Montana
I tried asking Sheehy questions. He kicked me to the curb. • Daily Montanan
In the business world, CEOs have to answer to their shareholders about the successes and failures of their company. You can’t dodge questions you don’t like in the boardroom, and you can’t hide from the people you were hired to serve.
Running for elected office shouldn’t be any different. Any individual seeking to represent Montana has an obligation to, at the very least, show up and answer basic questions from voters about who they are and who they claim to be.
But Tim Sheehy thinks he can play by a different set of rules in his campaign for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat. I’m a Montana voter who recently tried to attend one of Sheehy’s public events to ask him simple questions about his failing business and his financial obligations to Gallatin County. Instead of looking me in the eyes and answering my questions like a man, Sheehy ordered his political attack-dogs to forcibly remove me from the venue.
JUST NOW: Gallatin County-based financial expert Marc Cohodes, who has highlighted the issues with Sheehy’s company in op-eds and interviews, engaged with Tim Sheehy and tries asking questions. Sheehy shouts back at him as Marc gets thrown out #mtpol #mtsen pic.twitter.com/6ZFEB7AEqG
— Hannah Rehm (@HannahRehm_) September 30, 2024
Sheehy’s cowardly move to dodge questions from the Montana constituents he is running to represent is part of a larger, well-documented effort to avoid having to answer for his shady business record and lengthy list of lies. CNN recently reported that Sheehy “rarely grants interviews to local or national press, while his campaign doesn’t discuss his schedule or provide information about his events, which tend to be closed affairs.” Sheehy is running scared from both the press and the people.
This all begs the question: what is Sheehy trying to hide?
Well, as a financial expert who has spent my career taking on scammers and crooks, it is obvious to me that Sheehy is afraid to answer questions because he knows he will be exposed as the fraud that he is. The simple fact is that Sheehy’s company has more than $200 million in debt all because of his failed leadership. So here are three questions that I would have asked Sheehy in person had he given me the chance:
- How could Bridger possibly pay back its enormous debt – especially when the company has lost more than $150 million under your leadership in the past four years?
- What is the risk to Gallatin County if your company defaults on its bond, and how do we know taxpayers won’t be strapped with the bill?
- Why won’t you take accountability for running Bridger into the financial red? If you won’t tell the truth about your failing business, and you won’t answer questions from voters, how can Montanans trust you to represent us in the Senate?
These three questions should be easy for Sheehy to answer. And if we were in the boardroom, he would have nowhere to hide. But Sheehy is trying to run out the clock on the campaign trail and fool Montana voters into buying what he’s selling.
If Montana voters want to vote for a candidate who has run his business straight into the ground, wants to sell off our public lands to his wealthy out-of-state friends, attacks a woman’s right to choose while saying slimy things about crawling out of his “mother’s womb,” and continues to tell lies to the press and the public, that is their choice to make. But until Tim Sheehy answers basic questions from Montana voters, he is not fit to serve our great state.
The simple fact is that just like company shareholders, Montana should be asking about Tim Sheehy’s deeply flawed business record and his refusal to answer questions.
HELENA — When President Donald Trump announced a plan last week to import more beef from Argentina, it drew quick criticism from ranchers in Montana. Now, Montana’s members of Congress say they’re pushing the administration to change course.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines told MTN he quickly began hearing from Montanans in the cattle business after reports came out about Trump’s plan.
“The word I would describe is they feel betrayed,” he said.
(Watch the video to hear more reaction from Montana’s congressional delegation.)
Montana’s congressional delegation pushing back on plan to import beef from Argentina
Daines said Montana beef producers have already been under pressure from drought and market forces. He said this step was “an unforced error” by the administration.
All four members of Montana’s congressional delegation are Republicans. They all say the Republican president’s plan was the wrong direction and that they’ve made that case when speaking with administration leaders.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who represents Montana’s western congressional district, says he understands why Trump wanted to tackle high beef prices, but that this wasn’t the right way for him to do it.
“Having a healthy cattle industry, having a healthy poultry industry and having a healthy supply chain for food is really national security,” he told MTN. “So he understands that, and I think we’re going to see some action in making sure or calming a lot of the fears from the cattlemen out there.”
Earlier this year, Daines visited Argentina and met with its conservative president, Javier Milei, during a South American tour advocating for Trump’s trade policies. He said his opinions on the country and its government don’t play any role in his feelings on this proposed deal.
“I don’t care if this is Argentinian beef or beef coming from anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The answer for what’s going on right now in the markets is not to import more beef – bottom line. It doesn’t matter where it comes from; it happens to be Argentina.”
Daines said it would be better for Montana’s cattle industry for the U.S. to focus on opening export markets rather than import markets. In 2017, Daines celebrated an agreement that led to China buying millions of dollars in Montana beef – but he said Thursday that the country has shut the doors to American beef during the ongoing trade dispute with the Trump administration.
“We were shipping over $1 billion a year in beef last year, and now it’s gone to zero,” he said.
In a statement to MTN, Sen. Tim Sheehy said he’s been talking with Trump and his team, looking for a path forward.
“Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “Both can be accomplished by lowering input costs and providing a reliable, pro-growth environment for producers so ranchers can grow their operation, capture more of the value they create, and feed the nation with affordable, healthy, high-quality beef.”
Zinke and Daines say they also see areas where the federal government can make moves that will benefit both Montana ranchers and Montana consumers. Daines wants Congress to do more to tackle the huge market share four large packing companies have in the beef industry – a situation he calls a “monopoly.”
“Our ranchers don’t set the price; that price is set for them,” he said.
Zinke wants to put additional emphasis on country-of-origin labeling for beef.
“In Montana, we have a brand and that brand has value,” he said. “When it’s made in Montana, you know it’s at the top, the quality is there. And our ranchers sell premium product – that’s important.”
Daines said he supports country-of-origin labeling also, though he wants to make sure any additional steps the U.S. takes doesn’t lead to unintended consequences or retribution from countries like Canada.
WESTERN MONTANA — Here’s a look at Western Montana’s top news stories for Wednesday.
The University of Montana removed Business Professor Anthony Richard Pawlisz from faculty after he was charged with criminal endangerment in Ravalli County court. Pawlisz allegedly pulled a gun on a man and fired a shot into the air after a fight outside of a bar in Florence on Aug. 17, according to court documents. His former class will continue under Professor Udo Fluck. (Read the full story)
Nathaniel Luke Smith pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Monday after posing a threat to Mission High School on Oct. 8, which prompted increased police presence while classes continued. Smith is also serving a three-year deferred sentence for intimidation from an incident in November 2024. (Read the full story)
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he will not be using state funds to temporarily cover SNAP benefits for nearly 78,000 enrolled Montanans if federal funding runs out on Nov. 1. Amidst a government shutdown, he said it’s a federal responsibility — despite calls from Democrats and food banks to use leftover state money. (Read the full story)
Head Start programs in two Vermont regions may face temporary closure amid federal shutdown – VTDigger
Palace’s statement on Andrew is ‘vindication’ for Virginia Giuffre, says her family
Judges order feds to fund SNAP program. Oregon, Washington recipients could still face delays
How did Wisconsin basketball transfers perform in win over UW-Platteville?
Former WV GOP Chair broke child’s confidentiality during Marion County trial, troopers say
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Trump and Xi skip Taiwan talk despite years of war preparations
Al-Qaeda linked JNIM says one killed in its first Nigeria attack
Trump puts candy on trick-or-treater’s head at Halloween event
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