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Quist understands the life of real Montanans

I grew up in the Flathead Valley in the 1950s. I often tired of explaining to my friends that yes my father was a lawyer but we were not rich, not even wealthy or upper middle class. I occasionally railed at our very conservative lifestyle. I knew my father was well-respected and that many people wanted to do business with him and I could not understand why he was not more interested in making lots of money.

Each time money came up, however, his response was the same. He said anyone could make millions. They did not need to be smart. They needed to be only one thing, committed and totally focused on making lots and lots of money. Mike Mansfield was my dad’s college roommate, and he had many friends who were leaders in the community and the state and the country. He knew and liked everyone but most of the people he spent time with were ordinary folks. He had an innate distrust of people with “too much money.” Although he never said so directly, it was clear he thought they had “too much money” because they did not have enough scruples.

There are a lot of voters in Montana who are very impressed with Mr. Gianforte’s money. They seem to think this means he is smart and will make good choices about their lives. My father would remind you of the kinds of things that people have to do in order to accrue billions of dollars, and he would also remind you that you don’t have to be smart to be super rich.

My father would vote for Rob Quist. He would tell you Rob is like most people in Montana, not a perfect person, not always making perfect choices, but 100 percent committed to family and to community. He would tell you he believes Rob is not for sale, that he is honest to the bone and that he really knows what it is like to be a Montanan and to struggle with long winters, short summers, minimal employment, low incomes, high costs of living.

I am voting for Rob Quist because I believe he has a far better idea of what it is like to live in Montana than a multi-millionaire who grew up on the East Coast. I don’t care how many years Mr. Gianforte has lived in Montana. His vast wealth has insulated him from the reality most Montanans face and he cannot know what it is like to live in Montana on $25,000 a year or even $50,000 or $100,000. He does not understand what public lands access means to Montanans because he just buys anything he wants. He does not worry about minimum wage, health insurance, Medicare or Social Security, so how can he be expected to understand these things are vital to the average person who lives in Montana.

We do not need more millionaires in Washington, D.C. We need a few honest, caring and ordinary people who will represent all the wonderful honest, caring and ordinary people that populate most of Montana. —Loraine Measure, Bigfork

Quist is Pelosi Democrat

Rob Quist wants us to believe he is a different kind of Democrat, but his positions on the issues that matter tell a different story. From taxes to Obamacare, from our national security to our nation’s growing debt or even to our precious natural resources, Rob Quist is in lockstep with liberal Democrats in Washington.

Even as premiums skyrocket, Rob Quist stands with Nancy Pelosi in defending Obamacare. While our nation continues to drown in uncontrollable debt, Quist believes in failed liberal policies that say we can tax and spend our way to prosperity. Where Quist does not want money spent, however, is in energy. Rob Quist shares Nancy Pelosi’s view that coal plants should be shut down, which would leave hundreds of hardworking Montanans without jobs.

It is more than clear that Rob Quist is just another liberal Democrat out of touch with our state. His ideology will create more dependency on government instead of prosperity. Montanans do not need a California-style Democrat who will over-promise and under-deliver. On critical issues facing our country, it’s clear where Rob Quist stands on the issues: right next to Nancy Pelosi. —Keith Regier, Kalispell

Speak up about ‘Quiet Waters initiative’

May 26 is the last day for public input on the “Quiet Waters Initiative.” Public comments will be taken at the Fish, Wildlife and Parks office at 8:30 a.m. Friday on Meridian Road in Kalispell via teleconference with the FWP Commission in Helena. You don’t have to speak, but if you choose to it will be limited to two minutes per person. Go to the FWP website (fwp.mt.gov) and take a look at the initiative. It is written by the Back Country Anglers and Sportsmen and it seems like it would be a good initiative, but IT IS NOT! The sponsor of the initiative is backed by out-of-state money and special interest groups that want to tell us how to run Montana. The governor appoints the FWP Commission, which consists of four members and a chairman. They answer to no one. The head of the commission, Dan Vermillion, owns and operates a fishing guide service on the Missouri River in direct conflict of the initiative. Terms had expired on some of the commission members so the govenor nominated two more both of which were voted out by the state Legislature. Now that the Legislature has convened, he appointed two new ones that don’t have to be approved by anyone but the governor (fishy). The new ones are Shane Colton and Tim Aldrich. Both have pasts that go against FWP recommendations and seldom match what sportsmen want.

Over the past few months there have been hundreds of comments sent to the commission opposed to the initiative. Now we have new ones that we need to inform. Please comment online as often as you wish and show up at the forum on the 26th.

The initiative is statewide and affects many bodies of water. It is not based on any studies or scientific facts that we would have to present if it was our initiative. In the Flathead they want no wakes from boats and no personal watercraft on the Whitefish or Stillwater rivers. The Flathead River from the Montana 35 bridge to the confluence of the South Fork also with no wake (which means you can’t go upstream) and no jet skis.

