According to the Daily Inter Lake, a fundraiser was held on Aug. 20 for Ryan Zinke, Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, at which attendees paid $10,000 per couple to participate in a “roundtable discussion” with Zinke and House Speaker John Boehner, or $1,000 to attend a reception with them.  

About 100 people attended the event at a private home in Whitefish.  Zinke is quoted as saying, “…the makeup of the audience really represented all parts of the Republican party...” 

The same evening a fundraiser was held for John Lewis, Zinke’s Democratic opponent, at a reception and dinner with no prescribed contribution. The average contribution probably was around $100, many were for less, and some people came to meet the candidate without contributing.

It appears very likely that Mr. Zinke’s and Speaker Boehner’s audience was NOT made up of all parts of the Republican Party but of lobbyists and members of the top tier of America’s income and wealth pyramid — people who can afford such contributions. John Lewis’ audience was made up of voters of all income levels.

This contrast defines a main difference between the parties.  Democrats therefore concern themselves with issues important to people who are not wealthy — employment, wages, public education, and the costs of college and health care. Republicans give lip service to these issues, while opposing funding and other measures to address them, and concern themselves meanwhile with holding down income and estate taxes affecting the rich, and cutting spending that benefits the broader society.  

In comments on his event, Zinke quoted Boehner as repeating Republican falsehoods about Obamacare “and the scale of people who are going to lose their current insurance and …access to health care.” In fact Obamacare has increased by millions the number with health insurance that, by the way, cannot be denied or terminated when you get sick.

Some people believe that there is little difference between the major parties. This is not the case. Republicans under both Reagan and G.W. Bush have been fiscally irresponsible, cutting taxes, hiking military spending and ballooning federal debt. Democrats under Clinton and Obama have steadily curtailed deficits, slowed build-up of debt, stabilized the economy and proven cautious about foreign military involvements. 

Please register and vote for candidates who support the interests of Montana’s majority. —Bill Cox, Kalispell