by William Skink
Had Montana Democrats not fucked up another congressional campaign, this state could have sent an exhilarating jolt to the resistance against Trump. I still don’t think Amanda Curtis would have won had she been selected, but her camp appeared to be where the energy and passion wanted to go.
The Facebook chatter amongst my FB “friends” does not bode well for Quist. There is no enthusiasm or excitement, just teeth-gritting acknowledgment that at least Quist is not a wealthy, creationist, Trump-loving monster like Gianforte.
The latest story about the barn/apartments is particularly bad for Quist. While plenty of ballots have already been marked and mailed, the fact Quist’s deception was exposed probably won’t inspire the fence-sitters to make the effort.
This whole campaign has been about who can claim authenticity as a Montanan, at least that was the main thrust of the Democratic strategy to elect Quist. Look at his Cowboy hat and relatable medical debt–he’s just like us!
But little discrepancies, like forgetting to disclose around $50,000 in income, started undermining the folksy caricature the partisan minions had cultivated for Quist. Then this barn story emerges, and Quist is caught in another awkward situation where his claims don’t seem to jive with reality:
Montana’s Democratic U.S. House candidate, Rob Quist has ties to a rental property not listed on state tax rolls, public records show.
Quist acknowledged the apartments Tuesday in an interview with The Gazette, but denied renting out the units. Advertising records and leasing contracts suggest otherwise.
“My son’s living there, so that’s not a rental property. It’s just something that’s kind of family-owned,” Quist said.
Quist is lying when he says the barn is not rental property. It is a rental property, says the Billings Gazette:
The Gazette identified four people who have rented from Quist in recent years. None wanted to be drawn into the politics of Montana’s U.S. House race by commenting on their relationship with the Quists, although two former renters provided leases active in 2015 and 2016 which put the monthly rent, paid to Bonni Quist, at $695 for one unit and $950 for another.
It’s hard to understand how Quist’s myriad financial problems weren’t vetted before his selection. Now Montana Democrats are facing, once again, a campaign imploding before their stupid partisan eyes.
When Quist loses, Democrats can blame the media, and they can point out the lack of national support for their candidate. Maybe there will even be some cosmetic reshuffling of the political hierarchy.
What won’t happen is an honest, critical analysis by party leaders regarding how they keep fucking these campaigns up so badly, election cycle after election cycle.