Letters to the editor Aug. 2

Good ol’ boys

It just isn’t right.

The good ol’ boys in Helena and the national liberals in D.C. — you know, the folks that brought Maine the accused rapist — are now a pack of hounds, baying after Ret. Lt. Col. Alani Bankhead, demanding that she abandon her character and declare herself a loser and a quitter.

Like Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena,” this retired federal special agent strode fearlessly into the dusty arena of the Montana Democratic senatorial primary and won fair and square. But now the men want the woman to run away. Mike Mansfield would be ashamed.

Perhaps they feel that she lacks name recognition. Boy, she’s got it now. And perhaps they feel she lacks sufficient “manly” spinal steel. 

Or perhaps they fear that she has too much.

What the boys are doing just isn’t right.

— Andy Palchak, Kalispell

Vacation rentals

A recent article stated  that vacation rentals contribute $755 million to Montana economy. The article should have said that vacation rentals commercialize residential neighborhoods and take $755 million in business from the lodging industry. 

Every day in Montana we have strangers, bent on having a good time, move in next door in a VROB. People who are complete strangers with unknown history, ethics or morals in a short-term rental. This basically changes our area from residential to a commercial zoning.

Some homes are purchased to do this on a full-time basis. It is a violation of zoning laws. I cant start a commercial business in a residential area and that is what this is.

If you could put wings on a pig, it’s not an eagle, it’s still a pig,

— Dennis McDowell, Bigfork

Sneaky and corrupt

Kurt Alme’s newest ad on TV and on the flyer in my mailbox says he will fight corruption in Washington.

Ho ho, that’s a stretch. His candidacy itself is a prime example of corruption. Montana U.S. Sen.Steve Daines withdrew from the 2026 Senate race minutes (literally, it was just three minutes) before the filing deadline in March and he endorsed Alme who registered his candidacy just before the filing deadline. That’s sneaky and corrupt. Republicans in particular should be angry and insulted by the way Dianes essentially picked his own successor without any input from his constituents.

Does he think Montanans are stupid? Alme will represent the interests of President Trump, who is also the face of corruption in office. Forbes, PBS and other news sources cite that Trump has raised his net worth by $2.4 billion his first year back in office. That’s many times his salary as the U.S. president. The office of president is to serve the citizens of the country, not rob them.

The flyer in my mailbox was from American Leadership Fund, which is reported as a dark money group that spends money to influence elections without disclosing original funding sources.

What kind of corruption does Alme intend to take on?

— Stephanie Brancati, Big Arm