tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592841981416728347.post6722884763087196002..comments2023-05-25T03:08:18.166-06:00Comments on Montana Headlines: Sen. Tester and earmarksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592841981416728347.post-49653675235652370202008-03-15T22:43:00.000-06:002008-03-15T22:43:00.000-06:00We won't be second for long, now that we don't hav...We won't be second for long, now that we don't have anyone on the Senate Appropriations Committee.<BR/><BR/>Would we have wished that Conrad had been a fiscal conservative who fought to keep spending down, rather that just trying to bring bacon home to Montana? Probably.<BR/><BR/>But what we have now is the worst of both worlds -- two big-spending Democrats who can't bring home money to Montana because they're not on the right committees.<BR/><BR/>Contrary to popular mythology, having Baucus on the Finance Committee doesn't do much for Montana. It does wonders for his ability to shake down lobbyists for his re-election campaign, but that's not exactly the kind of "power" that helps Montana.<BR/><BR/>Regarding Hsu, we have already commented on the fact that he raised money for Tester somehow never shows up in articles about Hsu in the Montana press. Isn't that strange? (Sarcasm alert.)Montana Headlineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149094528547382638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592841981416728347.post-84118364054133610622008-03-15T13:57:00.000-06:002008-03-15T13:57:00.000-06:00Indeed, ever since Tester and other Democrats were...Indeed, ever since Tester and other Democrats were elected to MTs major offices, the press made the magical switch from watchdog to lapdog. (pretty ironic isn't it?)<BR/><BR/>Another example of this happening is the case of Tester and one of his benfactors, Norman Hsu. Hsu has been in court in New York City a couple times in the past few weeks. On Feb. 28 he pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he cheated investors out of $20 million. He was in court again Friday.<BR/><BR/>Hsu raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democratic officials, including Hillary Clinton, and he steered almost $5000 in donations from associates to Tester. Tester later realized how tainted the money was and returned it, but the horse was out of the barn.<BR/><BR/>Considering that the press used to run stories connecting Conrad Burns to Jack Abramoff every time that Abramoff passed gas, you would think that it would be newsworthy when Hsu appears in court. But so far no MT paper has noted Hsu's court appearances or what they might mean for Tester.<BR/><BR/>Instead, the press are patting Tester on the head for the great job he is doing bringing more "ethics" to the Senate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7592841981416728347.post-47747774002751395762008-03-14T19:27:00.000-06:002008-03-14T19:27:00.000-06:00Montana is second only to West Virginia in earmark...Montana is second only to West Virginia in earmarks dollars per capita, I think. Second or Third. <BR/><BR/>I got my Fed Reserve paper today and it's all about pork. <BR/><BR/>People in Bozeman lost millions when John Tester was elected, because Clark Johnson, former Bozeman City Manager, was Burns' chief of staff. He'd send a nickel to bozeman if he picked one off a Washington street. <BR/><BR/>The money for the fairgrounds ice rink was the first casualty, four hundred thousand or so, but Burns got millions for MSU and Bozeman. Tester's earmark comment caused quite a stir here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com