Criticism of fire crew could be especially costly for (Conrad) Burns

[brooklynite]

Horse Sense: Criticism of fire crew could be especially costly for Burns
By Charles S. Johnson

HELENA - Time will tell just how badly U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns has hurt himself politically with his latest outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease.

The Republican senator, who faces a tough re-election challenge from Democrat Jon Tester, can't afford many more mistakes if he wants to win his fourth Senate term. The two men are locked in a tight race, with some polls showing Tester leading, while others rate the race about even. The one constant in all polls is Burns' plummeting job-approval marks.

A week ago in the Billings airport, Burns chewed out some members of an elite U.S. Forest Service firefighting team that battled an area fire and were waiting to fly home to Virginia. Burns approached them and told them they had done "a poor job" fighting the Bundy Railroad fire. He said they should have listened to the concerns of area ranchers.

...snip...

Burns previously has made racist and disparaging remarks about African-Americans, American Indians, working women and Arabs. Each time, many Montanans collectively shrug and dismiss his comments with a groan, saying, "Well, that's just Conrad."

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/07/30/news/state/50-sense.txt

[babylonsister]

1. Good! He has got to go! nt