MONTANA MUSINGS: Not a million reasons behind Gianforte's run to repeal Obamacare. Just short of 800,000 in fact, each a dollar.

$756,813 is the actual calculation. If Greg Gianforte were to dedicate that tax break, no strings attached, to battered women shelters and other protections, making it a tax wash, he'd have grounds to be taken seriously on his pledge to serve Montanans banter. So far, not so. And that pledge about taking corporate PAC money? How, really, is suggesting in his lobbyist call that such money be directed to his benefit different from taking it, for his candidacy, not into his pocket which was never the issue. That tax break is not chump change, and Gianforte in his call to the east coast was supportive of moving the healthcare repeal onward, but his focus WAS taxes. That's in the transcripts online, multiple places.

This opening HuffPo screencapture.

In fairness to Gianforte, running for Governor and spending more of his own cash there than in this contest suggests tax lowering may be a secondary aim, the thing being an ego trip since he's got all the money anyway. Either way, the vote Thursday will decide whatever the strategic aim, does he go or does he stay? Flip side, eight hundred grand is a mighty big secondary aim, if not primary. Quist is free of any such pecuniary stake in the outcome. Which is in his favor, given the tax cut dimension of the call Gianforte made to money lobbyists back east. One question is did he put the million dollar loan to his campaign into place after that call, or before, and did the call actually get more cash into his campaign or into a PAC he'd touted as an alternate GOTV outlet? The Montana press should be able to get answers on that follow the money line of inquiry, since it is always relevant.

UPDATE: The linked HuffPo item indicates:

Shane Scanlon, a spokesman for Gianforte’s campaign, did not respond to a request for comment on the law’s financial benefits for the GOP candidate.

Why is that? It is not a beating-your-wife kind of gotcha question. It is something most voters should know and should want to know. Silence in that situation properly leads to a conclusion that following the money is not liked in the Gianforte camp, for some undisclosed reason.

FURTHER: The remainder of the HuffPo article describes the phone call facts and implications, and ends on this positive Quist GOTV outcome:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whom Quist backed in the 2016 presidential primary, is speaking at events for Quist in Missoula, Butte and Billings on Saturday and in Bozeman on Sunday. Quist’s campaign had to move the Missoula rally to the 7,500-capacity Adams Center arena because of the high level of interest in attending.

If anybody knows what having to move a session to a larger venue means, it is a musician who has toured. Quist is experienced. Bernie also is experienced in filling venues and overflow crowds. Bless them both.

(that quoted pararagraph has a link to here)