And lockheed loves him. Intel building a 7 billion plant in arizona that they took off the shelf during the obama years. So, yeah, lots to talk about. Thanks to hugh and our guests. That was the scene from a town hall earlier tonight with arkansas senator tom cotton. The mood is indicative of what were seeing at town halls across the country. We have news tonight from this new administrations continued Whiplash Pattern of radical changes in course. Tonight the Justice Department, which is now led by Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions announced that they are reversing the Obama Administration policy on the rights of transgender students in american schools. We have known that the white house intended to roll back lgbt rights. We thought they might first take aim at kids. Weve been waiting all day for the official notice. Here it is. Very high turnout election. It was an unusually long ballot in montana this year, because they had a bunch of stuff to vote on in the state, but all in all, usually the statewide cost of running a statewide election in montana is about 2 million. This past november it was about 3 million. And the counties in montana were really not happy about that extra expense. Theres no magic pile of money that comes in from the federal government or even from the State Government that pays for the cost of administering elections in montana. Its the county, local taxpayers, local budgets have to foot the bill, no matter what they cost, and this last election they just had, you know, through nobodys fault, just through a series of circumstances it was 50 more expensive than any election theyd had before and a lot of counties didnt have money in the budge tote pay for the extra expense. And that was already a real cause of financial consternation in that state before montanas one congressman, ryan zinke got nominated by the new administration to leave congress and instead go join the president s cabinet. Ryan zinke, montanas only member of congress, hes also the new nominee to be secretary of the interior. Now he hasnt been confirmed yet, democrats have managed to slow down most of the cabinet coirmation process, although were going to report later on tonight that one of the cabinet nominees republicans were able to rush through they may be having second thoughts about him, some Buyers Remorse on one they were able to get done but ryan zinke is still on ice. Theres been some concern over him getting disciplined during his navy career for Falsifying Travel Records so hed get reimbursed for travel he shouldnt have been reimbursed for, some controversy around that, aside from that though it is still broadly expected that hes going to get confirmed. He is going to get the job. Maybe it will happen sometime in march theyll confirm him . Whenever they confirm him, at that point that will start the process of Montana Holding a Special Election to replace him. Montana will need to elect a new member of congress to replace
ryan zinke and in terms of how thats going to go, well, you know at first glance montana is a very red state. Trump won there in november by a lot, by like 20 points. Republicans have won every president ial election in montana all the way back to 1992. But the state is more complicated than that, even just when it comes to statewide races. Montana has a democratic u. S. Senator, john tustor. Theyve got a democratic congress, Steve Bullock, and montana is one of those places where, in political terms it sort of looks like somebody hit that state with Jumper Cables since the Election Results came this for example is what it looked like, look at this, january 30th at the State Capitol in helena, montana. Look at this, there have been more than a handful of instances since the election where the republicans in washington tried to go ahead with something, but then they had to change their mind and take it back when the public blowback was so strong they couldnt handle it. The first day of the First Congress when the republicans tried to gut the congressional ethics office, remember they had to take that one pack beuse of the blowback and remember them demanding the names of all the scientists who had ever worked on Climate Change at the energy department, but they had to reverse those things. Theyve this to face blowback and take those things back. Another big flatout reversal from the republicans in washington was a plan to sell off more than 3 Million Makers of public land, tens of thousands of the acres they wanted to sell off were in montana, and this was the reaction in montana to republicans trying to sell that land off. It was a pretty big reaction, and when republicans in the house saw this big reaction in montana, and in other states like that, they did back off. They changed their mind. They dropped that bill to sell off public lands, but for a taste what have it was like in montana when that was still pending this is montanas governor Steve Bullock speaking at the State Capitol january 30th. Watch how it goes here. Youll see why republicans didnt want to be up against this particularly in states all over the mountain west. Thank you for coming out from all corners of our state today. Thanks for what youre doing today, and every day to keep our public lands in public hands. [ cheers and applause ] i see folks from sanders county, i see sportsmen, and sportswomen, i see ranchers, i see veterans, i see big fishers and fly fishers, i see grandparents, i see the next generation, i even see some of my former High School Teachers here. [ cheers and applause ] and you know whats great . Every one of us own these public lands. [ cheers and applause ]
the 30 million acres in montana, and the beauty is, we dont need permission to go on them, do we . No these lands are our heritage. These lands are our birthright. These lands are one of our Great Equalizers the size of our checkbook doesnt matter to access our blue ribbon streams, our rivers and hunt in some of the finest places around the world, because we all own them. Montana govern Steve Bullock. That day more than 1,000 people piled into the montana State Capitol to protest the republican plan to sell off over 3 million acres of public land,
including tens of thousands of acres in montana. And republicans backed off. They changed their minds about that in washington. But that footage from montana, i remember seeing that the day that that happened january 30th and being like oh, whoa, montana it turns out it wasnt just that one issue. The day after the president ial inauguration we know that was that huge womens march in washington, we know there were protests around the country, even around the world that day, sister marches, right . Even knowing that, i was still taken aback to learn that the number of people who turned out that day in montana for the montana womens march at their State Capitol the number of people who turned out was 10,000. What . There are only a million people
