Brian Schweitzer surprise: Not running for Senate

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Politico

Former Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Saturday he won’t run for the Senate in Montana — a surprise development that imperils Democrats’ chances of holding the seat in 2014.

He told the Associated Press that he wants to stay in Montana rather than move to Washington, D.C. But his potential candidacy was also raising red flags within the party: After weeks of courting the 57-year-old Schweitzer, Democratic leaders reversed course. Scrutinizing Schweitzer’s past, they concluded there was too much ammunition for Republicans to use against him in the campaign to replace the retiring veteran Democrat Max Baucus, according to a source familiar with the thinking of those leaders.

Polls had shown the gregarious and folksy ex-governor as a favorite in the race, given his popularity after two terms in office.

Schweitzer had been hit with a series of damaging stories about his ties to “secret money” and a nonprofit group run by former aides. But sources said the laundry list of opposition research went much deeper — and could have crippled a Schweitzer campaign for Senate.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/brian-schweitzer-senate-2014-94111.html?hp=bn

[merrily]

1. Since he is not running, why did they bother smearing him to the press?

Seems gratuitous.

P.S. What is "secret money?"

[Ford_Prefect]

2. They smear to attach the slime to any other Democrat. They did the same thing here in North Carolina

The smear attacks are to damage anyone from the same party or anyone running on the same issues. Unfortunately it seems to be effective mostly because every time someone else is mentioned as a Democratic candidate the tag line will be about why Schweitzer chose not to run. The echo chamber effects keep the scandal tag alive no matter whether it was true or not, and keeps the meme going that anyone from that party or with those political issues has something shady behind them.

[grasswire]

3. damn

and damn politico.

I was hoping for a Dean/Schweitzer ticket some day.

But with all the crapola in politics today, what's a little secret money? It ain't a secret if the stories are out. Did he have sex with sheep or something?

[Brother Buzz]

4. Damn. The poo flingers win again

[premium]

5. Dammit,

he was our best hope of hanging on to that Senate seat, this will probably be a p/u for the repubs in 2014.

[DontTreadOnMe]

6. OK, so WHAT is the DLC doing to help get a NEW candidate that can win?

What is Obama doing to help find someone as well?

I would like to see the President ENDORSE the new candidate, live on TV, and get a huge public bump and publicity.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

9. Not sure that's a good idea.

I don't think Obama's endorsement would help a Democrat in Montana.

[DontTreadOnMe]

11. Well there you have it... that is the problem right there.

So the only way to win is a Dem Lite in Montana? How about running far-left Progressives, and if you don't win - it sends a signal to the rest of the country where the Democratic Party stands for.

[premium]

12. A far left progressive in Montana?

Any far left progressive that ran for the Senate in MT. would be lucky to get even 1000 votes.

[Lee-Lee]

13. Moderates from states like these who

caucus with Democrats give the majorities needed to let the more progressive members from other states get things done.

[premium]

14. And that's why we need to run a moderate Dem

for that seat, no far left progressive would stand a chance in MT.

[DCBob]

16. The only signal that would send would be how clueless the Dem party is.

Good grief.

[DontTreadOnMe]

19. Yeah right, because we all know how well Max Baucus was for HealthCare

Yeah... let's run a Moderate Dem... which is just another acronym for Republican.

The Tea Party can run is states like Ohio and Massachusetts, but a Progressive in Montana... unthinkable!
No wonder we make no headway.

"Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., scolded Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday over the implementation of President Obama’s health care law. Complaining about confused individuals and small businesses in his state and warning of a coming “train wreck,” at times Baucus sounded more like a Tea Partier than one of the key authors of the legislation that would become known as Obamacare. But his posture during the Finance Committee hearing is also a telling sign that Democrats up for reelection in 2014 are increasingly worried that mangled implementation could put their jobs in jeopardy."

[NickB79]

31. Max Baucus was the best we could expect to get from MT

Face the fact: not all states have the liberal base to support the same type of candidate you could find winning in New York City or California.

Yeah, Baucus sucked on a lot of liberal issues. HOWEVER, he was heads and shoulders above ANY GOP/Teabag challenger he ran against.

As the old saying goes: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

[jmowreader]

20. Dude, put down the bowl

I don't think there even ARE any far-left Progressives in Montana, much less ones who could run for office and win. It is a bit less red than Idaho over there, but considering how red Idaho is that's not saying much.

Dem Lite is as good as it gets.

[DontTreadOnMe]

26. Typical defeatist attitude: "Dem Lite is as good as it gets"

I know plenty of younger people who grew up in Colorado who moved to Montana. It is a small population state. At least TRY to make a movement for a progressive candidate.

I would rather run run a Progressive and lose, than a Dem Lite and "win". Because we all know how important it is to have the MAJORITY in the Senate, see how much we get done!

Time for Dems in Montana to grow a spine. Stand for SOMETHING, other than Dem Lite. Running candidates like Max Baucus HURTS the Party.

