Sen. John Cobb is man of principle

Retiring state Sen. John Cobb is, by all accounts, a man of principle. As such, in his 24 years of legislative service, he has only managed to deeply offend two groups of people — the Democrats and the Republicans.

Recently, as a matter of principle, Cobb sued the Montana Department of Administration to prevent a $36 million tax rebate from being distributed. Republican Cobb doesn't disagree with the rebate; he voted for the bill that was sponsored by Kalispell Republican Rep. Jon Sonju and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

The rebate can only be distributed when state revenue reaches $1.802 billion. It exceeded that amount by $36 million in July at the end of the fiscal year. The trouble is, the July calculation was not based on "generally accepted accounting practices," as required by the law.

The intent of the law was probably met, but Cobb believes that the government should be held accountable to the letter of the law. That is a noble concept in modern politics, and one that will likely prevail in court. Cobb's suit, though, is a classic example of good policy and bad politics.

Never one to miss an opportunity to score political points, Gov. Schweitzer commented, "It's the dangedest thing. I've cut so many taxes for so many Montanans that now I'm being sued by a Republican to stop me from cutting more."

Certainly the Republicans are all for the rebate, too, and Cobb's suit to stop it is making them wince and cringe. Perplexed, but less colorful than the governor, that is what Republicans do in situations like this.

Sen. Cobb has a history of not letting politics interfere with his principles. Remarks he made on the floor of the House when he was a state representative were so outspokenly critical of Gov. Marc Racicot that he later publicly apologized to the governor.

And, this isn't the first time Cobb has sued Schweitzer. He also sued him following the 2005 legislative session. That time his suit was in defense of provisions Schweitzer objected to in the legislature's major-spending bill, which required accountability in spending. In that case, Schweitzer prevailed.

Cobb has his admirers, a great many of them. One, former Bozeman state representative and 1992 Democratic candidate for governor Dorothy Bradley served with Cobb in the 1980s. She remembers him as "single-minded and utterly objective in going after government waste."

Cobb hates waste. His wizardry in finding it, and rescuing tax dollars being wastefully spent so they can be used for better purposes, is legendary.

Cobb's insistence on a strict interpretation of the law, his commitment to government accountability, and his war on waste would seem to identify him as a political conservative. He is more often characterized as a "maverick."

Cobb would scoff at the labels. He simply follows his conscience and relentlessly pursues the facts, wherever that pursuit leads him. If it is into political trouble, that is OK with him. Cobb is far from the legislature's smoothest communicator or cleverest conspirator, but he has probably been its most consistent defender of what can be broadly defined as the public interest.

State Sen. John Cobb, by all accounts a man of principle, is now retiring from the legislature. His service began nearly a quarter of a century ago, eight years before term limitations. Since then he has served the eight years maximum allowed, both in the Senate and the House. The people of his district didn't vote him out of office. His retirement is required because of term limitations.

It would be understandable if, after all the battles he has been through, some of them lonely, many of them uphill, that Cobb will not miss state government. Certainly, though, Montana will miss John Cobb.

Bob Brown, former Montana State Senate President and Secretary of State, is a senior fellow at the University of Montana's Center for the Rocky Mountain West.