MISSOULA — Political conventions often feature unique offerings. But the gun/shovel/duct tape raffle and the bullet-“pocked” outhouse at the Montana GOP convention might have pushed the envelope.

Former GOP presidential candidate and U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the convention’s featured speaker on Saturday, got a raffle ticket for what might in any other part of the country seem an unusual combo — a 12-gauge shotgun, a shovel and a roll of duct tape.

But the 500 convention-goers burst into laughter to the obvious S-S-S — “Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up” — reference to the contentious issue of wolves. The Ravalli County Republican Central Committee, which sponsored the raffle, clearly had signed on to one widely suggested “management” plan by opponents of federal protection for wolves.

Gingrich said that if he wins, the prize will go to his 10-year-old grandson, who just got his first .410 bore shotgun.

There was less laughter — although plenty of picture-taking — of an outhouse labeled “Obama Presidential Library” parked outside Missoula’s Hilton Garden Inn, where the convention took place.

Nothing on the outhouse indicated who was responsible for it, although it made an appearance in the Memorial Day parade in Corvallis in Ravalli County.

The outhouse was painted to look as though it had been riddled by bullets.

Inside, a fake birth certificate for Barack Hussein Obama made reference to the disproven controversy over the president’s origins. It was stamped “Bull----.” A graffito advised “For a Good Time call 800-Michelle (crossed out), Hillary (crossed out) and Pelosi (circled in red.)”

State GOP Chairman Will Deschamps of Missoula said he didn’t know who’d brought the outhouse, but dismissed it as “a sideshow.”

“It’s not something I’m going to agonize over,” he said. “Some of that stuff is not real good taste. We do have a president of the United States, and we have to honor that.”


Missoulian reporter Gwen Florio can be reached at 523-5268, gwen.florio@missoulian.com, or @CopsAndCourts on Twitter.

(37) comments

bearpaws

What class! And typical Republican leadership...Dechamps just shrugs his shoulders and says, "Boys will be boys...oh, well (yuck,yuck)".

Sunburst

Disgusting.

While I personally believe Obama is totally unqualified for the position he holds he's still President, apposition that would be held in high esteem, not mocked.

PLG

Just as Palin's crosshairs ad may have prompted the shooting of Congresswomen Gifford. This goes to show exactly how far right and radical the Republican Party has become. They no longer refer to opponents in elections, now they are enemies to be shot!

RickyBobby

Wow, stupid is as stupid does and stupid did. Maybe next time they can add a burning cross to the lawn or a confederate flag to the mix. Better yet they can form a committee headed by Dechamps to see just how much more they can walk back a semi civilized society a few hundred years. I would say that this was completely childish, but even children know better. Way to make the state look bad by acting like a bunch of idiots. Bravo!

whatif

Wow, even the republican party supports the s-s-s. that is so sad. Why even have a government if you are not going to follow the laws? Shows how far-right the GOP has come.

MtMadeMan
MtMadeMan

The kabuki theater on display here is hilarious.

Especially from the liberals who say it was just an accident that President Bush’s head was on a pike in a movie.
Or Joe Biden who compared Tea Partiers to terrorists.
Or how Al Gore is calling for an "Arab Spring" against the Tea Party.
Or from the liberal news media reporter Joe Nocera, New York Times: He blames the debt ceiling mess on the "jihad" waged by Tea Partiers willing to ruin the country, "For now, the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests. But rest assured: They’ll have them on again soon enough.

Like the liberal excuse for Bill Maher, it’s just political comedy. Get over it and ‘MoveOn’.

