29 January 2020

GOP primary in HD-10, lazy candidates lose elections,
Republicans will back Trump no matter what he does

There will be a Republican primary in House District 10. Incumber Mark Noland filed for re-election on 14 January. Bigfork resident Doug Mahlum filed on 25 January, two days after a domain name (mahlum4montana.com) was registered. His website is not operational, and his decision to file seems to spur of the moment, raising the possibility that he’s perturbed about something and plans to use his candidacy as a soapbox for discussing his peeves. I have no problem with soapbox campaigns.

John Mues remains the only Democrat running for the U.S. Senate with the decency to file for office with MT SecST. His Democratic opponents, Cora Neumann and Wilmot Collins, are raising money and campaigning (Neumann will be in Kalispell tomorrow), but they’re apparently waiting until the last moment to file with MT SecST. They’re playing games, petty political games, trying to impress political insiders with their financial and strategic savvy. My advice, as always: file no later than the first hour filing is open, then campaign at full throttle until the polls close. Hungry, driven, candidates win. Laid back and lazy candidates lose.

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump has degenerated into a dangerous farce. After today’s question and answer session concluded, no doubt remains: no matter what he has done or will do, Republican U.S. Senators will not remove Trump from office. They reject the moral and political legitimacy of the Constitution’s impeachment clauses, leaving the nation with no means of removing in midterm a President whose conduct presents an unacceptable risk to our democracy. In their view, the President can do whatever he wants to do, and only the voters have the power to force him from office. It’s the apotheosis of see no evil stonewalling, beyond breathtaking in its arrogance and irresponsibility.

Trump will be acquitted. I doubt witnesses will be called. Trump and the Republicans will cover-up as many of his doings as they can. He will not be magnanimous in victory. He’ll wage a scorched earth campaign to humiliate and destroy his enemies, a campaign that may include a hailstorm of lawsuits against his critics, public and private. Gird yourselves for the most frightening Presidential election of your lifetime.