The Blue Dog Coalition of Democrats already lost the U.S. Senate after an election cycle where they ran from their own president and party leader. Their latest attempt to appeal to Big Oil, to show what a bunch of bootlickers they are; back losing Blue Dog Senator from Louisiana Mary Landrieu to bring the Keystone XL to a vote in the senate.
This is the most backward thinking way to turn the vote out in 2016, and reveals a deep betrayal yet again by the corporate wing of the party. Our senator Jon Tester has already told the Huffington Post he will back the Landrieu sponsored bill to approve the KXL. The issue of pipeline approvals are not only political fodder in the USA but Canada as well.
The leading contender for the post as the next Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau is leading in polls while NDP Tom Mulcair is close behind nipping at his heels. Trudeau supports KXL, while Mulcair is in opposition. The aboriginal vote in Canada is much more influential than the tribal vote in the United States, comprising up to 15% of the population.
Most tribes in Montana oppose the KXL for an array of reasons. The pipelines will carry tar sands oil, already the dirtiest and inefficient method of oil extraction. The pipelines pose environmental threats to lands some of which transects tribal lands. The pipelines will remain in the ground after their useful lives; leaving billions of gallons in the pipe to pose environmental threats for generations to come.
The Senator from Montana in attempting to support Landrieu reflects a blue dog coalition shows a party off task in the six years they controlled the US Senate and instead were busy with wealthy, big oil and Wall Street interests. Senator Tester appears tone deaf to the concerns expressed by multiple tribes in the great plains region who express their disapproval of the pipeline. In the interim he has done next to nothing to address climate change and bringing clean energy to the state of Montana.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
MONTANA ELECTS CORPORATE WELFARE KING STEVE DAINES AS CURTIS RUNS FROM OBAMA
By an overwhelming margin, Montana elected Republican corporate socialist Steve Daines as our representative in the U.S. Senate. Daines' wealth stems from Right Now Technologies, holding several million dollars in federal contracts. Daine's company once paid a lobby firm 90,000.00 dollars to secure federal contracts, securing a grand total of $23,000,000.00 in federal contracts.
Unabashedly, Daines ran on a platform of MORE JOBS, LESS GOVERNMENT. One has to question less government for whom? It seems Daine's firm has had substantial dealings with Wal Mart, another corporate welfare queen; taxpayers shell out 6.2 billion annually in public assistance to Walmart employees so the company can continue to artificially depress wages of its low wage work force. In addition, taxpayers also subsidize Walmart's executive bonuses about 298 million over six years.
This is corporate welfare KING status on a gargantuan scale, it is mind-boggling. As a result of the federally contracted, propped up Right Now Technologies, Daines' and his partners unloaded this software firm for a cool 1.8 billion to Oracle in 2012, making Daines a very savvy corporate welfare king.
The colossal hypocrisy is in itself mind-boggling for a party that scared and rallied its base by screaming and smearing the Democratic party as socialist, communistic and envious of people who make it. It is also incredibly hypocritical for a party that has held the minimum wage hostage for decades, a policy that has eviscerated the middle class and downright brutalizes the working poor.
Welcome to the Senate to the newbie Daines, a socialist of colossal scale. I think the term socialist may be too good of a label. Let's say, corporate welfare king. Meanwhile, even a candidate with nothing to lose at all, ran from a President who by all definition, helped out the wealthy, stabilized the economy, mitigated a 2008 economic crash, enacted the Lily Ledbetter Act, and lessened the unemployment rate. With absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain, Amanda Curtis failed to turn on the Indian vote by engaging the President, and lost by a large margin. It would be foolhardy for Ms. Curtis to run again.
Unabashedly, Daines ran on a platform of MORE JOBS, LESS GOVERNMENT. One has to question less government for whom? It seems Daine's firm has had substantial dealings with Wal Mart, another corporate welfare queen; taxpayers shell out 6.2 billion annually in public assistance to Walmart employees so the company can continue to artificially depress wages of its low wage work force. In addition, taxpayers also subsidize Walmart's executive bonuses about 298 million over six years. This is corporate welfare KING status on a gargantuan scale, it is mind-boggling. As a result of the federally contracted, propped up Right Now Technologies, Daines' and his partners unloaded this software firm for a cool 1.8 billion to Oracle in 2012, making Daines a very savvy corporate welfare king.
