Burns turns down Havre debate

By Ron VandenBoom

Sen. Conrad Burns, R.-Mont, paid a campaign visit to Havre Thursday and turned down a Havre Daily News offer to host debates between himself and his Democratic opponent Brian Schweitzer in August, but left open the possibility of a debate in Havre in late September or October.

“We’re going to lock in some dates in the middle of October or the tail end of September,” Burns said. “That’s the way we’ve always debated before.

Burns said that is the time when people are truly focused on the election and that’s when you really want your debates.

“Everybody’s taken pretty much a position by that time,” he said.

By that time, Burns said, people are comparing your position to your opponent’s, “and that’s the way you’re defined and identified.”

The Daily News has extended an offer to host debates along with Yellowstone Public Radio at the convenience of the two candidates. The debate would be broadcast state wide by public radio.

Burns said people complain the campaigns are too long as it is.

“But we’re going to debate and we’ve taken some models of presidential debates..., they think about three debates are ample,” Burns said. “And if we have to have more we’ll see how that plays out.”

Right now Burns said he is focused on completing Congresses appropriations process.

“I wish the Democratic Party would sort of cooperate a little bit here and we can complete that,” he said. “They’ve taken an attitude that they want to take this session of Congress right into October. They don’t want to come home the first of October.”

Everything that they’ve done is to drag out the process, he said.

The tactic, he said, is to force Congress to have to pass one big omnibus appropriations bill that would not be good.

“We (the Republicans) are trying very hard to avoid that,” he said. “But what they feel is their best chance of winning an election is to take us to the blade.”

Even to the point of shutting down the government, Burns said. “They always accuse us of that.”

Burns did not rule out the possibility of a Havre debate noting that “there’s always a chance.”

He indicated that the two camps would begin coming together “pretty quick” to define the times, formats, and locations of the debates.

Burns also addressed his recent efforts to expand Amtrak service in the southern tier of Montana and the concerns expressed by supporters of the Empire Builder that service on the northern route might be reduced or discontinued.

“I think it has every possibility of maybe adding something to the northern tier,” he said, noting that there is expected to be a large influx of tourist into Montana in the next several years due to the anniversary of Lewis and Clark’s journey through the state 200 years ago.

“I think it’s going to be very good for Havre and the Hi-Line,” he said. “But adding a southern route, I don’t know how that would impact the northern route at all.”

Burns said that boarding through Havre and the Northern tier would have no competition from a southern route and the possibility that service might be cut or staggered “is not going to happen.”

Burns added that he did not see the southern route as having all that good of a chance of becoming a reality, anyway, because coal interests along the route have what he called “slots,” set times when they use the tracks.

“They look on Amtrak as a nuisance,” he said.