{"id":154,"date":"2015-04-28T08:52:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T15:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coppercommando.com\/?p=154"},"modified":"2015-04-28T08:52:21","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T15:52:21","slug":"the-identity-of-montana-cowgirl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.coppercommando.com\/?p=154","title":{"rendered":"The Story, and Identity, of Montana Cowgirl"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

One of the many mysteries that seems to pervade the state political landscape is the existence of MTCowgirl<\/a>, a shrill anonymous blog run by state employees who\u2019ve been involved and working in Helena for at least the last decade or more. \u00a0Many people have tried to figure out this mysterious person behind the persona who seems to have a nasty habit of leaking politically expedient information and call everyone they don\u2019t agree with names. \u00a0Many prominent Democrats have used the anonymous forum to spout talking points about their political opponents, never once pausing to wonder why they seem to need to use anonymous attack blogs to spout their opinions about anonymous speech in politics.<\/p>\n

[Editor’s note: a quick list of known or likely Cowgirl writers appears at the bottom of this post]<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been particularly enamored with the blog, since I\u2019ve often found the writing to be riddled more with hyperbole and personal shots than real substance. \u00a0If you actually research the history of claims made, many of them have turned out to be patently wrong and based on nothing more than speculation and a need to fuel political fires in the state and direct the conversations of their leftist base and the media to their chosen narrative. \u00a0(Cowgirl told me Steve Daines wasn\u2019t even going to run for Senate<\/a> because things were so bad for him!)<\/p>\n

However, one recent article on Salon did spark my interest. \u00a0More on that in a moment.<\/p>\n

If you had to guess the characteristics of the person who\u2019s running Cowgirl, what are some traits you\u2019d list?<\/p>\n

Male
\n<\/strong>
\n\"cowgirl\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Does this seem like an avatar that any self-respecting feminist or woman in general would choose for themselves? It meets almost every caricature of a woman that most modern feminists hate. \u00a0Blonde hair. \u00a0Blue eyes. \u00a0Pink earrings\/hat\/belt. Huge boobs. \u00a0Unrealistically tiny waist with midriff showing. \u00a0This is basically Adolf Hitler\u2019s wet dream of a woman, and yet for some reason we\u2019re supposed to believe that a woman decided this was to be her vision of herself to the world. \u00a0No, this caricature could have only come from the mind of a man.<\/p>\n

Almost certainly government employee, at least since Brian Schweitzer was governor.<\/strong>
\nIn one of the only pursuits of Cowgirl, it was found that they were accessing state computer systems<\/a> through an open network with an IP address linked back to the Department of Administration. \u00a0An article in Politico<\/a> and carried widely at the time even quotes Brian Schweitzer\u2019s \u201csenior counselor\u201d Eric Stern as denying any knowledge of the blogger. \u00a0The time period in question also corresponds almost exactly with the time Governor Schweitzer was elected and sworn into office, along with his trusted advisor. \u00a0In addition, having access to the Capitol gives Cowgirl a paid gig to go back and do oppo research on political opponents through access to government documents from before 2004.<\/p>\n

Fierce loyalty to Brian Schweitzer<\/strong>
\nOne thing that also came out of the debacle involving the exposure of the pseudonym using taxpayer resources was also the mystery of how documents sensitive to political opponents of Schweitzer suddenly started appearing in public. \u00a0The Associated Press at the time indicated Mr. Stern had committed several ethics violations<\/a> in related to documents in a COPP complaint against Governor Schweitzer, and other media outlets at the time noted that Stern wasn\u2019t even licensed to practice law<\/a> in the state when all the complaints against the governor were being investigated. \u00a0The Bozeman Daily Chronicle<\/em><\/a> characterizes MTCowgirl\u2019s fierce pattern of defending Schweitzer and using the site to attack his critics thusly:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the first time the anonymous Montana Cowgirl \u2014 an ardent backer of Gov. Brian Schweitzer \u2014 has raised suspicion. The blogger has refused to reveal his or her identity.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Past posts by the blogger have even released on the Internet potentially incriminating Department of Labor enforcement documents sent to one of Schweitzer\u2019s political critics \u2014 even before one of those letters was received by the businessman being investigated. The Labor Department said those documents were never released to a member of the news media or public.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The blogger also has arduously defended the governor, and lampooned even those fellow Democrats whom Schweitzer has been at odds with \u2014 such as senior U.S. Sen. Max Baucus.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Eric Stern, senior counselor to the governor, said the governor\u2019s office knows nothing about the identity of a blogger\u00a0<\/strong>who was promised anonymity by his or her former hosts at the liberal Left In The West blog.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I have no clue when they first met, but Schweitzer and Stern have\u00a0a lot in common and work well together, from a political standpoint. \u00a0Both share interests in environmental matters ranging from coal in Montana to preserving the outdoors. \u00a0When Schweitzer was finally term-limited out, Stern ended up as the Deputy Secretary of State under Linda McCullouch, along with Schweitzer\u2019s daughter, Katrina. Both are still listed as employees on the Secretary of State\u2019s office directory.<\/a> \u00a0One would have to argue pretty hard to imagine they were both given these positions exclusively because of their qualifications, and not because of any political connections they both have to the elder Schweitzer. \u00a0But then again, what would happen if you just appointed people as favors and not based upon qualification, right? \u00a0It\u2019s not like basing hiring decisions on favoritism would do anything drastic, like cause the entire Secretary of State\u2019s website to crash on Election Night, right?\u00a0Oh\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n

