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Montana Legislators feel the hate from public e-mail

Editor’s note: This story contains strong language that might offend some readers.

HELENA — Reading her mail at the Capitol this session, Rep. Penny Morgan, R-Laurel, came across this not-so-endearing note:

By MIKE DENNISON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

"Hooray for the many who e-mailed you to tell you what a moron you are. … If ever there was a reason not to permit half-witted broads such as you out of the kitchen or kennel, your (bill) is it."

Like most lawmakers on the receiving end of abuse from the public, Morgan shrugs it off.

"The general consensus is to laugh," she said, noting that the person who sent this particular insult didn’t bother to sign it.

But abuse, insults and even threats are not an isolated event for state lawmakers, who sometimes find themselves fielding a steady stream of invective from the public.

"It’s fairly common on emotional issues," said Rep. Joe McKenney, R-Great Falls. "You get a communication like that, and you just shake your head."

Earlier this session, McKenney received a pair of messages obliquely threatening his business, a Great Falls sports bar, because McKenney had supported a controversial bill on game ranches.

The notes said if McKenney voted for House Bill 379, which repealed part of a voter-initiative restricting game ranches in Montana, HB379 opponents would make a "legend" out of his Legends Sports Pub & Grill.

McKenney still voted for HB379. Hate mail "has no effect on how you’re going to vote on a bill," he declared.

"My standing rule is that if they start out calling me a son of a bitch, I don’t read any further," said Rep. Dave Lewis, R-Helena.

Other issues generating some angry, hostile mail this session include abortion, gay marriages, animal cruelty, budget cuts and recreational-vehicle rules.

The game-ranch issue, which has had considerable media coverage, is probably the leading generator of legislative hate mail this year.

Rep. Cindy Younkin, R-Bozeman, said she has had scores of "very nasty" e-mail and other communications responding to her support of HB379.

"I’ve had phone calls screaming at me on my answering machine (at home)," she said. "One was so unnerving that I immediately deleted it. I should have called the cops. It frightened me."

The caller said they would "do everything to make sure you don’t run for public office again," and that she should "resign right now," Younkin said.

Rep. Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek and the sponsor of HB379, said his e-mail messages have had plenty of "profanity and redneck rabble-rousing" on the game-ranch issue.

He said he mostly ignores these notes, although he does try to reply to those who live in his district.

Ripley finds the cavalcade of hostile messages more frustrating than irritating, saying he’d like to talk directly to people and explain his views and listen to theirs.

"I think if you could visit with them face to face, you could maybe agree to disagree," he said. "When you visit with someone, everyone is pretty level-headed. But when you sit down at a computer, it’s easier to say something nasty."

Ripley is one of several legislators who said the advent of electronic mail has increased the amount of abusive notes that legislators receive.

Lawmakers have had access to e-mail for several years, via personal accounts and through the state during the session. But at the 2003 session, e-mail is more accessible for lawmakers than it’s ever been.

Most of the notes mentioned in this story came via e-mail.

Rep. Tom Facey, a Missoula Democrat, has sponsored several bills over the years on behalf of homosexuals, such as including "sexual orientation" among the classes of people covered by the state’s hate-crimes legislation.

He said he has received very little abusive mail or phone calls. But last week, in the wake of his sponsorship of a bill to allow gay marriages in Montana, some edgy e-mail came his way.

Riddled with misspellings and grammatical errors, one began by calling Facey an "a–hole" and a "dumb a–."

"If another man’s hairy a– is sexy and attractive to you, why don’t you move to California?" the note from Glasgow read. "What the hell has happened to the Democratic Party? I switched party’s (sic) about six years ago because of idiots like yourself."

Another one, titled "pervert agenda," labeled Facey a "fag-lover" and said he should "get a life and go to California where your type degenerate thinking is in style."

Facey said the diatribes don’t worry him much, but he does worry about his wife, who is home in Missoula while he’s at the Legislature.

"In this arena, I think my wife is showing more courage than I ever have," he said.

Rep. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, another flag-bearer for many liberal causes, said she received some hate mail after she appeared at an anti-war protest.

One was sent to her home, addressed to "whale savers and human baby killers," vilifying her as a "non-American."

"Why don’t you take your freak friends and go to California where you belong," the unsigned letter said. "Don’t come back to Montana, or if you do, you might keep your mouth shut."

Kaufmann also received an e-mail calling her a "green Nazi" — for her sponsorship of a bill changing traffic-control devices. The sender mistakenly thought the bill changed the rules on using off-road vehicles, she said.

Lawmakers said it’s not unusual to get hate mail based on false information.

Rep. Mark Noennig, R-Billings, said he received several e-mails castigating him for his opposition to HB553, which toughens animal cruelty laws.

"Please reach around behind you, grasp the backs of your thighs, and with all the force you can muster, pop your head out of your a–," one note said. "This is a vital piece of legislation that must go forward this session."

After calling Noennig a "self-serving Republican" and a "right-winger," it sought his help in reviving the bill.

One problem: Noennig is not opposed to the bill and had not voted against it.

Noennig, an attorney, said he’d told people he saw some drafting problems with the bill. This statement apparently became known to bill supporters, who interpreted it as opposition.

Noennig said he’s had to send several notes to people explaining his position, and some refused to believe him.

If a lawmaker could tell letter-writers anything, it might be how much he or she generally ignores the hate mail coming their way.

"The most effective letter I get is one with an element of respect and courtesy, yet they disagree — and they tell me why," said Rep. Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo. "I’ll read that one every time."

"If you want to influence a legislator, the best way is to talk logically," added McKenney. "You can call me names, you can call me stupid, you can make threats. That’s not going to influence my vote. Give us the facts."

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030227/localnews/1069136.html

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