Elected As a Deficit Warrior, Sen. Tester Learned To Love Red Ink

It all depends on which party is running up the bills

HELENA – Six years ago, a humble farmer from Big Sandy stepped out of the Montana Senate and into a race for the U.S. Senate opposite a powerful and well-funded Republican incumbent.

The Democratic challenger seemed tough in all the right places. He'd grown up on a farm in the small dot on the map of Big Sandy. He still lived there and worked his farm with his lovely wife Sharla.

He spoke with a kind of solemnity, warning that the Republican agenda was leading Montana — the nation — into mediocrity and debt-riddled woe.