only noncompetitive but almost invisible. But he acquitted himself well, running as a traditional Democrat and coming across as a thoroughly decent man who would make a fine Lt. Governor. He’s young and has public service in his blood. We haven’t seen the last of him.