Congressional candidate Zinke visits Libby to talk issues

Congressional candidate Ryan Zinke stopped Monday morning at the Libby Venture Inn. With Election Day only two weeks away, polls show Zinke with a slight lead against Democrat John Lewis. The race for the U.S. House is believed to be the closest federal race in the state.

Speaking beside his wife, Lola, Zinke outlined his conservative platform. Echoing a previous statement made in Libby earlier in the campaign trail, the candidate said opening the Montanore Mine and rejuvinating the logging industry was his staff’s top priority.

Addressing water rights, Zinke was clear.

“The federal pursuit of our water is something that we are going to have to fight with,” Zinke said. “If they change the definition of navigable water from federal oversight, it will affect every community across Montana in ways we that we don’t even know about yet.”

Discussing the importance of voter turnout, Zinke said Republicans fed up with Obama have no one to blame but themselves. Comparing national Republican turnout in 2008 to 2012, Zinke said four million fewer registered Republicans voted in 2012.

“Don’t blame the Democrats for this president, blame us because we didn’t do our duty,” Zinke said. “And I’m a veteran, but you know who is worst at voting? Veterans. I don’t understand it. We served our country in battle, defended our country. But when they get home, they decide, I’m not going to vote.”

While touching on local issues, Zinke also discussed national topics including Ebola and ISIS. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, named various weapons and equipment the Middle Eastern fighters have acquired, including the chemical weapons formerly held by Iraq. As for Ebola, which has killed one person in the United States, he said President Obama’s newly appointed Ebola czar Ron Klain was nothing more than a spin doctor. Zinke, who earned a geology degree from the University of Oregon, questioned the science behind the 21-day quarantine period that patients suspected to have the virus are often required to observe.

On a regionally impactful topic — energy — Zinke, 52, ardently supported fracking.

“I was told when I went to school that we were going to be out of oil two years ago,” Zinke said. “Well, God has a sense of humor. He gave us fracking. And the fracking play in the country is so enormous that the energy potential in this country outdistances any country in the world, and outdistances the entirety of the Middle East.”

Other stances Zinke stated during his hour-long visit was support for English being adopted as the national language and the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.