As The Missoulian pointed out, Montana Democrats had a poor showing among Native Americans in the 2022 midterm elections. Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT01) did very well in the West with Native American support in places like Glacier County, while Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT02) also did well in Eastern Montana.

If you read the Missoulian piece, what is the response from Montana Democrats on why they did so poorly? Excuses, excuses, excuses. That's basically all we got out of the Democrats here in Montana if you ask me. Not only did they lose both Congressional races in the East and the West, but they lost big in the legislature as well. They're going to have a super-minority in the state legislature in the upcoming session starting in January.

David Knobel joined me recently on the radio and made a great point as we were chatting about this story. One of the excuses they're making here as to why they did so poorly in Indian Country is that basically what the Democrats are saying is- well, the Native Americans didn't know where to vote. They didn't know where the polling locations were. What? Are Montana Democrats seriously suggesting that Native Americans couldn't figure out how to vote and that's why Native Americans did not show up to vote for you? Unbelievable.

What's another excuse. Well, it was cold outside on Election Day. Seriously? Are you kidding me? Native Americans learned how to survive in the bitter cold of Montana long before you and I were here.

And then they basically had other excuse. They claim that Native voters don't get as excited about the midterm elections. Well, that goes for non-Native voters as well.

This is just shocking when you think about what Montana Democrats are actually saying to Native Americans across Montana.

To me, there's a couple of obvious reasons why Native Americans not only did not want to turn out in big numbers for the Democrats, but why increasingly bigger numbers came out for the Republicans. Who do you think is suffering the most under Jon Tester and Joe Biden and the Democrat's policies right now? Gas prices, inflation, the fentanyl crisis on the Blackfeet reservation- are hitting rural areas, and especially our reservations, much harder than even the bigger cities in Montana.

I also think it comes down to respect, as Congressman Zinke pointed out in the above-referenced Missoulian piece:

Zinke said he thinks he gained support in Glacier County “because I have enormous respect for the Blackfeet Nation. Blackfeet are warriors,” he said. “And I respect the warrior culture...

The Democrats and their "Washington knows best" policies have been disrespectful to Montanans as a whole, especially when it comes to tribal energy projects.

By the way, here's a report from FoxNews.com from back in October:

Native American tribes dependent on fossil fuel resources rip Biden admin for double standard

 

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