I would say no, the liberals are unable to comprehend grassroots.
Some Montana liberals are looking to the Tea Party for inspiration.
Though they roundly reject the conservatives’ policy views, some of the state’s progressives hope to use similar grassroots tactics to gain clout, oust incumbents and affect the Democratic Party’s nominations.
The moves come after the state’s Democratic establishment failed with a more traditional attempt to win a Senate race.
Earlier this year, the state’s Democratic governor appointed his lieutenant governor, John Walsh, to fill a vacant Senate seat. Walsh’s campaign fell apart after the New York Times reported that he plagiarized his U.S. Army War College master’s thesis.
Bob Brigham, a Helena-based advisor for Democrats and progressive groups, said that many of the state’s liberal activists were never happy with Walsh’s selection, and they kept the pressure up for him to withdraw after the scandal.
But even before that, he said progressives had played an outsize role in getting the Democrat who Walsh replaced — former Sen. Max Baucus — to not run for re-election. Progressives said they felt Baucus cared more about Beltway deal-making than advancing progressive ideals, and he was seen as corrupt, out-of-touch, and unprincipled.