Politics, as we all know, is a blood sport, and few who enter the ring emerge unscathed.
However, one of the most scathing blows of this election was landed in the HD78 race between Joe Cohenour and Steve Gibson.
For those of you who haven’t focused on this contest, a bit of background: Joe is a pretty well-known guy in the Helena/East Helena area. He is an unabashed liberal/progressive, firmly committed to endorsing every big government program that comes down the pike (including the new sex-ed curriculum he just voted for). As a highway patrolman, he’s frequently involved in one-on-one contacts with his constituents, and for some reason he usually isn’t regarded as a “real swell guy” following those visits. He’s also been on the East Helena School Board – but lost his seat a few years ago to a largely unknown newcomer, a feat that requires a certain amount of eyebrow raising, to say the least. The word around town is that folks really like his wife, Jill, who previously held the seat, but are not so impressed with Joe. Ergo, the man himself keeps a pretty low profile during the race. Minimal door-knocking – that sort of stuff. But East Helena is still a company town and unions still have a significant impact on the district. And unions, as we all know, ALWAYS support the Democrat candidate.
Except in this race. The Montana Association of Troopers – the Highway Patrol guys – have endorsed the other guy – Steve Gibson. That’s right. Joe’s comrades in arms – when given an opportunity to support one of their own – turned their backs. Holy buckets, Batman! I mean – they could have just stayed out of the race, right? Yeah – they could have done that, but, no! The guys that work with Joe – the ones who know him best, took a look at this contest and chose to throw their lot in with the other guy.
Wow.
Huge.
You know those strange bedfellows that politics sometimes makes? Talk about a strange break-up – sheesh! Betcha things are a little awkward in the HP locker room these days.
Poor Joe. It’s tough when any relationship goes south, but it’s got to be a real killer when the guys you’ve literally trusted with your life assess things and decide to throw you overboard.
When your friends and family won’t vote for you, it’s time to take a serious look in the mirror. Sorry, Joe – they’re just not that into you.
And definitely time for voters to fill in the box for Steve Gibson.
Poor ol’ Joe, took a bullet for Bruce Messinger on the school board fiasco last week and sold out the parents in the district. I hope the voters in E. Helena remember who he’s loyal to when they go to cast a ballot, and it’s not Mom and Dad at home trying to do the right thing by the kids. The guy has the backbone of cooked spaghetti, just what we need at the legislature, another rubber stamp for the Governor! No thanks, I’ll stick with Steve Gibson on this one………
Wait now, some folks may think that Mr. Cohenour got elected to the Helena School Board … how exactly did he become a District #1 trustee? Who “voted” him into his current position? Anyone? Also, couldn’t they get Mr. Cohenour his own email address? Seriously, the MONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS PAC mailer I received today had Ms. Cohenour’s email address on it. He’s surely smart enough to have is own email address, IMO.
James – You raise a couple of good points. I’m not sure when/how Joe got on the school board come to think of it. Hmmm Had to have been appointed or unopposed – what do you want to bet? As for using his wife’s email address – I think that’s on purpose. The only way he gets any votes is if people think they’re voting for Jill. His literature is peppered with her name all over it. He’s basically campaigning in drag – metaphorically speaking, of course.
According to the local newspaper, Mr. Cohenour was appointed a position on the school board in late 2007 and re-appointed in April 2008.
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http://helenair.com/news/local/article_691d90c3-8119-5be9-85b8-1c33ec29d6f1.html
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http://helenair.com/news/local/article_1c841d0d-15f6-52d4-947a-fdd340d816ac.html
I raised the issue of the same email address quite a while ago. While I may want to talk to my Rep in private, I may not want my Senator involved in the conversation. Or vice versa. Poor planning.
And who in the heck is so technically challenged that they still have a Prodigy.net address anymore??
I haven’t paid that much attention to their email addresses lately, but the last one I saw for Joe was from “Utopia.net”. That told me about all I needed to know about how far left the two of them are. “Utopia” fercryingoutloud – why not just say communist?