And PLG, Palin’s crosshairs had nothing to do with the shooting in AZ. He was insane and obsessed with Gifford.

lumberjack

Just wonderin here... That GOP Chairman sayin that the outhouse wasnt in good taste, "We have a President of the United States, and we have to honor that." So did he remove the offensive structure that was dishonoring the President of the United States? Ive been a Republican all my life, but lately, I dont understand the behavior of people in my own party. Seems like theres a hooligan contest, who can be the nastiest and most disrespectful to the Democrats. I dont like it.

captbob
captbob

Ha ha ha! A light-hearted promotion of flaunting fish and game laws and celebrating presidential assassination. Stay classy MT GOP!

mamahighmark

What was done at the convention doesn't have anything to do with being a racist, like Rickybobby implied. The most unintelligent thing that I can ever remember about the elections in my many decades on this earth, is that voters, mostly the younger generations,you know, the ones that know so much more than those of us that had a great country going before they could vote, managed to vote in a candidate that couldn't even produce a legal birth certificate. Seems to me, I learned that rule in about 6th grade.

skooter
skooter

Ah the classy right at work. shouldn't surprise that they are that ignorant - but that they are that dumb to actually allow that at the convention speaks measures. The right sure does elect some winners.

mtmademan...spare me the tears please. quit spending so much time trying to make excuses for bad behavior and stand up for doing the right thing versus arguing for excepting the wrong. the lack of respect the right shows itself is evident in the lack of respect it shows here. Period. You either want the President of your country treated with some respect or you don't (and you can't just pick and choose when it suits you) so whatever somebody else did or didn't do in the past, this is YOUR state political convention that allowed it.

MtMadeMan
MtMadeMan

Skooter;

Till I see that it was actually a conservative I won't say anything. DNC operatives brought racists posters to Tea Party rallies to make them look like racists.

Not one progressive said anything bad about the Own Wall Street anarchists. Pelosi and Obama both supported them. Still waiting on that one. Lots of hate at OWS, plus drugs, riots, violence, rapes and murders. Progressives still consider those great rallies.

Plus, progressives never worry about denigrating conservative presidents. I still have not Heard Debby Wasserman denounce President Bush's head on a pike. In fact you just glossed it over yourself.

Progressives called for civility after the AZ shooting that had nothing to do with conservatives. Then progressives were the first to attack conservatives with hateful rhetoric.

Progressives just want free hate speech for their side while denouncing it for the other side.

I remain unimpressed with your cries of lamentation.

doglady

@ mamahighmark
You complain about the mostly young people who elected President Obama. Are they the same largely young people who are good enough to serve in our miltary and fight our wars? Democracy means that each person has a right to cast their vote for the person they think is best. That is what democracy is. Those same people might question your intelligence that you are still questioning whether or not the President who was born in Hawaii is an American citizen. Did you question whether Senator McCain was a US citizen since he was born in Panama?

FlamingLiberal

I would think the Secret Service should be investigating this so-called attempt at humor. To me it looks like a direct threat to the President of the United States. At the very least, how can these people dare to call themselves patriots?

Riamh
Riamh

As if the convention, and the antics weren't enough, some of you defend, and rationalize this?

@MtMadMan: Seriously?? DNC Operatives "making the tea party look racist"?? Spare me, I know LOTS of "Tea Partiers" and they surely don't need anyone's help in looking racist, they do a fine job of that on their own. Secondly, your attempts to rationalize their behavior by saying "well the left does it too" is very weak reasoning at best.

@mamahighmark - Seriously? People still buy into that birther nonsense? Birthers are lunatics that refuse to accept reality.

Curmudgeon

This whole "outhouse" business with its bullet holes and horribly crude notes denigrating the character and reputations of respectable women?

Seems to be the work of some not-too-bright college sophomore with a junior high school sense of "humor".

Some people are LOW class, and some people are NO class. Easy to see which category fits "Outhouse" creator (and those who support and defend him).

skooter
skooter

[quote]MtMadeMan said: "Skooter;Till I see that it was actually a conservative I won't say anything. DNC operatives brought racists posters to Tea Party rallies to make them look like racists. Not one progressive said anything bad about the Own Wall Street anarchists. Pelosi and Obama both supported them. Still waiting on that one. Lots of hate at OWS, plus drugs, riots, violence, rapes and murders. Progressives still consider those great rallies.Plus, progressives never worry about denigrating conservative presidents. I still have not Heard Debby Wasserman denounce President Bush's head on a pike. In fact you just glossed it over yourself. Progressives called for civility after the AZ shooting that had nothing to do with conservatives. Then progressives were the first to attack conservatives with hateful rhetoric.Progressives just want free hate speech for their side while denouncing it for the other side.I remain unimpressed with your cries of lamentation. "[/quote]

