Old 'has-bins' urge legislators to keep open minds

We began our service in the Montana Legislature 46 years ago when political differences were as real and sharp as they are today, but when the practice of politics wasn’t as political.

Then there were old New Dealers who represented a viewpoint not unlike Bernie Sanders, and there were Barry Goldwater Republicans whose philosophy of the rugged individual would resonate with some of the Tea Party true believers of today. The similarity, though, may end there.

The two of us recently invited our fellow former state legislators, legislative staffers and one time representatives of various s...