Billings Town Hall Meeting has 450 citizens

As I prepared to sing “America the Beautiful” people choked the exits.

Town Hall Meeting 2025

Vernal Equinox

At least 450, some said 400, citizens, mostly from Yellowstone County, but with a few from Rosebud, Carbon, Big Horn, Phillips, and Stillwater mostly behaved, but some shouted enthusiastically.  The stage had a lectern for Elizabeth Klarich who led off with a speech.  Jack Hanson, Bob Struckman’s high school friend, moderated the town hall meeting.

Perhaps 30-40 people, I knew a quarter of them, made statements, asked questions of our congressional delegation.  (Invited, but didn’t show up.)  “Steve Deines, Tim Sheehy, Troy Downing” read the signs on the empty chairs.

Each person got 1.5 minutes:  Tom Towe, Steve Held got in line early.  Tom, a lawyer, was outraged about the lack of respect shown by the executive for the judicial branch, and the lack of any push-back by the Montana congressional delegation. Steve’s signature issue, of course, is climate disruption from atmospheric carbon.  My friends, most of them, lined up politely for their turns.  They touched on many of our worries, but didn’t say much about cuts to our US Forest Service, dear to my heart.  I didn’t line up with the others, so my fault.

Many constituents had written statements, but certainly the most dynamic simply spoke from the heart.  The common thread:  we’re suffering harm.  We see no advocacy for Montanans by the Senators or Representative.  They are not doing the job they were elected to do.  They appear to serve only the GOP, not the entire population of Montana.  Not the entire GOP, either, but only the far-right. They might be afraid to show up at the meeting. And rightly so. It may have been unpleasant.

But everything at the town hall meeting was done in good order.  Elizabeth Klarich read a statement from former Senator John Tester.  Montana farmers and ranchers produce way more than a billion dollars worth of meat and grain annually. This year they may not have much of a market for them, what with the damage done to our international relationships.

Former Governor Marc Racicot spoke against having a would-be king serve as President, something our nation specifically doesn’t want.

Someone asked all military veterans to stand.  Many of us stood. I’d guess 50-60. I was glad to not hear the usual “thank you.”  I’m tired of glorifying military veterans.  However, I’m distressed that veteran’s medical services are being cut by those billionaires who called us “suckers” for serving as soldiers, sailors, airmen, NOAA and PHS commissioned corps officers.  We are not all heroes, we are good citizens.  Well, some were actual heroes.  I wasn’t, unless keeping the Marines outfitted qualifies.  

It made me feel good to see so many attend.  A guitarist named Perry and a violinist named Faith played “Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies…”  Perry, a legit bass who can sing a low D, and I led the singing. Before we started, I snapped a photo of the audience, which appeared to be swarming the exits.

I’m an inapt reporter.  If I was any good, I’d have been a news reporter.  So I apologize.

Lincoln Center Auditorium isn’t the best venue.  It’s over a 100 years old.  It has lots of stairs at the entrance (admittedly, it has an elevator to accommodate the disabled).  The three or four exits at the back of the auditorium are narrow and slow.  It will accommodate 800 people.

I could mention many wonderful people who attended, but my ability to name people is poor (because of my own senility).  A full 24 hours later, I read a Billings Gazette report that emphasized the gathering was non-partisan. I’d guess many, if not most, were Democrats.

Democrats like me see the situation differently from the Trumpers, who seem to live in an alternative universe. I suggested they see things through the lens of their rectal orifice, but my son (who is a genuine writer, journalist) recommended I omit that assessment.