Being a long-time contributor and reader of The Montana Standard, I have noticed a shift towards conservatism in this historically liberal newspaper. This is evident from the increasing number of conservative columnists featured on the opinion page and Steve Kiggins, the news director for Lee Enterprises, expressing a desire to include more “conservative voices” due to Montana’s political shift from purple to red.
If the conservative columnists were of the caliber of William Buckley, I would have no issue with this change. However, the current right-wing columnists in Montana are quite misguided. For example, despite increasing global temperatures, Kendall Cotton continues to advocate for the removal of environmental regulations on industry, seemingly oblivious to the environmental impact.
In a recent column, Montana Republican Don Kaltschmidt falsely claimed that President Joe Biden supports open borders, neglecting the stringent measures Biden has implemented for asylum seekers. The most baffling perspective comes from Emily Daniels, who criticized an 11-year-old for booing Senate candidate Tim Sheehy at a July 4 parade, deeming it a sign of civilization’s collapse. However, she fails to acknowledge Sheehy’s controversial policy stances such as advocating for the privatization of public lands.
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It appears that the shift towards conservatism in The Montana Standard may be driven by commercial considerations. However, with Butte maintaining a Democratic legislative delegation in an otherwise increasingly red Montana, one has to question how well this aligns with the liberal tradition of the paper and the sentiments of its Butte readers.
