Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:

Setting the Record Straight

There have been many outright lies made about Joel Krautter in his re-election. If you look at the letters against Joel, you’ll notice the majority is from out-of-town and the few that are local are from Joel’s normal critics. At any rate, I feel compelled to address some of the most glaring falsehoods.

Let’s start with questioning Joel’s Republican status. The Republican Party is not just for far right people. There is a range of views within the party, from far right to moderate. They are all still Republicans. The far right is a vocal minority within the party. Joel Krautter is a Republican. Good leaders attract broad support.

It has been stated Joel voted for taxpayer funded abortions. False. The Medicaid Reform Act did not change anything concerning abortion and was supported by pro-life catholic hospitals. Joel is and always has been Pro-Life.

Furthermore, House Bill 658 added 14 conservative improvements to Medicaid Reform, none of which were contained in the problematic I-185 referendum that was voted on locally. To claim HB 658 and I-185 were the same thing, only misleads voters.

Joel has been accused of raising taxes on vehicle registrations. False again. The bill raised the optional donation fee people can choose to pay to support state parks. It is not a tax and it is voluntary.

Joel did not vote to raise the hotel bed tax. He voted to allow discussion of the bill, but voted against the bill itself.

Finally, Joel has been accused of voting with Democrats on 213 bills. Joel made over 1800 House floor votes. The Montana legislature has a Republican majority and every committee is controlled by Republicans. A bill cannot even get out of committee without Republican support. In reality, there were no “Democrat bills” for Joel to vote for on the floor, which were not already bipartisan. Simply another lie.

And for the record, Joel has 57 Richland County campaign donors, over twice his opponent.

The bottom line to ask yourself: do you want a leader who will truly listen and seek advice from his constituents, work as hard as possible to do what is best for all of us, and continue to go above and beyond to help the people of Richland County? That leader is Joel Krautter. Please join me and many, many of your friends and neighbors in re-electing Joel Krautter for House District 35.

Sincerely, Paula Steinbeisser