The colossal hypocrisy is in itself mind-boggling for a party that scared and rallied its base by screaming and smearing the Democratic party as socialist, communistic and envious of people who make it. It is also incredibly hypocritical for a party that has held the minimum wage hostage for decades, a policy that has eviscerated the middle class and downright brutalizes the working poor.
Welcome to the Senate to the newbie Daines, a socialist of colossal scale. I think the term socialist may be too good of a label. Let's say, corporate welfare king. Meanwhile, even a candidate with nothing to lose at all, ran from a President who by all definition, helped out the wealthy, stabilized the economy, mitigated a 2008 economic crash, enacted the Lily Ledbetter Act, and lessened the unemployment rate. With absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain, Amanda Curtis failed to turn on the Indian vote by engaging the President, and lost by a large margin. It would be foolhardy for Ms. Curtis to run again.
The Damaged Brand of the Democrats and Other Big Media Myths
I don't trust the narrative of big and mostly white media; that is the recipient of all the cash flowing as the result of Citizens United, mixed with low voter turnout--that drones this election was something out of the ordinary. It is conventional wisdom that Republican voters tend to turn out in greater numbers in mid-terms. The narrative that the Democratic party brand is damaged is a slap in the face of the minority vote who consistently carry party candidates.
DEMOCRATS ALWAYS BOUNCE BACK
Take aways:
The party rhetoric as the voice of women has not translated into putting money behind women candidates, or even making sure that the right women candidates are backed. This needs to change.
(Take Montana, the MEA-MFT propped up Amanda Curtis 80 days before the election after Walsh dropped out. Aside from personal issues I have with this--I can say for certain the MEA-MFT has a real problem with the native vote that must be fixed. But I digress here).
To my point of bouncing back, the bounce is always provided by a coalition of youth, women and minority voters. There is no reason to believe the next cycle won't be any different. There are institutional issues the Democrats must learn going forward.
DEMOCRATS ALWAYS BOUNCE BACK
Take aways:
The party rhetoric as the voice of women has not translated into putting money behind women candidates, or even making sure that the right women candidates are backed. This needs to change.
(Take Montana, the MEA-MFT propped up Amanda Curtis 80 days before the election after Walsh dropped out. Aside from personal issues I have with this--I can say for certain the MEA-MFT has a real problem with the native vote that must be fixed. But I digress here).
To my point of bouncing back, the bounce is always provided by a coalition of youth, women and minority voters. There is no reason to believe the next cycle won't be any different. There are institutional issues the Democrats must learn going forward.
- The party must defeat historic patterns; conventional wisdom holds the party in power loses seats during midterms. The party must learn to gap this problem of midterms. It is doable and it is something every county, state party, and the DNC must learn to plan for.
- Routing Citizens United: We know this is a factor. It is a given. It is not likely that CU will be addressed in the next two years--therefore; we must learn to organize around it to get the vote out.
- Social networking is free; this is perhaps the greatest counter balance to CU and it is instantaneous. (We can expect the Republicans to attack net neutrality).
- We know CU worked for low tech elderly voters who still are predominantly TV-broadcast-dependent to get their information. It was the elderly vote that turned out last night benefiting Republicans.
- There must be a stated policy of corporate Democrat entrenchment. In Louisiana, Landrieu, noted as a centrist and corporate Democrat--will face a run off in the coming weeks. Corporate Democrats are endangered in a party where progressives have held out their vote since 2010.
- Corporate Democrats make the party institutionally weak; they have been divisive, and viewed as betraying the party base. They also do not respect the will of the party base.
- Racism; minority voters should not have to fight a civil rights war in the party to be respected. White party leaders get control of the party resources and shut the door. They only share the resources when they are desperate to win.
- To this end; as an example, minority leaders called for a second stimulus in 2010 to benefit their distressed communities. The view was the 2009 ARRA aided Wall Street. Their pleas fell on deaf ears in their own party.
- Democratic party leaders must realize they can no longer get something for nothing from minorities. These past two years should indicate to Democratic party leaders; If you dont deliver to your constituents, we don't deliver the votes. It is that simple.
We the Native American vote in Montana will be tackling some tough issues here in this state and it is our hope that what we voice, and our organization will be a national model of success going toward 2016.
