Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.

 

23 September 2014

Ed Berry’s hopping mad that Chuck Baldwin supports John Lewis

I don’t know how I missed this. In a 2,000-word article published on 17 July, Pastor Chuck Baldwin endorsed John Lewis as the lesser of two evils. And at PolyMontana, Ed Berry is hopping mad about that and Matt Rosendale’s apparent refusal to endorse fellow Republican Ryan Zinke.

First, this from Baldwin, who ran for President on the Constitution Party ticket in 2008:

Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know how to say it any plainer: if you are forced to choose between a pro-war, pro-police state, neocon Republican candidate for federal office and a Democrat, and if you believe in voting for the “lesser-of-two-evils,” the Democrat is the one for whom you must vote.

Unfortunately, that is exactly the choice that the citizens of Montana have this year in its lone U.S. House race. We have a Democrat, John Lewis, running against a pro-war, pro-police state, neocon Republican Ryan Zinke. Without a doubt, the Democrat John Lewis is by far the lesser evil than Ryan Zinke.

…Being the U.S. House seat in Montana is typically a Republican seat, it is very likely that if the Democrat Lewis wins, he would be a one-termer. A GOP candidate (someone besides Ryan Zinke, who was the absolute worst of all the candidates that the GOP had to offer this year) would have a very good chance of defeating the Democrat Lewis in 2016. On the other hand, if Zinke wins this November, we are probably going to be stuck with this neocon indefinitely. This would be a monstrous mistake for Montana and the U.S. House of Representatives.

On 11 September, Berry — who’s so steamed he could cause global warming all by himself — followed with this (using my photograph of Rosendale):

Let me repeat that: Matt Rosendale, Montana tea party darling for US Congress, associated with hypocrites who talk conservative but trash conservatives in elections. And Oath Keepers National Chaplain Chuck Baldwin now supports anti-gun, global warming nut case, Obama supporter John Lewis for US Congress over conservative Navy Commander Ryan Zinke.

Hoo, Boy!

Baldwin’s argument that Lewis would be a one-termer doesn’t hold much water. Could the Republicans find a stronger candidate than Zinke? Probably, although that wouldn’t guarantee a win. They could also find a weaker candidate, and just might. If Lewis can win in a midterm election in which the electorate may lean slightly Republican, he’s likely to be returned to Congress in a Presidential election in which the electorate leans Democratic.

How much does Baldwin’s endorsement help Lewis? Well, it provides at least one more vote.

Berry’s correct that conservatives fighting other conservatives helps Democrats win elections. He’s also correct that having sought the Republican nomination, Rosendale is morally obligated to support the nominee. Possibly, Rosendale is so upset over blowing a million dollars of his own money on an election he lost, and having been so convincingly outsmarted by Zinke, he no longer can think straight.

I’ll leave it to Lewis to decide whether Baldwin’s endorsement is a blessing or a curse.