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Politics is usually about policy choices. But it’s also about basic election mechanics, figuring out who does what.

This is Trahant Reports.

The Montana Democratic Party hired Amy Croover as director of its Native Vote program. Her task is to increase the number of Native American voters.

The message is significant. Montana Democrats are investing resources to give American Indian voters a greater say.

Croover has a solid resume. She’s a Ho-Chunk tribal member who has already worked with Montana tribes and was Sen. Jon Tester’s Native American liaison.

Now let’s put this news in context.

At its core politics is about two things: Policy and mechanics. Policy is the ideas, often the stuff that happens after elections; mechanics is how policy gets made.

Another way to think about the difference: Policy is usually what politicians talk about. Mechanics is the work that’s actually done by people whose names we may never know.

Political parties (both Republicans and Democrats) talk a lot about American Indian and Alaska Native policy. President Nixon’s 1970 message that declared an end to termination and the promotion of self-determination was a policy prescription. But the mechanics was left to Congress, largely, Forrest Gerard working with Sen. Henry Jackson and Franklin Ducheneaux, who was Rep. Morris Udall’s counsel in the House. The idea was not enough. Someone had to do the work.

It’s the same with elections.

This election is the right one to test the mechanical side of democracy in Indian Country because there are so many Native candidates on the ballot. The incentives are aligned in Montana for people to vote for Denise Juneau as well as Native candidates for the legislature.

Other states have seen initiatives to improve the mechanics of the Native vote. Two years ago, for example, Sen. Mark Begich made Alaska Native voters a key element of his unsuccessful bid for re-election. But. The thing is. Begich made the election a lot closer than it would have been had he not made the effort. And, his staff work in the many villages probably helped elect Gov. Bill Walker and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallot. The mechanics paid off.

The most common complaint I hear from Native candidates (especially former candidates who have lost) is that they get no help from their state or national party.

That needs to change because in the years to come Indian Country will need more investment in the mechanical side of politics. As the demographics of the nation shift, there will be more and more states and districts where the Native vote will make the difference. But for that to happen, someone has to do the work.

I am Mark Trahant reporting.

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Trahant Reports is brought to you by Kauffman & Associates, Inc., a Native American owned, woman-owned small business that has delivered innovative solutions for government and commercial clients since 1990. KAI’s expertise spans diverse specialty areas, including public health, education, and economic development.

 

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Make no mistake: The 2016 election is not routine. If you want proof, look no further than the weekend encampment at Montana’s Arlee Celebration. This is Trahant Reports.

The Arlee Celebration has been around for 118 years and it’s always on July 4th. So on Friday afternoon the Republican candidate for governor, Greg Gianforte, showed up at the celebration with a colleague and then proceeded to serve grilled burgers to all comers. Free food? At a powwow? Sure. Fire. Hit.

After the food, Gianforte played a round of stick games. That’s a traditional gambling game played in many parts of the country where you to try to discover in which hand someone is hiding a bone.

While Gianforte’s visit was friendly; he wasn’t exactly talking policy.  This is where a Republican gamble for Indian Country gets tricky.

In any election it is smart for a Republican to try and peel off a few Native American votes. Montana Democrats have been successful reaching out to tribal communities for a long time, especially after the 2005 election of Gov. Brian Schweitzer. And it makes perfect sense for the GOP to pitch Native voters at a powwow.

But just a few miles from the camp is a visible reminder about how complex a simple idea can be. Just as you enter the reservation, a billboard advertises against the water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as an assault against non-Indian property rights. (It’s a deal that still must be approved by the federal government.)

Again in normal times it would be easy to dismiss antics of what are essentially fringe groups. But the Confederated Tribes’ territory, where the annual July 4th celebration occurs, is the heart of Montana’s opposition to tribal treaty rights, tribal management of resources, and, well just about anything with a reference to a tribe in any phrase.

This is where the Republican fault line is visible. The same people who shout at their government for working with tribes to solve problems are the ones who formed the Tea Party.

What makes this GOP divide even more pronounced is Donald Trump. As the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party he is adding fuel to The Hateful Mix, a blend of racism and anti-government rhetoric.

And that’s a mixture that not every Republican can tolerate.

On Friday former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot wrote in The Washington Post that he could neither endorse nor vote for Trump.  Yet Rep. Ryan Zinke not only endorsed Trump but suggested he might make a good pick as vice president.

So every Republican candidate this election will play stick games. Look close: Which hand is hiding the bone marked Trump and which hand will be free?
I am Mark Trahant reporting.

Trahant Reports is brought to you by Kauffman & Associates, Inc., a Native American owned, woman-owned small business that has delivered innovative solutions for government and commercial clients since 1990. KAI’s expertise spans diverse specialty areas, including public health, education, and economic development.

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