The other week a Daily Kos commentator, Zen Trainer, wrote a piece called “I Have a Political Crush” about Tom Winter, a member of the Montana state legislature who is running hard to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for Montana’s sole, at-large seat in the US House of Representatives.
Tom is the eldest of my three children. And, yes, his mother and I have long become accustomed to strangers telling us how crushable he is. But, I’d like to confirm to Daily Kos readers, along with Zen Trainer, that Tom is quite a bit more than a pretty face.
After comparing Tom, in her diary, to a couple of the more politically successful and physically appealing Kennedys, Zen quickly pivoted to Tom’s stance on the issues. He is running as an unabashed progressive in a state that is often, erroneously, referred to as deep red, even though Montana boasts a U.S. Senator, Jon Tester, a Democrat who keeps getting re-elected, and Steve Bullock, a very popular two-term Democratic Governor.
Not incidentally, in his 2018 election to the Montana statehouse, Tom scored more votes in his district than the GOP incumbent running in a seat that President Drumpf won by over 11 points there in 2016, flipping his state legislative district from a vivid red to a lively shade of blue. This was in spite of the president holding one of his “rallies” in Tom’s Missoula district just days before the election — while Tom was knocking doors across the street. In other words, Tom beat Drumpf, as did Sen. Tester, in Montana in 2018.
On the stump, Tom comfortably weaves the personal with the political; he laces his talk about health care by referring to his sister, who has a serious chronic illness and about my own struggle with early dementia. His support for LGBT rights is partly informed by the fact that our close-knit family was rocked when I came out as a gay man in middle age - and married a fine man. His Mom and I, when he was growing up in Kansas City, were so supportive of Planned Parenthood that Tom recently said “I see civil rights and social justice through the lens of a woman’s right to choose.”
That’s just one good part of being Tom’s Dad right now - seeing the looks on people’s faces when he says cool stuff like that - and knowing that he proudly and loudly own’s his roots in the pro-choice and women’s movements.
I’m also proud of my handsome, sensitive and articulate son when he clearly and enthusiastically touts his positions on climate change, gun safety, public lands and income inequities, not to mention healthcare — he advocated passionately for Medicaid expansion in the Montana legislature. And, he touches my heart when he outlined to me his plan, along with his ardent hope, to reduce the horrific number of Montana’s Native women and girls who are murdered or simply disappear. And, I feel hope, as well as deep pride, that he’s running on a platform that heralds the innate rights of LGBTQ Americans, like his two Dads.
In the pale purple state of Montana, where voters put people before party, they don’t really, seriously, give a damn about how he looks. They’re listening to him - and they want him to deliver on his proudly progressive positions.
But, the fact that he’s easy on the eyes can’t hurt, right?