I have to respectfully disagree with Montana Headlines. Bob Kelleher is not better than Max Baucus. He’s worse. Much worse. He’s not a Republican, but worse, he’s not conservative. He’s liberal as hell.
So I was a little relieved when I read this over at Billings Blog. Maybe a write-in candidacy for Lange? It’s an uphill battle, sure, but that’s nothing new. Republicans were never supposed to win this thing. And maybe a conservative running independent of damaged Republican Party wouldn’t actually be a bad thing. A black-horse candidate could blind-side Baucus and by the time he knew what was going on, it would be too late for the national muscle to step in.
Readers of this blog know that I think Max is much more vulnerable than you’d think if you just read Montana press. He’s the textbook definition of “gone Washington” right up to the fact that he doesn’t even own a house in Montana! He’s unpopular with his base and a thorn in his party’s liberal tendancies nationally.
Here’s the question: If Max Baucus didn’t have $10 million in out-of-state money would anyone still think he was untouchable?
Montana’s an unpredictable state when it comes to politics, so when it comes to money and votes, it would be a mistake to write-off an write-in victory for Lange.
