Montana Politician’s Meltdown Says Everything About Where We Are Right Now

Last updated on: May 25, 2017 at 3:16 pm by Erin Wathen

Montana Politician’s Meltdown Says Everything About Where We Are Right Now 2017-05-25T15:16:45-07:00 Erin Wathen

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It’s election day in Montana, and GOP candidate Greg Gianforte–who was supposed to be a sure-thing in this special election– has been charged with assault. For laying a reporter flat on the ground and breaking his glasses. Actually, the official report of the incident involves the words “body slam.” According to witnesses, that’s exactly what Gianforte did to Ben Jacobs, a reporter from the Guardian who was questioning the candidate about the Republican healthcare plan.

This is where we are.

Emboldened by this administration’s animosity towards the press, lawmakers and law enforcement alike seem much at ease these days with bullying, detaining, and even physically confronting journalists. When the sitting President consistently calls the media the “enemy” “liars” and “losers,” we should not be too surprised when the public greets journalists with hostility and scorn.

We should not be surprised. But we should be deeply troubled.

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What’s most troubling of all is that this most recent attack–confirmed by multiple eye witnesses, and caught on tape–may not even mean the candidate is out of the running. On the contrary, the outburst might just further endear him to the voter base. Witnesses say that, at a recent event, one of Gianforte’s supporters stood up, pointed to a reporter in the room, and said the ‘enemy’ is here. And then simulated choking motions.

From mild buffoonery to downright thuggish violence, this is now acceptable behavior for elected (or would-be elected) officials.

In a democracy, the media is tasked with voicing the public call to accountability– keeping our government and its processes transparent. This voice is especially important now, in an age when constant information can convolute…well, everything. A free and unintimidated press is as essential to freedom as the voting process. More essential even than fireworks and country music.

While much of our mainstream news sources show partisan bias these days, that is not the same thing as “fake news.” Let’s try and stay clear on that. The media is not the enemy.

Because when politicians are allowed to spin their own narrative around what news sites can and cannot be trusted, they reject their own system of accountability. It is a chilling effect…and a classic sign of the early stages of fascism.

Hell, maybe we’re not even in early stages anymore. I think that ship has sailed. We passed “early stages” somewhere back around the time the president’s son-in-law was appointed as a top White House official; and the same White House declared CNN to be “all lies.” Remember all that? Those were the early stages. Some stuff has happened since then.

I’ll be watching the election results come out of Montana tonight–because what happens in Montana will definitely not stay in Montana. The outcomes there in the next 12 hours or so will tell us a lot about where we are–as a Republic, and as basic human beings. Will the people of that state decide that this man is unstable, unfit to lead or represent them in any way? Or will they add their collective affirmation to the villainizing of the press, giving further permission for people in power to treat journalists as less than human?

There’s a lot on the line right now. The wedge issues are so thick on the ground, we trip over them at every turn. Access to healthcare, protection of the environment, and the integrity of public education, just to name a few. All of these discussions have real and potentially ominous consequences, both short and long term. But the most immediate danger to the country we love is the real and present threat against the free press. The sanctity of all that which is true, and that which should be self-evident, is on the line here. Without the First Amendment, we are not who we say we are.

If we compromise the integrity of the free press–whether by legislating them out of existence, or bullying them into a corner–then we have lost the heart of democracy. Here’s hoping Montana is good for more than epic hiking and scenic drives…

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