What is it worth to have a U.S. Senator (Tester) who is willing to take stands that are sometimes at odds with his party, even his party's president, and who is willing to work across the aisle with the other side to represent his home state, Montana?
Let's ask the question differently. What would it be like to have a senator who has never expressed a breath of disagreement with a twice-impeached former president and who toes the party line regardless of how it ensnares himself and his constituents in extremist ideology over common sense and even when it's not the right thing to do for Montanans? Independence can be frustrating; it means you sometimes refuse to endorse the presidential candidate of your party. Independence can be costly.
It can cost you friends and supporters. But is blind loyalty to a convicted felon -- who travels across the country to endorse you -- and Sen. McConnell of Kentucky really what Montanans want and need? The next senator from Montana will represent this state, I hope, and not the wishes of his party leaders. Montanans have generally been independent minded. Tester has perfect pitch on this score. His opponent is tone deaf and is hitting all the wrong keys and hitting them loudly enough for all Montanans to hear. The choice here is clear: an independent-minded Senator or a party hack. It's that simple.
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Bob Rydell,
Bozeman
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