Martz fails to strut her 'star' stuff | Billings Gazette

Martz fails to strut her 'star' stuff
Ed Kemmick

>>snip<<
Off into the sunset
Meanwhile, back in Montana, Gov. Judy Martz dashed the hopes of political theater buffs by announcing last week that she won't be running for re-election next year. Displaying the dogged, almost steely-edged perkiness that is her trademark, Martz explained that she wasn't bowing out because of the scandals, controversies and political missteps that have tripped up her administration.

"I have accomplished what I set out to do," she said. "I have enacted my vision."

If she's satisfied, why should the other 909,452 of us quibble? Then there was the statement of John Rabenberg, chairman of the Montana Republican Party.

He said, according to newspaper accounts, "There is no doubt that history will record Gov. Martz as one of the most successful governors we've ever had." Yep, and history will say that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the finest actor of all time.

The events in California, if nothing else, help put our own political affairs in perspective. Our governor has loomed large in our minds these past several years, but we were fools to think we could ever compete with acts like Jesse Ventura, much less the cast of characters in California.

With Judy Martz in office, we had a sliver of hope. The dawn of each new day held out the possibility that our governor would do something wacky enough to get us into the national news, or at least a Jay Leno monologue.

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