30 April 2017 — 2122 mdt

Campaign like Hillary, lose like Hillary

Hillary Clinton’s campaign probably was doomed from the start (see Shattered), but whatever slim chance of winning she had she threw away by shining the spotlight on Donald Trump instead of on middle class Americans. In Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, voters focused on Trump because she told them to, and they liked what they heard when he promised to restore the rust belt’s economy of yore.

Rob Quist’s campaign is making the same mistake. He’s focusing on Greg Gianforte instead of middle class Montanans. Worse, he’s making the risible argument that Gianforte’s two-bit investments in Russian equities somehow make the Bozeman businessman a Benedict Arnold or a stooge of Vladimir Putin.

Repeating what I wrote yesterday, there’s no bowl of borscht here. There’s not even a baby beet in a shot of weak vodka.

But there is a massive failure to make Montana’s voters the focus of Quist’s campaign. Voters want to know what Quist will do for them. If Quist does not focus on his fellow Montanans and their needs, his campaign will do down in flames, just like Hillary’s did.