I met the wonderful former MT Governor, Steve Bullock

[MontanaMama]

today at the airport in Missoula! I was dropping off some friends and there he was loading his bags into the back of a vehicle. I’m usually pretty darned shy…but I walked right over to him and introduced myself and told him how much we missed him. He shook my hand and said “Thank you.” My husband walked over and shook his hand and said the same…Governor Bullock looked at us both and said “what a time we’re in, huh?” We agreed…Montana is in a scary place.

I didn’t bother him any longer…I wished him well and thanked him for his time. It was a cool Montana moment.

[question everything]

1. I wish that he had a better success in the Presidential primaries

I donated but was not enough

[MontanaMama]

13. I donated too.

He wasn’t a perfect candidate but I believe he is honest and well intentioned.

[rurallib]

2. I met him out here in Iowa when he ran for president

He was my #2 pick behind Liz Warren.

He was a great guy and the most down-to-earth candidate I had ever met by far. Everybody called him Steve and he was on the same level as all others.

He answered questions straight forward without hemming and hawing.
I was hoping Biden would find a spot for him in the admin.

[mjvpi]

8. Warren/ Bullock was my dream team.

Montana failed electing Daines in 2020

[MontanaMama]

15. You got that right.

Still licking our wounds…

[Sogo]

12. I met him then, too.

I was really impressed, and he was my first choice until he dropped out. Then I was for Sen. Klobuchar.

[MontanaMama]

14. I am still hopeful he has a place in

national politics.

[cilla4progress]

3. I'm sorry, MM.

I sure hope Montana politics turn around. I feel like vultures have set up on it.

Very cool that you met him and got to speak with him and share your admiration!

Hang tough and know there are folks out here keeping you in mind!

[MontanaMama]

16. Thanks cilla.

I feel like we have a chance to rally common sense and turn this titanic around.

[Fla Dem]

4. Glad you and your husband had this wonderful opportunity.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. What a cool moment! Good for you!

And how nice that he was gracious. It sounds like he “gets it” about the circumstances we face today. He always seemed like a good guy to me.

As far as approachability, Tim Ryan has always been is “it” for me. Ran into him and had a nice chat several times. I’m still inconsolable that he lost to that ignoramus Vance.

[MontanaMama]

17. Tim Ryan is a gem.

He seems, from my perspective, honest and authentic. I don’t have to agree with someone 100% but if we can at least have a conversation and agree that we’re all people who basically want and need the same things….well, we’re on our way to something good.

Glad to see you DD.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Incredibly cool! And good for you!

No doubt he appreciated the positive feedback and I know that I would probably have hesitated and missed the one chance!

[MontanaMama]

18. Oh my gosh. I was nervous!

I don’t do things like that…except this time I did.

[Rhiannon12866]

23. Well, I'm impressed that you stepped up when you had the chance.

The closest that I've come to that was when President Clinton came to my little burg in 2006 to campaign for our Democratic congressional candidate. I heard him speak and he is one brilliant speaker! My friend went up to the front and managed to shake his hand - I was just thrilled to see an actual president in person!

[BOSSHOG]

7. Way back in the 70's I met my Governor.

Bill Clinton. Coolest dude in the room.

[MontanaMama]

19. Boy howdy.

Indeed he was…and is.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. I heard him speak in person back in 2006

When he came to my little burg here in New York to campaign for the Democratic congressional candidate - and I couldn't agree more, he is one brilliant and inspiring speaker!

[we can do it]

9. Nice! Still my favorite place is in Montana, Glacier NP.

[MontanaMama]

20. GNP is magical.

I live two hours from there and don’t go as often as I should. You have to get a ticket now to get in….too many people and it’s hard on the resource. Times have changed.

[mountain grammy]

10. I really liked Governor Bullock

He took over a Denver radio talk show for a week when the host went on vacation..many years ago. I think it was David Sirota. Really enjoyed the Governor. He was a regular guest.

I sure hope Tester can hold his seat. It's gotten crazy in Montana. I always thought most Montanans were conservative but not stupid and not religious fanatics.
Anyway, I love that state in the summer.

[MontanaMama]

21. Most Montanans consider themselves

conservative, I believe. However, when the rubber hits the road, I wonder if they really are truly as right leaning as they think they are. There’s no denying we have a fascist Governor currently…that said, I remain hopeful good Montanans will persevere and we will get our state back.

[LaMouffette]

11. That's wonderful that you had the chance to meet him, MontanaMama! I have huge respect and

admiration for Governor Bullock, most especially for the fact that he fought the good fight against "dark money." And I was crushed when Bullock term limited out of being governor and we ended up with the vile Greg Gianforte.

