Sending Tim Sheehy to Washington is a change for the better | John Esp

Jon Tester's campaign has devolved into ad hominem attacks on Tim Sheehy. The latest of these unwarranted attacks came as a full-page ad in my local paper that screamed "Sheehy's plan closes Pioneer Medical Center."

I call horsepucky on that one! That ad is a near carbon copy to an attack ad directed at me in 2018. They claimed "John Esp's (plan) could close this hospital." Same hospital, six years apart, same disingenuous rhetoric.

What the Democrats and Tester don't tell you is this: Both I and the Sheehys were instrumental in advocating for and donating to hospitals. Several years before he went into politics, Tim and his wife, Carmen, gave millions of dollars to the Bozeman area hospital to begin a pediatric specialty program that will save and improve the lives of many young children. They also gave a million dollars to help improve the Trauma Center in Billings, to enhance the care and outcomes of the badly injured, and critically ill among our neighbors. This sounds to me like a family that I would be proud to call my neighbors.

And then, consider this. In my two decades of service to the Montana people, I have served with roughly 600 different legislators. I could count on two fingers the number of sitting legislators that have outright lied to me. One of them served time in a Federal Penitentiary, and the other one, was Jon Tester.

Of those two, Senate President Tester was the only one who looked me straight in the eye, shook my hand, and told me: "You have my word on it." and then... completely backed water within a few days of that handshake.

I have continued to work with Jon over the years, but I still can't bring myself to trust him. His current campaign, built on class warfare and other horsepucky is designed to engender fear and mistrust in his opponent. I think we would be wise to look at that campaign with a jaundiced eye. Do you think that nearly 18 years in Washington has changed Jon, and if it has, has it changed him for the better? Do you share his purported position that boys should be allowed to play girls sports? Can we believe him when he tells us he has tried to close the southern border? Does an "F" rating by the NRA reflect your values?

I believe sending Tim Sheehy to Washington is a change for the better. I think he is right for Montana on the issues we care most about. That is why I support him.

John Esp, dean of the Montana State Senate, chair of finance and claims.