General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Representative David Howard Suggests Civil War if Obama is Re-Elected [View all]BlueMTexpat
(15,369 posts)who just spent three weeks there this summer, I heartily agree that it can be an uphill struggle in pockets, but it is not a statewide thing. Just as Texans, Southerners and others take justifiable umbrage at being painted with a very broad brush by outsiders, I take umbrage with inaccurate characterizations of my home state from people who have never lived there and who seemingly don't have a clue except from travel posters and articles like this one.
Yes, MT has some true nitwits, just as MN has Michele Bachmann, WI has Scott Walker, MO, has Todd Akin, KS has Sam Brownbeck, TX has Rick Perry, etc., etc., etc. Even my adoptive state of MD, blue as it is, has idiots like Roscoe Bartlett!
Some of Montana's wingnuts stand out a bit more simply because they can't get lost in the crowd. Remember that there fewer than one million people in the entire state, which is the fourth largest US state in territory.
But remember also Brian Schweitzer and Denise Juneau at the DNC: they have LOTS of mainstream fans in MT. Jon Tester, while he has had to be much less liberal than I personally would like, is trending upwards; the Dem candidate for Gov is looking good and hopefully, the Dem candidate for Congress will prevail although that will definitely be an uphill struggle.
MT is also the state of Jeannette Rankin, who would NOT fit into today's GOP, and who helped with women's suffrage movements on an international level as well as in her home state. There is also the late great Mike Mansfield, whose center in Missoula is dedicated to promoting understanding of international affairs, particularly Asian affairs, and ethics in public affairs. http://www.umt.edu/mansfield/
People here should think about what they post. There are nutty individuals everywhere and sometimes it seems as if the nitwits are in the ascendant. But that does not mean that we here at DU should sink to their levels.