Viewpoint: There are reasons why no one listens to Marc Racicot

Roger Koopman

Call me naïve, but I want to believe that the left-leaning organizers of Bozeman’s recent “Radical Middle” public program had genuine good intentions, and that the crowd of over 300 predominantly liberal participants were truly hopeful that their featured heroes – Marc Racicot and Dorothy Bradley – would have something important and refreshingly non-partisan to say about building relationships instead of burning bridges.

Something focused on the unity of the human spirit and the respect we should feel for the differing opinions, philosophies and beliefs of fellow Montanans.

Instead, it took Racicot no time at all to hijack the entire event, turning it into a cringe-worthy display of political hatred and classic Racicot self-righteousness. Soon, every Republican in the room felt punched in the gut and slapped in the face. The tepid response from most Democrats in attendance testified that they weren’t terribly comfortable with what they were hearing, either. They wanted to learn about civility, tolerance, compromise and good will. Instead, they listened to a man purveying political hatred in a hopeless attempt to exhume the dead body of his permanently lost relevance. Admittedly, I was chuckling to myself, but in reality, his performance was more sad than funny.

The sponsors probably thought this would go in a very different direction. After all, it was Racicot who wrote in an April column that we must pursue “constitutional virtues” that include “humility, self-restraint, moderation, patience, compassion (and) respect for contrary opinion.” (He made similar disingenuous comments at an anti-Republican rally in March, featuring Racicot appointee Supreme Court Justice Jim Nelson (ret), whose violence-infused speech labeled judicial reform-minded Republicans a “jihad,” and called for a “fight to the death” against them.

And so, instead of a thoughtful discussion on how to build relationships with people of opposing ideas and political parties, what we heard from our former governor was a non-stop vitriolic assault on our current president, characterizing him as a “not well” autocrat and “democracy’s worst enemy,” destroying our Constitution, extinguishing our form of government and “working in contravention to everything that is of value in our lives.” When asked by a sincere listener what circumstances brought about a Donald Trump, Racicot replied, “Beginning at birth.” Racicot even felt it necessary to disparage “those young white males who buy a pickup, put a flag in the back and think that’s patriotic.”

Such was the quality of the evening’s 2-hour dialogue -- joined of course, by his ideological soulmate Dorothy Bradley. A great opportunity lost, at the hands of two hatemongering, has-been politicians who can’t bring themselves to understand that Montana has left their big government, big spending, regulatory state mentality far behind. It began leaving with the people’s rejection of their beloved sales tax.

In my next column, I’ll explore in much greater depth, the often unnoticed fundamental causes of our nation’s growing anger, strife, disunity, and disrespect for our fellow citizens. Stay tuned. But here are two brief takeaways from the “Radical Middle” program (that had no middle):

(1) You cannot promote peace, good will, tolerance or respect for your fellow human beings if you don’t have a basic curiosity about their ideas and points of view. Making a genuine effort to understand competing values, philosophies, historical perspectives and worldviews is a sign of strength, not weakness. Of unselfishness, charity and maturity, even while continuing to disagree. None of this was present in the Racicot-Bradley Show.

(2) You cannot grow as a human being or encourage that growth in others, if you are incapable of acknowledging the possibility of good ever coming from the so-called “other side” or other party, nor any wrong actions or bad results that could be attributed to your side of the spectrum. We know these realities are true, so why do we fit ourselves with blinders and refuse to allow the truth in? Are we that insecure? Racicot’s unending harangue against “Constitution invading” Donald Trump and his “henchmen” exemplified the mind of a man who sees only through a self-imposed tunnel. Joe Biden, the man he endorsed for president, spent four years shredding the Constitution, with not one peep of protest from Mr. Racicot.

Let’s resolve to be far bigger and far better than that.

Roger Koopman is president of Montana Conservative Alliance. He served four years in the Montana House of Representatives and eight years as a Montana Public Service commissioner. He operated a Bozeman small business for 37 years.