East 6th Avenue runs in front of the Capitol, it is time to rename it after the Senate Nasty-9, and no, it's not a compliment.
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Helena is famous for its malfunction junctions. Until recently, there were only two.
The latest one was revealed in all its glorious, or gory, details during Montana's 69th legislative session when the Republican majority turned dysfunctional by having enough Republican members align and vote with Democrats to grow government significantly. The reality is they were always Democrats running on the Republican ticket so they could win their elections. This was quite simply a betrayal of their voters. In the Senate, the betrayers became known as the “Nasty-9” and their House equivalents as “Friends of the Nasty-9.” The damage they’ve done to Montana is not fully known yet; many are waiting to see if the Governor will veto much of the waste or go along with the budget expansion because he was endorsing the candidates who caused the damage.
Here are the bills to watch going forward. They serve as harbingers of the Governor’s intentions. House Bills 2, 231, 599, 863, 924, and Senate Bills 542 and 535. My analysis of this session is broken into the good, the bad, and the ugly. It will start with the ugly, because even the ugly can lead to something good for Montana if voters are willing to hold politicians accountable and get more involved in primary elections or run for office themselves if they are energized enough. The arrival of their property tax bills should help motivate many.
I spent a lot of time in the Capitol testifying to committees, watching floor sessions, and watching the interactions of different members of the House and Senate, and the myriad lobbyists and special interests represented. I was in a unique position to share my opinions often, but not be so important as to garner anybody's attention. Frequently, I sat quietly, listened to conversations around me, and walked away with information unwittingly shared by people who were more honest when not in front of a camera or talking to someone "important."
Let us begin:
1. The Ugly
The Nasty-9 and Friends of the Nasty-9. Republicans started the session with a 32-18 majority in the Senate. In minutes, it turned into a 27-23 Democrat majority as nine now former Republicans joined the Democrats in all but name. I say former because the Montana GOP censured the nine and won’t recognize them as Republicans. The nine are Senators Ellsworth, Gillespie, Hunter, Kassmier, Lammers, Loge, McKamey, Tempel, and Vance. Rather than vote like the limited government conservatives they claim to be, they voted to spend money like drunken sailors and grow the government’s budget by over twenty percent.
Former Senate President Jason Ellsworth. The ringleader of the Nasty-9 was caught violating ethics and had his floor privileges removed. He attempted to split a $170,000 contract into two parts and have both parts paid to a friend. Splitting one contract into two separate agreements ensured that the cost was under the $100,000 mark and could bypass oversight rules. These actions happened when he was Senate President and could sign off on contracts for Senate work. See the story HERE, HERE, and HERE.
The budget. The budget is not balanced, and the general fund growth is 18% if the Governor doesn’t line-item veto significant portions. Though Montana’s constitution requires a balanced budget, how it’s worded means the legislature can increase taxes to whatever level is necessary to ensure spending doesn’t exceed anticipated revenue. The sky’s the limit. Also, I would encourage the reader to listen to Senate President Regier explain how a $2,500,000,000 surplus evaporated, rather than being returned to you.
Property Taxes. Senate Bill 90 was easily the best property tax bill this session. It was simple, funds were collected from tourist taxes and other means, and put into a fund that would accrue interest and provide refunds to all who pay property taxes. By setting it up this way, the tax relief would be immediate, and the refund would grow each time because of the interest accrued. Instead, this bill is dead, and a package of bad bills is headed to the governor, which results in tax shifts to second homes and businesses. The family cabin your family has owned for generations will get hit with a 67% tax increase, and some companies will experience a 40% increase.
Why would the Nasty-9 and their friends in the house want to do this? Two reasons come to mind. One reason is that the Nasty-9 are Democrats and vote that way. Second, the rest of the Democrats want power so bad they will kill meaningful property tax reform, blame real Republicans for failing to address the issue, and hope to flip one or both chambers to Democrat control. If this happens, the problem will only worsen, but it’s too late.
MEDICAID Expansion. This taxpayer-funded handout should not have passed, nor been signed by the Governor. MEDICAID expansion has the means to pay for abortions and gender surgeries at taxpayer expense.
Judicial reform. Montanans made it clear that they are tired of our judicial system legislating from the bench and serving as a proxy arm of the Democratic Party. The Senate’s Special Select Committee on Judicial Reform spent nearly two years preparing legislation to address this issue, only to have 18 of the 25 bills killed by the same misfits in both chambers.
