Flathead Valley Continental Divides: Kalispell, Montana News

Montana Sen. Max Baucus, who already irked liberals for his cautious approach to health care reform, is unlikely to win any of them over with his early stance on climate change legislation.

The Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday that he has “serious reservations” about a bill crafted by the Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

Baucus spoke Tuesday during the beginning of an EPW Committee hearing. From The New York Times:

"The legislation before us is about our economy," Baucus said. "Montana, with our resource-based agriculture and tourism economies, cannot afford the unmitigated impacts of climate change. But we also cannot afford the unmitigated affects of climate change legislation. That's why I support passing common-sense legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions while protecting our economy.

Why Baucus’ support matters, from POLITICO:

Baucus' positioning on climate change is important for two reasons. First, he's a moderate swing vote who represents a coal producing state that has been skeptical about serious short-term caps on emissions. Second, as Finance Committee chairman, he's got a major stake in the financing of a cap and trade proposal, so his committee is expected to rewrite parts of the EPW bill.

Montana Sen. Max Baucus gave his strongest backing yet, which is still not extraordinarily strong, for the public, or government option in the Senate health care reform bill. The statement is also a tacit show of support for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who looks likely to include a public option in any forthcoming bill – a turn of events that seemed highly unlikely during August's raucous town hall meetings across the country.

Baucus, via TalkingPointsMemo.com:

I included a public option in the health reform blueprint I released nearly one year ago, and continue to support any provision, including a public option, that will ensure choice and competition and get the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate.

It's unclear why Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan requested and received a new judge to preside over the case of Kalispell state Sen. Greg Barkus. It is the right of both the prosecution and the defense to request a new judge, and Corrigan is keeping mum on his reasons. Barkus' attorney, Todd Glazier, may yet request a new judge to preside over the case.

Certainly, having a Polson judge, as opposed to a Livingston judge, handle the court proceedings presents less logistical difficulties. While the original judge, Nels Swandal of Livingston, was going to do the arraignment via teleconference, and would possibly have had to travel up to the Flathead for the trial, should that occur, all Polson Judge Kim Christopher has to do is hop in her car and cruise 45 minutes north. (The three Flathead District judges removed themselves from the Barkus case because they worked with him on legislation in the 2009 session to add new judges to several judicial districts, including the Flathead.)

But there's another possible reason why Corrigan may have made the motion for a substitute judge: A Democrat recently passed along some information showing that Swandal is a frequent contributor to the Montana Republican Party.

According to Followthemoney.org, a Web site run by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Swandal donated hundreds of dollars to both specific Republican candidates and the state GOP in 2008.

Swandal contributed to just about every statewide GOP candidate running, all of whom lost with one exception, since 2008 was a tough election year for the GOP. Here's a quick rundown of Swandal's contributions:

Roy Brown and Steve Daines, Governor and Lt. Gov.: $50
Brad Johnson, Secretary of State: $100
Elaine Herman, Superintendent of Public Instruction: $60
Tim Fox, Attorney General: $50
Duae Grimes, State Auditor: $50
Alan Olson, Public Service Commissioner: $50
Rep. Joel Boniek, R-Livingston (who did win): $35

The data also shows Swandal giving more than $350 to the state GOP between Nov. 2007 and Oct. 2008.

Swandal did not contribute to any Democrats in 2008, according to this data. Again, there could be any number of reasons why Flathead County prosecutors may have wanted a different judge to handle this case. But considering the defendant is a long-serving Republican state lawmaker charged with three felonies, for the sake of appearances if nothing else, it's probably better that the judge presiding over the case isn't a frequent contributor to the state GOP.

Well, the sketch was weak and the impersonation was worse, but it says something about Sen. Max Baucus' increasing level of celebrity that he was featured on the opening of Saturday Night Live this weekend in a bit about health care where President Barack Obama becomes so infuriated by dithering senators that he turns into "The Rock" Obama. Personally, I do not think Baucus, if forced to bark, would sound like that, but that's obviously sheer conjecture on my part.

Despite his profile rising dramatically since the debate over how, and whether, to overhaul the nation’s health care system has escalated, few people know what Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus actually does.