I remain unimpressed with this screed of pretending to be the victim and nonsense conspiratorial jibber jabber...call when you (and many here) decide to stand up for what's right instead of making excuses (and boy some are tenuous at best in your post) to justify bad behavior. And to suggest that the mysterious DNC operatives are at work is ludicrous...and the fact remains that it didn't stop your co-horts in the GOP from bunching up to gawk, cheer and have photos taken. Did the DNC make them? Or was the entire convention operatives too? You must know how silly that sounds right? As silly as suggesting it was the DNC people bringing so-called racist posters to event rather than...gasp...actual racists.

And the fact is that you make yourself look silly trying to pull together justification for it. Again...you either believe that we should have respect for our President - right or left - and denounce stuff like this or you don't and you make excuses over why its ok. I think you've planted your flag.

I never liked Bush when he was in office or virtually any of his policies, but I never addressed in any of the terms you hear from the right, or see here and elsewhere. Some may have but frankly me thinks you are doing the usual cherry picking routine (and making a few things up)....it's faulty logic. One must choose your values and what you will and will not do/accept. Not just enforce them when it suits you. Most of the mud usually is slung from the right...

Another bit of silliness is your assertion that equate OWS as anarchy, while you portend to be part of a country that allows free speech and demonstrations. And on top of that - if you call yourself a TEA Bug supporter, your whole movement is based upon the very same notion of standing up for something (at least OWS versus TP). Were there some dummies, and bad actors at OWS? Of course. There were/are racists attending the tea party rallies but I would never assume you are all racists. So your argument is that during a peaceful, free, nationwide assembly (that you obviously disagree with) somebody were jerks, and the President didn't denounce the entire movement (but did condemn bad behavior there), it's ok to be as disrespectful as you want to the office and the him?

Now that's some fine republican kneejerk logic right there.

Sgravel

Mamahighmark,
The birther stuff is racist and you must not have learned in the 6th grade or any other grade that we have 50 states and Hawaii is one of them.
Momahighmark, didn't you hear about the deflowering of "The Donald"?

lowdog

The initials GOP should change to KKK.

Motorchild
Motorchild

Bullets and blood. That's what made our country and keeps her strong.

montanawatkins

This is just one more nail in the coffin of American. There is no patriotism, honor or pride in what was American. It is a division that will destroy us. I am amazed that more Amercian do not fight for unity. We will not find it with the democrats or republican. The fight is on and it doesn't matter who is in the office of the president someone will mock and hate as that is what we have become.

Riamh
Riamh

[quote]Motorchild said: "Bullets and blood. That's what made our country and keeps her strong."[/quote]

Maybe so, Motorchild, but bullets to spill the blood of our own countrymen? That's just wrong. We're Americans, The great American Melting Pot. We were once a country of tolerance, Where people could disagree with each other, yet work together for the greater good of the UNITED STATES. what ever happened to that? I agree with montanawatkins, this partisan polarization is destroying our country, and is a total thumbed nose at the American spirit that made this country great.

aj59601

The hotel tells me it wasn't some young people, as it's said by some here, but instead it was an "older lady with gray hair". So keep in mind when you do stupid, hateful things, there are cameras everywhere and others won't tolerate your rude, offensive embarrassment to Montana version of a joke. The hotel insisted the woman remove the "display" from their property and they don't seem to want to be associated with it at all. Good Job Hilton! Newspaper should have mentioned this, too.

Motorchild
Motorchild

This was and still is the most tolerant nation in the world, Raimh. It's also nation that hasn't and won't hesitate to kill in order to have its way - at the expense of losing some of our own. War is a damned dirty business but it has to be done sometimes.