The GOP ran a Senate candidate in Massachusetts named Scott Brown - AND WON, so [lease don't lecture me about about a Red State can't be turned Blue. No one EVER THOUGHT a Republican could take Ted Kennedy's seat, but it happened. It took 4 years to get that seat back.

[jmowreader]

29. Scott Brown is a bad example

First, Mass has elected Republicans before Scott Brown - remember Mitt Romney?

Second, Mass has teabaggers, and they vote.

More importantly, Brown ran against someone who thought she didn't have to campaign. She was also completely out of touch...when she found out Curt Schilling was campaigning for Brown, she said something like "why should I care what a Yankees fan thinks?" (Curt Schilling is the Red Sox' ace, or at least was then.)

Martha Coakley thought history would hand her the seat, so she handed it to Scott Brown.

There are ten states I think the Democrats need to just write off, and Montana is one of them. We're not going to get it, or Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, Utah, either Dakota, Nebraska or Oklahoma.

A little story from the trenches. Last year I helped a nice Democratic woman named Anne Nesse campaign for the Idaho state House. Her opponent was Kathy Sims. Rep. Sims was a backer of the Luna education deform laws that went down in flames at the polls. Anne bought thousands of yard signs. She canvassed. She did all the things a candidate should. When she knocked on doors, the voters asked her three questions: which church do you go to, will you vore to ban abortion in Idaho, and what is your position on gay rights? (The expected answers were any fundamentalist church, yes, and I'm against expanding gay rights - and in Idaho, they would still be kicking in doors and prosecuting people for non-missionary-position sex if the Supreme Court hadn't made them stop.) Kathy Sims bought one full-page ad in the paper the Sunday before the election defending her Neandertal positions, one 2x3 ad every day for six weeks before the election, did no canvassing, printed no new yard signs and won 75 percent of the vote.

And frankly, I don't care. I would rather have Arizona and Texas, which the Republicans are in the process of giving away - for some reason I don't think the voters will look kindly on politicians who cease work on things like the economy so they can focus on an issue that only remotely affects their personal lives - than I would Idaho and Montana.

[DontTreadOnMe]

30. So if we are "never" going to get it anyway...

They why NOT run a left Progressive and make the candidate on the Right look extreme!

[NickB79]

32. Because the GOP could run a moderate-right candidate

And make the left Progressive candidate look extreme in a turn-around.

Besides, the end result would still be a win for the GOP and a feeling of momentum on their part to drum up more support nationally.

[Arkana]

33. "I would rather run run a Progressive and lose, than a Dem Lite and "win"."

And this attitude right here is why Republicans always win--because they're willing to run the types of candidates that win in each state.

[Ken Burch]

22. UH, the DSCC...not the DLC.

Supposedly, the DLC doesn't exist anymore.

[Kolesar]

25. He "dont tread" in a library, either...eom

[xtraxritical]

7. He may have withdrawn because of fear I suppose.

It's damn dad too.

[xtraxritical]

18. I meant "sad"! Love dad.

[neverforget]

8. God please not Senator Rehberg

[Ptah]

10. I lovr him for this quote:

"I am not goofy enough to be in the House, and I'm not senile enough to be in the Senate."

[DCBob]

15. crap. this is not good news.

I wonder why.. there must be more to do with it than what stated in the article.

[DCBob]

17. Maybe still some hope..

from the article..

In Montana, Democrats said Saturday they still had a chance and there were other possible Democratic candidates who could give Republicans a serious run. Those potential Democratic candidates include Denise Juneau, Montana’s state public schools superintendent; Stephanie Schriock, the president of Emily’s List; and Monica Lindeen, Montana insurance commissioner.

I hope one of these ladies can pull it off.

[BlueMTexpat]

27. I like Stephanie.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023831_2023829_2025221,00.html

But the others are good too. It's too bad that I can't vote in my birth state.

[ReRe]

21. He gave one of the best speeches at the Democratic Convenetion last summer....

Last edited Sun Jul 14, 2013, 11:22 AM - Edit history (1)

... I think they canned him because he was far to the left of Baucus. He wasn't "DLC" material. Maybe they made him an offer he couldn't refuse and he refused? Time will tell, won't it?

[DCBob]

23. Yes he did..

maybe he's not running for Senate so he can run for POTUS.

[ReRe]

28. Like I said, time will tell. ;-) n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

24. He isn't very interested in being "token hillbilly" in the Democrat caucus,

And the morons would have a field day with his work with Al Safi in Saudi Arabia, which has ties to the Saudi Bin Laden Group, which in Fox News mouth-breather land puts him in the cave with Osama plotting 9/11. They would be calling for him to be sent to Gitmo and executed for treason.

[Beacool]

34. That's a shame.

The Republicans are already gloating. They think that it will be an easy Senate seat pick for them.