Schweitzer

I try to keep this blog non-political, and this may be my first every political post (though possibly not my last), but I'm a lifelong Democrat, and an Obama supporter. Have been since day one. I'm proud to be a current resident of Illinois (though I'm still an Angeleno at heart), and I'm proud that he represents my state.

But my dad was born and raised in Montana. I still have a ton of family back there. An aunt, three cousins (two more that grew up there before moving away), three cousin's spouses, eight second cousins, one spouse of a second cousin, and their two kids. I love the state of Montana, and I love going back to Sidney to visit my family (big fish in a small pond, someone once called them "the Kennedys of Sidney"). The Seitzes have been business owners for something like 60 years, from my grandfather's (who I never met) clothing shop to my uncle's insurance agency, now operated by my cousins.

And as much as I like living in Illinois, damn, I wish this guy was my governor.



My aunt might tell you he doesn't do enough for eastern Montana. As if a town going through a major oil boom needs governmental support. And of course, 98% of the population lives WEST of Sidney, so yeah, a politician is going to focus on that part of the state. But these are the types of politicians that make Democrats viable in the Mountain West. Just because I don't think you need an AK-47 on the streets of Chicago doesn't mean I want to take your hunting rifle away. My cousins are hunters, and they're real conservationists. That's common ground. I actually was rooting for Schweitzer for Veep, but I'll settle for Democrats in the top three positions in Montana politics.

Now we just need to get rid of the most corrupt Republicans in government up in my brother's home state of Alaska.