12 July 2016

Gianforte should donate river access land to state

Bozeman businessman Greg Gianforte is under attack again, this time by the Democratic Governors Association, for his lawsuit to end a river access easement on the riverfront property on which his home is located. The DGA’s 30-second video ad is amateurish — and mendacious in its assertion that Gianforte’s a New Jersey intruder; he isn’t — but it does make the point that Gianforte has undercut his credibility on stream access by his handling of the matter.

There’s a simple way for Gianforte to put this issue behind him. He should donate the land in question to the State of Montana. He can afford to do so. If he holds onto the land, it’s hard to resist the conclusion that he’s playing a long game, hoping to get rid of the easement sometime in the future. Alternatively, he could cut a deal with the state to purchase land or an easement for river access somewhere else in exchange for getting rid of the easement on his land.

Meanwhile, I simply do not understand why the DGA, the Bullock campaign, and the Democratic Party, continue to lie that Gianforte’s a “New Jersey multimillionaire.” Their conduct makes me ashamed to be a Democrat. As readers may remember, I’ve written about this before. Here are the links to a few of my posts on the subject:

• Will MT’s Democratic leaders never grow up and behave like adults?
• How Bullock can explain why Democrats lie about Gianforte
• Democratic lying about Greg Gianforte is political malpractice
• Montana Democrats continue to start press releases with a lie
• The percentages of “Us” and “Them” in Montana

Let’s be clear on one thing. These lying Democrats are not perjuring themselves. They’re not under oath. But they are embarrassing themselves, and many good and decent members of their party, without being aware that they are, such is their lack of shame. By their behavior, they’re declaring they have no moral obligation to tell the truth; that everything is subordinate to the exigencies of winning. They consider themselves hard-ass politicos, egg breakers and knee-cappers who get things done and keep people in line. Indeed, they’re swaggeringly proud of that image. But I believe they’re bringing discredit on the effort to re-elect Steve Bullock. Therefore, at least once a month, I’m going to reprimand them and urge them to repent and abandon their evil ways.