Platform

We believe in the value of strong family farms and ranches as essential to our Montana heritage, the life-blood of our rural towns and an important part of our economy. We must create incentives and inspiration for younger generations to return to the family ranch or farm, seize new opportunities in agriculture, or successfully hold the remote jobs in rural Montana made possible by reliable infrastructure.

We believe in the equality of all people, but as Montanans we have a particular obligation to Montana’s first people. We recognize that Montana’s American Indians are not only Montanans, but also members of their own tribal nations with the sovereignty to govern themselves and the right to preserve their cultural integrity.

We believe the best approach to reducing crime is providing the education, opportunities, and social services that prevent it. When crime does occur, we support approaches that seek to restore the victim, safeguard the public, and rehabilitate the offender. We expect our justice system to operate impartially and efficiently to protect and enforce the rights of all citizens equally, to provide every citizen with a venue to seek redress of grievances, and to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities.

We believe that access to the arts, libraries, museums, and cultural experiences is an essential component of the quality of life and the economy in Montana. We are committed to ensuring that those who create and provide this access are supported and encouraged to prompt us to imagine, marvel, reflect, and learn.

Our climate is in a state of emergency. Montana Democrats believe we must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels through a combination of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the development of clean, renewable energy sources. We believe we can achieve this goal AND create – or provide transitions into – good Montana jobs.

We view government as the means by which individuals work together to solve mutual problems, balance competing interests, and accomplish common goals. Good government meets its constitutional obligations to protect health and safety and to promote community, commerce, and culture. Honoring the principles of sovereignty, local control, and separation of powers, good government is open, accountable, and responsive to the people.

We are dedicated to ensuring quality of life and equality of opportunity for all individuals and families, regardless of their socio-economic status. Fundamental to such quality and equality are the basic necessities of life, including, at a minimum, health care, education, shelter, adequate nutrition, a livable environment and climate, human dignity, and lives free of violence. We affirm and support each individual’s freedom, control, and privacy with respect to their own bodies and health care decisions.

We believe that access to safe, adequate, sanitary and affordable housing is a human right for all Montanans. When both private and public sectors work together to construct enough housing, working class families gain the ability to own a home, renters pay less, and working Montanans’ personal wealth and human resources improve the state’s economy for everyone.

We believe that neither a peaceful planet nor a democratic society can survive without appreciation for the diversity of all people and respect for the unique value of each person. We embrace the rights guaranteed by the constitutions of our state and nation, recognizing that the meaning and application of those rights evolve as our knowledge and understanding as human beings in a democratic republic evolve.

We recognize that the opportunity for Montanans to enjoy our spectacular landscapes, clean waters, and abundant fish and wildlife is an integral part of our heritage, identity, lifestyle, and economy. We believe in public ownership of the fish, wildlife, streams, and rivers of our state and rely on our government to hold these resources in trust for the beneficial use of our citizens and future generations.

In the spirit of the late Senator Mike Mansfield, we believe America should treat all nations and peoples with the same dignity and respect we expect of one another. While we must maintain the military strength to be secure as a nation, we believe our greatest strength and our greatest security lie in our effective use of commerce, aid, diplomacy, and collaboration to improve the well-being and good will of all peoples and all nations.

We know it requires both government and private business to create the quality jobs necessary to sustain a healthy economy. Government at both federal and state levels is responsible for funding infrastructure, housing, education programs, and economically and environmentally sound growth policies that are major job creators and strengthen and diversify our private-sector economy.

We believe stable jobs with livable salaries and wages are another cornerstone of a stable economy and a healthy society. Because the vast majority of Montanans make their living as wage-earners, we seek fair compensation for their labor so that they can provide for their families and sustain their communities. Montana workers deserve safety, security, and dignity as conditions of their employment, as well as conditions of their retirement after a lifetime of hard work.

We believe public education not only acts as the primary catalyst for a strong economy, upward mobility, and the quality of life in Montana, but also fosters the lasting bonds of understanding, acceptance, and community that make Montana such a desirable place to live. We are therefore committed to a continuum of high-quality, equitable public education opportunities with adequate state funding to develop the potential of every Montanan and of Montana itself.

The teeming bounty of Montana’s natural resources and wild country has always been at the heart of our prosperity, our heritage, and our lifestyle as Montanans. With the planet in a state of climate emergency, our 21st-century challenge is to ensure that these resources not only contribute to the strong economy needed to sustain families and communities, but also provide the clean and healthful environment that is our constitutional right.

We seek a progressive, broad-based, equitable tax system that reflects and enhances our changing economy and adequately supports a full range of quality public services and public education. We believe in being fiscally responsible while promoting quality of life and equality of opportunity for all our citizens.

We ask Americans in the military to risk their lives and disrupt their families’ lives to serve our country. In gratitude for their sacrifice, Montana Democrats regard as sacred our obligation to care for America’s military – during active duty and for the rest of their lives.

We are the party of trail-blazing women. We are committed to securing equal opportunities in education, employment, and leadership for every woman and to ensuring safe, healthy, and nurturing environments for all women. To achieve these goals, women must have an equitable role, not only in determining local, state, and national policies, but also in making decisions to meet their own needs and those of their families and communities.