Transparency still one of Montana’s cherished values

A few days ago, I was in Costco, and just as I rounded a corner, I passed a woman on the phone who said “Yeah, we was out digging, and when we come back in, there was Eric, dead in a mud puddle.” 

That was the entirety of what I heard of the conversation, so I have as many questions as you do about what this single sentence meant in this woman’s life. From the lack of emotion in her voice, I had to assume that she was talking about a dog, but it’s entirely possible that it was one of her relatives, or someone who worked for them. Maybe even a vehicle?

This little incident made me think about the fact that you never really know what’s going on in someone’s life until you hear, as Paul Harvey used to say “the rest of the story.” 

And as has been the case with so many of our most prominent politicians in recent years, the concerted effort to keep the rest of the story away from public view has become an art form, particularly in the Republican party. Greg Gianforte has somehow built a career in Montana without making himself available to public scrutiny.

His “rallies” have generally been highly controlled gatherings, vetted to include only those who support him. After the way he handled a question he didn’t like in his first congressional race, it’s not hard to imagine why his handlers have taken this approach but it seems even more calculated than that. 

It seems as if Gianforte and most of his contemporaries have come to realize that as long as they have an “R” next to their names, they don’t have to say much to garner support in Montana. So talking about anything publicly, or having any information released to the public, is actually risky. 

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen found this out the hard way recently when he gave the OK to the Colonel of the Highway Patrol, Steve Lavin, to conduct a survey among his staff, and the results of the survey were not flattering, especially toward Knudsen himself.

When the Daily Montanan published these results, Knudsen was so furious that he had his office issue a cease-and-desist order to the newspaper, trying to get them to retract the article. 

But of course this survey fell under the public information act because it was conducted by a government agency, so he didn’t have a leg to stand on, something you’d expect an attorney to understand. But Knudsen is not your ordinary attorney. He thinks nothing of bending the rules for his own benefit. 

In fact, he went on to make the decision to force out Lavin, giving him no explanation, but considering it happened right after the survey, it’s pretty easy math. 

When Lavin did a little research and realized that firing him without cause was not legal, he filed a lawsuit, and this is just the latest in a series of charges against Knudsen, who is already being investigated for 41 instances of professional misconduct. 

It has become increasingly clear, as Gianforte tried to avoid agreeing to a debate with Democratic challenger Ryan Busse, and Knudsen attempts to stifle the truth, that the Republican party in Montana is working hard to control the narrative, and only dole out a few morsels of information about what they’re up to. 

Because when the truth is damning, people generally do whatever they can to stifle it. Thankfully, we still have enough of a press in this country to bring these facts to light. 

But please, Montanans, be aware of how hard these people are working to hide their truth from you. Although Gianforte eventually agreed to a debate, he still rarely makes public appearances that aren’t completely staged. 

Transparency has always been valuable to Montanans, and it should be even more so now. 

Russell Rowland is the author of five novels, as well as Fifty-Six Counties: A Montana Journey. He also hosts a radio show called 56 Counties on Yellowstone Public Radio. You can access his radio show, his podcast about Montana books, and any of his other work at russellrowland.com.