in the whole state, 10,000 people came out and protested at their State Capitol that day. I mentioned that montana has a democratic u. S. Senator in john tester and also have a republican senator steve daines. Since the election steve daines is finding when he comes home his Airport Greetings from his constituents are not what they used to be. To we have that footage . You work for us you work for us you work for us you work for us you work for us you work for us you work for us senator Steve Dainesgreeted T used to be greeted at the airport in montana. Like many members of congress and senators around the country, senator daines has refused to do town halls and that included lots of protesters turning up at steve daines Constituents Offices at home in montana, his constituents wanting to meet with him, he is so far saying no. Yesterday he was due to speak to State Legislators at the capitol, when his constituents found out he was going to do that they turned up in great numbers, several hundred people were waiting outside the capitol to try to engage with him, when he turned up. Seeing that, steve daines canceled his appearance at the legislature. He postponed it. He did turn up at the State Capitol a day late, he turned up today. He still would not meet with any of his constituents who wanted to meet with him, would not agree to a town hall. He did speak at a Press Conference, sponsored by a conserative Interest Group but as he did so his constituents would not leave him alone. They were holding up signs, they were saying you work for us they were asking him for a meeting, this one woman over the course you see there on the right side there, one Woman Holding up a sign that quotes adele hello from the other side, i must have called a thousand times. Randomly the guy in yellow there, a guy in a chicken suit now who follows steve daines around everywhere he goes. We only have this little bit of footage. Hes not even wearing the chicken head, standing there flapping his chicken arms no matter where steve daines goes because steve daines wont meet with his constitch wepts. Montana civic life is different than what it used to be because of the outcome of this election, because of the way people are reacting around the country to this president and heres one super interesting, super practical consequence of that, that may have National Implications and it has just come to pass today in montana. One of the consequences around the country of this huge reaction were seeing to the trump potcy, reinvigoration, theres a lot of attention paid to the individual elections here lean it, that are what otherwise look like oneoffs, strays, in terms of electoral Politics Around the country. So for example this saturday, this weekend theres a State Senate Race in delaware that wouldnt usually make National News but that State Senate Race will determine which Party Controls the delaware state senate. So the democratic candidate in that race has been getting support from like former Vice President joe biden and democratic leaning groups around the country. Another republican incumbent Congressmawhis Leang the house to join the trump cabinet is tom price in georgia. His district only went for donald trump by 1. 5 points. Theres a huge amount of democratic interest nationwide in trying to make that seat a democratic pickup when theyve got that Special Election for that seat in april. We profiled the its of the liberal coast website to support a candidate named john ossoff. Theyve raised nearly 1 million on behalf of john ossoff in that race. The first polling in the georgia race puts john ossoff not just ahead of the democrats but the giant field including the multitudeness of republicans running for that seat as well. In montana, theresing if to be another one of those Special Elections. Like i said montana only has one member of congress, a Congressional DistrictSpecial Election in montana is a statewide election, because thats the Congressional District. Depending on when ryan zinke
gets confirmed to the cabinet, its likely that the race to replace him in congress will be, i dont know, may . June . Early june . I dont know. Heres the thing though. Across that state, the County Clerks and Elections Administrators, the people who actually Run Elections County by county across that state, those clerks have started squawking. They have started raising the alarm about the cost of that election, because remember, montana just had the most expensive statewide election they have ever had this past november. Counties hadnt budgeted extra money for it. It was 50 me expensive than they thought it would be, 50 more than any election. There wasnt extra money to pay for that, they are way in the hole in terms of what they spent on elections and unexpectedly they have to run another statewide Special Election to fill this congressional seat. Where is the money coming from to do that . The counties have to cough up that money. They dont have that money. The County Clerks have an idea, theyve been lobbying for it statewide and writing opeds and testifying is at the legislature. Their idea is this in montana when there are school board elections, local elections, theyre run without the expense of opening up the polling places, run instead by mail, montana is a huge state with not that many people in it. Running an election by mail just makes economic sense in a state where the people are that spread out. And montana Elections Administrators have a lot of experience of Running Elections by mail because of it. Why not do the Congressional Election as well, just mail everybody a ballot . Heres the tea time county clerk and recorder making the case, as Representative Zinkes Pending Appointment looms over montana, Election Administrators across the state see mounting costs for an unbudgeted election. Election administrators have a solution to save the taxpayers money, we are proposing a bill to conduct the Congressional Special Election by mail. Conducting the election by mail would conservatively save taxpayers statewide between half a million and threequarters of a million dollars. Another county clerk making the
case in her local paper Mail Ballot Elections are safe and Cost Effective in an effort to minimize costs for ryan zinkes Condwregsal SeatElection Administrators across the state see holding a mail bat lot election as a solution. This is a technocratic thing. This is a practical noncontroversial thing, a solution only designed to save money. Its being put forward as a Good Government option by the people who actually have to run that part of the government. Trying to save taxpayers money. Until today, because of that, this proposal had bipartisan support, and then that Bipartisan Support Clamscollapse today because the chair of the Republican Party in montana sent out this. The Emergency Chairmans report on the negative impact on republican candidates due to Mail Ballot Elections. Even though this was a republican bill that was sponsored by a republican in the house and a republican in the senate, the Republican Party chairman has now come out in an
emergency action come out against it and told Montana Republicans they have to stand against this, because if montana votes by mail, too many people might vote. All mail ballots give the democrats an inherent advantage. Votebymail is designed to increase participation rates of lower propensity voters. Democrats in montana perform better than republican candidates among lower propensity voters. I know my position will not be popular with many fiscally conservative republicans or the sponsors of this bill. They may be well intended but this bill could be the death of our effort to make montana a reliably republican state. If its too easy to vote the democrats might win. There are not that many of these Special Election, these oneoff elections this year, but each one ofhem is going to be interesting, both in terms of their consequences as, you know,
consequences clock consequences but theyre also going to be interesting, each of them as a potential sort of check of the countrys temperature. Were going through these very strong changes in washington, and in response to whats going on in washington. Theres a very Strong Movement in this country that is responding negatively to this new president , and montana is one of those states in the country right now where, if we take the temperature we might find it is at a fever pitch, at least it looks like the temperature may have changed a lot in response to what happened in the president ial election. You know after donald trump won the presidency in montana by 20 points, republicans in that state shouldnt have to worry about the exact logistics of how the next Congressional