Montana Going to the Right: Some Evidence

[barfbag]

It irks me how Montana and the Dakotas elect Democrats to the senate, but incumbents are judged based on what they do for the state and if all the Democrats know they need to do is a small project or two for their buddy from one of those states, then it will be in the budget to keep the voters happy with their congressman. It's not like there's much gerrymandering to be done to change their constituents.

Yes, how dare those Montanans and Dakotans expect their elected officials to do things for their state instead of adhering to agendas set by activists in Washington and giving tax cuts to rich people in Texas and New York.

What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I be irked when the other party wins a state that my party is stronger in? You make it sound like I have a problem with how and why voters vote the way they do.

[MalaspinaGold]

You seem to be asking why people in a republican state vote for democratic officials occasionally. You think it's because of earmarks. I assure you that is not the case.
Heidi Heitkamp won because she had been the Attorney General for a long time in a state and was very popular. Her opponent was a typical ladder politician, with no charisma. Heitkamp ran a perfect campaign, emphasizing where she disagreed with the president, and attacked her Washington opponent.

Jon Tester won in 2006 because his opponent, Conrad Burns, was a gaffemaker who compared muslims to ragheads, personally told firefighters they did a "piss-poor" job, and in addition was heavily tainted by the Abramoff scandal.

Mary Landrieu won in an era of split ticket voting, and by representing the views of the majority of her state, has kept trust, which allows her to keep getting narrowly elected, even as Louisiana moves to the right.

Of course politicians are going to call for earmarks to benefit their states; they represent states after all, not amorphous concepts such as "liberalism" and "conservatism" which is the case in other countries. If her constituents feel that her ability to get much needed funding and attention to their state (aka Mary Landrieu after Katrina) they tend to overlook the issues where they disagree. Look at how many democrats in New Jersey ike Chris Christie. To expect otherwise is a view tinged with elitism.