Migrating from a Red State to a Blue State
Since my last Medium post, my husband, our two dogs, and I relocated from Helena, Montana to Central Oregon. Migrating was challenging. These past eight months were one of the worst experiences of my life. I love my home state of Montana, but the 2021 and 2023 Legislative sessions taught me that the State I love has changed drastically for the worse. My intuition, which I have learned to trust, suggested that 2023 would present our best opportunity to make the move. As hard as it was to leave Montana, I felt things would get much worse before they got better.
I trace the degradation of Montana’s culture and environment to the impact of the Citizens United versus Federal Election Commission Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in 2010. Through the citizen’s initiative process, Montana voters passed the 1912 Corrupt Practices Act, banning corporate money in elections. Before 1912, Montana experienced widespread corruption. Wealthy and powerful mining interests (Copper Kings and Robber Barons) routinely bought judges, controlled newspapers, and bribed lawmakers. The 1912 Corrupt Practices Act helped establish a government by the people and, for the people, a true democracy. In 1972, the voters of Montana passed an extraordinary Constitution that states, “All political power is vested in and derived from the people. All government of right originates with the…