Lee State Bureau: Tester, Baucus blast congressional Republicans' steady opposition
BILLINGS – Democratic U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus on Friday night decried Republicans’ consistent opposition to reforms such as revamping health care and financial industry, with Tester singling out Rep. Denny Rehberg for criticism.
Speaking to a dinner at the Montana Democratic Party platform convention, both senators touted some of the achievements led by Democrats in Congress since 2009, including bringing the U.S. economy back from the brink of collapse.
Tester blasted congressional Republicans as “the party of no” and put in a pitch for Dennis McDonald, who faces five-term incumbent Rehberg this fall.
Referring to Rehberg, Tester said, “It’s easy to sit back and throw tomatoes at fresh ideas, and new ways of doing business, when you don’t have anything of your own to offer. It’s easy to tell Montanans you’ve suddenly found religion when it comes to federal spending – after eight years of rubber stamping the historic credit card spending of George W. Bush.
“It’s very difficult to be a leader who actually gets things done for Montana. It’s easy to attend fancy East Cost golf fundraisers on Election Day. That, by the way, is exactly where Congressman Rehberg was on Election Day.”
Rehberg’s campaign manager Tyler Matthews said earlier this week that Rehberg did stop by a friend’s fundraiser Tuesday, but also cast votes on the House floor, met with senior staff and attended a White House picnic thrown by President Barack Obama.
