In case you missed it, Air America's Politically Direct had a great interview with Governor Brian Schweitzer on Father's Day. You can download the archive here:
Brian Schweitzer Interview
This guy is the real deal. He may be in a red state, but he's not afraid to stick his neck out for Howard Dean:
David Bender: Let me ask you, talking about plainspoken people, Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee... A lot of people have compared your styles...both from small rural states that have spoken their minds plainly.
The interviewer goes on to ask if the two met during Dean's trip to Montana. Unfortunately, Schweitzer was attending his oldest son's H.S. graduation across the state.
David Bender: But you wouldn't have any problem appearing with him publicly?
Schweitzer: Oh not at all, not at all. You know, Howard Dean, like me, has an A rating from the NRA. Howard Dean, like me, had been a fiscal conservative as the governor of Vermont. In fact a lot of Democrats were not happy with his management style because he balanced budgets like I do. He was one who made sure that the bottom-line was taken care of.
I think Howard Dean first made his reputation when he ran for president. And he was the one against the war. The rest of the candidates were kinda for the war or weren't exactly sure. But for the first time most people in America heard of Howard Dean and thought, "Let's see, he's from Vermont. It's a little state in the northeast and he's against the war, so he must be some kind of liberal."
They thought, "Well we want more of moderate to be president" because that's what people think of as president.
He made his mark as being against the war, and people just assumed that he was a wild-eyed liberal on a lot of issues, but as it turned out, he was a centrist as a governor.
WOW! Can you imagine Joe Biden or John Edwards defending Dean as a centrist? Meet the new face of the Democratic Party.
David Bender: You've developed a reputation; even in a short period of time...you've been governor since the beginning of the year....as a plain speaker. You've talked about admiring Harry Truman...John Kennedy...people who spoke their minds and also spoke from the heart.
Do you think that there is substance in style? We've been hearing a lot about the Democrats' message not getting out. Is that part of the problem?
Schweitzer: Oh I think some of the problem is all these media consultants and pollsters and all the rest of it. They have politicians scared of their own shadow.
If you believe in something, just say it. If you have an idea, just say it.
This ought to be a marketplace for ideas in politics. Unfortunately what we have is politicians who get talking points....who get information on what message ought to be......from pollsters and media consultants.
By definition these folks will never be leaders. They're followers. So I mean just don't listen to those characters. If you've got some good ideas, say 'em.
If you listen to the interview, about half of David Bender's questions are related to Howard Dean.
David Bender: Do you think Howard Dean's been doing a good job as chairman of the party?
Schweitzer: I think he's energized the base. He's raising money. I think it's important that we have leadership that will say it straight. And in many cases, like I've said, we've been scared of our own shadow.
David Bender: And as you know this is somewhat controversial, he's just talked about the Republican Party being largely a white Christian party. In following up on that statement, people have discovered that yes indeed, 82 percent of Republicans are white Christians, but 57 percent of Democrats are white Christians.
David Bender: Now I know that you have a strong religious background. You went to a Catholic school and you come from a religious upbringing. How do you talk straight about that division without seeming to bring bias into it?
Schweitzer: Well what I think is interesting is the amount of hypocrisy that seems to be coming from those who have co-mingled religion with government. I listen to people talk about pro-choice...pro-life...all the rest of that stuff.
When people come to me and they say, "Governor, I'm pro-life, are you?" I say, "Hmmm, let me ask you a couple questions, because I'm Catholic and we view pro-life as not just a single part." First let me ask you, "What do you think of the death penalty?"
They say, "I'm for it."
"What do you think of preemptive war?"
"Well I'm for it."
"What do you think of choice?"
"Well I'm against it."
"Hmmm, I think you only got 1 out of 3 correct." It's not a passing grade. There's a fair bit of hypocrisy.
They begin to talk about evangelicals. Schweitzer points out that the first evangelical President was Jimmy Carter, but sometime after that it was determined that evangelicals "shall be Republicans." He talks about how the teachings of Jesus don't fit Republican ideology.
Schweitzer: They've partnered (evangelicals) with a group of people who don't believe in prenatal care, postnatal care, Kindergarten education, and aren't particularly prepared to invest in public education, so it's an uncomfortable alliance that they've got.
David Bender: We saw when Howard Dean ran for president, he talked about why people in the south should be voting with the Democratic Party because it's in their economic interests. Yet it's the social interests that seem to motivate them. Things like choice, things like gay rights. How would you suggest to the Democrats to run on issues like choice and gay rights?
Schweitzer: Well I think you lead with your heart. I mean if you believe in something, say it. If you don't believe in something, don't say it. Don't ask the pollsters what it is you ought to say. I think that President Bush has demonstrated to us that people will support you as a political person even if they disagree with where you stand on issues. They want to vote for some people that they think will stand on their own two legs and will speak from the heart. They believe that George Bush is that kind of guy. They don't agree with his agenda. They don't agree with Social Security. Now I think the numbers show that 60% believe that we made some bad choices in the Iraqi war. I think that his economic policy has not been popular. He has always been more popular himself than his agenda.
David Bender: You talked about polls. Do you take polls?
Schweitzer: I had a pollster when I ran for governor. I think it gave me some very good insights. It didn't change what I said or what I believed in. In fact, as it turned out, after I spent some money on polling, a pollster came back and said, "Well...you know, probably what we found more than anything is that Montanans kinda like you. So just go be yourself." So that makes it easy for me.