The latest opportunity that Democrats have for sticking it to President Donald Trump in a special congressional election is the May 25 contest for Montana’s at-large seat, vacated by Ryan Zinke who was appointed as Trump’s secretary of agriculture. The contest pits Republican Greg Gianforte against Democrat Rob Quist. The two candidates met in a televised debate recently when the subject of climate change came up. Quist had some bizarre remarks on the subject, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
“This is something that the entire world needs to address.
If any those of you that feel like this is not a problem, I challenge you to go into your car in your garage, start your car, and see what happens there."
What happens, of course, is that you die as Quist has described a common method of committing suicide. But it would have nothing to do with climate change.
The statement caused facepalms across the state of Montana and then nationwide as the story went viral. Climate change, for those who are unfamiliar with the controversy, is said to be caused by excess carbon dioxide, a gas that is, by the way, essential to life on this planet. The gas that comes out of a car tailpipe is carbon monoxide, a deadly poison if breathed in too much quantity. The candidate’s mixing up the two does not suggest that he has thought very much on the subject of climate change besides the fact that it is an issue to beat up on Republicans with.
Quist is quite a colorful person, having made a number of musical performances at a local nudist resort along with his daughter. He is a well-known singer-songwriter. He has eschewed help from national Democrats but has promised to campaign with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont should the former presidential candidate be so inclined to make the trip to Montana.
How the socialist senator will be received in the deep red state can but be imagined.
Thus far Democrats have lost a special election in Kansas and have seen another in Georgia go to a runoff where the Democratic candidate is favored to lose. The strategy of amassing a string of wins in special elections as a way to undermine Trump and bump up liberal enthusiasm seems to be backfiring so far.
The nudist science challenged candidate in Montana is not likely to break that string of defeats.
The question arises, what now for the Democrats. Total resistance to Trump does not seem to be a winning strategy, except as a means to obstruct some of the president’s agenda. That may not be enough to flip the House and Senate in 2018 though.
