ICYMI: The Five Craziest Things Montana Republicans Said This Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 5th, 2023
CONTACT
hadley@montanademocrats.org
And it’s only Wednesday
Helena, MT – In the course of their fight to dismantle the rights of Montana citizens and leave Montana workers, families, and seniors out to dry, Montana Republicans have said some out-of-line, cruel, or delusional things. Here’s a round-up of some of the craziest things said on the record this week. It’s only Wednesday.
On Monday, during debate on SB 548 on the Senate floor, Senator Tom McGillvray (R-Billings) said “I want to suggest to this body that homeownership is a fantasy. You’ll never own your home in this state.” Sen. McGillvray voted noon SB 548, which would have given local governments more flexibility in their tax policy.
With legislators like these, who needs predatory landlords?
Also on Monday, the Senate debated SB 296, which would increase financial support for nursing homes and assisted living for Montana seniors, which are at a crisis point as facilities across the state have closed. During debate, Senator John Esp (R-Big Timber) urged his colleagues to vote no on the bill, and admitted that his reason for voting no is because SB 296 would successfully increase nursing home capacity and keep nursing homes open, and would lead to Montana seniors feeling “entitled” to accessible care.
Senator Esp said, “I submit to you that if there isn’t enough facilities, there will be some opening, because they can get Medicaid reimbursements, they can get fully paid under this bill. So I would urge you to… vote no.”
Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-Columbia Falls), who has spent much of the session introducing, sponsoring, and voting for legislation that seeks to control other people’s bodies, admitted to not knowing what an “areola” was, despite the fact that it appeared as a critical definition in his own bill to ban drag shows, HB 359, during a hearing on Tuesday.
Mitchell stooped to new lows during the hearing for HB 359, by insulting opponents to his bill, saying “there was mention about the amount of testimony on one side against this bill. Well I’m sure if we got every person in this state who is working right now, who actually has a job unlike most of the folks here it seems like, then I’m sure we’d see a pretty different ratio.”
His rude, out-of-line comment drew boos from the room, packed with Montanans who are taking time away from their jobs and families to fight for their rights and to fight against bills like HB 359.
Rounding out our top five is Rep. Ed Butcher (R-Winifred). While arguing for a constitutional amendment that would strip the right to vote for supreme court justices away from the voters and giving it to the Governor to appoint political allies to the court, Rep. Butcher insulted the intelligence of Montana voters and the drafters of the state constitution: “It's absurd to say the people have any knowledge when they go into that ballot box voting for judges….I think it's about time to quit idolizing the ‘72 convention which was not necessarily made up of geniuses.”
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