For a bit of history, Stern also plays prominently in several Schweitzer blowups we\u2019ve seen in the past few years. \u00a0Let\u2019s explore that to better understand the relationship and where Stern\/Cowgirl fits in.
\n
\n<\/strong>Brian Schweitzer calls out Mitt Romney\u2019s \u201cpolygamous\u201d past<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s one thing you can always count on with Schweitzer, a lack of class, in 2012 Brian Schweitzer was quoted by a reporter<\/a> saying he thinks that Romney\u2019s Mormon faith, and in particular, his father\u2019s links to a polygamous Mormon commune in Mexico could hurt his presidential chances. \u00a0Schweitzer was doing his part by making an assertion and innuendo to get into the media consciousness. Once it blew up in the national media that Schweitzer was again running his mouth off again to smear a political opponent, Stern et. al had to do some damage control.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting here that Cowgirl runs a post<\/a> on the exact same day that the Daily Beast<\/em> runs the story of Schweitzer\u2019s quotes.
\n\"cowgirlschweitzerromney\"<\/a>
\nLet me take a line from that post:<\/p>\n

\u201cSchweitzer also made a somewhat unusual point: that Romney, who has degraded and insulted hispanics during his Republican primary, will be unable to discuss his personal Mexican heritage as a way of making himself more palatable to Latino voters.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note, at this point, the media was only covering what Schweitzer had said about his father\u2019s background on a polygamous commune. \u00a0They got what they wanted. \u00a0An outrageous claim, via Schweitzer. \u00a0It was Cowgirl who on the very same day was reminding people that the reason point here was not the polygamous commune, but Romney\u2019s struggle to sell himself to Hispanic voters because of his earlier offensive immigration positions. \u00a0The very next day, when the media wanted \u201cclarification,\u201d did Stern suddenly start sending out press releases to let everyone know that they got it all wrong, what he really meant was what was posted on the anonymous blog the day before you media dummies! \u00a0Romney\u2019s immigration stances were what was so bad, not the polygamy!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting to note one thing, and that is the change in Stern\u2019s response to various media outlets, of which\u00a0Politico<\/em> took notice. \u00a0Here\u2019s the initial statement<\/a> that was given to\u00a0The Daily Beast<\/em>, the same outlet that originally ran Schweitzer\u2019s comments:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governor believes exactly what he said: that Romney is in a pickle. He\u2019s in serious trouble with Hispanics because he took a crazy, extreme position on immigration during the primary (deport even those who may have come here illegally 50 years ago who have children and grandchildren who are naturalized citizens)\u2026Romney will probably not choose to highlight his own family\u2019s connection to Mexico as a way of reaching out to Hispanics, because that history involves a polygamy colony, which is something that Romney doesn\u2019t like to discuss.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, someone realizes this might be a tad harsh of a statement to make on a national stage, so it changes to:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governor meant what he said, precisely. It has nothing to do with Mr. Romney\u2019s faith or the Mormon church, both of which the governor knows reject polygamy,\u201d Schweitzer adviser Eric Stern said in a statement to POLITICO. \u00a0\u201c<\/em>Rather, Mr. Schweitzer was describing a strategic problem that Romney faces, politically speaking: that Romney is in serious trouble with Hispanic voters because [he] took an ultra right-wing position on immigration during the primary; that to reach out to Hispanic voters Romney would probably like to be able to discuss the fact that his father was born in Mexico; but, that this is awkward for Romney to discuss, because it requires discussing, as well, the fact that his father was born into a polygamy colony.\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the record, here\u2019s what\u00a0The Daily Beast<\/em> actually reported Schweitzer saying the same day Cowgirl was praising his \u201cunusual point\u201d which is never actually in the article:<\/p>\n

While discussing swing states, Schweitzer said Romney would have a \u201ctall order to position Hispanics to vote for him,\u201d and I replied that was mildly ironic since Mitt\u2019s father was born in Mexico, giving the clan a nominal claim to being Hispanic. Schweitzer replied that it is \u201ckinda ironic given that his family came from a polygamy commune in Mexico, but then he\u2019d have to talk about his family coming from a polygamy commune in Mexico, given the gender discrepancy.\u201d Women, he said, are \u201cnot great fans of polygamy, 86 percent were not great fans of polygamy. I am not alleging by any stretch that Romney is a polygamist and approves of [the] polygamy lifestyle, but his father was born into [a] polygamy commune in Mexico.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So Stern twice puts out statements saying that Schweitzer both \u201cbelieves exactly what he said,\u201d and \u201cmeant what he said, precisely.\u201d However, if you read the above paragraph, he never was quoted as saying that at all. \u00a0The only place that point existed until Eric Stern and Brian Schweitzer started doing damage control was on an anonymous blog linking to the original Daily Beast<\/i> piece.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s establish a timeline.<\/p>\n

April 19th, 2012:<\/em><\/p>\n

~Schweitzer tells Ben Jacobs of the Daily Beast Romney will have a tall order ahead of him, and gives 3 more quotes about the polygamous commune. \u00a0Not one mention anywhere of Romney\u2019s immigration stance.
\n~That same day MTCowgirl publishes an article the same day, and claims Schweitzer highlighted an unusual point about Romney\u2019s immigration stance being unpalatable to voters, although if you read the article Cowgirl actually links to, this point isn\u2019t made anywhere. \u00a0From the headline to the lede to the long quotes from Schweitzer, there is only one mention of him doing poorly with Hispanics, and that is in the context of the polygamy issue. \u00a0Romney\u2019s stances during the primary coming back to haunt him don\u2019t appear in the article anywhere at this point, only on the Cowgirl blog.<\/p>\n

April 20th, 2012:<\/em><\/p>\n

~National media wants clarification, so \u201cspecial counselor\u201d to Governor Schweitzer Eric Stern sends out strongly worded press releases telling the media they totally missed the point! \u00a0It was all about the immigration stances, not the commune! I mean, the commune was icing, but it was the immigration stances, dummies! Official stance of governor Schweitzer then changes and softens several times, depending on which outlet contacts Stern.<\/p>\n

This is all documented. \u00a0One would have to think pretty hard to find some sort of explanation in which Cowgirl posts a link to the Daily Beast article summarizing it with talking points on immigration stances that aren\u2019t in the story, then Stern comes out the next day and corrects all relevant media to the original talking points posted anonymously the day before. \u00a0I find it hard to believe this is all just some coincidence, considering the timeline.<\/p>\n

Side note on Schweitzer\/Stern forming relationships with \u201cnews\u201d entities
\n<\/strong>
\nOne thing I\u2019d like to note is the relationship between Stern\/Schweitzer\/Cowgirl et al and particular \u201cnews\u201d outlets. \u00a0It\u2019s pretty widely known among the Montana press corps that while Schweitzer was in office they loved to pick and choose which journalists got the scoops and phone calls back from the Governor. \u00a0When Schweitzer originally gave the interview in which he called out Romney for his \u201cpolygamous\u201d past, it was Daily Beast\u00a0<\/em>who got the scoop. \u00a0When it came time to calm the media firestorm the first outlet to get the first draft of Stern\u2019s redirection about Romney\u2019s primary problems was the same media outlet, The Daily Beast.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n

Then, when a reporter wanted a free trip to Montana to follow Brian around his property doing manly things and calling gay men gay and women whores, it was\u00a0National Journal<\/em> who got the scoop. \u00a0Now it\u2019s 2015 and when Schweitzer\/Bullock\/Stern\/MTCowgirl and company need a vaguely reputable sounding \u201cnews\u201d agency to report their oppo research, guess where it comes from? \u00a0For example, on April 10th MTCowgirl links<\/a> to a public document Gianforte submitted to the Bozeman City Commission opposing the NDO on issues of religious freedom proclaiming it\u2019s really a secret Crusade on Hallowen. \u00a0On April 13th guess who does a speculative profile<\/a> of Gianforte citing the exact same email? \u00a0If you guessed\u00a0National Journal<\/em>, give yourself a bell!<\/p>\n

Brian Schweitzer stays in the media with Senate\/Presidential Speculation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Between leaving office in 2013 and his\u00a0National Journal<\/em> article in June of 2014, Schweitzer did not stay silent. \u00a0In spring of 2013 when Sen. Max Baucus retired, almost all the press turned to Schweitzer and waited like salivating wolves for Schweitzer\u2019s announcement to run for Baucus\u2019 seat. \u00a0In some ways, it\u2019s feasible to imagine that Schweitzer helped force Baucus out.\u00a0 As early as June 2011 Cowgirl was putting out meat for the base<\/a> showing Schweitzer beating Baucus by 20 points in a primary matchup. \u00a0Cowgirl continued hammering Baucus in the twilight of Schweitzer\u2019s term for his pocketing of\u00a0evil Koch dollars<\/a>. \u00a0A month after Schweitzer vacates the governor\u2019s mansion he\u2019s still putting up polling for the base showing Baucus going down<\/a> in a primary and speculates,<\/p>\n

\u201cmy take has always been that such a matchup will never occur. \u00a0Baucus will either run uncontested with Schweitzer moving on to another career; or, if Schweitzer does decide to jump in, Baucus will jump out. \u00a0A third scenario is that Baucus jumps out even without Schweitzer running, to take a job as a judge or ambassador.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite campaigns to \u2018Draft Brian Schweitzer\u2019 for the US Senate, (hey Montana liberals, ever wonder where all that money you donated for Brian\u2019s Senate campaign ended up?) and most belief among Democrats and the media that he would get in, Schweitzer bowed out literally hours before he was set to announce a run for Baucus\u2019 seat. \u00a0While only some will know the exact reason Schweitzer ended up choosing not to run, he and Stern essentially had two choices. \u00a0The last time Brian had run for a Senate seat against Burns in 2000, he had lost. \u00a0Now he was anticipating running in a off-year election, already tough for Democrats, and he was going up against a National Media and Republican Opposition Research team that was going to be much harder on him than the state media had ever been. \u00a0And he still had the presidency in 2016 to run for!<\/p>\n

(As an aside, I don\u2019t know why any Democrats would still support Stern\/Schweitzer at this point. \u00a0He\u2019d already had spats with Tester, the man who took the Senate seat away from Burns he couldn\u2019t quite wrestle in 2000, and now he basically forced out a strong incumbent who was a fundraising powerhouse for the state political machine so he could\u2026back out at the last minute and leave the party with no bench, no strong candidates and no more Baucus DC Rolodex to help divert money back to Montana Democrats. \u00a0If you want to know why John Walsh\u2019s name eventually got scratched off a plaque at the Army war college and trace it back far enough, you can easily blame Schweitzer. \u00a0If you want to know why the state just hired a woman who lived in DC 11 of the past 13 years, that DC Rolodex void left by Baucus is a good start.)<\/p>\n

Schweitzer bows out of Senate race, kills Presidential dreams with foot-in-mouth disease
\n<\/strong>
\nSo Schweitzer chose the latter. \u00a0He set up a TV studio to be a television pundit in the meantime and raise his national profile. \u00a0He said folksy things to everyone who would listen, and generally put himself in a position that one might want to be in for a Democratic primary. \u00a0While some in the base would question his positions on things like the 2nd Amendment, coal etc. he also started publicly attacking Obama and Clinton as corporatists and in bed with Wall Street. \u00a0Let me say here that in this regard, Schweitzer was right. \u00a0For one, the base is way more in love with people like Elizabeth Warren than Hillary, and we\u2019ll see the desire of the Democratic base to not be handed again yet another \u201cpalatable\u201d candidate by their overlords play out over the next 6-9 months. \u00a0Second, the first primaries are not in ultra-liberal states. \u00a0Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are not liberal like California, New York and Illinois are liberal. \u00a0Republicans can still win in those states and have huge rural populations, so a Democrat like Brian Schweitzer probably has a better chance in those early states than some might want to give him.<\/p>\n

And what was Brian supposed to think? He was getting plenty of great press, more TV time etc. by filling in the populist, anti-Hillary narrative the media loved. \u00a0Time<\/em> did a profile<\/a> of Brian in which he laid out his qualifications and made some comments about the corporate nature of people like Hillary and Obama. \u00a0But then came National Journal <\/i>piece,<\/i>\u00a0and it was just a bit too much for the base. \u00a0In the profile Schweitzer said he had his \u201cgaydar\u201d pinged by Eric Cantor and that southern men tended to be effeminate. \u00a0He also referred to Sen. Dianne Feinstein as a sex worker for her hypocrisy on NSA spying. \u00a0His comments later became reprinted as calling Feinstein a whore, and he was forced to \u201cdeeply apologize\u201d for the insensitive remarks.<\/p>\n

\u2018Feminist\u2019 blog Cowgirl\/Schweitzer surrogate defends calling Actual Feminist Icon a \u201cWhore\u201d
\n<\/strong>
\nOne thing that stands out is MTCowgirl\u2019s take on the situation<\/a> a few days later. \u00a0Let me quote provide a few quotes. \u201cNot Schweitzer\u2019s finest moment and comments that must here, on a feminist blog, be condemned.\u201d \u201cI do suppose calling a politician a whore is a unisex thing too:\u201d \u00a0What self-described feminist liberal female would ever defend calling Sen. Feinstein a whore?!? \u00a0These are the same politicians who went to the\u00a0New York Times<\/em> proclaiming a dress code asking for sensitivity to cleavage and skirt length was Republicans declaring a War on Women and wanting to drag women back to the 1950s and\u00a0Mad Men<\/em> days!<\/p>\n

This wholly affirms my belief that the chief author of the blog is a MALE Stern, and not at all female. \u00a0Much in the same way no self-respecting feminist, liberal female would choose a blonde-haired, blue eyes, large breasted, small-waisted, mid-riffed avatar for themselves, no self-respecting liberal feminist would do anything but wholly denounce characterizing feminist icon Diane Feinstein as a sex worker. For reference, Dianne Feinstein is held up as a saint of 2nd wave feminism since she courageously stood in front of live television cameras and announced to the world the death<\/a> of gay rights icon Harvey Milk. \u00a0No one who describes themselves as a feminist female would ever try to defend Schweitzer\u2019s words here. \u00a0No, this spin can only come from the Schweitzer camp itself, and the man who until a few days prior was helping steer\u00a0the gravy train to Iowa and might have still held out hope for a presidential run and was doing damage control.<\/p>\n

Eric Stern as author and media commentator
\n
\n<\/em><\/b>Deputy Secretary of State Stern has quite a prolific online life aside from managing and writing Cowgirl, just ask himself through his Wikipedia profile.<\/a>\u00a0(According to the Wikipedia page edits, while some edits have come from California and long-deleted Wikipedia user profiles, the traceable IP addresses that do the largest amount of editing oddly enough go to Helena, Montana.) \u00a0On his Facebook page, he regularly promotes his gigs at Salon.com, MSNBC\u2026 oh I\u2019ll just let him tell it himself via his Wikipedia. \u00a0\u201cHe has also written as a guest columnist for the New York Times<\/a>[5]<\/a><\/sup>and Salon Magazine<\/a>[6]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup> and has been a political commentator on MSNBC, CNN, the Larry King show Larry King Show<\/a>[1]<\/a> and Bloomberg TV<\/a> andRadio<\/a>.[8]<\/a><\/sup>He is a former Clinton Administration<\/a> aide and a graduate of Columbia Law School<\/a> and Connecticut College<\/a>. He led Mexico\u2019s 2003\u201304 effort to acquire a Major League Baseball<\/a> franchise.[9]<\/a><\/sup>[10]<\/a><\/sup> Stern\u2019s father is David Stern<\/a>, former Commissioner of the National Basketball Association<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately as Cowgirl found out in 2010, having a prolific online life can sometimes come back to haunt you. \u00a0Writing style, subjects and \u201cfacts\u201d that you often include actually can be very helpful in acting like an online fingerprint. \u00a0Mr. Stern as both personas has a handful of things that he writes about regularly in many forums. \u00a0These include his Jewish heritage, his hatred of the Koch Bros and Americans for Prosperity, and debunking Sean Hannity and evil right wingers.<\/p>\n

Commonalities between Stern and Cowgirl<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before I go into specifics, I want to comment on some things both Cowgirl and Stern have in common. \u00a0One is a tendency to act very vitriolically and condescendingly in their writings. \u00a0Both are filled with name-calling including the same jibes at \u201cwingnuts,\u201d \u201cnutjobs,\u201d \u201cimbeciles,\u201d \u201cidiots\u201d etc. \u00a0Tea partiers are particularly evil to both, being often called stupid and racist no matter which persona or outlet Stern chooses to pen for. \u00a0Second, an obsession with the Koch brothers and Americans for Prosperity. \u00a0I don\u2019t even think this one needs explaining. \u00a0He\u2019s even gotten to help Schweitzer write columns for state newspaper accusing them of hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

Stern\u2019s Salon pieces display many similarities and obscure references only shared by Cowgirl<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, April 21st Stern penned another column for Salon entitled, \u201cKochs Defeated in Montana: 6 lessons the country can learn from this rural Western State.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0The article includes the normal Stern\/Cowgirl anti-AFP\/Koch hate, but one tidbit struck out at me, this line:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cNext they brought in a man who was once part of a religious cult whose members all descended into a bunker on March 15, 1990, believing that the world would end that very day.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Huh? \u00a0Who in their right mind would ever know so much about another person as to know that they belonged to a cult that descended into a bunker in 1990 thinking the world would end? \u00a0I\u2019m so glad you asked.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know what that statement meant. \u00a0It was so niche, so obscure, so inside, that you really would have to know what Stern is talking about to understand the reference. \u00a0It took some Googling, but I finally found this Syracuse University Political Science Dissertation<\/a> that gave me the reference. \u00a0It refers to the Church Universal and Triumphant, a quasi-religious group near Gardiner whom apparently former AFP director Henry Kriegel used to be a member of.<\/p>\n

If you Google search Henry Kriegel and various combinations of \u201cCUT\/Church Universal\u201d etc., very little comes up. \u00a0One is an original article in the LA Times<\/a>, which is where I assumed Stern found the information originally. \u00a0There is also one other small mention in an MHRN newsletter from 2011, a little after a year after Cowgirl first reported the mention. \u00a0However, aside from Stern pulling up this tucked away fun fact last week for his Salon piece, there are almost no other mentions of this fact, aside from Cowgirl\u2019s website. \u00a0And it\u2019s not as if Cowgirl just casually mentioned it once. \u00a0\u201cHenry Kriegel\u201d is one of the tags that comes up so often that there is a 2nd page of articles with the tag. \u00a0Cowgirl includes the Kriegel\/Cut tie over,<\/a>and over,<\/a> and over,<\/a> and over, <\/a>and over,<\/a> and over.<\/a><\/p>\n

If it\u2019s one thing that Democrats and liberals hate, it\u2019s minorities who identify as conservative. \u00a0Democrats routinely lecture everyone on how they and their policies are the only ones who really care about women\/blacks\/Hispanics\/gays\/Jews etc. \u00a0Which explains why a liberal New Jersey transplanted Jew who\u2019s wrote in the\u00a0New York Times<\/em><\/a> about the Jewish experience in Montana might seem a bit\u2026 obsessed with a conservative New York transplanted Jew who works for Republicans and headed an organization he LOATHES and spends significant portions of his time under both monikers attacking. \u00a0Once you realize that Stern is no longer just attacking evil, stupid Tea party Republicans, but another man of his faith, who also chose Montana as his home, who is also a Koch puppet evil, stupid Tea party Republican, then you can understand why the tag \u201cHenry Kriegel\u201d is one of the only topics on MTCowgirl that has been written about so much it requires multiple pages of search results<\/a> for the tag.<\/p>\n

Similarities in writing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, I want to get into some more actual substance that I believe prove Stern is the primary author and mastermind of the Cowgirl blog. \u00a0I suppose if you were trying the case, it would be very easy to just say it\u2019s entirely coincidence that anti-Koch pieces suddenly show up in Montana newspapers by Schweitzer<\/a>, show up on Cowgirl and then also show up in Stern\u2019s pieces in Salon.<\/p>\n

One thing that has emerged in the last several years in more and more use is the assistance of computer technology to analyze writing samples. \u00a0While primarily used in academia to prevent plagiarism and fraud among students (ask John Walsh), they can also be used to compare writing styles, sentence structure, use of words and such for authors. \u00a0In testing my theory I took several samples of Cowgirl\u2019s writing and ran them through programs like University of Texas \u2013 Austin\u2019s stylometry software, among others. \u00a0When I did, among a half dozen samples, every time I was given scores of 80-92% confidence that Cowgirl and Stern\u2019s writing was one in the same. \u00a0I don\u2019t suppose you have to believe me, but try it out for yourself<\/a> if you wish.<\/p>\n

Stern uses \u201cNutjob Bill\u201d lists for public and anonymous personas<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to the commonality of use of insults, special inside knowledge of Stern press releases before they are released to the public, special attention to other Jews he believes are evil traitors for having different political philosophies etc., Stern\u2019s public pieces and passions match up almost exactly. \u00a0Let\u2019s compare:<\/p>\n

Stern does a piece for Salon in February citing the \u201c10 truly bizarre Tea Party Bills.\u201d<\/a>
\nOne week later Cowgirl does a \u201cNutjob Bills in the Montana Legislature\u201d<\/a> piece.
\nLet\u2019s compare the bills:<\/p>\n

Stern in Salon:
\n1) Prepare for National Ammunition shortage<\/strong> (SB 122). (same as Cowgirl)
\n2) Establish Armed Militias in Every Town<\/strong> (SB 130) (same as Cowgirl)
\n3) Require that nipples and areolae be fully concealed; prohibit \u201csimulated genitalia\u201d\u00a0(HB 365) (same as Cowgirl)
\n4) Montana Legislative Dress Code. (not same)
\n5) \u201cEncourage Critical Thinking in the Classroom\u201d\u00a0HB 321 (not same)
\n6) Allow Concealed Weapons in Bars, Banks, and on Campuses (HB 371, SB 143).\u00a0(same as Cowgirl)
\n7) Ban \u201cForeign or Religious Law\u201d From American Courts (SB 199).\u00a0(same as Cowgirl)
\n8) Return All Federal Lands to State Ownership (LC 1758 et al)\u00a0(same as Cowgirl)
\n9) Nullify All Federal Gun Laws (HB 203).\u00a0(same as Cowgirl)
\n10) Allow Hunting With Silencers (HB 250).\u00a0(same as Cowgirl)
\n<\/strong>
\nMTCowgirl:
\n1. Exempt political ads by churches from campaign finance laws by\u00a0classifying them as news reports.\u00a0LC 1942 <\/a>by David Howard (R-TEA Park City)
\n2. Require federalism training for state employees.\u00a0LC 1760 <\/a>by Jennifer Fielder (TEA-Noxon)
\n3. Create a state militia and outfit them with uniforms.\u00a0SB 130 <\/a>by Roger Webb (R-TEA Billings)
\n4. Ban Sharia law from Montana courts. SB 199<\/a>\u00a0by Janna Taylor (R-TEA\u00a0Datyon)
\n5. Force the secession of all federal public lands within MT borders from the United States government.\u00a0SB 274<\/a>\u00a0by Jennifer Fielder (TEA-Noxon)
\n6. Prohibit the state Board of Education from establishing math and reading standards.\u00a0HB 376<\/a>by Debra Lamm (TEA-Livingston) and rescind any math and reading standards the state may already have established. HB 377 <\/a>by same.
\n7. Prohibiting the use of technology for controlling human activity and outlaw the\u00a0indoctrination of children for global citizenship.\u00a0HB 583<\/a>\u00a0by Randall Pinocci (TEA-Sun River)
\n8. Eliminate the ability of law enforcement to use animal shelter staff to assist in the rescue\u00a0and sheltering of animals in cases of alleged animal cruelty and abuse, because animal shelter staff are probably terrorists<\/a>. \u00a0HB 179<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0by Theresa Manzella (TEA-Ravalli County)
\n9.\u00a0Allow hunting with silencers. HB 250<\/a> by Kirk Wagoner\u00a0(R-TEA Jackson Creek)
\n10. Allow hunting of mountain lions and wolves with silencers. HB 450 <\/a>by Kirk Wagoner (R-TEA Jackson Creek)
\n11. Legalize even more\u00a0hunting with silencers SB 295<\/a>. by Mark Blasdel (R-TEA Kalispell)
\n12. Legalize guns and rifles in school parking lots.\u00a0HB 320 <\/a>by Carl Glimm (R-TEA Ashley Lake)
\n13. Legalize guns and rifles in office parking lots.\u00a0HB 505<\/a>\u00a0the official title of which is \u201cestablish employee safe travel to work laws\u201d, by Matthew Monforton (TEA-Bozeman)
\n14. Lift the prohibition on carrying concealed weapons in bars, parks,\u00a0and schools.\u00a0HB 371 <\/a>by Rep. Kerry White (TEA-Bozeman)
\n15. Legalize guns on college campuses. by Rep. Cary Smith SB 143<\/a> (R-TEA Billings)
\n16. Allow anyone to carry a concealed weapon.\u00a0HB 298 <\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Bill Harris (R-Winnett)
\n17. Nullify all federal gun laws.\u00a0HB 203 <\/a>by Rep. Art Wittich (R-TEA Bozeman)
\n18. Encourage\u00a0the manufacturing\u00a0of ammunition to prevent a national shortage.\u00a0HB 122<\/a>\u00a0by Matthew Rosedale (R-TEA Glendive)
\n19. Allow anyone to refuse to vaccinate their children for any reason. \u00a0Amendment to HB 158<\/a> by Rep. Greg Hertz (R-TEA Polson)
\n20. Make it illegal to\u00a0don a costume that would make it appear you might be naked or which includes a prosthetic anus. HB 365<\/a> by David \u201cDoc\u201d Moore (R-Missoula)
\n21. Prohibit the use of drones to spy on\u00a0hunters or interfere with \u201cpost-hunting activities.\u201d\u00a0HB 278<\/a> by Jeff Essmann (R-TEA Billings)<\/p>\n

How much cross-over? Out of the 10 mentioned by Stern in Salon, 8 of them are also duplicated on Cowgirl. (Though, to be fair, the Montana Dress Code was never technically a bill.) \u00a0Obviously someone as intelligent as Stern wouldn\u2019t make the pieces word for word, but the substance here is close to being identical.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrazy Bill\u201d lists are actually not a recent feature of Cowgirl. \u00a0Cowgirl compiled a list for the 2013 session<\/a>, and the 2011 session.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stern uses identical Cowgirl \u201cNutjob Bill\u201d content in Tedx Whitefish talk<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where it gets very interesting and Stern may have failed to properly cover his tracks. \u00a0In addition to all the fame Mr. Stern has seen through his columns at\u00a0Salon, New York Times<\/em> yadda yadda yadda, he applied and was accepted to give aTedx talk<\/a> in Whitefish in 2014. \u00a0The subject of the talk was \u201cMontana and America\u2019s Energy Future.\u201d \u00a0Here he is on stage giving his talk:
\n\"sternted1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

While most of the presentation is smart information on coal and renewable energy sources, one thing stood out to me, a slide about bills in the Montana legislature, pictured behind him. \u00a0Why is this even in a \u201cnon-partisan\u201d presentation about energy? \u00a0Stern can\u2019t help himself except to wink and nod to the audience the \u201ccrazy\u201d bills all come from one party (not his).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see the slide behind him a bit better.<\/p>\n

\"sternted2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s something fishy here. \u00a0If you compare the bills listed in the slides where Stern acknowledges he\u2019s not supposed to be political in a Ted talk, but does so anywhere, they look very familiar, almost identical in some cases. Look back at his recap of the 2011 session.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the same graphic, with the bills almost in the same order, much of the text copied WORD for WORD from the Cowgirl post to Stern\u2019s. \u00a0Text that matches the Cowgirl list is circled in red.<\/p>\n

\"sternted3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the original post from Cowgirl showing the first 5 entries matching word for word:<\/p>\n

\"cowgirl2011nuttyleg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Notice how almost everything from the wording, the spacing, the hypens, the Capitalization, the order of the crazy bills etc match. \u00a0Interestingly enough, of the 3 \u201cCrazy Bills\u201d that don\u2019t match the Cowgirl post, at least one is mentioned in the comments of the same \u201cNutjob Bills\u201d post by Cowgirl.<\/p>\n

Stern signs Tedx legal release form claiming authorship over material identical to Cowgirl post<\/b><\/p>\n

Well\u2026 Stern just loves his alter-ego so much he probably just copy and pasted the list, you say! \u00a0No. \u00a0You can\u2019t say that. \u00a0Eric Stern is a graduate of Columbia University law school. \u00a0His own self-written Wikipedia page touts him as the personal legal advisor to Schweitzer.<\/p>\n

Tedx is a pretty widespread thing now and several have been hosted in Montana. \u00a0One requirement of all Tedx speakers<\/a> no matter where the conference is held is the signing of a release form<\/a> that is standard for all speakers. \u00a0Here\u2019s part of that release form:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou affirm that: (i) you have the full power and authority to grant the rights and releases set forth in this Release; (ii) you are the sole author of the Presentation;\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, that\u2019s correct. \u00a0Eric Stern, Columbia law school graduate (although, maybe not an actual lawyer<\/a> in Montana?) and senior advisor to Schweitzer signed a public document stating every word and slide that of Tedx speech is his own original work. Not copy and pasted from a blog, but his own original work, which just happens to match word for word anonymous Cowgirl blog. \u00a0Even the language wasn\u2019t changed that much. \u00a0In going from Cowgirl to Tedx he just changed the title from \u201cNutjob Bills\u201d to \u201cCrazy Bills,\u201d although the deragatory language standard with all Cowgirl\/Stern writing still remains intact.<\/p>\n