Item 10 on the proposal states, “The department has determined that the amendment and adoption of the above-referenced rules WILL NOT SIGNIFICANTLY AND DIRECTLY IMPACT SMALL BUSINESSES. I guess as long as your don’t sell boats or personal watercraft or gas for them or have anything to do with tourism, it may not impact you. Once again I ask who did the research and what is that statement based on?

Now is the time to voice your opinion. After the 26th they can do whatever they want. Email comments and tell folks to show up at the meeting. The date has been changed three times, and it ends up on the Friday before Memorial Day when most outdoor enthusiast are leaving for the weekend (fishy).

This is the tip of the iceberg. Once special-interest outside groups figure out how to manipulate Montana, there will be no going back. —Mark Weed, Kalispell

Quist is just one more ‘Democrat loser’

I see where Mr. Jim Posewitz has climbed out from under the rock he has been hiding these past years after urging us to vote for Mr. Obama. This useful idiot for the left has now reappeared (April 16 letter to editor) and is advocating we vote for Mr. Quist, another Democrat enemy of the Second Amendment, who wants to register all semi-automatic firearms for later seizure. Plus, Mr. Quist hasn’t had a hunting or fishing license for more than 15 years.

From what I read, Mr. Quist apparently converted a barn on his property into multi-family rental units (great capitalistic idea); but there are questions whether he has paid taxes on that same property and rental income. Typical of many Democrats such as Timothy “Turbo Tax” Geithner, Obama’s treasury secretary, and the Reverend “Too Busy Saving Souls to Pay His $4.5 Million Tax Bill” Al Sharpton, Mr. Quist believes in higher taxes for schmucks like you and me but not himself. Mr. Quist is a 90 percenter, i.e., he wants a 90 percent tax rate a la Chief Socialist Bernie Sanders. This means during the year you would work 46.8 weeks for the government and 5.2 weeks for yourself, which, if you ask me, is the definition of slavery. Mr. Quist fits right in with the rest of the above Democrat losers.

But wait, we have Mr. Gianforte for whom we can vote. A man who pays his taxes, donates money to help establish the Montana Code School at MSU and UM, funding to implement teaching computer science and computer-science related activities to Montana K-12 students, funding for a Drug Court in Lake County to reduce our prison population, scholarships for manufacturing students at community colleges, affordable housing on the south side of Billings, funding to assist Helena Industries increase valuable jobs and services for people with disabilities. —Norm Johnson, Polson

Don’t trust Gianforte to change his spots!

In the May 14 edition, the Missoulian endorsed Rob Quist’s opponent to fill the seat vacated by Ryan Zinke. To quote the newspaper: “but only if he holds firm to his promise to set aside his own personal ideology whenever necessary in order to uphold Montana values.” How is this possible when “he already has in place strong relationships with Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and certain members of the Trump family”?

“He absolutely must not allow his ideology to drive his public votes on things like science funding.” And his “views on women’s issues is similarly troubling.” If Gianforte wins the election, he “must set aside his own personal convictions every day that he is in Congress, in order to ensure that he [is] serving the will of the people of Montana.” According to the Missoulian, he does not naturally align with Montana values.

In other words, the Missoulian would have voters send a fraud to Washington to represent Montana. Or, if he stays true to himself, Gianforte will embrace the president’s determination to destroy health care (particularly women’s health care ), destroy public education, the environment and the economy. He will support giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy (including himself), while cutting funding to the most vulnerable of our citizens. He will embrace our enemies and alienate our allies. He will not support Montana values.

We KNOW Rob Quist will represent Montana. Why send a person who will “hopefully” change his spots and vote against his own beliefs, when we have a genuine Montanan in Rob Quist? The only person we need to send to Washington is Rob Quist. —Jackie Ladner, Polson

Quist’s economic ideas are wrong-headed

It seems Quist and the Democrats are resorting to their tired old class warfare game because they can’t run on the Obama-Pelosi record. I have no problem with Rob Quist as a person — he’s apparently a good father and has been supportive of the Flathead but he must have flunked Econ 101 if he thinks he’ll improve the economy with Sanders and Obama policies.

In the early 1960s, when Quist was playing football and chasing girls at Cut Bank High School, John Kennedy, a Democrat, cut taxes (yes, even for the rich) and what happened? An economic surge and more jobs, plus increased revenue for the Treasury!

In the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan, a Republican, taking over from Carter’s 17 percent interest rates, oil shortage, and the Iranian kidnapping of Americans, cut taxes (including on the rich), and what happened? An economic boom.

Obama, in 2008, raised taxes on everyone, corporations, rich, middle class and lower. And what have we had? Between 1 1/2 and 2 percent growth, the most anemic recovery on record, and millions out of work.

Quist may not like corporations or rich people (he obviously isn’t one) but corporations and rich people have assets to invest, re-invest and create new businesses which help everyone. Gianforte gets my vote because he understands this. —Mitzi Anderson, Whitefish