Political Witch Hunt Over, Vogel Innocent!

Yesterday, a jury in Virginia City got it right. Randy Vogel was proven innocent of all charges stemming from an incident last hunting season. The incident in question was fairly ambiguous and obviously couldn’t stand the in the realm of public opinion or in front of a jury. In the end Mr. Vogel and his representation decided to defend themselves on the basis of the incident itself, but for five months leading up to the trial he would not give up on the idea that these charges were politically motivated. Now here in Montana we can’t imagine that a Democratic administration would waste their time to bring frivolous charges about on a prominent staff member of the only Republican in the Congressional delegation. While this hypothesis may be a little far-fetched, there are a couple of facts which need to be explored upon.

First, the day these charges were brought about, March 3, two days after Mr. Vogel took the job as Congressman Rehberg’s State Director. Is it not curious that these charges stemming from an incident which took place two or three months before were just served on March 3, in coincidence with the job announcement? It was a classic moment when Rehberg challenger Dennis McDonald spoke about the case on the morning of March 3 BEFORE the citations were filed; basically admitting that he had prior knowledge of the political release.

Secondly, we need to remember the amount of Democratic Party officials who have been put into prominent positions in state government. Some of the most notable include Sen. Mike Cooney as Labor and Industry Department Administrator, Rep. Dave McAlpin as State Crime Lab Administrator, Sen. Jesse Laslovich as an attorney in the State Auditor’s office, and finally, Rep. Art Noonan as Deputy Director of the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Oddly enough, Rep. Noonan was appointed, not elected to the legislature in place of Rep. Groesbeck, who passed away suddenly before the 2009 Legislative Session. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party under Chairman Dennis McDonald.

This isn’t the only incident where political motivations have come into play, remember also in March, a 37-year well respected state worker at the Department of Commerce was forced to retire early (a mere 20 days early) because he answered the questions of a Republican state legislator about questionable delays in grants to local governments. This type of politicizing people’s lives is not strange to the Democrats under Dennis McDonald – last year after The Night of the Boat Wreck, Mr. McDonald began issuing press releases almost daily attacking Rehberg, without any sympathy for other passengers still in critical condition.

After its coming end in November, the McDonald reign over the Democratic Party in Montana will be remembered as one without regard for facts and one without any thought but political gain in mind. It is the people of Montana who are currently paying for absurd poaching charges and a policy that everyone is expendable in the realm of political posturing.