As for politics, the two-party system was a mistake from the start. But don't worry. The spirit of America is alive and well and the politicians on either side are neither smart enough or even powerful enough to divide us.

Riamh
Riamh

[quote]Motorchild said: "This was and still is the most tolerant nation in the world, Raimh. It's also nation that hasn't and won't hesitate to kill in order to have its way - at the expense of losing some of our own. War is a damned dirty business but it has to be done sometimes.As for politics, the two-party system was a mistake from the start. But don't worry. The spirit of America is alive and well and the politicians on either side are neither smart enough or even powerful enough to divide us."[/quote]

Yeah, we're a really tolerant nation, that's why we lock up more people than any other country on earth. With today's partisan polarization, we're a divided nation. If you need proof of that, just look at the comments often found in these forums right here. While I agree with you, sometimes war is necessary, Civil War is not ok.

Motorchild
Motorchild

There are many factors contributing to the number of people incarcerated in this country from actual crimes to arcane laws to corrupt courtrooms.

As for partisan polarization, if anyone feels divided from his fellow countrymen, is't only because he himself is a party loyalist. It's time to break free from the cage; to wage a civil war at the voting booth... to let the politicians know that we're not having anymore of their Democrat vs. Republican nonsense - vote Independent. Electing a nitwit would be better than the liars and lunatics we've put in office over the years so far.

Motorchild
Motorchild

Considering the millions upon millions of dollars poured into the Democratic and Republican campaign funds, can you imagine the message sent to the corporations and private groups as well as the two parties if an Independent was elected? "We don't want your stinkin' money or your lousy politics, we want a leader."

Riamh
Riamh

I agree with you MC. Personally I vote independent, and wish that others would too. I agree too, there's too much partisan loyalty to go along with the polarization. We need to do away with bought and paid for candidates by voting them out.

GreatWhite
GreatWhite

[quote]Riamh said: "Yeah, we're a really tolerant nation, that's why we lock up more people than any other country on earth. With today's partisan polarization, we're a divided nation. If you need proof of that, just look at the comments often found in these forums right here. While I agree with you, sometimes war is necessary, Civil War is not ok."[/quote]

Civil War has been effective in the not so distance past in this country. Remember slavery? And something about a Confederacy and a Union?

So far as locking people up...I manage to get through a day, actually I've managed to get through many decades without committing a crime worthy of lockup. So, I don't feel real sorry for those that get sent away. The vast majority did something to prove they were not a viable part of society. No empathy here. They bad. I no care about their plight for the most part.

I agree with MotorChild, the two party system is like having only two options for my steak, Raw or Burned to a crisp. Neither of which I particularly like.

FlamingLiberal

[quote]Motorchild said: "Electing a nitwit would be better than the liars and lunatics we've put in office over the years so far."[/quote]

We tried a nitwit already, from 2001 through 2008. That didn't work out very well.

Riamh
Riamh

[quote]GreatWhite said: "Civil War has been effective in the not so distance past in this country. Remember slavery? And something about a Confederacy and a Union?So far as locking people up...I manage to get through a day, actually I've managed to get through many decades without committing a crime worthy of lockup. So, I don't feel real sorry for those that get sent away. The vast majority did something to prove they were not a viable part of society. No empathy here. They bad. I no care about their plight for the most part.I agree with MotorChild, the two party system is like having only two options for my steak, Raw or Burned to a crisp. Neither of which I particularly like."[/quote]

GW, The civil war was NOT fought to end slavery, but to preserve the Union. If you'll remember, the Civil war destroyed more American lives than any war previous, or since, as both sides were American. A record that stands to this day. This was using primitive weapons, and Napoleonic tactics. How much worse would it be today? With modern weapons, and tactics?

Must history repeat itself? Are you willing to step up and kill your own brothers, cousins, neighbors over partisan politics? Do you think the United States would even be a world power in the aftermath of a modern Civil War?

