So when a reporter from theguardian ben jacobs asked the republican candidate Greg Gianforte a question at a campaign event at his campaign headquarter he got bodyslamed by him. The special election for the house seat vacated by Ryan Zinke is being held tommorrow. The election looks close according to internal polling from democrats and republicans. Audio of the altercation is in theguardian article linked below.
Heh. The election is tomorrow, and the MT Dems seemed determined to lose from the beginning with their nomination of Rob Quist. I'd be shocked (though happy) if Gianforte loses, but I don't hold much hope for that.
These events brought to you by the same state whose recent political events have included a secretary riding a horse through Washington DC and a state congressman shooting down drones with a rifle in his campaign ads.
Glad to see my state getting some love on the national stage!
Edit: Gianforte lost the governor's race in November, so part of me wants him to lose solely so I can see what office he tries to buy next.
Also, one of my friends who is intimately connected with the legal scene in Bozeman just told me Gianforte has been arrested and charged with assault in Gallatin County. A large part of my drunken self feels bad about putting forth this type of gossip, but given the nature of this forum, who cares.
The guy is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He's not going to jail.
Yep,but he may be affected by what he did yesterday for the rest of his political career
I hope he doesn't have a political career. The guy is a clown.
But...
Montana goes through a version of this every election cycle. Like most rural states who have seen their agrarian way of life ravaged by globalization and industrial farms, they're stuck between reminiscing about "Montana values" (whatever this even means) and the need for "good jobs." In the 21st century, it's hard to have both.
One of my sisters is a lawyer and the other a microbiologist, and both of them left the state because it was just way easier, given their skills, to make money on the west coast. In this regard, Gianforte, who made his fortune in the tech industry, IS a good representative of new, high-paying jobs, yet those jobs - that often rely on non-Montana workers - have driven up real estate prices in areas like Bozeman, rendering that Montanan way of life impossible for a a lot of _____ generation folks who are seeing an influx of those dastardly "out of staters."
I hope he doesn't have a political career. The guy is a clown.
But...
Montana goes through a version of this every election cycle. Like most rural states who have seen their agrarian way of life ravaged by globalization and industrial farms, they're stuck between reminiscing about "Montana values" (whatever this even means) and the need for "good jobs." In the 21st century, it's hard to have both.
One of my sisters is a lawyer and the other a microbiologist, and both of them left the state because it was just way easier, given their skills, to make money on the west coast. In this regard, Gianforte, who made his fortune in the tech industry, IS a good representative of new, high-paying jobs, yet those jobs - that often rely on non-Montana workers - have driven up real estate prices in areas like Bozeman, rendering that Montanan way of life impossible for a a lot of _____ generation folks who are seeing an influx of those dastardly "out of staters."
Stick to the beginning of your comment, and get rid of the rest. Making an argument for throwing the baby out with the bathwater doesn't help.
I hope he doesn't have a political career. The guy is a clown.
But...
Montana goes through a version of this every election cycle. Like most rural states who have seen their agrarian way of life ravaged by globalization and industrial farms, they're stuck between reminiscing about "Montana values" (whatever this even means) and the need for "good jobs." In the 21st century, it's hard to have both.
One of my sisters is a lawyer and the other a microbiologist, and both of them left the state because it was just way easier, given their skills, to make money on the west coast. In this regard, Gianforte, who made his fortune in the tech industry, IS a good representative of new, high-paying jobs, yet those jobs - that often rely on non-Montana workers - have driven up real estate prices in areas like Bozeman, rendering that Montanan way of life impossible for a a lot of _____ generation folks who are seeing an influx of those dastardly "out of staters."
Stick to the beginning of your comment, and get rid of the rest. Making an argument for throwing the baby out with the bathwater doesn't help.
How am I throwing the baby out with the bathwater? (I may or may not be drunk, so I'm not trying to be combative)
You can easily say the same (yet different) things about Quist. He's a successful musician who plays upon a uniquely Montanan mystique. In terms of financial status, he's vastly more representative of MT than Gianforte could ever hope to be. Regarding "Montana values," his persona is spot-on.
But...
His performances in debates and public speaking engagements have been entirely underwhelming. And if you put a gun to my head, while I think Gianforte's views on things like science are comical and dangerous, he can point to actual results, in terms of bringing money to this state. MT industry has been, and continues to be, antiquated; Gianforte's past addresses this while Quist's doesn't. My point in this, while I didn't expand upon it in my initial comment, was that this race seems to illustrate, in a very strong way, the struggles an often-forgotten state has wrestled with for the last 30 years.
Don't get me wrong. I'm sure as shit not voting for Gianforte tomorrow (though in fairness, nothing that has happened in the last 24 hours has affected this).
@Bullet_Sponge: may or may not be drunk? Thats funny.
I just mean you say he's a whack-job but one that might be able to better the job market in Montana (and if that is the case why run for federal office -- why not state?)
Why would a Montanan want their Representative to be so thin-skinned that he can't tolerate a question regarding his parties most major (and controversial) piece of legislation by electing someone who sees choke slamming a journalist as an acceptable action.
