Even as his campaign continues to charge his Republican opponent with being part of a “war on women,” Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) apparently isn’t too concerned with the dozens of women who have allegedly been raped or assaulted in Missoula.
Here’s what Tester had to say in an interview with KAJ-TV for his reaction to a federal investigation that is looking at nearly 80 different sexual assault cases in Missoula:
“Well hopefully in the end Missoula will continue to be the great place it is today, and hopefully the Department of Justice wont dilly dally around about this. They’ll do their work, put closure on it and move on. I know that the mayor and different folks in this town are really working hard on economic development and I really think that’s where our focus needs to stay,” Tester said.
So, he wants the investigation to conclude quickly because he says it is hurting Missoula’s economy? What about all of the women who were allegedly raped or assaulted? Can you imagine if Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) had said this same quote?
Does it have anything to do with Tester pal Jim Foley also facing fire in the face of the investigation? The University of Montana student newspaper, The Kaimin, went so far as to call for the firing of UM Vice President Jim Foley. Foley is a former top aide to Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and former Congressman Pat Williams (D-MT). Congressman Williams is now a member of the Board of Regents which oversees the Montana University System.
Here’s more from The Kaimin editorial:
Please fire Jim Foley.
He’s a funny Helena native with the kind of smarts that served him well when working for U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, but Missoula isn’t Washington, D.C.
He doesn’t answer inconvenient questions, no matter how legitimate. His tagline is “No Comment.” If you work for KPAX, he might just refuse to appear on camera at all, just as he did when UM announced they were letting go of the athletic director and football coach. With the firings and the sexual assault investigations, he banned truly knowledgeable sources from speaking, channeled all media communication to himself, and then repeatedly declined to say anything. When he did speak, it often was so ambiguous as to be meaningless, or the Kaimin was inclined to fact check it against other sources in UM administration.
Speaking of not answering questions, Montana Watchdog reporter Dustin Hurst has a hilarious piece featuring Sen. Tester’s refusal to answer any of his questions. In fact, he says he “can’t even buy Tester’s time.”
Montana government meetings are accessible — they stream live online. I can, to the dismay of my colleagues in places like California, pick up my cell phone and talk to Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Try that in Sacramento.
That same dedication to transparency and openness doesn’t seem to extend, however, to U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and his campaign staff.
Not even if I pay for it.
Click here to read the full story.
Related: DSCC Buys $3 Million for Tester according to Politico.