State of Montana Archives: on Principles & Values

Bill McChesney: Served in state legislature from 2007 until 2015

McChesney, 67, served in the state House from 2007 to 2015. He lost a 2014 election for state Senate to Republican Eric Moore.

McChesney donated $50 this year to Bullock's re-election campaign, according to records from the state Commissioner of Political Practice's office. He also donated $150 to Bullock's 2012 campaign.

Mark Perea: Americans lose liberty at hands of federal government

John Walsh: OpEd: 2007 Master's thesis plagiarized from online sources

Walsh completed the paper, what the War College calls a "strategy research project," to earn his degree in 2007, when he was 46. The sources of the material he presents as his own include academic papers and books that are almost all available online.

A line-by-line analysis of Walsh's thesis shows that he took much of it from other sources without giving them credit. Most strikingly, the six recommendations Walsh laid out at the conclusion of his 14-page paper, titled "The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy," are taken nearly word-for-word without attribution from a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace document on the same topic.

Champ Edmunds: Judeo-Christian values established our government framework

Edmunds: Strongly Disagree.

Question topic: Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.

Edmunds: Strongly Agree

Question topic: Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.

Edmunds: I am a born again Christian. I attend The Journey Christian Fellowship (an Evangelical Christian Church) where I serve as a Deacon.

Steve Daines: AdWatch: Walsh appointment was "Big Sky buy-off" D.C. deal

"John Walsh can continue to deny the truth, but Montanans know that his appointment was a politically motivated, backroom deal that put Washington interests first," said Daines' campaign spokesman.

The ad says that President Barack Obama and "the D.C. insiders hand-picked John Walsh." Bullock said he chose Walsh because he was the best one for the job, and told reporters last month that he had told US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to "butt out" when Reid called and suggested Bullock appoint Walsh as Baucus' successor.

John Walsh: AdWatch: "Where's Walsh-o" website: "Walsh is hard to find"

"John Walsh is Hard to Find These Days..." says the NRSC's website, which goes onto claim "That's because he doesn't like to answer questions about his disastrous record, his ability to lead, and a management record dominated by a culture of poor morale, inappropriate relationships and horrific personnel problems."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was quick to defend Walsh and criticize the NRSC. "Only a Washington insider like Steve Daines would call on his NRSC handlers to smear John Walsh's distinguished 33-year record of service leading the Montana National Guard," said the DSCC press secretary.

John Walsh: Appointed to Senate while running in Senate primary

Walsh was already running for the seat, but he'll now run as the incumbent senator. That change could provide some inherent advantages in his quest to hold one of the party's most vulnerable seats. "I wanted to appoint someone who I truly believed would wake up each and every day wanting to put Montana and Montanans first," Bullock said in a news conference to announce the appointment.

National Democrats recruited Walsh to run after former Gov. Brian Schweitzer took a pass on the race. The open seat is a top target of national Republicans, who landed a top-tier candidate in Rep. Steve Daines. Two other Democrats, former Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger and rancher Dirk Adams, are also seeking the nomination.

John Walsh: AdWatch: "Big Sky buyoff" to appoint Walsh to Senate early

Under Montana law, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock can appoint whomever he wants to fill the Senate seat until the next election. National Democratic sources expect that appointment to be Walsh, who polls show has been trailing Republican candidate Steve Daines.

Democrats argue that appointing Walsh to the Senate seat nearly a year before the election would give him a leg up against Daines. Republicans, meanwhile, have begun painting Walsh as a D.C. insider, calling him Senate Majority Leader "Harry Reid and Barack Obama's handpicked US senator." They also have blasted the news of his potential appointment as Washington backroom dealing, dubbing it the "big sky buyoff"--an approach that could ultimately hurt Walsh, who's been running as a Beltway outsider.

Brian Schweitzer: Considered Senate run; now supports both Dem. candidates

But the ex-governor--whose shadow has hung over the Senate race since Baucus announced his retirement, and who nearly pulled the trigger on a bid himself before declining this summer--is adamant that he's staying not picking sides, despite professed admiration for Bohlinger.

Walsh was also a member of Schweitzer's government, though not in an elected role: Schweitzer picked Walsh to head the state's National Guard. "I want to make sure it's known: I think the world of both, I selected them both" for their old jobs, Schweitzer said. "I'll probably be a large donor to both of them," he added.

Schweitzer said, "If the primary were held today, Bohlinger would win 2-to-1 over Walsh. But the election isn't right now, and the Democratic Senate machine in Washington has their sights set on John Walsh."

John Bohlinger: An outsider supported by the people & not the establishment

But outsiders still need supporters. Walsh has put together a team of campaign staffers and supporters that include both sitting Montana senators. Asked specifically who is supporting him, Bohlinger replied: "It's the people of Montana."

There is one answer to that question that some deem obvious. Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer may be Bohlinger's closest ally in state politics after eight years as a team. Bohlinger says that Schweitzer gave him their old campaign donor lists and "pledged me a nice contribution" for his Senate run [but Schweitzer will not publicly endorse].

John Bohlinger: Elected as Republican; then ran on Democrat governor ticket

Bohlinger has said for several months he was considering entering the US Senate race as a Democrat, and that he felt he would be the best candidate to defeat Daines, the likely Republican nominee.

"I believe it's important not only for Montana but for our country that we maintain a Democratic majority in the US Senate," he told the Gazette State Bureau earlier this fall. "Because of my statewide name recognition, I think I can win in November 2014. We need to nominate someone who can win in November."

Steve Bullock: I teach my kids the same Montana values I was taught

Steve and his wife Lisa are raising their three kids in the same community they grew up in and teaching them the same values they were taught: to work hard, play by the rules and get the kind of education and job that will allow them to raise their families here, too.

Jon Tester: Premature to call for impeachment proceedings against Bush

TESTER: I think it’s a bit premature to say that there should be impeachment proceedings against Pres. Bush. I do think there will be public hearings, and I think that’s critically important. If impeachable offenses are found, then so be it. I think we need to focus on the issues I hear about from the people of this great state. We’ve got a system that’s broken right now, and needs to be fixed, and it needs some leadership back in Washington DC. The current cast isn’t getting it done.

JONES: Yes, Pres. Bush has committed many impeachable offenses. He has issued executive orders that have the force and effect of law, when he has no constitutional authority to issue laws. Pres. Bush pushed the Patriot Act and other bills that have been just as threatening to our freedom. This man has to be impeached in order to preserve our freedoms. We have to impeach this man to let these people know they cannot do that to our freedoms.

Stan Jones: Bush has committed many impeachable offenses

TESTER: I think it’s a bit premature to say that there should be impeachment proceedings against Pres. Bush. I do think there will be public hearings, and I think that’s critically important. If impeachable offenses are found, then so be it. I think we need to focus on the issues I hear about from the people of this great state. We’ve got a system that’s broken right now, and needs to be fixed, and it needs some leadership back in Washington DC. The current cast isn’t getting it done.

JONES: Yes, Pres. Bush has committed many impeachable offenses. He has issued executive orders that have the force and effect of law, when he has no constitutional authority to issue laws. Pres. Bush pushed the Patriot Act and other bills that have been just as threatening to our freedom. This man has to be impeached in order to preserve our freedoms. We have to impeach this man to let these people know they cannot do that to our freedoms.