I agree, the 2 party system isn't working. Mostly because our "2 party" system is really a single party system. Their talking points, and arguments are meaningless, and empty. It doesn't matter which "party" controls the legislatures, the same thing happens. Regardless of party label, I don't believe there is a single senator, legislator, president, or supreme court justice that truly represents the people.

Motorchild
Motorchild

[quote]FlamingLiberal said: "We tried a nitwit already, from 2001 through 2008. That didn't work out very well."[/quote]

He was a liar and a cheat is what he was.

GreatWhite
GreatWhite

[quote]Motorchild said: "He was a liar and a cheat is what he was."[/quote]

Rn't they all??

GreatWhite
GreatWhite

[quote]Riamh said: "GW, The civil war was NOT fought to end slavery, but to preserve the Union. If you'll remember, the Civil war destroyed more American lives than any war previous, or since, as both sides were American. A record that stands to this day. This was using primitive weapons, and Napoleonic tactics. How much worse would it be today? With modern weapons, and tactics? Must history repeat itself? Are you willing to step up and kill your own brothers, cousins, neighbors over partisan politics? Do you think the United States would even be a world power in the aftermath of a modern Civil War?I agree, the 2 party system isn't working. Mostly because our "2 party" system is really a single party system. Their talking points, and arguments are meaningless, and empty. It doesn't matter which "party" controls the legislatures, the same thing happens. Regardless of party label, I don't believe there is a single senator, legislator, president, or supreme court justice that truly represents the people. "[/quote]

There were 5 main reasons for the Civil War.
1:Economic and social differences between the North and the South. (Now, more East and West it seems!)
2:States versus federal rights. (MM, for 1!?!?)
3:The fight between Slave and Non-Slave State Proponents. (Corporate America??)
4:Growth of the Abolition Movement. (Occupy movement??)
5:The election of Abraham Lincoln. (???)

The Union was breaking down because of slavery. The opinions of the North (Union states) vs. the South (Confederate states) concerning slavery was the largest part of that conflict. And, sadly, over 618,000 people died during that war.

And, as tensions mounted, Lincoln becoming president was pretty much the final catalyst that set off the powderkeg that became the civil war.

End slavery...preserve the union...kind of a 'is the glass half empty or half full' debate there.

You have to admit, we have the basic undercurrents flowing across the nation today for the same kind of thing.

Do I want it? No, of course not. I'd rather we learned from our past and found peaceful ways to move forward. But sadly, the jacka$$es running the show mistakenly think they have power and authority because they are respected and feared. The truth is they are tolerated and loathed by the majority it seems (our options are crap!!), they just haven't figured out that they only have the power given them by the people. And the people haven't figured out how to take it away from them.

But, if they keep pushing people, Civil War at some level is exactly what they will end up with.

The "Occupy" movement recently was a small step in that direction. Substitute actual slavery of old for the new 'corporate philosophy' mindset that is spreading like wildfire across the nation, and you already have the foundation for the majority of the reasons for the 1st Civil War already in place.

As far as your comment:

"...the 2 party system isn't working. Mostly because our "2 party" system is really a single party system. Their talking points, and arguments are meaningless, and empty. It doesn't matter which "party" controls the legislatures, the same thing happens. Regardless of party label, I don't believe there is a single senator, legislator, president, or supreme court justice that truly represents the people."

I don't think I've ever agreed more with a statement on this website!

But, what do think will happen when the majority of America ADMITS and ACCEPTS that these elected officials don't care one iota about the citizens and only their own agendas, and decide to unify and take action?

Riamh
Riamh

GreatWhite: You definitely understand my point, thank you for helping me to communicate it :)

Motorchild
Motorchild

Politics - politics, blah-blah-blah.

As long as Montana is doing okay, I really don't care what's going anywhere else.

GreatWhite
GreatWhite

[quote]Motorchild said: "Politics - politics, blah-blah-blah. As long as Montana is doing okay, I really don't care what's going anywhere else."[/quote]

Second that!!

Motorchild
Motorchild

.... going (on) anywhere else.

Sorry about that - too much on my mind and talk of politcs and civil war sorta upset me.

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