The Flip-Flop Flat Top from Montana Is At It Again
There's still snow on the ground. Temps are still dropping down into the teens. But it's already flip-flop season in Montana. Why? 2024.
That's right, Montana's "flip-flop flat top" senator is back at it again. Liberal Senator Jon Tester is one of the top targets in the 2024 election cycle, as Republicans hope to take back control of the US Senate. As a result, Jon Tester is already flip flopping on several key issues in an attempt to appear more moderate in advance of the 2024 elections.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was quick to call out Tester for finally voting against the Waters of the US (WOTUS) regulations that were first put in place by Obama, blocked by Trump, and then put back in place by Biden.
NRSC: In 2015, Tester voted in favor of the WOTUS rule after the Montana Farm Bureau Federation said it was the “biggest property rights violation affecting farmers and ranchers in Montana.” And just last month, he dismissed Republicans’ efforts to roll back Biden’s new WOTUS rule.
Meanwhile, Montana Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) has been a consistent opponent of WOTUS. He had this to say following today's vote:
Sen. Daines: Today’s passage of my challenge to President Biden’s ridiculous Waters of the United States regulation is a victory for Montana’s farmers and ranchers. The President and his army of unelected Washington bureaucrats are on a mission to overregulate Montana farmers and ranchers...WOTUS infringes on the rights of Montana farmers, ranchers and landowners and creates confusion and burdensome red tape; Montanans shouldn’t have to answer to the federal government over minor issues like the ditches on their property.
You might recall that Tester has also recently claimed that he supported the Keystone Pipeline, even though he voted against it at a critical moment. Tester is also taking no symbolic votes against things like ESG standards, knowing full well that Biden would veto the measure anyway. Tester has faced a number of scandals in the last few weeks, and is clearly trying to pivot ahead of the 2024 elections in a phony effort to appear more moderate.