Gianforte can't hide from narrow agenda
Clips Round Up: Gianforte Can’t Hide from His Narrow Agenda
In An Attempt To Reinvent Himself, Gianforte Is Met With Flubbed Campaign Kick-Off
(Helena) - Over the last few weeks, billionaire Greg Gianforte used his brand new organization to kick off a statewide tour in a desperate attempt to reinvent himself before his inevitable run for governor, but his narrow agenda caught up with him, causing him to stumble out of the gate.
GIANFORTE TRIPS ON OUT-OF-TOUCH STATEMENT ON RETIREMENT
Huffington Post: Gianforte Believes Seniors Have an “Obligation To Work” & “Retirement Is Not Biblical” Gianforte’s biggest stumble: a front-page profile by the Huffington Post on his statement suggesting seniors should never have the choice to retire because such a practice is never mentioned in the Bible.
“There’s nothing in the Bible that talks about retirement. And yet it’s been an accepted concept in our culture today.” He continued, “The example I think of is Noah. How old was Noah when he built the ark? 600. He wasn’t like, cashing Social Security checks, he wasn’t hanging out, he was working. So, I think we have an obligation to work. The role we have in work may change over time, but the concept of retirement is not biblical.” [6/10/15]
Billings Gazette: Retirees protest in Billings at Gianforte’s meeting
Gianforte’s comments on retirement were met with concern as “gray-haired Billings protesters picketed potential Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte over comments he made in February about working into old age. “He is criticizing people for retiring and picking up a Social Security check and he thinks they’re lazy. That’s not fair,” said one protestor. [6/15/15]
GIANFORTE CAN’T DEFEND EXTREME RECORD ON PRIVATIZING EDUCATION
Havre Daily News: Gianforte has “No Comment” on Efforts To Privatize MT Schools
When faced with tough questions on his record of pursuing policies and financing groups that aim to funnel public tax dollars away from public education in favor of private and charter schools, Gianforte told the Havre Daily News “no comment”. [6/11/15]
GREG GIANFORTE ISN’T BEING HONEST WITH MONTANANS ON WHO IS FUNDING HIS CAMPAIGN
Montana Standard: “report, disclose...whether it’s required by law or not”
The Montana Standard first reported that Gianforte was giving a run for governor “serious consideration”, but that when asked, “replied bluntly, ‘I’m not a candidate.”
Furthermore, Commissioner of Political Practices, Jonathan Motl, called on Gianforte to be transparent with Montanans, saying, “Anybody running for office is well-served if they take the highest road they can,” Motl said. “I would think that it would seem to be in the public interest — and Gianforte’s — right out of the box, to report, disclose, make the information available to the public, whether it’s required by law or not.” [6/7/15]
Montana Standard: What is Gianforte hiding from Montanans?
Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Nancy Keenan wrote, “the bottom line is that – unlike a lot of other places – we expect honesty in our elected officials. So for Mr. Gianforte, that starts with telling Montanans whether he’s running for governor. If he is, then he needs to be upfront and honest about who is paying for his campaign and what he stands for. Because if he wants to lead Montanans, it’s about time he started acting like one.” [6/12/15]
Missoulian: What is Gianforte hiding from Montanans
Great Falls Tribune: What is Gianforte hiding from Montanans
Great Falls Tribune: “Massive Personal Wealth”, “Humans And Dinosaurs Coexisted”
In light of his very likely run for Governor, the Great Falls Tribune wrote that Greg Gianforte, who has “massive personal wealth”, made numerous politically-motivated contributions that “include money for a dinosaur museum in Glendive that holds a biblical perspective that the world was created a few thousand years ago and humans and dinosaurs coexisted.” [6/3/15]
In addition, MSU-B political scientist Craig Wilson compared Gianforte to the Copper Kings of early-1900s Butte, who used their massive wealth to purchase political power.
Courtesy of
Bryan Watt