In what might prove to be one of the few interesting statewide races in Montana next year, Tyler Gernant, a young Missoula attorney and Democrat, is gunning for U.S. Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg’s seat. But to do that, Gernant will first have to go through Dennis McDonald, the former state chairman of the Democrats who is also running for Congress. In a release today, Gernant called on McDonald to support the principles of health care reform laid out by President Barack Obama in his address to Congress last week.
In June, McDonald announced his support for a single-payer health care plan – a much more significant overhaul of the U.S. health care system than what Democrats are likely to muscle through Congress.
“Families in Montana are struggling, and right now we have the chance to seize on health care reform that will ensure everyone has access to the medical care they deserve,” McDonald said in a June 29 release. “The rumors that we cannot afford a single payer plan are false, rather, what we cannot afford is further delay.”
Gernant today sent out a release questioning a fund-raising e-mail from McDonald last week that piggybacks somewhat on Obama’s speech.
“Before any utterance of support or taking me up on my request that we unite around the President, Dennis McDonald felt it was more important to send out a fundraising email in the middle of the night,” Gernant is quoted as saying in the release. “Earlier this year Dennis stated his support for a health care plan that is far from what President Obama and I support. Before trying to take advantage of such a hot issue for the sake of lining his bank account, I am calling on Mr. McDonald once again to join the President and me, and I am hoping he can provide all of us with a clear statement.”
Gernant also called on Rehberg to get behind Obama’s plan, a request that seems … unlikely to be fulfilled.
But beyond this early round of press release salvos is an interesting political narrative taking shape in congressional districts all over the U.S. right now as candidates and incumbents size up their election prospects and determine how health care reform fits into it all. McDonald, ostensibly the establishment Democratic candidate, has veered left in calling for single-payer. It’s a tack that could help him win a Democratic primary but could prove tougher in a general election.
Rehberg, like many House Republicans, is basically opposed to nearly all of the health care measures rolled out by Democrats. He recently called for a 30-day period once there is a single piece of health care legislation to debate so members of Congress can hear from their constituents about the bill. Since that went SO well last month. But Democrats are already portraying Rehberg’s highly unrealistic request for an additional 30-day recess as a wish for more vacation. (And, from a purely political standpoint, it will be interesting to see when, if ever, the Aug. 27 boat crash becomes campaign fodder.)
Then there’s Gernant, a relative unknown and by far the youngest candidate to announce so far aligning himself to the right of McDonald by proclaiming his support for whatever specific bill Obama ends up getting behind.
To the extent that any of these stances mean anything to voters in November 2010 will depend on how significant the health care reform bill ends up being, its price tag and whether people still care about it more than a year from now. Whatever passes isn’t likely to take effect until several years later, so it’s mainly going to be something candidates can point to and say what it will do – for better or worse. Like every other issue, that will hinge on the economy. If the economy is recovering in a strong way, the health care battle may be a distant memory for voters and a point of pride for Democrats as one of their signal achievements, but if the economy is still in the dumps, and Republicans can point to a costly new law, it’s hard to see how that could help the Democrats in Montana.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Montana’s Democratic congressional candidates position themselves concerning other issues, including the Afghan War, national economy, climate change legislation and others. Enjoy this relatively quiet political season while it lasts.