2. The Bad
The Governor’s budget director was used as a willing proxy. Governor Gianforte used his budget director as his proxy to ensure that the compromised and willing bowed to Gianforte’s desires. This ensured the Governor kept his hands clean, and he wouldn’t be accused of manipulating the legislature directly. It is common knowledge in the capital that Gianforte prefers the legislature to operate more like another executive agency than a legislature, independent of his control.
The new website. The legislature’s new website was a source of aggravation for everybody who wanted to stay involved in committee hearings, floor proceedings, and more. One could not be blamed for thinking it was purpose-built to minimize the involvement of those annoying citizens.
The volume of bills. Allowing bills to address only one topic per bill is good because it avoids the omnibus bills crafted in Washington, D.C. Omnibus bills are so long nobody has time to read them, which allows bad actors to hide fraud, waste, and abuse in the world’s largest word salads. The negative result is that so many bills are competing that nobody can read and understand them all, and how they conflict. Some legislators intentionally gum up the process by introducing garbage bills to distract from the time needed to examine important ones. The net result is that the corrupt courts are enabled to serve as proxy legislators to meet the Democratic Party’s agenda because they step in to mitigate the conflicts.
The courts. When good legislation was passed, the courts were ready to issue injunctions and otherwise block the people's will. Now they remain empowered because of the Nasty-9 and the Friends of.
Gutting good bills. House Bill 818 is one example of a bill that could have had good results for Montana, but had the critical parts removed through the amendment process. This bill would have made it illegal for foreign entities to fund efforts to manipulate voters concerning ballot measures.
- “This bill fails to ban indirect contributions. Currently, foreign nationals utilize passthrough organizations to indirectly donate to statewide ballot initiatives in Montana. The Senate floor amendment stripped the indirect ban on foreign contributions and the conference committee failed to restore it. The Legislature’s bill only addresses direct contributions for the purpose of influencing a ballot measure, an uncommon method of ballot funding. The bill no longer prohibits indirect contributions to a passthrough organization’s general fund, which can in turn be donated to a ballot initiative. This is exactly how the Sixteen Thirty Fund contributed $3.1 million to a ballot issue committee supporting enshrining abortion into Montana’s state constitution”
The Reaction to the Defend the Guard legislation. It’s all about the Benjamins, not the Constitution. Even though each legislator swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution, for many, that oath is for sale as soon as any funding is threatened. This bill is one example of many where legislators openly lied on the floor or compromised their oaths, even when threats of withholding funding held no bearing. To learn more about this bill, see HERE.
3. The Good (or the potential for it).
An awakening? Many Montanans are aware of the actions of the Nasty-9 and the Friends of the Nasty-9. The silver lining of what happened this session is that people have a chance to remove those who’ve compromised themselves and made their actions so public that they were easy to expose.
The defense of the most vulnerable. Despite any court actions to stand against the people's will, strides were made to protect vulnerable populations. The fight to protect the unborn, women’s sports, women in women’s spaces, and young students in classrooms all had recognizable victories.
The growth of coalitions. The willingness of some to lie about themselves and their motivations is getting exposed, and coalitions are working together to help address many problems and ensure the 2026 elections have suitable candidates for which to vote, as well as the support they need to win. They also expose fake groups or groups that lie about their intentions, such as “Montana Conservative Republicans” on X, who are, in essence, the Nasty-9, and therefore not conservatives, as proven by their spending habits and overall voting records. The picture below lists five accomplishments, but none are accurate. The opposite of each statement is true.
There is a growing trust in good legislators. Montanans are learning which legislators they can trust and which ones lie as a matter of habit.
Cora Neumann’s willingness to record proof of the collusion. It’s always best when people tell on themselves. Senator Cora Neumann posted a video on Instagram where she admitted that the Democrats and former Republicans were colluding with each other. The video has been viewed thousands of times and should be remembered during the build-up to the 2026 primary elections.
Sadly, this is only a summary of what happened during the eighty-five legislative days between January 1 and April 30, 2025. Montanans must vote during primary elections and begin to clean out the cancer. Stay tuned to the Montana Freedom Caucus Substack and social media, the Montanans for Limited Government website and social media, this outlet, Western Montana News, Montana 1st News, Montana Talks, the Rino Removal Project, and trustworthy GOP Central Committees to learn more.
The big government uniparty is working against you every day of the year; Good people must invest their time and treasure to keep Montana what it’s meant to be.
Conservatives must hold "Red State" RINOs accountable, or they will all become destroyed like Colorado.
Useful Information:
Information about the bad bills:
