Anything involving Leo Giacometto is probably crooked, so it is not surprising to see the latest news from Big Sky Country:

A legislative audit report released this week concludes that several former University of Montana employees may have violated state ethics codes in their employment and involvement with UM's now controversial space privitization programs. The investigation also concluded that the University of Montana failed to adequately oversee the formation, federal funding and operations of the programs.

The possible "conflicts of interest" the audit refers to involve Llyod Chesnut, former Vice President of Research and Development, his assistant George Bailey and his wife Rollene. Chesnut, who is also under investigation in Texas for work he did at the University of North Texas, was instrumental in the development of the Inland Northwest Space Alliance -- a non-profit built with federal money that came through his university office. Shortly after leaving UM in 2003, Chesnut recieved payments of $15,000 as the president of the alliance, partially while he was in Texas. Rollene served as INSA's business manager -- even after the couple moved to Texas, earning $104,000 from the alliance until 2005. Bailey, who helped Chesnut in securing funding for INSA currently serves as the non-profit's executive director.

You could find out more at the INSA Website, but it was scrubbed after Left in the West began sniffing around and they blocked the Way Back Machine, too.

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There has been a great discussion of whether the "not GOP" campaign will work in the 2006 elections. Will unmotivated Democrats rush to the polls to vote for people who can only clain to not be the GOP.

In 2004, we looked to Montana as a state that was doing it right. Let's look to Montana again today, and also look at what has been happening during the last year of the senate race.

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The last week has been the most important yet in Montana's 2006 senate race, with major movement in the campaigns of John Morrison, Jon Tester and Senator Conrad Burns. The campaign scandals, analysis, and announcements have received a great deal of local and national press, here is a quick overview of what has moved in the last week, written in the old school Cattle Call format.

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First, it looks like Bob Keenan (termed-out state Senate Minority Leader and former Senate President) is running for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate. Lots of speculation, it will be interesting to see who Keenan argues against in tomorrow's papers.

But bigger news is an update on previous diary that may position Montana for another sweep like that the one in 2004 which allowed Jon Tester to become the current Senate President. The Board of Regents investigative audit of the Inland Northwest Space Alliance should be finished by June:

The investigation into a former University of Montana vice president's involvement with a non-profit organization that received $3 million in NASA grants is on track to finish by early June, Montana's legislative auditor said Thursday. The investigation is in the preliminary stages and will require combing the financial records for not only the university and the INSA, but could also delve into the employment records of two of Montana's biggest politicians: Sen. Conrad Burns and Rep. Denny Rehberg.

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In 1988, Montana elected an AM radio rustler from Missouri to the United States Senate. Conrad Burns had won his seat on the promise that he would only serve two terms to avoid being corrupted by Washington. Many consider an incumbent most vulnerable during his campaign for re-election and Democrats united around Jack Mudd, a blue suit/red tie candidate who was Dean of the Law School and who lost by 24 pts. In 2000, Burns was considered quite safe as a Republican incumbent in a red state, yet an upstart citizen combined authenticity, straight talk, and bold populism to take 10,000 voters from Burns for a total of 70,000 more votes than Mudd (resulting in Burns winning by a mere 4pts.). In 2006, Democrats have a unique opportunity to get the magic 225,000 votes necessary to win the Senate seat, thanks in part to Conrad Burns.

If you don't think Burns is in MAJOR trouble, an examination of yesterday's news will probably change your mind. This is a longer post, focusing on the issues mentioned in Sunday's newspapers, specifically the Lee Newspapers story Lobbyist Giacometto heads Burns nonprofit, a piece by Jennifer McKee and Noelle Straub titled, Study: Burns tied to lobbyists and the Richard Simon and Mary Curtius story, Lawmakers Embrace Lobbyist Cash. Those in the national media focus upon Burns being the one Senator with the most liability when it comes to Jack Abramoff. But yesterday's Sunday papers looked at three other scandals that paint the portrait of Conrad Burns having become everything he feared when he promised to only serve two terms.

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