Referenda Madness

As the legislative Republicans realize that the Governor wasn’t joking around when he got a shiny new “VETO” brand for all of their “bat crap crazy” bills, they are once again seeking to change the way Montana works and work around their duty to work with Democrats to get responsible, common-sense legislation passed.

They’re doing this through a record number of referenda that they plan to submit to Montana voters. These referenda are designed to both push their irresponsible policies and also to drive their base to the polls. These referenda are also the GOP’s only chance to escape the Governor’s red hot branding iron.

Choosing the path of record numbers of referenda not only shirks their duty as legislators to make important policy choices for Montanans, it also moves the state closer to the California model of legislating. As we all know, California is notorious for the large number of referenda that are sent to their voters each year. California is also not know for having the solid fiscal ground that Montana does. The GOP wants to follow the California model.

The referenda they have introduced cover a wide-range of radical policies, including ones to restrict medical decisions between a woman and her doctor as well as policies designed to hurt state employees.

The Montana GOP fails to understand that not only do Montanans overwhelmingly disapprove of the job they are doing, they also don’t like the irresponsible policies they’re pushing and they will be rejected at the polls.