COMING UP..... OPEN STATEMENT TO THE DNC
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Preparing for a Post Mortem on the 2014 Cycle: Ahontoays Band President Melinda Gopher Issues First Statement
As of this morning, 10:36 a.m., Mountain Standard Time, the poll cited by Real Clear Politics (MSU-Billings) has Zinke winning by a 7% margin. Sam Wang gives the US Senate seat to Daines, and in a fairly quick reversal, now gives the US Senate to the Republicans.
There are clear problems with the Democratic Party, not all can be squarely put on the shoulders of Barack Obama. More accurately, the blame for the "off the rails" strategy of the party must be put on his handlers, and those who used to serve in the U.S. Senate that derailed this young president. I point my fingers squarely at two people in particular: Native Montanans-- former Sen. Max Baucus, now the U.S. Ambassador to China and his protege, Jim Messina who now works for Conservative Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron.
As it stands now, both men have conveniently dropped below the radar to minimize scrutiny on themselves. Baucus in his new gig has gone largely ignored by the American media since leaving his office in the U.S. Senate.
Those of us who have dealt with Baucus in Montana are fairly familiar with his tactics, mainly on how skillfully and lacking in moral turpitude, he used the Native American voters to maintain an iron grip on the state Democratic party political machine for the base numbers and 2) used his Wall Street ties to fund his Senate campaigns. Baucus was Citizens United before there was a law for what he did.
MEDIA CULPABILITY
Baucus is also very skilled at his official political narrative using his buddies in the state media to kill dissent. Even when that dissent was needed, and we all know dissent is healthy and essential to a healthy democracy. Buddies such as the Great Falls Tribune editors, publishers, men like Jim Strauss, and former city editor Tom Kotinski, aided and abetted this man's abuse of public office.
I point to current Tribune political reporter John Adams as aiding and abetting the cover up of the Jonathan Windy Boy scandal. This scandal makes the John Walsh plagiarism scandal look like a Boy Scout badge dispute in its irrelevance to the broader scandal that ensnares Baucus, Messina, possibly our current governor, and some Chippewa Cree tribal law enforcement. Adams has known about the accusations surrounding Windy Boy for years, but has hidden rather conveniently behind the fear of a libel lawsuit to protect Montana's political elite. This is not a journalist, and to deny all Montanans of the facts, knowing this man is a danger to children and women, is inexcusable.
If only we can get a criminal investigation going. That has not happened since 2002 when the alleged crimes occurred; the powers that be in Washington DC have denied Windy Boy's victims access to the legal system and have stymied, put down and frustrated law enforcement investigation of one of Obama's tribal of chairman's circle of campaign supporters in 2008.
Lets say that Jonathan Windy Boy showing his cock and balls to 15 year old girls over Yahoo chat does not help anyone's political careers. This is the truth; and it is indisputable. There are pictures of this. Pictures that "powers that be in DC"as the victims describe them as shadowy and unknowable--do not want to be disbursed in instantaneous world of the "youtubes" and "internets." And, there is more. A lot more.
WALSH SACRIFICIAL GOAT
I would charge here that John Walsh is the sacrificial goat in this phony plagiarism scandal; an attempt to cut the gangrene to save a damaged stump that requires an amputation. The diseased part of the party are Senators Baucus, his former Chief of Staff Jim Foley, and possibly Jim Messina, known as the "fixer" in the White House.
FOLEY'S UM RAPE MALFEASANCE REQUIRES DUE DILIGENCE OF THE LAW
An investigation is needed. I am told by victims there were two federal level investigations that were shut down when prosecution of Windy Boy seemed likely. Added to his tax evasion problems that the Obama administration has done nothing about; it seems like the preoccupation of the party elite with Windy Boy has been a gigantic distraction and a continual headache for very key people. Windy Boy must be taken into custody, and the 2011 investigation reopened. I am calling for an expansion of the UM probe to cover the period of 2002 --2011 when the victims were attempting to prosecute Windy Boy. Foley left Baucus's office in 2005. This should be scrutinized.
A STATE AND NATIONAL PARTY PURGE IS NEEDED
Going forward, there should be no place for Baucus and Messina in the state party or any part of the Democratic party, and if this happens, do it at your own risk. Any component of any political party will feel the wrath of public scorn and risk the loss of all credibility by associating with these men. Where is the moral conscience of party leaders? For our part, I am a Chippewa descendant of the original Rocky Boy Band of Chippewa Indians. Our people approached Baucus in 2000 to address the historic wrongs of the mismanagement of the Rocky Boy tribal roll.
