Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Congratulations, Speaker Knudsen, Majority Leader Regier, et al. You converted a molehill of an issue — suitable duds in the Montana House — into a mountain of foolishness that earned you an unflattering story in the New York Times. Here’s a sample:
“It’s like something out of ‘Mad Men,’” said Representative Ellie Hill, a Democrat from Missoula, referring to a television drama set in the 1960s. “The whole thing is totally sexist and bizarre and unnecessary.”
The Cowgirl Blog, a liberal Montana political website, said the new dress guidelines were the latest in a series of tone-deaf and insensitive remarks by male public officials. The other recent offenses include remarks by Mr. Regier comparing women with pregnant cattle, regarding a bill that would criminalize offenses involving the death of an unborn child, and an elected judge’s remarks that blamed a teenager whose teacher had been convicted of raping her.
Representative Carolyn Pease-Lopez, a Democrat, said she was in a committee meeting when a male colleague leaned over and told her he loved her perfume, and that he wanted to buy a bottle for his girlfriend. “The way he said it is what gave me the creeps,” she said.
Knudsen, Regier, and other Republican leaders held Montana up to ridicule not because a legislative dress code is an intrinsically bad idea, but because their approach to the legislative session is to rule, and therefore they thought it unnecessary, indeed they may have thought it improper, to consult with legislators of both parties to arrive at a consensus. Instead, they borrowed heavily from Wyoming’s legislative dress code, put the product on a single sheet of paper, and inflicted it on the legislature with the arrogance and pomposity that accompanies a Papal Bull. I’m surprised it wasn’t written in Latin.
In the interest of decorum, I’m going to call this debacle an unforced error, and leave it to my readers to supply more colorful commentary. They may even want to watch Bob Wire’s musical send-up, although those who do may want to consider keeping their hands over their daughters’ eyes.