Busse Calls Gianforte's Bluff; Governor Folds
By Denise Rivette
Two announced debates between Governor Greg Gianforte and his challenger, Ryan Busse, that were to have taken place on October 1 and October 7 have been cancelled by Gianforte. The Montana Television Network invited both Busse and Gianforte to participate in a debate scheduled for October 1; and in early June, Montana PBS in conjunction with Lee Newspapers, Montana Public Radio and Yellowstone Public Radio invited both candidates to participate in a live debate on October 7. Gianforte refused earlier to participate in a debate sponsored by the Missoula City Club proposed for August 12. Busse agreed to participate in all of these proposed debates and has called on Gianforte to accept at least two debates before October 17.
Gianforte on August 28 was reported by MTN to have said the following regarding debating Busse, “I would like to do a debate. He needs to become transparent and honest with the people of Montana. He has not been honest, and he's not been transparent. If he releases ten years of his tax return, which is what everyone else has done, I'd be happy to talk about a debate.”
Busse released ten years of tax returns earlier this month.
After being informed that the governor had backed out of the debates, Busse remarked, “Governor Gianforte is the most inaccessible, least transparent governor in the history of this state, and it’s no wonder why he doesn’t want to defend his disaster of a record in a public forum. Look, I get why Gianforte doesn’t want to explain why he raised property taxes, how he made Montana the most unaffordable its ever been, why he’s locking up public lands and wildlife, why he kicked kids off of health care, and how he plans to keep yanking away women’s rights to freedom and privacy. But the people of Montana deserve to hear answers directly from him.”
Governor Gianforte had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.
You can find out more about the candidates on their campaign websites: busseformontana.com and gregformontana.com.
Gianforte is exposing himself as the coward he is. From taxes to healthcare to childcare he is a failure.