Chaos staged to sop the vote

In a desperate attempt to keep two ballot referendums from reaching the people of Montana, democrat senators staged unprecedented chaos at the state capitol on Friday. After an initial plot to disrupt proceedings failed, they resorted to mob rule -- yelling, ranting, raving, and slamming coffee mugs on their desks. They incited their allies in the audience, who in turn began hanging over the balcony rails to scream and stomp and jeer. They did everything, just short of riot, to disrupt the legislative process. It was unbelievable.

Republicans attempted to carry out the day’s business with civility because we knew the democrats had planned a dirty trick. As it played out, the usually dignified senate chamber was utterly consumed by the deafening tirade of the unruly mob, now numbering in the hundreds. We could not hear the President speak into the microphone. We could not hear the clerk record the vote. All we could do was watch the reader board and try to push our “yea” or “nay” buttons at the right time.

Knowing an interruption had been staged to cause us to miss Friday’s key deadline, republicans had been forewarned to stay calm, stay seated, and focus on our business. Even so, the noise and pressure were so intense some of us missed a few votes. Democrat senators, intent on stopping the vote, didn’t even vote on the more agreeable legislation before the body. Some very good bills failed because they would not do their duty.

The mayhem began shortly after 12pm when the Senate convened for a daily floor session. Democrat minority leader John Sesso declared one of his members “absent”. This was strange because normally an absent senator is simply excused. But in this case, Democrats threatened to make a “call of the senate”. Such an extreme action would cause a total lock down of the senate chamber and halt all business until the missing senator was found.

Initially we were very concerned for the safety of our colleague, but we soon learned the “missing senator trick” had been staged to prevent two republican-backed bills from being voted on before the deadline. The Governor can’t veto ballot referendums and democrats feared they didn’t have the votes to defeat the legislation democratically. So they fabricated the missing senator story. When that failed, they erupted into rebellion unlike the capitol had ever seen before. It was scary.At issue were Senate Bill 408 and Senate Bill 405. These are ballot referendums that would allow you, the people, to decide on revisions to election laws. SB 408 will ask voters whether the top two vote getters in a primary should advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. SB 405 asks if same-day voter registration should be discontinued. Last fall, same-day voter registration caused enormous lines and delays at the polls, especially in the bigger cities. Overcrowding actually drove many voters away, and in some cases not enough ballots were available for those who braved the long lines. If the referendum is approved voter registration will close at 5pm the Friday before the election, allowing for more orderly elections.

Ironically, the democrat leadership vehemently objects to voters deciding these issues. Apparently they believe Election Day turmoil is a good thing, just as they believed chaos in the capitol would be to their advantage last Friday. I am grateful the Republican majority held firm to order and integrity. Civility prevailed and it seems like everyone has settled down now. Hopefully we can all get back to the business the people sent us here to do.