Gianforte terms out in 2028. Hopefully, but unlikely, he will get voted out in 2024. But at least he'll be gone in 2028, UNLESS the Montana legislature decides, conveniently, to do away with term limits for (Republican!) governors by then. I would not put it past them.

We are in a very sad time here in Montana right now.

[MontanaMama]

22. We are in very dark times at the moment.

And, I try to remember that we still have abortion rights and voting rights!! Let’s focus on what we have and what we need to do…vote Gianforte OUT in 2024. He is, as you say, vile beyond measure.

I’m with you.

[LaMouffette]

26. Yes, incredibly enough, we do still have abortion and voting rights... and Jon Tester!

Here's to hanging onto all three in 2024, or whenever Jon is up for reelection. He's one of the good ones, too!

[2naSalit]

25. Hopefully...

Governor greg will be voted out before he terms out.

The legislature is preparing to change our state Constitution so they can ban abortion in the state right now.

My only hope, right now, is that we can get it back but it's going to be hard and bloody. We got our second US House seat back, hope it doesn't take that long this time.

[LaMouffette]

27. God, I hope you're right that he'll be voted out. Hoping so much that the people moving here from

other places are NOT all rich Republicans, but also lovely liberal Democrats who can help us vote the a-hole out!

[2naSalit]

28. Sure would be nice...

If the national element of the party would come and help in our elections. The main reason the Rs won was that the magats were all over this state like stink on sh*t and they showed up.

If we hadn't been written off back in 2020, we would probably be in a far better place right now.

[MontanaMama]

30. THIS.

Lots of Montana is far less red than it appears from the outside. We are definitely blue here in Missoula and I would wager a guess that we are strongly purple in other areas. I too wish the national Democratic Party would invest in our races.

[LaMouffette]

31. Exactly! Monica Tranel said at a fundraiser I attended that she had ZERO funding from the DNC.

Zero or very little. Not sure now. But they need to quit writing off Montana. We've become part of the fly-over states.

[2naSalit]

33. And they fail to recognize the impact...

We have on the environment, like probably a quarter of the water for everything west of the Mississippi among other major factors and our representatives have become nonrepresentative of the of the greater good.

[LaMouffette]

34. You're right. Montana is "The Treasure State," and Repubes see it as a treasure to be looted,

not a treasure to be enjoyed by everyone.

Something Rob Quist said at a fundraiser in 2017 really stuck with me. He said that Democrats look at a mountain and say, "I'd like to hike that!" and Republicans look at a mountain and say, "I'd like to own that!"

Too true.

[2naSalit]

35. Indeed.

Back then, I had a couple well to do friends who were supporting him, went to a couple meet 'n' greets.

I ran into him at Chico one afternoon, he was taking a couple days break but he sat and chatted with me for about fifteen minutes regarding issues he might address in DC. I really liked him and his perspective.

And look what we ended up with, a paved on-ramp for the attempted coup.

Now the state has become an incubator for future coup attempts with legislative help. It's troubling to say the least.

[LaMouffette]

37. Yeah, I just googled him because I couldn't remember who he was running against. How could I forget,

right? The vile Gianforte.

In one of the articles that came up, they quoted a Republican voter who said, "I really like the guy in the cowboy hat, but he's not a Republican, so I'm voting for Gianforte."

Maybe it's time for us to pull a Manchin and run some Democrats-in-Republican-clothing for office.

On second thought, naaah. That's something the R's would do. It's beneath us to stoop to their dirty tricks.

[MontanaMama]

29. I have the same concern about the out of staters who have moved to Montana.

In Missoula, we’ve been overrun by Texans. Lots of folks from Washington and California as well, but they are less of a worry. Maybe the Texans didn’t vote in the midterms here in Missoula… I don’t know… But Missoula voted overwhelmingly democratic up and down the ballot. It was thrilling.

[LaMouffette]

32. Yeah, at first I was pleased to hear that people are moving to Montana, thinking, "California Dems!"

But then I heard that Republicans were also moving here, because they were attracted to how red Montana is.

So it's scary and hopeful at the same time!

By the way, congratulations on Missoula voting Dem all the way!!! We lived in Missoula for the first two years when we first moved to Montana, and I hope to move back in a couple of years, except then Ravalli County will lose two Democratic voters!

I wish I knew of a way to attract more Dems to the Bitterroot.

[MontanaMama]

36. My mother in law lives in Stevensville.

She’s been a staunch democrat her whole life but i am starting to see some red rub off on her. Amazing how insidious Republican views are.

[LaMouffette]

38. Stevensville is a ruby-red town, I fear, although I do know quite a few Dems there.

I hope your influence will keep your mom out of their clutches!