A Coup Attempt, A Budget Proposal And COVID Confusion
Montana lawmakers had very different takes on Wednesday s insurrection and the unfounded claims that fueled it. Gov. Gianforte released his budget proposal. And the Legislature started out with confusing and contradictory COVID-19 protocols.
Listen now on
Capitol Talk, with MTPR s Sally Mauk, Lee Newspapers State Bureau Chief Holly Michels and UM Political Science Professor Rob Saldin.
Editor s Note: We apologize that Capitol Talk aired Saturday morning instead of its usual time Friday evening. It will return to its normal schedule next Friday.
Capitol Talk is an analysis program, and we took the additional time to make clear that an Op-Ed co-authored by our regular contributor Rob Saldin of the University of Montana Mansfield Center and Political Science Department that ran in Montana newspapers this week is an opinion piece separate from and outside of this analysis program.
Welcome to the first episode of
Parsing the Press, a look at current issues and how they re being presented in the Montana press. Veteran journalist and author Gwen Florio joins MTPR s Sally Mauk for the weekly analysis.
Sally Mauk Gwen, the events this week in Washington, DC, with the storming of the Capitol by an angry mob egged on by the president of the United States was not what I thought we would be talking about in our first show. But here we are. And I want to start with a blunt editorial your old newspaper, the
Missoulian, ran calling on Montana Senator Steve Daines, Congressman Matt Rosendale and Governor Greg Gianforte to apologize to Montanans for contesting the presidential election, which the editorial board believes enabled the capital riot. And these editorials are not written by news reporters, but an independent group that often includes the newspaper publisher. And I want to read the last sentence of that editorial, which is addressed to those men, Make it ri
Shaylee Ragar / Montana Public Radio
Montana state political leaders issued statements condemning pro-Donald Trump extremists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Chairman Don Kaltschmidt said violence doesn’t represent the Montana GOP’s values. He celebrated the First Amendment but said “today s events at the U.S. Capitol fell far short of what makes this country great.”
Montana Senate President Mark Blasdel and Speaker of the House Wylie Galt, both Republicans, echoed that point and praised peaceful demonstrations that took place at the Montana Capitol this week.
Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Sandi Luckey said Wednesday’s violence was enabled by “the dangerous, baseless claims of election fraud,” by Gov. Greg Gianforte, Sen. Steve Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale, who are all Republicans.
Montana Leaders Condemn Violence in the Capitol
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For many of us back here in Montana, we have repeatedly condemned the violence that has played out on American streets over the past year. We condemned the violence that targeted the great men and women in law enforcement. We condemned the violence that burned black-owned businesses (and other small businesses) to the ground. We condemned the violent, lawless occupation of American cities like Seattle. And we now condemn the violence that has been playing out in our nation s capitol.
Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT) says both he and his staff are safe, after protesters stormed the US Capitol and forced evacuations in the House and Senate. He added: