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This is happening throughout the country, what the Republican Party is doing is disgraceful!

IRT Mr. St. Pierres war record.. it is quite possible that he has 10 medals for heroism and/or self sacrifice however he des NOT have 10 "medals of honor". Please !!

Thank you, Lt. Governor Bohlinger, for standing up to this outrage with such an eloquent and moving statement.

Atta boy, John. I can hardly wait for the usual RW suspects to start attacking your letter. Of course they will attack you as a faux Republican, but we have heard that for years. Every time I have seen John in recent decades I have praised him for being a moderate Republican. The extreme righties seem to think that is being disloyal to the GOP, but the Grand Old Party has been filled with famous moderates throughout it's colorful history.

If the democrats weren't so untrustworthy, this wouldn't be necessary. But, that aside, there has never been anybody awarded 10 Medal of Honors....our Lt Governor Bohlinger has picked up all of Brian Shyster's bad habits. For the Gazette to publish this without checking facts is a total disgrace....

The crooked GOP is disgusting anymore. They are getting real desperate now that their messiah McCain and his lap dog Palin are losing their tails. It will only get more entertaining.

Lt. Governor Bohlinger is a good man, but he’s way off the mark with this opinion. There is a very simple reason for this voter challenge. Bohlinger’s running mate, Brian Schweitzer, proclaimed he turned some dials to tamper with the 2006 Senate election, so one would expect the opposing party to ensure those who are voting are legally able to vote in the state. It seems the GOP is doing what the law allows them to do for a fair election, which is the opposite of what the Governor did. To put this in first grade terms: The Governor started it!

Glad to hear the Republicans are watching the voter rolls. I'm glad somebody is looking out for the integrity of the vote, as certainly the Democrats are hoping for chaos at the voting stations. Surely Mr. Bohlinger wants the vote to be accurate and legal, right?

State before party? Yeah, right. You're a sell-out and a coward and as such are in no position to say what republicans should or shouldn't do.

First of all John, you are not a Republican. Republicans believe in lower taxes, smaller government, government accountability and the constitution. I'm sorry, but I know that you do not believe in these basic, fundamental Republican philosophies. You as a DEMOCRAT do not believe in holding the government accountable for holding a fair election? It is ok to have someone verify their status. How can you even say you are a Republican with a straight face? You are a disgrace to the Republican moniker, as you are just a lackey and minion to Brian Schweitzer. Remember, the governor said he committed voter fraud to America, but you did not write an editorial. Where is your integrity as a public official? Sorry, but you are NOT a Republican, nor do you speak for the party.

Vorsicht - I had to read your comment twice as I had done a double-take. You can say with a straight face that the Repub's are for "lower taxes, smaller gov't, gov't accountability and the constitution"? In this day and age with the joke that you elected for Pres and VP and with the state of our country from Repub excess and greed - I hardly think the words above describe any Republican. They are also expanding gov't and watching every Tom, Dick and Harry. You should be ashamed but you're not - you seem to be proud...

I don't know much about Mr. Bohlinger, but if he wrote this piece he is a wordsmith par excellence, ABSOLUTELY WORLD CLASS! Read it very carefully, with an eye towards the WAY it is written, instead of the supposed intent of the piece. Notice all the trigger words and buzz phrases? The phrases worded specifically to raise the ire of the reader? Beautifully done, John, simply beautiful. Your speech writer is to be commended! The only thing left out is Mom and Apple Pie! Now, to the true content of the piece; If Mr. St Pierre MOVED, he should have updated his address with the County Election Office, even if he is still in the same precinct. Period. No excuse. As for serving military members, same thing. Actually, they SHOULD have signed up for an Absentee Ballot to be sent to them as soon as they had an address to which it could be sent. Again, no excuse. IF there are "irregularities" in the voter rolls, they MUST be cleared up BEFORE the election. We certainly don't need any accusations of fraud or irregularities AFTER the election, there has been WAY too much of that in the past! Oh, yeah, John, I, too, as a retired military person, doubt very much if Mr. St. Pierre has TEN Congressional Medals of Honor. Lt. Audie Murphy and Sgt. Alvin York only had one each, and they made movies about them!

I guess I don't understand. So what if the medal this man got was medal of honor or medal of courage. HE GOT THEM! For someone to question his right to vote is wrong. DEAD wrong. This is way out in left field and I seen on TV that the republicans are trying this all over the united States. I hope the voters get mad and go out and vote. What the republicans are hoping for is these pople get discouraged and not vote. They are targeting most of these voters as democrates and were going to vote for Obama. This is harassment. They are hoping this will give McCain the boost to win the election by dirty deeds. This is totally wrong. No one has the right to take away our basic right in the U S to vote. NO ONE has the right to stop our troops from voting where ever they are at in the world. How can we trust a person who would OK this type of action by his party be a honest and good president. I know this is a desperate attempt on the part of the republican party but this is just plain shameful action by them and no excuse is acceptable by them for this action.

Who is Frank St. Pierre? A search of Medal of Honor winners does't find the name. A search for "FrankSt. Pierre, Anaconda, MT" doesn't find the name. Now, I will be the first to admit that my internet search skills aren't the greatest, but SOMETHING should turn up! Has anybody had any success finding the gentleman?

Ignorance is a terrible thing. MEANJEAN...no one has been awarded 10 Medals of Honor. The Battle of Dunkirk occurred before we entered the war and we had no soldiers, sailors, marines involved. For Bohlinger to cite this individual and the Gazette to print this fictitious story is sad. Did you not ever have a history class?

John, this is why I chewed you out a few years ago for running in my district as a Republican. I've never seen you as either narrow minded or mean spirited. I think the GOP has fallen into the narrow mean minded trap of hating people and loving institutions that claim to be using a free market, which is an oxymoron. The swift boat attackers of four years ago were venomous liars and the same tactics of lying are being used on both national and state levels today. You are courageous in challenging your own party or even still being a member after the way they have treated you. And, yes, he probably has 10 medals of honor, but not 10 Congressional Medals of Honor (notice the capitalizatiion.)

Jpoe, Vorsicht (Face it) and Los Congrejos, hurray for you, we'd hate to see the Repubs and other neocons change their ways... You continue to attack the person not what he says... Bollinger makes some very good points here... unfortunately, fairness is NOT a neocon value... I read the comments waiting to see how you would react to a voice of reason, but sadly, you didn't disappoint me... you've learned nothing at all from the reign of George W. Bush, your hero, your associate,your ideal, your choice (not mine!!) to run this country!!! Get a grip... when you're at the bottom of a deep dark pit, STOP DIGGING!!!!!

"ollie" I wonder if Frank St. Pierre, was untrustworthy in your opinion when he was a soldier during World War Two. I'm sure Mr. Bohlinger was pointing out that Mr. St. Pierre has ten medals of honor but he did not say that Mr. St. Pierre has ten Congressional medals of honor. Yes, "ollie" I am saying that EVERY medal our servicemen and women receive is a MEDAL OF HONOR. Surely you don't disagree with that!

Medal of Honor Recipients: ************************ www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html ************************** While I'm certain that Mr. St. Pierre is an honorable veteran and deserving of high esteem and respect, if he's claiming 10 Medals of Honor I would expect his name to be easy to find in the list of Medal of Honor Recipients. Can't seem to find him listed even once. Can anybody else find his name listed? I surely don't want to accuse a democrat of misrepresenting his past.

Further research reveals that, apparently, Frank H. and Frank A. Stpierre live in Anaconda. Meanjean, to most veterans, there is a BIG difference between the CMH and any other medal. Too many people have falsely claimed to have received the CMH (even one is too many). The majority of CMH awards are posthumous. Yes, for many of us it IS a big deal! Just like for many of us the possibility of voter fraud, whether intentional or unintentional, IS a big deal, and it SHOULD be found out and eliminated. If a person is not PROPERLY registered to vote, it should be corrected BEFORE election day. PROPERLY, of course, means in STRICT compliance with ALL applicable rules and regulations.

How many people on the list are registered democrats vs republicans and how many more hero's are Native?

squeak, you are absolutely right, there are Republicans that are corrupt, terrible politicians, greedy and just plain wrong for the country. That being said, I do not consider them to be Republicans either. They are just what I said. I am ashamed of every Republican who does not agree with these principles. They use the Republican name to get elected. The problem is, once they get elected, they lie, cheat and steal from the taxpayers. Why do you think there are so many people that are disgusted with the party? Wrong choices are wrong choices, no matter what party you are in. The problem is that the Republican party will not boot them out and still acknowledges them as Republicans. If this means a drop in Republican enrollment, then so what, at least you'll know what you have and don't have to lie blatantly to your constituents. I can honestly say to anyone that I am conservative and back it up. If the Republican party chooses to continue to promote these types of persons then, yes, I do not mind becoming an Independent Conservative.

Jpoe & Ollie: I'm sorry you have to resort to calling people ignorant. It is really sad when the point I was making went way way over your heads. Weather he is a plain joe or and medal reciever DOES NOT MATTER!! That is NOT what this is about. This is about a major party (Republican)using less then honorable means to fix the outcome of the election. This is not only happening in Montana but all over the U.S. ALL OVER!! It doesn not matter if he won one or none. This is NOT about this one person this is about thousands of voters the republican party is trying to refuse them the right to vote. Period. So if that makes me ignorant then so be it. I would gladly be ignorant then be what you have become. God bless you all.

The idea that every medal recieved is a Medal of Honor (capitalizaton from Bohlinger) is ludicrous. A Medal of Honor is a very specific and special honor that should never be minimized by claiming all medals are Medals of Honor.

Congratulations, John, for coming out of the closet. It's time you acknowledged your true party affiliation. Now, if you could get McCain to follow suit, the GOP would have the election sewn up. Phony outrage about voting irregularities from Dems is amusing from a school ground perspective.

oldilox: Don't bogart that joint my friend. You probably will not find a republican more disappointed in President Bush than me. So that dog won't hunt. Bohlinger is a sell-out and another example of how some people will do/say anything to get elected and then claim to be putting this or that first. Bohlinnger is to me, garbage as is anyone who buys his tripe

Mr. Bohlinger, The problem seems to be that there are too many dems voting fraudulently. Acorn was raided today by the FBI for voter fraud and tampering. Among their contributions to voter rolls in the state of Nevada was the roster for the Dallas Cowboys. Hmm? Didn't think they were all from Nevada. Who is registered in Montana? The New England Patriots?

Leaving totally aside the issue of challenges to voter registration, let us consider the comments made in this forum regarding Frank St. Pierre and his medals. The letter states that he is a decorated veteran of World War Two who helped evacuate troops from Dunkirk. Nowhere does it say that he was serving in the US armed forces at the time or that the medals awarded to him were awarded by the US government. I feel that it is disrespectful to attack his service, or even Mr. Bohlinger's representation of his service without further information. I know nothing about the specifics of Mr. St. Pierre's service beyond what is in the letter, but consider that over 18,000 US citizens enlisted in the Canadian armed forces during WWII, many prior to Pearl Harbor. Canada entered the war on September 10th, 1939 and the first Canadian troops had arrived in England by the end of that year. These included naval personnel, some of whom would later participate in the Dunkirk evacuation. It is not illogical to assume that some of these may have been Americans and that some of them would be decorated for their service. Obviously, I am not saying this is Mr. St. Pierre's circumstance, only that all possibilities should be considered before accusing him (or Mr. Bohlinger) of mis-stating his record. I would hate to think that an 86 year old veteran who served in any Allied force during World War Two would be treated with anything other than the respect and gratitude due him for that service.

There is NO WAY this veteran, Frank St. Pierre, received 10 medals of honor. NO WAY. This is the sort of lie that kills your argument, Bohlinger. How many others are in your staff's opinion you signed? I look forward to the Gazette correcting this error on their website. BY the way, The same Obama folks (ACORN) who are working in Montana are now accused of submitting multiple voter registrations with false and duplicate names in Nevada. The ACORN/OBAMA offices in Nevada were raided by federal authorities today. Obama is involved in this lawsuit against the MT GOP.

As yes, the amateur spin doctors are alive and well. When you can't rebut the basic message go to any nitpicking you can find. "Ignorance is a terrible thing. ...no one has been awarded 10 Medals of Honor. The Battle of Dunkirk occurred before we entered the war . . ." Ain't it the truth, Ollie, and you should know! All of you harping about the Congressional Medal of Honor are assuming (you know, ASS U ME), that was what the letter implied. Ollie was correct regarding Dunkirk, but he was one of the biggest critics regarding "medals of honor." An early invasion of continental Europe by the British failed and their troops were being driven into the sea, but were saved by hundreds of small boats plying across the English Channel at Dunkirk. No one seems capable of realizing that other nations have their own versions of medals of honor. The name St. Pierre is of French origin although he could have lived in England then as well. He probably received medals from both France and Britain and possibly from nations such as Belgium, Poland or The Netherlands, in addition. These could include the French Legion d'Honneur, Croix de Guerre, Medaille Miliataire, plus the Order of the British Empire and the Victoria Cross. He also could have been awarded other medals while serving in the military later in the War. Yes, Ollie ignorance IS a terrible thing . . . but for some ignorance is bliss.

True Conservative...spoken like a weasly liberal when caught lying or cheating. Bohlinger obviously went over to the dark side long ago. He can call himself whatever he wants, like you do, but we have some other names for him. A lie is a lie. This isn't about St.Pierre, it is about Bohlinger, the Lt. Governor lying. Finally the Republican party has had it with all the voting fraud and is fighting back...good for them.

What is false outrage is questioning some guys medals, when medals have nothing to do with the real point of this article. Again, there is nothing that Schweitzer claimed to do in his idiot blowhard speech that even compares to trying to confuse and ultimately disenfranchise 6,000 voters in obvious democratic srongholds. I mean at least you could have been clever about it and challenge voters in a republican stronghold like Custer County that seems to produce a lot of these fat hacks that pass for the "operatives" at the MT GOP. I'm sure since their challenge has gone over so well, they are planning to do more challenges.

I see, meanjean. It is apparent that to you HONESTY doesn't matter. HONESTY in name calling: Just to be sure, I read over my posts, and I can't see where I called anybody "ignorant". HONESTY in statements from politicians: Mr. Bohlinger claims this man has "10 Medals of Honor" In the United States of America, there IS only ONE Medal of Honor, the CMH. If this man received medals for bravery from another government, Mr. Bohlinger should have so stated, and NOT used a term that means only one thing to many of us in the USA. HONESTY in voter registration: Apparently, you and others don't see anything wrong with irregularities in the process, even though it is said that such irregularities are how Bush got elected. There are rules in place for voter registration. These rules should be obeyed by EVERYBODY, regardless of party affiliation! If the rules are not followed, the affected people should not be allowed to vote, period. If an old dummy like me can follow the rules (which I did when I moved), ANYBODY can. Oh, by the way, I don't particularly care for George W. Bush, but (even though I am RETIRED Military), he IS my Commander in Chief, and I will accord him the respect that that office deserves. Actually, I feel very sorry for Mr. Frank St. Pierre. I imagine he strongly wishes Mr. Bohlinger had never mentioned him by name. "The legendary Frank St. Pierre", indeed. It is odd that a LEGEND can't be found anyplace except the Anaconda phone book. Yes, I think HONESTY is very important!

The real outrage is that Mr. B continues to call himself a republican!

I am proud to note that John Bohlinger is a REPUBLICAN!! I am proud to say that he has shown some leadership here. I am embarrassed by the way the fools in leadership in the Republican party are acting. I think I am going down to their office and tell them off. We should be proud that Bohlinger, a Republican is the Lt Governor. The Republicans should have invited him to a place on the party platform and allow him to be one of party's main spokesmen. If the Governor objects to that, then he is the phony one. It is the secretary of state's job and the local election officials job to make sure voting is legal. If the Republicans continue to act like this, they won't even have a party at all, because people will get tired of holding their noses at convention time.

"and who is John Galt".

The MIssoulian has posted on their web site as of 9:00 p.m. this evening that the repubs are withdrawing their voter challenge.

Confirming that people have the right to vote is only right. if they move between counties they should change their address and expect that some will be confirmed. Considering the Democrats long history of voter fraud and Governor Shyster's bragging, it needs to be challenged.

This issue is mostly moot now that the GOP has dropped their ill conceived plan. However, too many have launched unwarranted attacks against the Lt. Governor. Accusing him of lying has been outrageous, but it takes a liar to know a liar, and many of these same commenters have perpetuated falsehoods on these very pages. I have personally known John Bohlinger for over 60 years and he has always been a man of extreme honesty and integrity. One person went so far as to say it was Bohlinger’s fault for not anticipating that person’s ignorance regarding “medals of honor.” While I admire John’s moderate Republican stands I have always disagreed with him over the sales tax issue. He advocates for a statewide sales tax as do many other members of the GOP including Roy Brown. For those of you who castigate him for joining a Democrat in a bi-partisan administration, I would remind you that John McCain’s FIRST choice for a vice presidential running mate was longtime Democrat, Joe Lieberman. Lieberman, BTW, would easily have handled the questions that dumbfounded the Avon Lady from Wassila. It seems that McCain wanted to take a page from Brian Schweitzer’s playbook. If he had, he may not have been in the predicament he currently faces in the presidential race.

What a stupid article! Not everyone knows the issues and what is important. If "everyone" should vote then they should register. Obama's ACORN has tried that stunt by registering homeless people, only to tell them who to vote for. How does America win with that mentality? Let the responsible people make the decision.

holy moly - absolutely, he knows better than to associate with such scoundrels!

It's amazing how easily the facilitators can navigate people away from the main point, incorrect voter registration to gold medals of courage vs. honor. In Senate District 43 we have a candidate running for office in a district that he(and his wife) don't live in, pay property tax to, or work in. Yet the GOP did not include his name. The one person who has challenged, him since July has been told to take a number, apparently the last, so nothing will get done to verify his address not only as a voter but as a candidate till after Nov 4.

Obviously there are still members of the republican party who believe vote-tampering is acceptable. They are mad that they were caught. Wasn't it the republican party's tampering with the election that helped George Bush get elected? When I hear the words "untrustworthy" or "mean and insulting" I do not automatically think of democrats. The other party comes to mind much more frequently.

Meanjean, Eva: How ironic that you dare complain about voter fraud. The Republican party finally challenges the probability of voter fraud in MT and the Democrats go ballistic. Meanjean, voter fraud is rampant all over the US right now, but guess who it is perpetrated by? THE DEMOCRATS. The democrats have been champions of voter fraud for many past elections. Ohio admitted tonight that voter fraud has occurred in their state by the Democrats. Homeless people have been brought in along with fictious names registered. Nevada also has discovered voter fraud and it isn't the Republicans who are responsible. Sorry, but the fictious names are registered as Democrats. So Eva, please brush up on the facts and while you are at it check out ACORN. Obama may win to the detriment of our country, but please be accurate and honest in your posts. Thank you.