There is one more part to that release:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any third party claims that the use of the Presentation violates its rights, you agree to cooperate fully with TEDx__ and TED to defend against or otherwise respond to such claim.\u201d
\n<\/em>
\nYou want to guess when Cowgirl is going to come forth and claim copyrights on his own work being plagiarized by Stern? Don\u2019t hold your breath too long\u2026<\/p>\n

I also wonder about the reputation of Tedx. \u00a0Tedx is like a cultural wet dream for liberals. \u00a0What would the international organization think of one of their presenters besmearching their goood name? Would the larger Tedx organization need to do a full investigation to see why Mr. Stern\u2019s content matches exactly an anonymous attack blog run from Helena with taxpayer dollars? \u00a0One would hope they would be just as eager to investigate this discrepancy as those in politics.<\/p>\n

Recap:
\n<\/strong>
\nLet\u2019s recap the connections, shall we?<\/p>\n

1) Cowgirl is written by a \u201cfemale\u201d writer who has no trouble using one of the most stereotypical sexist avatars in existence and is also a liberal feminist who defends Schweitzer\u2019s use of whore in describing a feminist icon. \u00a0As a side note, I also don\u2019t think that Cowgirl is gay. \u00a0Gay rights organizers in the state have previously called out Cowgirl for homophobic posts attacking Republicans\u2019 masculinity<\/a>. \u00a0Additionally, Cowgirl has attacked Baucus for his Koch connections, but hasn\u2019t attacked Baucus for his anti-gay ads in the 2002 Senate race, even praising the homophobic attacks against Mike Taylor because he is married to Republican legislator Janna Taylor<\/a>. \u00a0People who identify as women or gay (or even liberal) generally don\u2019t generally show such callous disregard for flippant instances of attacks on minorities, especially if they actually identify with that group themselves.<\/p>\n

2) Stern has long history of government employment under Schweitzer and now McCulloch\/Bullock. \u00a0Has access to numerous government documents to do research on political opponents on taxpayer dime.<\/p>\n

3) With such a small state there are really only a handful of people with as extensive and in-depth knowledge of the Montana political landscape. \u00a0Stern has a legal background, and serves as Deputy Secretary of State. \u00a0Cowgirl accuses \u201ctea partiers\u201d of breaking very specific Election Laws<\/a> very few people outside of lawyers and SoS staff would even be familiar with, much less know the ins and outs, histories etc. of such a broad range of political figures in the state. \u00a0Very few people would also have the means to immediately research such topics without working in Helena.<\/p>\n

4) Stern has history of going after political opponents and improperly contacting judges in COPP complaints regarding Schweitzer\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n

5) MTCowgirl and Eric Stern both write extensively about the same subjects. \u00a0ie AFP, Koch Brothers.<\/p>\n

6) Stern article from April 21st contains obscure reference written about almost no where else, but documented thoroughly and repeatedly on MTCowgirl site. \u00a0Similar upbringings on the East Coast, Jewish heritage, political interest etc. further solidify links between Kriegel\/Cowgirl\/Stern. \u00a0(Next time you see Cowgirl qualifying every mention of Greg Gianforte as a \u201cright wing billionaire transplant from New Jersey,\u201d remember that Stern also grew up in New Jersey<\/a>)<\/p>\n

7) The same day Schweitzer\u2019s article about Romney\u2019s polygamy appears in National Journal<\/em>, Cowgirl writes a post praising Schweitzer for an \u201cunusual point\u201d about Romney\u2019s immigration position in the primary being off-putting to Hispanic voters. \u00a0This \u201cunusual point\u201d doesn\u2019t actually appear in the article, but does appear the next day when Stern sends off frantic press releases to national media clarifying what Schweitzer really meant.<\/p>\n

8) Stern and Cowgirl show more fierce loyalty to Schweitzer in media speculation while Schweitzer is leaving office and stays in the press bashing Baucus until his retirement, during speculation he will run for Senate, buildup of Senate announcement, eventual drop-out, and then from time Schweitzer continues speculation on presidential run until Feinstein comments. \u00a0Cowgirl tries to defend Schweitzer to base after large outcry over Schweitzer\u2019s comments, and uses blog to help further speculation on Schweitzer\u2019s political plans and get opponents out of the way.<\/p>\n

9) Cowgirl is almost outed when in 2010 his IP address is able to be traced to the Department of State Administration in Helena. \u00a0Eric Sterns goes on record saying the governor\u2019s office doesn\u2019t know the identity of the blogger, but confirmation is had that state systems are being used for the blog. \u00a0Many state employees also now bring personal laptops to work to avoid their activity being traced through FOIA requests or IP traces.<\/p>\n

10) Stern has written publicly attacking the same issues and people in Salon and other outlets. \u00a0Stylometry analysis of various pieces put 80-90% confidence in the authors being the same. \u00a0Consistent use of same attacks on people, organizations and totally obscure facts also puts same fingerprint on the \u201ctwo\u201d writers.<\/p>\n

11) Cowgirl has written 3 periodic \u201cNutjob Bills\u201d pieces from the 2011, 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions. \u00a0Pieces from the 2015 session that also mirrored Stern\u2019s public pieces on Salon contain over 80% of the same information from the piece on Cowgirl.<\/p>\n

12) Stern gives Tedx Whitefish talk in May 2014 and signs legal release stating all information in his speech and slideshow are by his own exclusive hand. \u00a0Large portions (80% total) of the list match word for word, space for space, punctuation for punctuation, sequence for sequence, exactly to a 2011 piece by Cowgirl.<\/p>\n

