Congressional candidate Zinke says mines are top priority

A third-generation Montanan from Whitefish, U.S. Congressional candidate Ryan Zinke is a Navy SEAL veteran of 23 years. He holds two master’s degrees: one in finance and another in global leadership

The former Montana state senator agreed to a question and answer with The Western News. The following is an excerpt of that conversation.

What do you think Montana needs the most right now? What would be your top priority out there in Washington, D.C.?

I am committed to opening the mine. This is my number one priority to the state. It is not just because I am from Whitefish, because as a congressman you represent the entirety of the state. Libby is ground zero for what is wrong. The mine should have been approved within six months.

The forests themselves, the lack of access, the development of habitat and then you have a community that is surrounded by federal land. An enormous amount of land.

I think you can economically harvest public land and be responsible about it. The reason why it is important is that it represents what I think are wrongs. It represents a fix.

It matters to a community that I saw be Class AA down to Class B. It is not political rhetoric. As a former seal team commander I am dedicated to this mission. I am going to get this final. It is the right thing to do. Politicians say look at the numbers. Billings is more important because Billings has the population. Where does Libby sit for political power? Not much. Where Libby sits, it is the right thing to do. It is multifaceted, and there is a lot of time. If we can fix this where we can get the mine open and bring access back to the forest, it will solve a lot of issues across the state.

This is the battleground that we have chosen as a campaign. The political pundits find it fascinating that I would do that. I care and it matters.

When growing up in Whitefish, did you spend a lot of time over here?

Yes, I used to hunt a lot here. I don’t hunt elk anymore here. No one hunts any elk here. You know why? Because there aren’t any elk. Also you have the mismanagement of the wolves. You have the cutting off access to the forest not only for wheel vehicles but also the availability to have the sustained harvest.

We have all seen the studies. We are at one-sixth of sustained yield. We have seen the grizzly bear habitat be independent of the grizzly bear population. I have spent a lot of time in Libby. My roots are deep in Montana. I know a lot of old families here. You look at Libby and when the best jobs in town are the hospital and the Forest Service and you can say that the school is atrophying out and the county jobs.

I am also a conservationist. If the mine had a significant and negative downside to it environmentally, or affected the clean air or clean water, then you would have to construct a different vision on how to do it. What they are purposing is appropriate, fair and responsible.

Which mine are you talking about?

Rock Creek is in a different county. Montanore. Both combined in the numbers, but they are similar in development. Both of them can be paired in the same sentence.

It would be nice for the whole area’s economy to have a couple of mines running.

Reagan had it right. The best government program is a good job. It would make a tremendous difference for Libby.

You look at the problems that Libby has. There is an upswing in drugs. There is an upswing in mental health. All of these things are problematic. It is really hard for a single family here to make it. Mom has to look for three or four part-time jobs because there are no full-time jobs. There is no economic vitality. It all goes around what is the working-family prognosis in Lincoln County. It doesn’t have a fair chance at the American dream of a good job, buying a house, sending your kids to school.

For people that don’t pay a lot of attention to politics, the first thing they know about Ryan Zinke is that you are a former Navy Seal. What are some of the other things that make up Ryan Zinke?

Pro-life. Pro-gun. Pro-business. MBA in finance. I am a combat veteran. I believe in my country. I also believe in making sure we shore up the working family. I am passionate about it. I have a track record of mission accomplishment. I think it is unique. I don’t quit. If you know me for two minutes, then you know me. I don’t yield to pressure. I hold to high principles. I also remember where I came from. My father was the youngest master plumber in Montana’s history at 17. My grandma was a one-room school teacher outside of Richey. I am a blue-collar kid.

When I was doing some research on your name, one of the things that pops up is criticism lately from two former Republican party chairman of Montana.

I guess they read the polls.

Is that your reaction to that? They are trying to find something to take you down?

They have read the polls. I promised to run a positive Reagan 11th Commandment campaign.

I am going to show that you can win a race by being positive. I am going to show that you can lead by example. The Republican Party circling the wagons and shooting in? You can’t ask Montanans to believe in a Republican Party if we can’t police ourselves and show superior behavior, message and leadership. At the end of the day, all candidates gave their word. If you are going to lie in your campaign, you are going to lie in Washington, D.C. You might as well start off in the beginning telling the truth. If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember your lies.

Can you tell us the truth about your relationship with the super PAC? Special Operations for America.

I started it. I am proud of it. I was a chairman on it. It was to elect Governor Mitt Romney as President of the United States. When I decided to run for Congress I resigned. I don’t coordinate with them. I am not the only candidate that they support. They support candidates that have a military background. When you look at the books I am not even the candidate that they support the most.

Am I surprised that they support me? No. Am I surprised that Veterans for Combat support me? No. Iraqi, Afghan Veterans for Congress support me? No. I am proud of what I did as chairman. I was a volunteer chairman. I dedicated about six months of my life working really hard. I thought Romney was going to win.

Some people who are on the conservative side of the spectrum say Zinke is a good guy, but he just seemed to vote with the Democrats too often down in Helena. What do you say to something like that?

I don’t look who sponsors the bill. I vote on the merit of the bill. I don’t really care if you are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian. What matters to me is if you are an American, and if the bill is a good bill, I will vote for it.

In general, I would say that not every bill that Republicans put in is a good bill. I read the bill. I look at unintended consequences of the bill. The bills are oftentimes written by well-intentioned, wonderful people that aren’t in business. Generally, what the Democrats put forward is a bad idea. You look at the make-up of the legislature and who is in there. Most of them are well-intentioned. If your voting record is concocted on bill title, one would think that the Affordable Care Act is a good thing because the bill title sounds good.

You said in general the Democrats put forward poor ideas. That doesn’t make it seem like you think that all of Democrats’ ideas are poor.

Some legislators that happen to be democrats are reasonable folks. I think that we should have more leadership and less politics. I don’t look at an idea as either Republican or Democrat. I look at an idea as, first, American. Does it help the working family? Generally, does it help the free market? Does it encourage opportunity? Does it allow you to have a job that is meaningful? Does it over-regulate?

There have been some decent bills. As an example, ‘Well, Zinke isn’t pro-life.’ You know, I have 100 percent voting record with Right for Life. One-hundred percent. I am the only candidate that sponsored a Right for Life unborn victim bill.

Why do they say that then?

Because I also support education and prevention. I am pro-life.

Then they say you are not pro-gun. I am the former SEAL Team Six commander. I am the only guy that has shot a gun in combat. Yet, I don’t think that having a gun in a federal courthouse or an airport is a particularly good idea.

You look at it and it is political rhetoric. The truth of the matter is that I am pro-life. I am pro-guns. I am pro-business. I have never looked through the lens of being either a blue or red lens. I look at American values. I am an American first.