You see, the federal government is not allowed to enforce enrollment laws upon a tribe; this is expressly forbidden by time honored U.S. Supreme Court precedent (Worchester v. Georgia). In spite of this bedrock of law, the Dept. of Interior enforced an illegal roll in Rocky Boy and renamed the tribe "the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation." This was an act of genocide by the government.
Crees are not a US treaty tribe, therefore should not be treated as a federally recognized tribe. Baucus knows this, he is afterall an attorney. Still yet, under his and Sen. Tester's watch; the Cree led govenment, led by Windy Boy, his brother Alvin, Jake Parker, Chance Houle, etc. etc. have mismanaged millions in Pembina Chippewa money, they have denied rightful Chippewa enrollment that is not their decision to make; and they have mismanaged Pembina litigation.
Out of sheer frustration, in May of this past year, we asked Rep. Daines to open a Congressional level criminal investigation. We are contending the Democratic party in the state are afoul of the federal Voting Rights Act by enabling Cree to practice discrimination upon the reservation. The Chip Cree Business Committee is predominant Cree run, it would not even meet the requirement that 50% of a tribal body be of a historic American tribe; a requirement imposed upon the Little Shell Chippewa tribe for instance. The Little Shell ARE descendants of a historic American tribe.
The Chippewa Cree business committee is organized under the Interior Dept., an agency subject to the federal Act. I would go so far as to say the Democrats maintain the Cree on the roll just to keep illegal tribal members voting for them, as I have said, Baucus has been the main benefactor of this arrangement.
Something is very wrong in Montana. We have to face up to the wrongs here, and have the attention of the federal officials to correct the wrongs. As it is, the Democrats have mismanaged these issues led down a rabbit hole by Windy Boy; and are now paying a heavy price.
The Chippewa people are intent on reclaiming tribal sovereignty long denied this underclass. When we attempted to participate in the party we were greeted with a Dixiecrat mentality and a state party that adheres to Jim Crowe. We are going backward.
Now there is John Lewis, who is expecting to benefit from his years as a Baucus staffer. He had to know of the entire situation with Windy Boy. He is definitely aware of the situation in Rocky Boy, the lies, deceit, broken laws and mind-boggling theft and fraud of Chippewa resources. He has to know, there is no way he cannot know. I am sorry, I cannot vote for people who have too much to hide.
There are clear problems with the Democratic Party, not all can be squarely put on the shoulders of Barack Obama. More accurately, the blame for the "off the rails" strategy of the party must be put on his handlers, and those who used to serve in the U.S. Senate that derailed this young president. I point my fingers squarely at two people in particular: Native Montanans-- former Sen. Max Baucus, now the U.S. Ambassador to China and his protege, Jim Messina who now works for Conservative Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron.As it stands now, both men have conveniently dropped below the radar to minimize scrutiny on themselves. Baucus in his new gig has gone largely ignored by the American media since leaving his office in the U.S. Senate.Those of us who have dealt with Baucus in Montana are fairly familiar with his tactics, mainly on how skillfully and lacking in moral turpitude, he used the Native American voters to maintain an iron grip on the state Democratic party political machine for the base numbers and 2) used his Wall Street ties to fund his Senate campaigns. Baucus was Citizens United before there was a law for what he did.
MEDIA CULPABILITY
Baucus is also very skilled at his official political narrative using his buddies in the state media to kill dissent. Even when that dissent was needed, and we all know dissent is healthy and essential to a healthy democracy. Buddies such as the Great Falls Tribune editors, publishers, men like Jim Strauss, and former city editor Tom Kotinski, aided and abetted this man's abuse of public office.
I point to current Tribune political reporter John Adams as aiding and abetting the cover up of the Jonathan Windy Boy scandal. This scandal makes the John Walsh plagiarism scandal look like a Boy Scout badge dispute in its irrelevance to the broader scandal that ensnares Baucus, Messina, possibly our current governor, and some Chippewa Cree tribal law enforcement. Adams has known about the accusations surrounding Windy Boy for years, but has hidden rather conveniently behind the fear of a libel lawsuit to protect Montana's political elite. This is not a journalist, and to deny all Montanans of the facts, knowing this man is a danger to children and women, is inexcusable.
 |
| Democrat State Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy Speaking at the State Capitol, 12/12 |
Lets say that Jonathan Windy Boy showing his cock and balls to 15 year old girls over Yahoo chat does not help anyone's political careers. This is the truth; and it is indisputable. There are pictures of this. Pictures that "powers that be in DC"as the victims describe them as shadowy and unknowable--do not want to be disbursed in instantaneous world of the "youtubes" and "internets." And, there is more. A lot more.
