Episode 15 - "Political Strategies for Dummies. Get your copy from the Montana GOP today!"

This episode exposes the strategic "geniuses" of the Montana GOP, & their failed plan to put a Green Party candidate on the ticket in the 2020 Montana senate race.

Music by: Drums and Strings (2018) TOULA - Royalty free via Jamendo

SHOW NOTES:

HELENA (AP) -- A Texas-based conservative group is funding the Go Green Montana PAC to support Green Party candidate Wendie Fredrickson of Helena in her bid for the U.S. Senate, Lee Newspapers of Montana reported.
The Green Party of Montana said it has no affiliation with the PAC, has had no contact with Fredrickson and is not endorsing her candidacy.
Recent filings with the Federal Election Commission show Go Green Montana received $45,500 from a group called CSG Action, which has the same address as Citizens for Self-Governance, which opposes government encroachment in health care, education and economic policies.
The Montana Republican Party paid for the signature-gathering effort that qualified the Green Party for the ballot in an apparent effort to draw votes away from Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who is challenging Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/06/25/texas-based-pac-backing-green-party-candidate/3259709001/

https://missoulacurrent.com/government/2020/05/green-party/

https://www.mtpr.org/post/outside-groups-try-influence-montana-us-senate-race

https://mtstandard.com/opinion/columnists/guest-view-i-will-not-be-silenced-by-bullock/article_d636e7d1-0b95-56b2-a0d3-e7d0784d21b0.html

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/montana/articles/2020-03-19/republican-commissioner-to-run-for-senate-as-libertarian

https://montanademocrats.org/news/icymi-texas-based-conservative-group-with-ties-to-daines-bankrolling-green-party-candidate-mtn-news/

https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-governor-running-for-us-senate/article_1428eebe-b227-5c6a-92a5-549fddb26a49.html

As of March 9, still didn’t know who bankrolled the effort.

https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/justices-remove-green-party-candidates-from-montana-ballot

August 19 Supreme Court

https://apnews.com/a1d35eb82429c05d44534f98aeec5e9f

The candidates were certified for Montana’s primary ballot on March 6, but it was not disclosed until March 24 that the Montana Republican Party financed the $100,000 signature-gathering effort.

https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2020/aug/07/judge-removes-green-party-candidates-from-2/ 

New opinion piece re: Stapleton, 9/28/20 

 https://billingsgazette.com/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion-stapleton-shows-why-he-is-unfit-for-any-office/article_491ae99b-c363-5986-a6d3-958b578c43ad.html

Judge Reynold's Order:
https://helenair.com/reynolds-order/pdf_5fe4e490-a427-584c-87b5-f6b1f8abdac1.html

Reynold's decision marks the second time in two years that he removed Green Party candidates from the ballot, In 2018, in another complaint filed by the Montana Democratic Party, he invalidated signatures that didn't match those on file with counties and invalidated others that were submitted by people who did not collect the signatures.
It was never determined who was behind the 2018 effort to get Green Party candidates on the Montana ballot, but the Green Party of Montana said it was not behind the efforts.in 2018 and 2020.
The 2019 Legislature passed a law requiring timely reporting of spending on minor party ballot qualification efforts.
Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan has found the Montana GOP violated the law in connection with this year's Green Party qualification.
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