Flathead Valley Continental Divides: Kalispell, Montana News

It appears Jane Howington, the woman chosen as Kalispell’s new city manager, made few controversial decisions during her previous stint as city manager of Oxford, Ohio. Rap fans, however, may have reason to worry. In 2003, Howington tried to stop Miami University from hosting a 50 Cent concert out of public safety concerns. She wrote a letter to the university’s president, according to the Dayton Daily News:

`This `event' is putting the entire community at risk, an action that I most vehemently oppose,' Howington wrote. `If any problems occur, Miami will be accountable in answering to the community, the student body and their parents.' 50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, grew up in a rough part of Queens, had a drug dealer for a mother, and became a crack dealer by the age of 12. He's done time in prison, was stabbed in 1999 and shot nine times at close range in 2000.

The concert went ahead without incident.

After serving for seven years as the city manager of Oxford, Howington is the assistant city manager in Dayton.

Television ads critical of taxing health benefits and pressuring Montana Sen. Max Baucus to oppose the idea began airing across the state Tuesday. They were then abruptly taken down. Here’s why, from USA Today:

On the same day the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) began running television ads on taxing health benefits a spokesman for the union said today they will take at least some of them back down. Specifically, LIUNA spokesman Jacob Hay says the union will pull the ads in Montana following a request by Montana Democrat Sen. Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Commitee.

"Senator Baucus’ office reached out to LIUNA with a request to meet and attempt to resolve the health care tax issue. The senator’s office requested that we stop the ads until that time. We agreed to do so and expect the ads to be held back starting tomorrow," Hay wrote USA TODAY in an e-mail.

Read the whole story hear.

Christopher Beam on Slate has a really smart piece today about how polling on health care reform is totally uninformative, since it's one of those issues so complex as to defy simple characterization. It's one of those articles that doesn't really move the discussion forward, so much as it helps you understand how tough reforming the U.S. health care system is going to be, if it happens at all, as well as demonstrate how easy it is for politicians on either side of this issue to cherry pick statistics favorable to their view.

And it also shows how paradoxical poll results can be. You know, like those polls where people say they prefer a smaller, more limited government, but on specific programs, people also say they support policies and programs that tend to lead to a larger, expanded government presence.

Poll questions typically break down into two categories. There are questions that measure core beliefs and values. Do you like your health care plan? Do you think it costs too much? Does the system need to be reformed? In general, responses to these core beliefs questions are steady over time, and respondents know exactly what they think about them.

But then there are complex policy questions. Should we force employers to offer insurance? Should individuals be forced to buy it? Do you support a "co-op" plan as opposed to a full public plan? With these questions, responses vary widely depending on the presentation. The phrase "tax your benefits" sounds unappealing in a vacuum. But when people are told that taxing benefits could pay for health care reform and more, they're more receptive.

As a result, health care polling can offer unhelpful data. Republicans often point to high levels of satisfaction with current health care plans as evidence that reform is unnecessary. Indeed, a whopping 83 percent of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their health care. But dig down into specifics—particularly cost, continued coverage, and the overall health care system in this country—and they have nothing but concerns. For example, many people like their health care plan but support a public option just in case they lose their job. So when people say they're "satisfied," argues Mark Blumenthal of Pollster.com, "It's, I'm satisfied, please dear God don't take it away."

U.S. congressional candidate Dennis McDonald announced Monday that he backs a single-payer health care plan. His stance is not only at odds with many Republicans, but also some elected officials in his own party. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, who is spearheading reform in the U.S. Senate, has been lukewarm at best to the single-payer option. And many Democratic committee leaders are looking at a plan that would compete with, but not eliminate, private health insurance.

For McDonald, that's not enough. From a press release:

Melville, Mont. – US Congressional candidate Dennis McDonald is today announcing his support for a single-payer health care plan. Over 100 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, and when coupled with the high costs of health care it is clear that we can delay no longer in enacting comprehensive health care reform.

There is overwhelming public support for a single payer plan here in America. And as families continue to struggle financially across Montana, providing relief from high health care costs is a priority for McDonald.

According to McDonald, “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. The rumors that we cannot afford a single payer plan are false, rather, what we cannot afford is further delay.”

McDonald, chair of the Montana Democratic Party, is hoping to unseat Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., in 2010.

In response to the U.S. House passing a landmark climate bill Friday evening, Montana Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg, who voted “nay,” sent out the following statement:

"Less than a year ago, I joined colleagues on the House floor to demand an all-of-the-above energy policy. The lights were down and the microphones were off because Congress had gone on vacation – a vacation that most Americans couldn’t afford to take because gas prices were too high. It's almost unbelievable the House just passed an energy tax that is specifically designed to raise energy prices for all Americans, rich and poor. Cap and Tax will hurt Montana families, cost Montana jobs and kick entire Montana industries to the curb. While there's no good time for this destructive policy, I can think of few worse times for it than in our current economic condition."

The Great Falls Tribune has more.

The Montana Chamber of Commerce released its report card from the 2009 Legislature, rating how lawmakers voted on various business issues. Unsurprisingly, most of the Flathead’s conservative Republican senators and representatives scored quite high.

In my experience, I’ve found that legislators tend to be irritated by these types of ratings, whether they come from business groups or conservation groups, primarily because they tend to over simplify how lawmakers vote on one bill or another, and often fail to take into account the complexity of certain parliamentary procedures. While that may sound like an excuse, it isn’t.

More explanation and Flathead lawmakers' ratings after the jump.

A new film biography of Jeannette Rankin, the Montanan and first woman elected to Congress in 1916. While she is a well-known historical figure here in Montana, with a large statue of her in the Capitol and the peace center in Missoula, it remains somewhat remarkable how someone with her story remains unknown to so many students of political history.

The movie, by L.A. filmmaker Kamala Lopez, was released in 2008 and trailers and information are now available at its Web site, ASingleWomanMovie.com. Martin Sheen narrated, and Judd Nelson, among other stars, acted in what looks like a pretty interesting flick.

Major news outlets continue to line up to profile Montana Sen. Max Baucus, whose ranking has risen dramatically since taking the lead in the government’s push to overhaul the health care system. In Tuesday’s New York Times:

As President Obama’s effort to overhaul the health care system seems to hit one roadblock after another in Congress, he is counting on Senator Max Baucus, a political shape-shifter and crafty deal maker who is not fully trusted by either party, to help him clinch his top domestic priority.

Other Democratic lawmakers can claim more experience on health issues, or can boast of far more legislative achievements. But more than anyone else, Mr. Baucus, the Montana Democrat and centrist chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, may have the best shot at getting his committee’s measure passed into law.

The story repeats several points made in previous profiles of Baucus but is still worth a read.