A Coup Attempt, A Budget Proposal And COVID Confusion
Montana lawmakers had very different takes on Wednesday s insurrection and the unfounded claims that fueled it. Gov. Gianforte released his budget proposal. And the Legislature started out with confusing and contradictory COVID-19 protocols.
Listen now on
Capitol Talk, with MTPR s Sally Mauk, Lee Newspapers State Bureau Chief Holly Michels and UM Political Science Professor Rob Saldin.
Editor s Note: We apologize that Capitol Talk aired Saturday morning instead of its usual time Friday evening. It will return to its normal schedule next Friday.
Capitol Talk is an analysis program, and we took the additional time to make clear that an Op-Ed co-authored by our regular contributor Rob Saldin of the University of Montana Mansfield Center and Political Science Department that ran in Montana newspapers this week is an opinion piece separate from and outside of this analysis program.
Tester: D.C. Insurrection Was A Terrorist Act
On Wednesday, pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., breaking down doors and forcing their way into both the Senate and House chambers. MTPR’s Aaron Bolton spoke with Montana’s Democratic Sen. Jon Tester about what he calls an attempted coup.
Aaron Bolton If you could just walk me through your experience at the Capitol yesterday as the mob breached the doors of the Capitol.
Jon Tester I did not go to the joint session. I was in my office preparing remarks to be delivered after the Pennsylvania objection. And I was watching this on TV at the time as I was working here in the office. The mob was getting bigger and bigger. And then I saw them break through the line of the fences that they put up. And and pretty soon they were inside the Capitol. They had broken out windows using crowbars to, to, to, to break out windows or pull down doors or whatever would be. I found out since that when they hit the doors
Welcome to the first episode of
Parsing the Press, a look at current issues and how they re being presented in the Montana press. Veteran journalist and author Gwen Florio joins MTPR s Sally Mauk for the weekly analysis.
Sally Mauk Gwen, the events this week in Washington, DC, with the storming of the Capitol by an angry mob egged on by the president of the United States was not what I thought we would be talking about in our first show. But here we are. And I want to start with a blunt editorial your old newspaper, the
Missoulian, ran calling on Montana Senator Steve Daines, Congressman Matt Rosendale and Governor Greg Gianforte to apologize to Montanans for contesting the presidential election, which the editorial board believes enabled the capital riot. And these editorials are not written by news reporters, but an independent group that often includes the newspaper publisher. And I want to read the last sentence of that editorial, which is addressed to those men, Make it ri
Daines Flips on Election Certification, Rosendale Stands Firm
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Here s an update to the story we brought to you earlier in the week, Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) now says he will support the certification of the presidential election results.
Daines spokeswoman Katie Schoettler released this statement from the senator s office late Wednesday:
As stated from the beginning, the Senator s goal was to raise concerns for Americans who lack confidence in our elections, and to drive reforms to restore integrity, confidence and trust into our electoral process. It was never an attempt to overturn the election. Congress role to count the electoral vote was a platform to raise these priorities - that s why he objected to Arizona. In light of the deplorable violence, and the assault on our constitution and law enforcement, the Senator believed it was best for our nation to move forward with as much unity as possible, and affirm the results