Help To Discount Nw Kook Factor

Montana Gov. Marc Racicot is doing his best to squeeze lemonade from the lemons his state’s been handed. Sound familiar?

Two years ago, Racicot (pronounced Roscoe) tried to rebut his state’s annoying new image as a refuge for criminals and kooks by joining “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno for a comedy segment.

Unabomber Ted Kaczinsky just had been arrested at his cabin and the freemen were holding off federal agents.

Now, the killing of two federal officers at the U.S. Capitol has the nation looking hard at Montana again. The suspect, Russell Weston, is a loner who lived off and on in a cabin near Helena. Despite Racicot’s protests, the media quickly drew parallels to the Unabomber.

Racicot’s right when he says Kaczinsky, the freemen and Weston are “not a reflection of the fabric of our existence here, just as the Boston Strangler is not an example of the typical Bostonian.” But being right doesn’t mean you’ll be heard. Ask North Idaho community leaders who have tried for years, with mixed results, to limit the damage racist Richard Butler has done to the area’s image.

It’s frustrating to continually spit into the national media hurricane. But the effort must be made to set the record straight.

In Idaho, Gov. Phil Batt has led the way by using his bully pulpit to condemn racism and anti-government activism - and by urging other elected officials to do so, too. Montana would be wise to follow its neighbor’s example - and to extol the state’s many virtues: beauty, quality of life, friendliness and, yes, that big sky.

The people of Montana are the state’s greatest asset.

Montanans are among the most rugged individualists in the continental United States. The hard winters and isolation make them that way. They’re quick to lend a hand, blunt as an uppercut and resourceful. They live and let live. A neighbor has space as long as he doesn’t infringe on others’ rights. That philosophy is usually a strength. But it can become a weakness when the neighbors happen to be anti-government activists, freemen or a serial bomber.

Oddballs will continue to flock to Montana and the Inland Northwest, attracted here by the beauty that lured TV mogul Ted Turner, movie star Dennis Quaid and many of us. The ones who behave should be left alone. The ones who try to impose racism and anti-government hatred should be opposed.

Occasionally, some will embarrass us.

We should be ready with laws, a consistent human rights stand and even humor when a Weston makes news. Who knows? Maybe some day the nation will realize he wasn’t one of us.