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Sometimes a jaded viewpoint can highlight the need to get something done

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Max Baucus knows how to work a room.

That was my initial impression when I met Montana’s senior senator, a Democrat, who was in Pablo this past week to meet with the Tribal Council of the Salish and Kootenai Indians. Baucus and several key members of his staff were at the council’s meeting for a listening session regarding issues of concern to Native people, high among the list being health care and water rights.

It’s a rare sight to see any U.S. senator listening to his or her constituents, much less actually sitting down at a table allowing them to speak to him. Most of the elected officials I’ve encountered over the years have tended to be a tad sanctimonious, incredibly self-righteous and generally dismissive of what ordinary people have to say, although they’re usually pretty discreet about it. And I haven’t even started to address their political philosophies and voting records.

Pardon the jaded viewpoint but it’s a hard-earned one. My previous two U.S. senators were Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, and David Vitter, a Republican, of Louisiana. Before that, it was Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, both Republicans, of Mississippi. Before that, it was Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, one a Democrat, the other a Republican, of Indiana. And before that, it was Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley of Iowa, one a Democrat, one a Republican.

Although I cannot honestly say I agree with everything he’s voted for and his position on a wide range of issues (I can’t even dishonestly say it), I have to admit that Lugar was by far my favorite of all the U.S. senators I’ve had the privilege to meet, interview or be in their company. He’s a very decent man, strongly principled and brilliant.

As Baucus prepared to enter the council chambers a week ago today, people in the audience waited anxiously. They obviously either voted for him or wanted others to think they did. Besides, even with some of the shady characters that have passed through the hallowed halls of Congress and the U.S. Senate, there is a deserved amount of reverence afforded the office of United States senator.

My only knowledge about Baucus came during the debate over health care, where he played a pivotal role, most notably regarding the public option. As Baucus approached me (I was seated in the first row, the seat closest to the door), we both stretched out our hands to exchange greetings.

“Hi, good to see you again,” the senator said. Impressed by the casual warmth (as do most Montanans in summer, Baucus was casually dressed) and the open friendliness, I didn’t pay much attention to what the senator said until a few minutes later. That’s when I realized I had never met the man.

In fairness to Baucus, I’ve been told by family, friends, and strangers and even by myself before my first cup of coffee in the morning that I have an incredible resemblance to NBC’s Lester Holt, someone whom Baucus has occasionally had to deal with in his role as a U.S. senator, especially during the health care debate earlier this year.

And so I give Baucus a pass on the “again” part of his greeting.

These are tough times in American politics. It’s tough if you’re a Democrat and it’s tough if you’re a Republican. It’s even tougher if you’re an independent.

In many ways, Montana is a political anomaly. It has two Democrats as its senators in Washington, D.C., Baucus and Jon Tester being the other. It has a Republican, Denny Rehberg, as its lone U.S. congressman. It has a Democrat, Brian Schweitzer, as its governor.

And the state has been a red one (Republican) in the past three presidential elections.

Where I come from, most recently Louisiana, that kind of political diversity just doesn’t happen. It’s not simply a red state, it’s fire engine red. It’s red in its elected leadership, red in its voting patterns, red in its sordid history when it comes to the more pressing social issues of the day and red as in the oil slick that has washed upon its shores from the BP oil spill.

Every day this office receives a never-ending stream of e-mails from all points on the political spectrum. All tout their accomplishments while bashing the other side. Few ever really offer up any meaningful solutions.

That’s too bad. Maybe they all need to take a cue from the casually dressed Montanan, and listen for a change and hear what people have to say.

Be careful, though. It just might make a difference.

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