@Bullet_Sponge: may or may not be drunk? Thats funny.
I just mean you say he's a whack-job but one that might be able to better the job market in Montana (and if that is the case why run for federal office -- why not state?)
Why would a Montanan want their Representative to be so thin-skinned that he can't tolerate a question regarding his parties most major (and controversial) piece of legislation by electing someone who sees choke slamming a journalist as an acceptable action.
I don't have an answer for you . You'd need to find some Gianforte supporters. I didn't vote for the guy in November, and I'm not voting for him now.
My guess would be the line goes like this though: "Rob Quist doesn't pay his bills, isn't an actual sportsman, and wants to take away my guns. Gianforte ran a successful business and supports my Christian values. He's what we need moving forward!" I think that's a VAST oversimplification of issues MT faces, but hey, that's what we do in politics.
I think both candidates ran TV commercials that involved them shooting televisions with shotguns too. /facepalm
Bodyslammed? Are you sure he didn't just fall on top of the reporter? :p
In any case, no biggie...just following the president's example. Apparently Trump's pushing prime-ministers out of the way so he can be at the front of the group for the photos. Classy!
the fucked up thing is this will get him MORE support.
I was thinking the same thing.
They post the results yet?
He's already been charged with assault which means he'll inevitably have a court hearing. Will be interesting to see what happens to his position when that happens (given that he wins).
Just saw this on phillip Defranco, it's funny he could still win the vote. Though too be honest I've wanted to kick the shit out of a Journalist especially those at Buzzfeed, BBC, Sky news, Fox, CNN etc.
the fucked up thing is this will get him MORE support.
I was thinking the same thing.
They post the results yet?
He's already been charged with assault which means he'll inevitably have a court hearing. Will be interesting to see what happens to his position when that happens (given that he wins).
Apparently, if he wins the net effect will be nothing according to an ethics expert:
Dammmmmmmmmmmmmmmn...so not only outright assault, but lying about it (is that fraud?). And a public official, no less.
If this does not result in some sort of jail time, I will be disappointed. At the very least I want to see him on the side of the road for 20 hours a month picking up garbage in an orange vest. At the very least.
@n64dd said:
@zaryia said:
@n64dd said:
I'll be honest....kind of impressed. Should have given him the Macho Man's elbow drop to get the 3 count.
Stone Cold stunner imo.
People's Elbow? He had so many options.
The Gianforte Enforcer?
Gianforte-Guardian Gainer Assault?
The Liberal Libel Leaping Clothesline Attack?
Idunno this guy has a future. Look at that mug, too!
This Summer, he's gonna reach through your screens and beat the SJW outta you, hippie! Only on Pay Per View! $89.99...
That statement is absolutely incredible. We really are in a post fact world where politicians can say and do whatever they want without any kind of consequences. And then you have his Republican colleagues not coming out to condemn him and if anything minimizing the situation. What kind of party does the GOP want to be where assault and violence is totally within the realm of reasonable behaviour?
And that bit in the statement about "liberal journalist" just bothers me... it implies what he did is somehow okay because the reporter is supposedly a liberal. That campaign statement is very clearly framed to Gianforte's base. Jacob's question wasn't even aggressive - it was a typical question an elected official would receive.
And then Gianforte goes on to lie about it knowing the people who watch FOX News and read Breitbart will believe everything he says despite Jacob's view of the incident was corroborated by everyone around them + there is audio evidence of it. How the heck do you persuade someone like that with facts?
A politician has committed misdemeanour assault and he is being defended. I'm in disbelief but at this point I really shouldn't be. Where do we go from here? Is Trump going to prove his theory about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and not losing his core support?
Apparently most of the vote is already in due to early voting and mail-in ballots. Gianforte may actually win this thing but it is quite telling that's as close as it is. The Democrats seem to be making gains quite fast, and in GOP territory no less.
These red voters don't care for their own well being (constantly voting in people who keep their states/counties the poorest and dumbest in the nation), so of course they don't care about voting in some violent goon.
The general pundit consensus is that if this guy wins with less than a 10 point lead that might be an extremely bad sign for the GOP given that Trump won this area by 20 points. Only winning by 5, for example, means that the GOP is underperforming by 15 points.
Granted, its also extremely hard to tell where the GOP problems end and the assault thing begins.
EDIT: Looks like the Repub is going to win by something along the lines of 6 points. Still a win... but the fact that a Republican in Montana only won by 6 points should maybe have some conservatives a little worried. This is on the same level as a tea-partier being competitive in LA or New York.
MT sending democrats to DC isn't all that uncommon. It's a devoutly red state in terms of presidential elections, but you can do quite well as a MT Democrat, Quist notwithstanding.
I really hope certain people in journalism and media aren't shocked when they've recently advocated punching Nazis.... Given that they think anyone that disagrees with them is a Nazi....
Hmmm why didn't the media freak out when a Democrat congressman assaulted a student journalist on video?
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