WALSH SACRIFICIAL GOAT
I would charge here that John Walsh is the sacrificial goat in this phony plagiarism scandal; an attempt to cut the gangrene to save a damaged stump that requires an amputation. The diseased part of the party are Senators Baucus, his former Chief of Staff Jim Foley, and possibly Jim Messina, known as the "fixer" in the White House.
FOLEY'S UM RAPE MALFEASANCE REQUIRES DUE DILIGENCE OF THE LAW
An investigation is needed. I am told by victims there were two federal level investigations that were shut down when prosecution of Windy Boy seemed likely. Added to his tax evasion problems that the Obama administration has done nothing about; it seems like the preoccupation of the party elite with Windy Boy has been a gigantic distraction and a continual headache for very key people. Windy Boy must be taken into custody, and the 2011 investigation reopened. I am calling for an expansion of the UM probe to cover the period of 2002 --2011 when the victims were attempting to prosecute Windy Boy. Foley left Baucus's office in 2005. This should be scrutinized.
A STATE AND NATIONAL PARTY PURGE IS NEEDED
Going forward, there should be no place for Baucus and Messina in the state party or any part of the Democratic party, and if this happens, do it at your own risk. Any component of any political party will feel the wrath of public scorn and risk the loss of all credibility by associating with these men. Where is the moral conscience of party leaders? For our part, I am a Chippewa descendant of the original Rocky Boy Band of Chippewa Indians. Our people approached Baucus in 2000 to address the historic wrongs of the mismanagement of the Rocky Boy tribal roll.
You see, the federal government is not allowed to enforce enrollment laws upon a tribe; this is expressly forbidden by time honored U.S. Supreme Court precedent (Worchester v. Georgia). In spite of this bedrock of law, the Dept. of Interior enforced an illegal roll in Rocky Boy and renamed the tribe "the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation." This was an act of genocide by the government.
Crees are not a US treaty tribe, therefore should not be treated as a federally recognized tribe. Baucus knows this, he is afterall an attorney. Still yet, under his and Sen. Tester's watch; the Cree led govenment, led by Windy Boy, his brother Alvin, Jake Parker, Chance Houle, etc. etc. have mismanaged millions in Pembina Chippewa money, they have denied rightful Chippewa enrollment that is not their decision to make; and they have mismanaged Pembina litigation.
Out of sheer frustration, in May of this past year, we asked Rep. Daines to open a Congressional level criminal investigation. We are contending the Democratic party in the state are afoul of the federal Voting Rights Act by enabling Cree to practice discrimination upon the reservation. The Chip Cree Business Committee is predominant Cree run, it would not even meet the requirement that 50% of a tribal body be of a historic American tribe; a requirement imposed upon the Little Shell Chippewa tribe for instance. The Little Shell ARE descendants of a historic American tribe.
The Chippewa Cree business committee is organized under the Interior Dept., an agency subject to the federal Act. I would go so far as to say the Democrats maintain the Cree on the roll just to keep illegal tribal members voting for them, as I have said, Baucus has been the main benefactor of this arrangement.
Something is very wrong in Montana. We have to face up to the wrongs here, and have the attention of the federal officials to correct the wrongs. As it is, the Democrats have mismanaged these issues led down a rabbit hole by Windy Boy; and are now paying a heavy price.
The Chippewa people are intent on reclaiming tribal sovereignty long denied this underclass. When we attempted to participate in the party we were greeted with a Dixiecrat mentality and a state party that adheres to Jim Crowe. We are going backward.
Now there is John Lewis, who is expecting to benefit from his years as a Baucus staffer. He had to know of the entire situation with Windy Boy. He is definitely aware of the situation in Rocky Boy, the lies, deceit, broken laws and mind-boggling theft and fraud of Chippewa resources. He has to know, there is no way he cannot know. I am sorry, I cannot vote for people who have too much to hide.
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