13) Interestingly enough, almost everyone I\u2019ve asked about this subject names Eric Stern as the author of Cowgirl, although several authors believe he has help. \u00a0Art Wittich has even named him on his Twitter as the author<\/a>. \u00a0I also find it strange that this \u201canonymous\u201d author is able to get so many people, including Democratic legislators and officials to write guest pieces for the blog. \u00a0The more I researched this piece, the less I got that it was a \u201csecret\u201d of any sort that Stern was writing as Cowgirl, and more that it would take an outright admission by Stern for it to matter.<\/p>\n

I think the information I\u2019ve compiled is thorough enough that Stern needs to start answering questions about specific instances. \u00a0Specifically things like 1) Why did Cowgirl have information that was released to the press a day after Schweitzer\u2019s Mitt Romney interview that wasn\u2019t contained in the original interview? \u00a0and 2) Why would you sign a release to the Tedx organization stating you are the sole author of your presentation when it\u2019s so easily traced back to a 3 year old piece by Cowgirl? \u00a03) How does Stern explain writing obscure information about Kriegel\u2019s past when that information is found no where else, but is referenced often on Cowgirl\u2019s blog? \u00a0These 3 specific instances go far beyond the plausibility of mere coincidence and show a direct link between Stern and the Cowgirl blog.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

What happens now? \u00a0Well I suppose it depends on a couple of things.<\/p>\n

#1 How much will the press do their job?<\/p>\n

Conservatives have been rightly angry about the bias displayed by the mainstream media in Montana and how much scrutiny is given to Republican candidates vs. Democrats. \u00a0But at the same time, this is a juicy story and one that deserves to be investigated. \u00a0For a political crony of Brian Schweitzer to not only be using state time and resources to run anonymous attacks on his political opponents (of both parties, I might add), but for him to be kept on in McCulloch\u2019s office at the Secretary of State in the same political favoritism job that was also given to Schweitzer\u2019s daughter is most likely criminal. \u00a0Whether Bullock or McCulloch owed Schweitzer, kept Stern and his daughter on as a favor or thought it was good politically to keep him on the payroll to continue using his taxpayer salary, benefits and pension to go after Republicans is something that needs to be answered. \u00a0I would love to know how the press would treat a Republican administration if it was allowing state employees to bring personal laptops to work to conduct state business in a way that can\u2019t be traced or subject to FOIA requests. \u00a0How would the press respond it if were a governor Martz or Hill using state positions and cash to do off the books attacks on political opponents?<\/p>\n

#2 How much could this feed into Republican\u2019s narratives of corruption in 2016?<\/p>\n

The Schweitzer\/Stern machine is done, with the latest foot-in-mouth episode ruining their Disney presidential dreams. \u00a0But Bullock is still very much alive and kicking in the governor\u2019s mansion, and may face a strong, well-funded opponent if Gianforte or another heavy-weight like Hill or Rehberg get in the race. \u00a0The GOP was very effective in 2014 in tying charges of cronyism around Bullock\u2019s neck in his appointment of Walsh to Baucus\u2019 Senate seat without any public input. \u00a0Walsh\u2019s history of being reprimanded for personal gain in his role as Adjudant General and later having to resign his campaign in disgrace when it came to light he plagiarized\u00a0his master\u2019s thesis at the Army War college give the GOP something any smart political operative is going to run with and tie back to Bullock and his judgment of who he appoints around him. \u00a0Does Bullock really want to sit by and defend a has-been he appointed as a favor to Schweitzer in hopes it might help him? \u00a0On balance, I doubt the benefits Stern provides through his government job used to research opposition and post it anonymously on a shrill blog only read by political wonks outweigh the noose that could be hefted upon Bullock\u2019s neck as more incidents of political cronyism come to light and pile on to his public image. \u00a0With Bullock being a #1 target nationally of groups like the Republican Governor\u2019s Association, they might prefer he keep Stern around so they have more to throw on TV and mail next year. \u00a0Only time will tell\u2026<\/p>\n

Other authors<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to Stern, many believe\u00a0other people, perhaps as many as a dozen, have at one time been Cowgirl writers, especially considering the “evolution” of the blog since Schweitzer left office. Here are a few of the other hypothesized authors:<\/p>\n

Jessica Rhoades<\/strong>.\u00a0She worked with Stern under Schweitzer and is supposedly Stern\u2019s girlfriend. \u00a0One reporter stated they were able to get someone with a female voice on the phone to claim to be Cowgirl. Rhoades was also connected to the IP address scandal, reported here<\/a> in the Bozeman Chronicle and here<\/a> by one of Montana’s top political reporters, John Adams.<\/p>\n

\n

The Department of Administration, provided with detail on the IP address of some posts, was able to identify that the blogger had been accessing \u2014 all day long at times \u2014 the state wireless guest system through a hookup in the Office of Public Instruction using an Apple Macintosh laptop.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The agency spokeswoman at the time, Jessica Rhoades, said it was not coming from the agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Rhoades, who recently went to work for the governor’s office, said the agency’s information technology found at that time the wireless system could theoretically be accessed by someone sitting in the parking lot.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

If Stern\u2019s girlfriend, another public employee, is also using her position to attack people anonymously, it will only feed into the evidence that Bullock and the Democrats are stacking more people into state government for the purposes of attacking Republicans with taxpayer dollars and using state positions as rewards for allies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Jesse Laslovich<\/strong>.\u00a0Former state legislator and Democrat candidate<\/a> for state offices. Someone with higher political ambitions should be grilled on the campaign trail about connections to anonymous blog that has repeatedly abused state resources to attack political opponents.<\/p>\n

Jayson O’Neill<\/strong>. Was Schweitzer’s communications director<\/a> and has bounced around working for multiple state agencies.<\/p>\n

Vivian Hammill<\/strong>. Schweitzer’s chief of staff who has been tied to at least one political retribution scandal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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