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James Brown (R-Dillon) is definitely one of the good guys in Montana politics and policy. In addition to his political and legal work, he's spent several years working with the fine folks at the Montana Woolgrowers Association.

It should be no surprise then that, even though he was just elected to the Montana Public Service Commission in the November elections, he has already been unanimously selected to serve as chairman.

In a press release from the PSC, Brown described the position of chair as a “chairmanship among equals.”

It’s an honor to have the confidence and support of my peers as a newly elected commissioner. The PSC is unique in that it is not run by a single agency head, but five dedicated public servants who bring unique life experiences and skillsets to the office.

According to the PSC release, Brown is a fourth-generation Montanan who grew up and went to school in Beaverhead County. He's a lawyer by profession, who operates his own law firm with offices in Dillon and Helena.

In addition to Brown joining the PSC, former State Senator Jennifer Fielder (R-Thompson Falls) was also sworn in. Fielder was elected to the PSC after getting the full endorsement of The Missoulian editorial board! (They, of course, later retracted their endorsement after the Missoula liberals freaked out)

FLASHBACK: Missoula Liberals Explode- Paper Endorses Jennifer Fielder for PSC |

Credit Montana State Legislature
Credit Montana State Legislature
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"Missoulian editorial: Jennifer Fielder is the breath of fresh air the Montana Public Service Commission so badly needs right now."

That was the Facebook post shared by The Missoulian newspaper a little after 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, and man, you should have seen the liberals explode in anger. It was one of those break-out-the-popcorn moments.

Here are some of the comments that were left on The Missoulian's Facebook page:

"Absolutely horrifying!"..."The Missoulian is an obvious corporate shill. We’ve been subscribers to the Missoulian for nearly 40 years. No more."..."Deep sadness today Missoulian!"

Another commenter named Bart couldn't help but laugh at all the outrage from the left:
Liberals are going off the rails today because the Missoulian has the foresight to endorse a fine woman to the seat. Lmao.

 

Here's how I read this endorsement by The Missoulian: Senator Fielder is clearly the more qualified candidate of the two. Plus, the liberal Lee Newspapers almost always endorse Democrats for the most important races (unless it is clear the Dem will lose anyway). They'll typically throw an endorsement or two in the lower tier races to a Republican just to look fair- and I figured that's what they did here.

But now there is a new comical twist. As it turns out, The Missoulian's editor was apparently so outraged that the paper endorsed a Republican, she resigned her position. Shock! Horror!

Oh, it turns out she was already going to retire on Wednesday...but she announced it two days early instead. So, I guess it wasn't the Jerry Maguire moment we thought it was gonna be.

So now, after being pressured by one of their liberal editors, The Missoulian has now retracted their editorial and is endorsing the Democrat. Ha. What journalistic courage.

"An endorsement motivated by extortion is not an endorsement." That was former Rep. Adam Hertz's (R-Missoula) reaction.

Of course, the liberal Lee Newspapers have no problem endorsing the Democrat candidate for Office of Public Instruction whose husband got busted with meth and several other serious drugs. He also is a school teacher. The Democrat candidate and her husband hid this news from the public, and he reportedly never spent a night in jail. Yet, she wants to oversee all the teachers in the state.

The lesson here kids, you can be all sorts of meth'ed up...but as long as you're a Democrat, you'll still get the endorsement from Lee Newspapers.

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