“You’re a good fighter; we need you.” With that greeting, a woman at the Boulder Fourth of July Celebration in the Park moved on from shaking the hand of U.S. Senator Jon Tester.
Tester, who is up for re-election this fall, stopped in Boulder between appearing in the Butte parade and visiting the East Helena celebration.
Following a presentation by local American Legion member Damon Songer (see speech in this issue), Tester told the crowd the love of country contained in the words of Sen. Jon McCain quoted by Songer is exactly what the Fourth of July is all about.
After a brief statement to the crowd, Tester moved on to listen to locals, posing for photos when requested. He heard from people concerned about veterans issues, whistleblower protections and other issues on which he has worked. He pledged to get back to a woman in need of his assistance with an issue.
He also listened to a trio of Jefferson High music students hawking baked goods. A former music teacher, Tester reached into his wallet, donating a generous amount for one item. Later he also bought raffle tickets from another trio of high school students.
During his stop, Tester agreed to a brief interview by the Monitor.
Tester has been roundly criticized by President Donald Trump for making public concerns about the qualifications of Trump’s Veterans Affairs nominee Ronnie Jackson. Tester supporters have said he did the right thing by being transparent about concerns.
In Boulder, Tester said, “We’ve got a Constitutional job as U.S. Senators to advise and consent and that’s what we did and that’s what I did. Some people want to politicize it and it’s simply not the case.”
Trump and his supporters have said the concerns about Jackson’s fitness should have been taken to the committee reviewing his nomination instead of shared with the public. Tester said that mischaracterizes what happened.
“The committee knew about it, but I also went to him [Jackson] and we never got the responses that we needed,” said Tester. “And if they had responded he wouldn’t have had to remove himself. He is the one that removed himself from consideration. If they could have responded, the jury was still out; I mean, we were still gathering information.”
Tester said he did what he thought was right and in the end it “worked out better for the veterans.” The new nominee, Robert Wilkie, “had a really good hearing and I intend on supporting him,” he said.
Asked why the current Congress seems unwilling to assert its powers as a separate but equal branch of government, Tester said, “That’s a really good question.”
He then went on to say, “We have opportunities with this president to work together and we have opportunities where we have to hold him accountable and that’s what I try to do and that’s what I hope everybody else does. I can’t speak for other folks.”
Prior to President Trump’s rally in Great Falls on July 5 in support of Republican senate candidate Matt Rosendale, Tester told media outlets he hoped the president would take the opportunity to address issues that matter to Montana families, farmers and veterans.
During his speech in Great Falls, Tester spoke about two pieces of bipartisan legislation Tester helped write and co-sponsored. Trump called one “landmark” legislation and bragged that he had succeeded in getting veterans choice, something Congress had been trying to do for 20 years. The President did not credit Tester for his work on those bills.
After the political rally, a Tester campaign representative said, “Montanans want someone who will roll up their sleeves and go to work fighting for Montana. Jon’s record is clear – if it’s good for Montana, Jon works with anyone from either party to get things done. If it’s bad for Montana, he’ll stand up to anyone.”
