Former Montana Congressman Marlenee Dies at 84

Former Montana Congressman Ron Marlenee (R-MT) passed away Sunday at the age of 84.

Up until the 1992 election, Montana had two members of the US House of Representatives. Marlenee represented the Eastern Montana district.

Mike Dennison also has a story for the Montana Television Network where he notes:

No other Montana Republican has served longer in the U.S. House.

On Monday, I spoke with former Congressman Rick Hill and Denny Rehberg about the life and legacy of Ron Marlenee on the radio. We also got some great phone calls, and a studio drop in from former staffers like Dan DuBray and Greg Franks, respectively.

Franks said Marlenee was like Donald Trump before there was Donald Trump in Washington. He told me, "It's a good thing we didn't have Twitter back in Ron's day," with a laugh. One of his favorite stories is when Marlenee was asked what he thought about the spotted owl. "Tastes like chicken," Marlenee remarked.

Former Congressman Denny Rehberg also shared some great insight. Check out our full conversation below:

If you want to see Marlenee's old floor speeches in Congress, and a campaign debate from the 1992 election- C-SPAN has 92 different videos featuring Marlenee in their online archive.

Here's his official bio from The US House of Representatives:

MARLENEE, RONALD CHARLES, a Representative from Montana; born in Scobey, Daniels County, Mont., August 8, 1935; educated in the public schools of Daniels County; attended: Montana State University, Bozeman; University of Montana, Missoula; and Reisch School of Auctioneering, Mason City, Iowa; farmer and rancher; committeeman, Second Congressional District of Montana, 1975-1976; elected as a Republican to the Ninety-fifth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1977-January 3, 1993); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1992 to the One Hundred Third Congress; is a resident of Scobey, Mont.