Montana Voters Learn the Hard Way

Just another example of voter's getting a surprise:

Promises, promises
By John McCaslin
Washington Times
November 16, 2006

Two weeks before Election Day, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada issued a statement promising Montana Senate candidate Jon Tester a seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee if he could defeat Republican incumbent Conrad Burns.
Such a win was crucial, Mr. Reid knew, if Democrats were to retake control of Congress. And while Mr. Reid didn't say exactly when Mr. Tester would be seated in the coveted chair, his pledge assured Montana's voters that the state wouldn't lose out on much-needed funding by rejecting Mr. Burns, who during his dozen years on the Appropriations Committee delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to the state.
"This is big news," boasted Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat, who read Mr. Reid's promise at a press conference in Billings, Mont. "This is going to help Montana even more."
Republicans who were quoted in the Billings Gazette the next day weren't buying Mr. Reid's promise. The newspaper even quoted Mr. Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley, as conceding that it would be "somewhat unusual" for a freshman senator to sit on such a lofty panel.
As it was, Mr. Tester won a very close race. And yesterday, Mr. Reid announced his committee assignments for the upcoming 110th Congress. Wouldn't you know, Mr. Tester didn't make the cut.
The Appropriations Committee will be chaired by Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, who will be joined by Democrats Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Patty Murray of Washington, Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota, Dianne Feinstein of California, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Putting doddering old "Exalted Cyclops" of the KKK Byrd back in charge of Appropriations is another Democrat signal that it's business as usual with the taxpayer's money.