Multi-millionaire congressman Denny Rehberg is the latest Montana Republican to take on firefighters, a move that didn't work out so well for former Sen. Conrad Burns. But where Burns just embarrassed himself by cussing out some smoke jumpers in public, Rehberg is going nuclear, taking the Billings fire department to court.
Rehberg Ranch LLC contends property and equipment was damaged at Rehberg Ranch Estates because the fire department breached its duty during a wildfire that burned more than 1,100 acres in the subdivision west of Billings Logan International Airport in July of 2008.
The company in court documents filed Friday in Yellowstone County District Court says the fire scorched trees and ground cover causing irreparable damage on a large section of land intended for development.
One would think, since that land was "intended for development" that that the wildfire just did the job that Rehberg's bulldozers were going to eventually get around to, anyway. But that's not going to stop this Sagebrush Rebel from trying to make a dime off the government--even if it's just the city of Billings--with a bullshit lawsuit. It's the Republican way out West, take advantage of cheap grazing, cheap mining, cheap water, every kind of subsidy for resource development imaginable, all the while bitching about government interference and forcing lawsuits to ensure that "development" isn't hindered.
Rehberg's Dem opponent, former state party chair Dennis McDonald, didn't miss the opportunity to hit Rehberg.
Monday Democratic Congressional nominee Dennis McDonald said Rehberg's lawsuit will have a chilling effect on fire departments and volunteer firefighters.
"As a volunteer firefighter in Melville, I don't want to have to worry about being sued, when I'm asked to help fight a fire," said McDonald. "The Billings Fire Department and the heroes who work there should not have to worry about the Rehbergs suing them while they are putting everything they have into doing what's right," McDonald said in a campaign press release....
"Congressman Rehberg, who has a net worth of $63 million, is now after the citizens of Billings for another million dollars," said McDonald. McDonald says he believes the firefighters who worked the Rehberg ranch fire two years ago deserve a "thank you" not a Rehberg lawsuit.
Having the firefighters on your side is just good politics in Montana, particularly since a good portion of the adult population of the state is made up of volunteer firefighters. Whether this will inflict the kind of damage on Rehberg that it did on Burns remains to be seen, but it's a sure sign of Rehberg's arrogance to take on this suit in the middle of election season.