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[quote user="arbfbe"] FM,   Yes, Conrad, the auctioneer turned radio broadcaster, county commissioner turned US Senator fancied himself a friend of agriculture.  He certainly attended enough county fairs and stock auctions while putting out his ag report.  He ran against a veterinarian turned US Senator who also was a freind to agriculture about 18 yrs ago.  One of Conrad's promises was to not run after two terms since he was a firm believer in term limits.  That changed 6 years ago when suddenly seniority was more important than fresh ideas.  The only fresh ideas Conrad had came straight from the Republican Caucus until they started coming from Jack Abramhoff and his clients.  Conrad would likely still be in the Senate if he had kept playing by the rules.  Instead he started to insert pork at the last minute in larger bills.  Some came to Montana and some was to benefit schools on a Native American Reservation in another state while at the same time telling Montanans he could not find any more money for schools in MT.  He admitted to putting his foot in his mouth on several occasions, some of which made him too much of a hick for rural Montanans to stomach.  His tirad against hot shot crews fighting fires in Montana this summer including an implied threat of bodily injury was way over the top and in public.  Conrad's rate regulation, rate reduction, rate investigation never were an issue.  Only the ag folks would even pay attention to that and probably the ag voters are confident that Senator elect Testor will carry their torch on that issue.  You have to consider that Governor Schweitzer (D) raises wheat in the Kalispell area and Senator elect Testor (D) is an organic farmer raising grains in the Big Sandy area where BNSF wants to abandon the only rail line service through that town.  So you must think ag interests in the state are well represented in the government even if it is by LIBERAL Democrats.  The defeat of Burns by Testor is likely a benefit to the state even if you commonly vote for the knee jerk conservatives.  If you try to eek out a living on the family farm big ag business is not likely your friend.  Perhaps the knee jerk liberals can bring more light to the business practices so detrimental to the smaller players in MT.  If not you can figure Testor will be back driving tractor and combine in 2012.   [/quote] Apparently you are a Montanan (and apparenty on more than one level[:-,]) Yes, yes, I know, those evil Republicans took money from Abramhoff (but no Democrats did, right?). Etc, etc, etc.  Because if you believe all the so-called corruption of Republicans is so overwhelming while the Democrats are so down to earth, I've got some mango orchards in the Owyhees I'd like to sell you.  It's akin to that Bible verse - all we've heard over the last few years is the focus on the specks in the Republicans' eyes, all the while ignoring the timbers sticking out of the Democrats' eyes. In the process of regurgitating to us all the evils of Conrad Burns, you have missed the two subtilties I brought forth regarding Montana rail shipping fortunes: 1.  Without Conrad Burns' leading the charge, any hope for rate reductions or intramodal rail competition for Montana grain shippers is now nil.  Baucus has been staying below the radar on this one - why would that change now? 2.  An even more ominous threat to Montana economic fortunes - with Democrats now having that 1 vote majority in the US Senate, Barbara Boxer now heads the Senate Environmental committee, meaning all new coal prospects are DOA.  It does not matter one whit if Baucus, Tester, and Schweitzer go gung-ho for new coal power plants and synthetic diesel plants, with Boxer at the helm it just ain't gonna happen.  Contrast that with what would have occurred had Burns won re-election:  The US Senate is a 50/50 tie, with Cheney now the tie-breaker, and James Imhoff of Oklahoma is the Senate Environmental chairman.  Imhoff favored new coal developments (not to mention expanded petroleum development), and he opposes any attempts to tax or regulate carbon dioxide, an unavoidable emission from any type of coal plant. If indeed Montanans favor those new coal development plans of Schweitzer, then they should have realized the subtilties of the situation in DC and voted accordingly.  But as greyhounds and the rest have inferred over the last few years, perhaps Montanans just don't have the collective insight to comprehend The Big Picture.
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