A.J. OTJEN

Oct 8, 2024

As usual, the Montana GOP has failed us by nominating good-looking, buff, and

brainless followers to be our federal representation in Washington.

Tim Sheehy, and Ryan Zinke prove that military service alone is not enough

qualification for public office, though we thank them for their service. Along with

firefighters, first responders, and teachers. Yes, teachers are on the front line; as of

2022, there have been 1,676 casualties from school shootings since 2000.

(Usafacts.org)

These men were young, fighting for the American way of life. But did these soldiers

risk their lives for the rantings of an old man and who promises to jail political

opponents? Were they willing to take a bullet expecting Montana mothers would risk

sterility or death from pregnancy? Were they willing to come home in a flag-draped

coffin so millionaires could build mansions and walls around their private land and

water? Did they sell their sacrifice to become part of the scary arsenal of MAGA?

If they did risk their lives for the Constitution, now their patriotic brain twitches

when their party leader, an almost 80-year-old convicted felon admittedly amplifies

stories like Springfield, Ohio, and tells his congressional henchmen to block

immigration reform.

They must cringe as we, their neighbors, rely on our better angels, trying to remind

them of a common creed that makes up this big, diverse, and beautiful democracy for

all of us. We, the people, are fighting for freedom to choose what we read, how we

parent, and control of our own bodies.

Though courageous on deployment, Sheehy and Zinke are politically afraid to battle

party leadership and make tough decisions for the broader good. Their loyalty to one

single man will prevent any policy debate under constitutional order.

In Washington, they will vote to end the Affordable Care Act. Insurance companies

will deny preexisting conditions. Tim Sheehy wants to privatize health care and the

Veterans Administration. They will enact high tariffs, not understanding that prices

will increase for the American consumer. They will cut Medicaid, Medicare, and

Social Security. There will be no more investment in infrastructure, green technology,

or public education.

These failed economic policies will mean more folks like them move to Montana,

increasing the disparity between the rich and the poor, and weakening the middle

class.

The stock market will crash, and inflation will rise out of control to post pandemic rates.

They will refuse to pass the bi-partisan legislation to fix the border

crises, abandon Ukraine against Putin and weaken NATO, leaving us alone in a

dangerous world, and be in the position to choose the next Supreme Court Justices.

These men once sacrificed for our country. Now they sacrifice being real men of

accomplishment and character, as if in a Greek tragedy. They have the passions and

appetites that drive people to pinnacles of power without competence, mimicking

well-honed sound bites with no fruitful meaning. They are reduced to wearing knee

pads as they beg for one man’s approval, no longer having the courage to fight for us.

Thinking Republicans left the party long ago. Those that remain threaten civil war if

their candidates lose, out for vengeance for imagined grievances. Will these two men

don their old uniforms for such a dangerous cause? Why wouldn’t they, as they

sharpen their appeal to the sad and mad on the fringe who do not understand the

consequences leading to their demise along with ours?

Montana will decide control in Washington. Sheehy and Zinke are on the wrong side

in this battle and must be defeated. We have the most powerful weapon on earth —

our vote.