It continues to amaze me what Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) can get away with when it comes to the mainstream media back here in Montana.
Montana Farm Bureau Federation: more than 14,000 members across Montana, a well established organization in the state.
The Montana Small Business Alliance: Who the heck knows how many members this astroturf organization actually has. We do know that they offer the same cookie cutter type structure as dozens of other come and go lobby shops, and appear to have a connection with SEIU.
So, NFIB and Farm Bureau blast Sen. Tester’s vote in support of the new regulations- as gas tops $5 a gallon in parts of the country. As I noted earlier, here’s what the Montana Farm Bureau had to say regarding Sen. Tester’s votes in support of the EPA’s efforts to move forward on new carbon dioxide emission regulations:
Despite the fact that this should be a no-brainer, both Sens. Baucus and Tester voted to allow the EPA to move forward with its regulation of carbon dioxide, letting EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson usurp their Senate prerogative by presuming to act without Congressional authority. By failing to rein in the out-of-control EPA bureaucracy, Max Baucus and Jon Tester condoned her presumption and condemned the many small family farms and ranches that make up the largest part of Montana’s economy to significantly increased operating expenses and burdensome permitting requirements at a time when farm input costs are already approaching all-time highs.
Despite all of that- no mention of the Farm Bureau’s criticism, nor any mention in Tom Lutey’s piece in The Billings Gazette of Tester raking in cash from the credit card industry. But yet, he had time for this press secretary- generated fluff.
The tens of thousands of members in the Farm Bureau get virtually ignored on the news pages of the mainstream media, yet Senator Tester’s staff call 4 or 5 of their buddies to defend his position and the media shows up cameras and all.
(Like I say- if Lutey actually covered Farm Bureau’s criticism of Tester and I missed it- shoot me a link. Either way- it should have been mentioned in this piece on the Small Business Alliance.)