Just 18 percent of those surveyed in a nationwide news quiz conducted by the Pew Research Center knew Baucus was chair of Senate Finance Committee. In fact, of the 12 multiple-choice questions asked in the quiz conducted earlier this month, the one regarding Baucus was answered incorrectly most often.

On health care, which has dominated news coverage for much of the summer, most Americans are aware that the U.S. spends more per capita on health care than most major European nations. And more than half (56%) know that the debate in Congress over a “public option” pertains to health care legislation and not some other substantive policy area. By contrast, far fewer (18%) can correctly identify Max Baucus as chair of the Senate Finance Committee that has developed legislation to reform the U.S. health care system.

UPDATED: TO CLARIFY THAT THIS WAS A NATIONWIDE SURVEY

Two Montanans made GQ’s annual list of the 50 most powerful people in Washington, D.C. Montana’s senior Sen. Max Baucus came in at No. 4 and his former top aide, now President Barack Obama’s deputy White house chief of staff, Jim Messina ranked No. 25.

GQ on Baucus: He may rep a state populated by only 967,000 people, but as chairman of the committee that controls the money (and as the recipient of very large amounts of lobbying dollars per citizen represented), Baucus controls the fate of every bill to affect all 300 million Americans. Health care? Cap and trade? Light rail? All roads lead through Baucus.

GQ on Messina: Messina is seldom in the headlines. But this 40-year-old former top aide to Baucus is now the president's designated fixer—the guy who muzzles a mouthy administration official, drops the hammer on White House military director Louis Caldera for the creepy N.Y.C. flyover last April, and strong-arms aye votes out of jittery Democrats.

Neither the president or vice president is eligible for the list, which is, of course, highly subjective. Interestingly, while House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, didn’t make the rankings, his Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., did. Boehner’s spokeman told POLITICO:

"GQ's prejudice against brightly-colored golf sweaters is well known, and it seems to have affected their judgment in this situation."

How big of deal is it that Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus was able to garner support for his health care plan from one Republican on the Senate Finance Committee? Apparently, a pretty big deal. A sampling of major media outlets on Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe’s vote:

NPR: She made Sen. Max Baucus's day, and maybe his summer and fall, too. The Finance chairman finally has a Republican vote to show for his deliberate and compromise-laden approach to remaking the health system. "When history calls, history calls," she said.

NYT Prescriptions Blog: Senator Baucus has a big smile as he addresses Senator Kerry. He must feel that his lengthy efforts have been rewarded by winning Senator Snowe’s support; think how grim this would look if she had gone the other way.

WP The Fix: Snowe's support for the bill means that Democrats can afford to lose one of their own and still have the 60 votes they need to break filibusters and bring the legislation to the floor. That means that someone -- someone like Ben Nelson, perhaps -- may be able to vote "no" without bringing the entire health care reform process to a grinding halt.

WSJ: Clinching the vote of Ms. Snowe was a huge victory for Democrats, who spent months trying to win bipartisan support for the bill. "Is this bill all that I would want?" she asked the panel earlier Tuesday. "Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls."

NYP: The committee approval marked a personal victory for Baucus. Four other congressional committees finished their work before August, and for months all eyes had been on the Finance panel, whose moderate makeup most closely resembles the Senate as a whole.

It should be noted that Snowe has said her vote in committee does not mean she will support the final health care legislation. Nonetheless, after a series of bad days, it appears Baucus finally had a good one.

Chris Bowers at openleft.com wrote last week that he does – at least Sen. Charles Schumer’s version:

I have just received word that Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) would vote in favor of Senator Schumer's "level playing field" public option.

This pushes the Senate whip count to 51, even without Joe Biden casting a tie-breaking vote.

But Tester was far less committal when Dan Testa asked him about the public option Friday:

While Baucus has seen his national profile raised dramatically, for better or worse, through his health care work, Tester has not been outspoken on the issue, repeatedly saying he would wait to see a final bill and analyze its cost before committing to any votes. He maintained that stance Friday, even when questioned about frustration by some on the left about his unwillingness to step up in support of the so-called “public option,” which would allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry.

“What they’ve got to realize is that if you commit to a public option, they put anything in front of you, you’ve got to vote for it. I want to see it; I’ll make sure it works,” Tester said of a bill containing the public option. “If it gets to the floor and it works for Montana I’ll support it. If it doesn’t, I won't.”