Thanks, But No Thanks, Marc Racicot

After a long absence from Montana politics, career politician turned Washington, D.C., lobbyist Marc Racicot is back in the spotlight, this time telling Montanans how they should vote in November.

I’ll forgive you if you don’t remember much about Racicot. It’s been more than 25 years since he held office. So, here’s a quick refresher.

Racicot lost races for supreme court and district court judge before being elected attorney general and then governor. Following eight years in the governor’s mansion, he headed to Washington, D.C., where he joined Enron’s lobbying firm.

He later became president of the insurance industry’s lobbying organization. Along the way, he served a brief stint as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

He seems to have parlayed his time in office into a nice payday for himself, but what exactly did he accomplish for Montana? Not Much.

His rather undistinguished record as governor includes an unsuccessful attempt to impose a statewide sales tax, beating a dead guy in his campaign for re-election, and his support for Montana’s disastrous electricity deregulation experiment.

That last “accomplishment” deserves particular attention. Deregulation helped unravel Montana Power Company, drove up electricity costs and created a financial disaster that affected thousands of Montanans.

It was hardly the kind of legacy one would expect to generate a standing invitation to lecture future generations about good government.

Yet here we are.

Since leaving Washington’s lobbying world and returning to Montana, Racicot has become something of a political celebrity among Democrats and members of the Montana press.

The former governor has supported Democrats Joe Biden, Jon Tester, Ingrid Gustafson, Amy Eddy, Sam Forstag and Seth Bodnar, a Democrat now running for the U.S. Senate as an independent.

The common thread is difficult to miss.

These candidates represent political positions that are entirely opposite of those Racicot championed when he was building his own career. Yet they share one unmistakable characteristic: opposition to Donald Trump.

Apparently, that has become the defining consideration in Racicot’s political decision-making.

Racicot is certainly entitled to change his mind. He’s entitled to abandon the principles and positions he once supported, vote for Democrats and endorse whomever he pleases.

But Montanans are equally entitled to ask why anyone should care.

And that’s where Montana’s political media enters the picture.

Every election cycle, we’re treated to another breathless headline about a “lifelong Republican” endorsing a Democrat, as though it’s some political earthquake.

Former Republican governor endorses Democrat!

Former RNC chairman breaks with GOP!

Lifelong Republican crosses party lines!

How many Democrats must Racicot endorse before the media realizes this isn’t breaking news? It’s a pattern.

Racicot calls it putting country ahead of party. Fine. But what about putting principles ahead of personalities?

Does he still believe in limited government? Is he still pro-life while endorsing candidates who support abortion? What happened to the conservative economic principles he once championed?

Or has opposing Donald Trump simply replaced everything else?

Those are fair questions for someone whose endorsements are routinely portrayed as a reason Republicans should reconsider their votes.

The truth is far less dramatic than the headlines suggest.

Marc Racicot was once an influential Republican officeholder. He subsequently cashed in on that influence as a high-paid lobbyist in Washington.  In recent election cycles, he has aligned himself with Democrat candidates that share his hate for Donald Trump.

Montanans don’t need to be lectured about their political choices by a former governor turned lobbyist whose time in elected office ended more than two decades ago

The next time Montana’s political press announces, with great excitement, that the former Republican governor has endorsed yet another Democrat, forgive me if I’m not particularly impressed.

We’ve seen this movie before. The ending never changes.

Thanks, but no thanks, Marc Racicot.

By: Jake Eaton

Editor’s note: Jake Eaton is an entrepreneur, investor, and Republican political consultant based in Billings, MT.  Mr. Eaton is an investor in the parent company of this site.