Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Greg Gianforte, a Republican candidate for governor in Montana, plays stick games at the Arlee Celebration. (Photo via the candidate’s tweet.)
Make no mistake: The 2016 election is not routine. If you want proof, look no further than the weekend encampment at Montana’s Arlee Celebration. This is Trahant Reports.
The Arlee Celebration has been around for 118 years and it’s always on July 4th. So on Friday afternoon the Republican candidate for governor, Greg Gianforte, showed up at the celebration with a colleague and then proceeded to serve grilled burgers to all comers. Free food? At a powwow? Sure. Fire. Hit.
After the food, Gianforte played a round of stick games. That’s a traditional gambling game played in many parts of the country where you to try to discover in which hand someone is hiding a bone.
While Gianforte’s visit was friendly; he wasn’t exactly talking policy. This is where a Republican gamble for Indian Country gets tricky.
In any election it is smart for a Republican to try and peel off a few Native American votes. Montana Democrats have been successful reaching out to tribal communities for a long time, especially after the 2005 election of Gov. Brian Schweitzer. And it makes perfect sense for the GOP to pitch Native voters at a powwow.
But just a few miles from the camp is a visible reminder about how complex a simple idea can be. Just as you enter the reservation, a billboard advertises against the water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as an assault against non-Indian property rights. (It’s a deal that still must be approved by the federal government.)
Again in normal times it would be easy to dismiss antics of what are essentially fringe groups. But the Confederated Tribes’ territory, where the annual July 4th celebration occurs, is the heart of Montana’s opposition to tribal treaty rights, tribal management of resources, and, well just about anything with a reference to a tribe in any phrase.
This is where the Republican fault line is visible. The same people who shout at their government for working with tribes to solve problems are the ones who formed the Tea Party.
What makes this GOP divide even more pronounced is Donald Trump. As the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party he is adding fuel to The Hateful Mix, a blend of racism and anti-government rhetoric.
And that’s a mixture that not every Republican can tolerate.
On Friday former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot wrote in The Washington Post that he could neither endorse nor vote for Trump. Yet Rep. Ryan Zinke not only endorsed Trump but suggested he might make a good pick as vice president.
So every Republican candidate this election will play stick games. Look close: Which hand is hiding the bone marked Trump and which hand will be free?
I am Mark Trahant reporting.
Trahant Reports is brought to you by Kauffman & Associates, Inc., a Native American owned, woman-owned small business that has delivered innovative solutions for government and commercial clients since 1990. KAI’s expertise spans diverse specialty areas, including public health, education, and economic development.
I ate the free hot dog and hamburger from Gianforte. Still going to vote Democrat.