The perspectives and positions of Montana Democrat candidates, once distinct from Democratic Party leaders in large urban areas, today seem increasingly indistinguishable from big-city liberals thousands of miles away. The rural, working-class, and common-people “vibe” so carefully cultivated by Montana Democrats in decades past now seems foreign, if not absent, from today’s leftwing party in the Big Sky State. Leading Democratic candidate for state attorney general, Raph Graybill (pictured above), exhibits this departure from common Montana sentiment in his latest interview with the progressive junk-blog, the Montana Post.
Graybill (31) is from Great Falls, but was educated at Columbia University in New York and at Yale in his post-graduate studies, which might explain his curious views for what constitutes “Montana values.” Serving as Governor Bullock’s chief legal counsel since 2017 has positioned Graybill well as an expert in Montana politics, for which he desires to serve as the next Attorney General.
Speaking to the Montana Post, Graybill lambasted current Attorney General, Tim Fox, for holding to fairly standard positions ordinarily deemed reasonable by most Montanans.
In the transcript provided by the Montana Post, Graybill claimed, “I really disagree with the way Tim Fox has been attorney general. I think he might be a nice guy. I have nothing against him personally, but I think Tim Fox has largely either sat out the fights that are important or taken the wrong side. I think I disagree with the way Tim Fox signed onto the brief for a 20-week abortion that I disagree with Tim Fox’s opposition to gay marriage and gay rights and the trans rights in Montana. And I think that Montana can do a heck of a lot better than Tim Fox and his politics (emphasis added).”
Graybill added, “And I really felt that we needed a progressive voice in this race that was both consistent with progressive values and running the kind of race that could reach out to independents, reach out to moderates, bring them into our movement, and keep [Republican AG candidate] Austin Knudsen from becoming the conservative activist attorney general he promises to be.”
Graybill spoke of Austin Knudsen, the leading figure thus far in the Republican primary for attorney general. Knudsen, a native of Culbertson, Montana, received his undergraduate degree from Montana State University-Bozeman and his law degree from the University of Montana. He then served two terms as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Knudsen is a pro-life conservative, perhaps less committed to ‘trans rights’ and more committed to everyone’s rights, with values slightly more aligned to most Montana voters and will prove to be a tough candidate to beat in the upcoming general election.
