If “democracy was at stake” in the election, I guess we can conclude that democracy is toast, saddle pals. 

While there will be no shortage of whining and finger-pointing coming up in the foreseeable future, the grim fact is that the Democrats’ sorry “centrist” strategy has failed again — and the first convicted felon in the nation’s history and self-described “dictator on day one” will re-ascend to the presidency.

Closer to home, here in Montana the befuddled and dysfunctional Democratic Party has almost finished the job of marching itself to political extirpation.  There’s no Endangered Species Act for political parties, but if there were, Montana’s Democrats would definitely be on the list.

One good thing about being a politically independent columnist is having a more objective view of the two major political parties without wearing the blinders of unquestioning party loyalty.  And that view of the disintegrating Democrats surely suggests if they don’t want to go extinct they’d best be cleaning house, tossing the old and obviously ineffective staff, consultants and strategists and starting over.  After all, there’s really very little left to lose.

While there are many, the first of their failed campaign “strategies” was dealing with our outrageous property taxes. Claiming they would provide a simple “fix” if the Republican governor would call a special legislative session, it was a safe ruse because they knew there was no chance that would happen. 

Even then, their “fix” would only have affected the state portion of property taxes when the vast majority of Montana’s property taxes are local, not state, as anyone looking at their property tax bill can plainly see.   

But that didn’t stop them from making it their primary message, despite their long-standing record as the party of “tax and spend” rather than reducing taxes. Yet, while they hurled accusations and hypothetical solutions, what voters actually got were $675 checks from the Republican administration. You know, hard cash on the barrel head.  No need to guess which was more effective, eh?

Or how about running Ryan Busse for governor, a guy with no experience in governing and whose main message seemed to be a scare campaign about access to public lands and waters. Moreover,  Busse was a Republican before he ran as a chameleon Democrat — and the same is true of the Demo’s losing congressional candidate for the western district.  

And then there was Jon Tester, a Democrat who decided to try to be more Republican by ditching his party’s candidate for president and emulating West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s support for more dirty fossil fuels, pipelines, and desecration of public lands to produce those antiquated, climate-killing fuels.  

But guess that didn’t work out so well either.  As the old saying goes, if people want to vote for a Republican, they’ll vote for a real one, not a Democrat talking like one.

The list of the Democrat Party electoral strategy failures goes on and on, including attacking the personal wealth of Republican candidates — which is generally looked upon as a measure of success in this society.

When you stack up the failed messages, themes and misdirected priorities Montana’s Democrats threw at voters, there’s really not much mystery of why they don’t hold even one statewide office.  

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is commonly defined as insanity.  After last election’s wipe-out, and now this one, that’s a harsh reality the Dems have to face.  As another political Independent, Bernie Sanders, recently put it: “Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?  Probably not.” 

MISSOULA — Junior Bergen was born to play the game of football and, even more, thrive under the bright lights and in the biggest moments.

His career with the Montana Grizzlies has been decorated with unforgettable memories, and it’s something Bergen has built toward his entire life.

“I really, truly love those moments,” Bergen said. “Some people kind of get a little nervous, and I was always the kid, we’re in the driveway and I’m counting down, 3 … 2 … 1 and buzzer beater, or, I’m running down the sideline, like clock’s running out, my dad’s counting down, like stuff like that, two-minute drills.

“I was always the kid to do that stuff, and that kind of just became who I am.”

Bergen has electrified football fans since he arrived at Montana from Billings Senior High in what’s been a record-breaking career.

It all started in Billings for him, and Bergen remembered picking up a football at the age of 3 and immediately attaching to the game.

“I’m that same kid,” he said. “My mom always says you can always see my face when I was 3 years old in a helmet. Just kind of like just being that same person. It’s just kind of who I’ve always been I guess.”

Like any arriving freshman, Bergen’s eyes were wide when he got to Montana.

That ramped up even more when as a true freshman he spent the season at running back, where he was needed because of injuries to others.

James Dobson/MTN Sports

“And I was like, ‘Holy crap,’” Bergen remembered. “I went right in the locker room and told my dad, and my dad was like, ‘Oh shoot, like, you going to play do you think?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t see why they’d moved me over if I wasn’t.’ So it was crazy, but it was super exciting. And, you know, I was just happy to just get on the field really.”

