When the mob is gathering and you think they might be trying to run you out of town, what do you do?

Easy!

You grab a baton, a trombone, or a drum and claim it’s a parade.

While most of us were busy with our daily lives, keeping body and soul together, our Good Governor apparently was feeling a bit nervous about some things he was seeing below the radar.

No one has ever accused Brian Schweitzer of being politically tone-deaf, and his recent remarks and actions indicate he’s still got perfect pitch. Make no mistake, Brian isn’t done with politics. And he’s taking measures right now to ensure his future electability.

Our two current senators may be largely ignoring the Tea Partiers and the Town-hollerers, but the governor seems to be very aware of them, so he’s out there telling Montanans how he is stewarding their money responsibly and pro-actively. By God, he’s cut budgets, eliminated extraneous government jobs, and reminded us how he’s tightening the state’s belt just like we are doing in our own homes. What a guy!

Sure he tends to gloss over a few picky details, but what the hell.

Just for the fun of it, let’s take a closer look at the record…

Everybody knows that labor costs are always a big item in any budget, so Schweitzer eliminated four jobs at the Department of Commerce. Wow! The rest of the story? Montana topped the list of states with the highest percentage growth in state government employment (up 16.6%) during the first three years of the Schweitzer administration. So up 3244, down 4. NET INCREASE IN STATE PAYROLL = about $150 million per year.

Surely you’ve heard how he canceled $600,000 earmarked to help a Flathead County company with environmental cleanup? In announcing his decision to refuse to follow the legislature’s appropriation to mitigate the cost of cleaning up toxic waste caused by previous owners and users, Schweitzer took a political swing at a Montana business and attempted to make it look like he was saving big bucks from the general fund in the process. The facts? The money is from the “Orphan Fund” which is supported by an industrial tax specifically to be used for environmental cleanups. No savings here for “us folks” and this grand gesture is likely to have negative repercussions on the state – if not in environmental impacts – at least in unexpected legal expenses which will come from the general fund when the state gets sued either by the EPA or Swank Enterprises, or both. Net effect: Who knows? Dirty Politics – 1, Dirty Environment – 1, but the game’s not over yet.

The governor issued an edict to all state agencies to cut out-of-state travel budgets and utilize webinars, online meetings, and other means of interaction. The expected savings? Less than .0002% of the biennial budget. Oh, and by the way – the Governor not only gets to continue his out-of-state travels, he gets to fly first-class. Savings to ordinary Montanans – nipshit minutia; perks to the governor – priceless.

But, you may ask, what about the $4.5 million Schweitzer saved by halting renovations at Warm Springs? From all indications, going ahead with the project would be a case of throwing good money after bad, since the facility is beyond help. However, it’s doubtful that much, if anything, will be done by the executive branch to address the increasingly desperate problems caused by the lack of proper treatment programs and facilities for our mentally ill citizens. The trade-off: Short-term gain for long-term pain.

Under the category of “nothing is too small to escape the slasher”, we have the much touted elimination of the hard copy state phone directory. No big deal insofar as savings or impact. I suspect more has been spent in employee time issuing press releases celebrating this phenomenal endeavor than will ultimately be saved. Bottom line: Meh.

Last, but not least, is the latest effort by Brian to appear the fiscal conservative (and take a swipe at the Republicans at the same time): The Bozeman tennis court brouhaha. Reports of the city’s decision to spend less than 8% of its designated federal stimulus funds on upgrading a local recreational facility hit the national news, and Brian – never one to let the facts get between him and some publicity – immediately derided the project. He went on to claim the reason it happened was because the legislature didn’t enact specific lists of what the stimulus money could be spent on. Trusting that few Montanans, and even fewer reporters, would spend the time to check out his assertions, the governor felt confident in claiming the political high ground and pointing the fickle finger of prolifigate funding at the legislature – all the while ignoring the fact that he vetoed SB460 which could have prevented any unseemly spending of the stimulus funds. Impact: Virtually none – the tennis courts will probably be upgraded as a legitimate “shovel-ready” community improvement. Sound-bite governance at its very best worst.

So why, you ask, is Schweitzer so concerned with with his political image these days? I’m speculating here, but methinks the governor has a pretty good idea that 2010 election isn’t going to be a great one for the Democrats and he’s banking some capital for 2012, just in case. I could be wrong here, but my money says Brian will be the Dem candidate for Denny Rehberg’s seat if Denny challenges Jon Tester, so he can’t very well afford to sit back and just be a lame-duck governor. Or, in the best of all possible worlds, Max will resign before then and Brian can appoint himself to the Senate with a high enough approval rating that the chutzpah won’t hurt him.

The only way he can carry either of those scenarios off is if he’s marching way out in front and beating that drum so loud no one can hear the cacophony that’s coming from the rabble in the background.