"Major Complication" To Bullock’s Re-Election Hopes

The sudden departure of Montana Democrat Governor Steve Bullock’s Lieutenant Governor and his office’s handling of the situation continues to raise questions about his competence, credibility and leadership. Now, The Montana Standard is reporting the fallout is becoming to a “major complication” to Bullock’s re-election hopes in 2016. Voters deserve an honest account of what transpired between Bullock and his former LG Angela McLean, but instead are being mislead. It’s time for Bullock to come clean.

Montanans Are Owed Clarity On The Bullock-McLean Mess
Montana Standard; 12/18/2015

Politics vs. governance: Was this about being afraid McLean would oppose him in a primary, as some aides have said she threatened to do? Was it anger at her perceived disloyalty? Or was it about someone else being judged a more optimal running mate for the governor in 2016?

After all, the governor has said he’s looking for someone who will “help us with our initiatives” and be a “part of the team.” Yet McLean complained that all initiatives were taken away from her.

The governor insisted Wednesday he’s spoken to these issues — “You can read the stories,” he said — but in truth the answers have been sparse and sideways.

One of the governor’s top aides has said privately that the governor’s reluctance to be more frank in his responses stems from a desire on his part not to throw McLean under the bus in public. But it’s a little late for that, it would seem. When the governor uses words like “disruptive” to describe McLean, the tread marks are already imprinted.

There are serious issues of both leadership ability and political acumen here. The refusal to answer direct questions in matters important to Montana citizens is troubling. So is the propensity for big-ticket personnel matters to blow up in the governor’s face.

And from a political standpoint, the McLean fallout would have been considerably shorter and less intense had the governor been more forthright more quickly. This is rapidly morphing from a one-cycle story to a major complication to the governor’s ability to be reelected — against a well-heeled opponent in a swing state.