Day 39
5:10 PM MT.

Team DoubleSpeak has reached the Continental Divide. We got our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains and we’re headed up to Missoula for a weekend of recording, production and much tomfoolery. We’re also seeking out our first delicious steak dinner of the trip (though we have had our share of delicious meat cuts).

Here we are, pulled over on the side of highway 200W to mark the passing over of the Continental Divide.

As my brother wrote earlier, today was a peach of a day. We got to hang out with Sen. Baucus, Gov. Schweitzer and Jon Tester at a Montana Farmer’s Union annual meeting in Great Falls, MT.

Montana certainly has a special brand of politics and it’s a brand that could spread and be effective in other regions of America. I get the sense of a very populist politics, racked full of progressive ideas, that also incorporate the more conservative values of the people who live here.

The Governor talked for over an hour about renewable energy and about the advancements that Montana has made in alternative energies that could free America from its grip on foreign oil.

Those are true progressive values. Forget the social wedge issues that shatter the conversation, these Democrats out here are an evolving brand that sells their record of accomplishment on issues that truly effect the 920,000 people that live in Montana. The people here may not be ready for the national Democratic Party, but there is something happening from the ground on up and I’d watch for a dramatic shift out here over the coming years. Especially if Montana keeps producing politicians like Gov. Brian Schweitzer and future Senator Jon Tester.

Enjoy the weekend. More from this American later.

-Peter

Day 39
3:11 PM MT.

Peter and Josh are getting sick of it now because all I can do is talk about how much I love Montana! This state is just so beautiful and all the people we’ve met so far are nice, real people.

We’ve had a great day today- woke up somewhere in Helena, MT and got an early start interviewing the head of the Montana Democratic Party and a really cool guy, Jim Farrell. Then we drove at 90+ M.P.H. up to Great Falls, MT to meet the trifecta- Governor Brian Schweitzer, Jon Tester, and Senator Max Baucus.

Now I know how folks felt when they went down to Arkansas in the 80’s to see then Governor Bill Clinton speak. Gov. Schweitzer, the Democratic Governor of Montana, is like no one I’ve ever met in my life. Today he was speaking to the Montana Farmers Union, a crowd of over 200 people, and he gave a rousing speech on energy independence (without notes or a written speech) and got the crowd to its feet. I had chills running up and down my spine listening to him pound the podium and fire-up the union crowd.

I am now convinced that Governor Schweitzer is the next great hope for Democrats nationally and I am 100% on the Schweitzer bandwagon.

We are all now sitting in the hotel lobby of a Best Western in Great Falls stealing some wi-fi and then we’re headed to Missoula, MT tonight for some production and fun.

Ha- Senator Max Baucus just walked by and we got a picture with him…nice guy.

I love Montana.

-Matthew

Day 39
2:38 PM MT.

You really can’t describe nor capture the beauty of Montana in words or photos. This picture was taken as we drove west towards the capitol of Helena. While just a minute before we’d been driving through rolling plains with rocky hills in the distance, we came over a ridge and before us were the Crazy Mountains rising out of the ground. Simply breathtaking.

One thing I think about a lot as we drove through the mountain west is how much our civilization has impacted these lands and what it must have been like for the first pioneers to have fought their way through this rugged terrain. I’m exhausted enough sitting in a captain’s chair in a minivan on this trip, and the thought of covering this same path on a horse or covered wagon nearly boggles the mind. With no interstates and rest stops, no Comfort Inns or local burger joints, what did the Wild West look like to those men and women when it was truly wild?

I’m sure Peter or Matt will hit you with it soon, but we just saw Governor Brian Schweitzer speak and he is something else. Quoth Matthew: “I like Montana.” Couldn’t agree more.

We’re using the free WiFi at the Best Western in Great Falls, MT so I just uploaded a bunch of new photos and we’ll have the clip of yesterday’s Peter B. Collins call-in up in a minute.

Now on to Missoula! Only 11 days until we change the world (and I get to sleep in my own bed).

-Josh