“It flew by, man, it feels like just the other day I was checking into my dorm and, you know, getting everything going in there and getting my locker and all that stuff. Tried to learn everything as quick as I could, because I knew then when that opportunity presented, I wanted to be ready for it.”

From there, Bergen has built a career as a dynamic playmaker, who always comes up clutch when the pressure is on, and all eyes are on him, whether against rival Montana State, or last year’s unforgettable run to Frisco and the FCS national championship game where Bergen returned two punts and a kick for scores in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, and also caught a touchdown in overtime against North Dakota State.

James Dobson / MTN Sports

“Pressure means things are expected of you, so I just had to take that for what it is and just try to go out and do my best,” Bergen said. “Obviously, my coach is trusting me. That means a lot in itself. That gives me a lot of confidence to go out and do whatever it is I’m asked to do.”

This year as a senior, it’s continued, and this past weekend against Cal Poly Bergen set a Big Sky Conference record with his sixth career punt return touchdown, a mark he never thought he’d break when he arrived.

“I remember one of my first punt returns at practice, coach (Brent) Pease threw me back there, and I go running back, and I slipped and fell,” he said with a laugh. “And I was like, dude, I never want to do this again. And, yeah, I just kept catching them, kept catching them. And then after a while, it became so normal. You got so much confidence. And that’s really a big thing in that punt return stuff.

“Obviously, I set high goals for myself, and I try to accomplish those every year. But coming in here, that one, that one wasn’t up there, but my dad always says, try to make sure you leave your mark on the program. And you know that’s something that can’t be taken away until somebody comes and breaks it.”

Bergen’s racked up All-America and all-Big Sky honors in his career and has scored 24 total touchdowns in a variety of ways.

It’s a video game-like stat chart for him, with 575 career rushing yards and four scores, one passing touchdown, the six punt returns plus the one kickoff house call, all wrapped up with his 128 receptions for 1,615 yards and 12 touchdowns he’s had in his time with the Grizzlies.

James Dobson/MTN Sports

Despite missing the first two games of this season, Bergen has amassed 31 catches for 380 yards and two scores in his senior campaign to also go along with his punt return score from last Saturday.

He’s a football junkie at heart and has loved every minute of what the game has presented him. Plus, it’s meant the world to represent his home state and those around him with the Griz, and it’s about enjoying each and every moment as his story continues to write itself out in historic and memorable fashion.

“When I go back home, a lot of people let me know, ‘We’re proud of you around here, you’re doing your thing, good job,’” Bergen said. “It means a lot, people’s eyes are on you, and I’m blessed, really, just blessed. I can’t really say much else.

“I want to soak it all in, every day, just kind of just enjoy it, embrace it, and take it for what it is. We’ll never get these days back. And I just want to be appreciative and show gratitude for that, because it’s been truly a blessing around here.”

Wisconsin is playing at the Kohl Center as 17.5-point favorites against Montana State on Thursday night but there’s a respectable Badgers analyst who thinks they will lose.

Evan Flood, who covers the Badgers for 247Sports, is picking the Bobcats to upset the Badgers.

“The Bobcats were a NCAA Tournament team a year ago,” Flood reasoned, noting that Montana State returns three starters from last year’s team while also adding Utah State transfer Max Agbonkpolo.

Flood believes that because Montana State “is an experienced group” featuring nine players with four-plus years of college basketball experience, coupled with the fact that Wisconsin is “still gelling defensively and really doesn’t have its rotation ironed out” is a “less than ideal” situation that sets the stage for the upset.

Montana State does indeed have scoring depth and experience. And they aren’t just a team that went to the NCAA Tournament last season. They also made the tournament in 2022-23 and 2021-22, so they’re riding a three-year NCAA Tournament streak as the three-time reigning Big Sky Conference champs.

The Bobcats have size. They run out three guards who are 6-foot-6, 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-2, respectively, while mixing in a 6-foot-7 forward and a 6-foot-10 center. And pretty much everyone on the team can shoot. In fact, Montana State coach Matt Logie recently called this the best shooting team he’s had in his long coaching career.

If the Badgers lose, it cost them more than a loss because it’s a “buy game.”

That means the University of Wisconsin is paying Montana State to travel to Madison and play the game. How much? According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the Badgers are paying Montana State $100,000.