The Constitution Party’s Montana legislator Rick Jore is in a very unique position. With Republicans holding 50 votes in the House, and Democrats holding 49, Jore is the swing vote.

A recent feature on him in the Daily Inter Lake is very complimentery:

Jore is well aware of the intricacies of the situation. The six Republican spending bills are intended to limit the increase in state spending over the next two years to around 13 percent.

For the House Republican leadership, that’s far preferable to the 22 percent spending increase that was in Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s proposed budget.

“I’m not comfortable being in a game of political strategy,” Jore said Monday, just a couple of days before House floor debates are scheduled to begin on the six budget bills. “Where I am comfortable is voting on my oath to uphold the Constitution and to uphold my political convictions.”

“Rick’s challenge will be, can he live with chipping away at the size of government, or will he vote absolutely no, giving a Democratic majority?” said Rep. Craig Witte, a Republican freshman from Kalispell.

“From what I understand, it is a tremendously unique situation,” said Rep. Doug Cordier, a freshman Democrat from Columbia Falls. “And in some ways, I’m glad it’s Rick who’s in that position. He’s certainly not going to be pressured by anybody.”

Jore’s position of power in the Legislature is remarkable, considering the rough welcome he got as a Constitution Party lawmaker who was appointed to chair the House Education Committee.

“People made him out to be a tyrant,” said House Speaker Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, adding that most lawmakers have since come to recognize Jore as being “very fair and balanced” in the way he runs the committee.

Those views, purveyed in the media, were based on Jore’s legislation to eliminate compulsory school attendance and his conservative views on school funding, including his proposal to eliminate the state’s participation in the federal No Child Left Behind program.

Jore chuckles at how he is perceived by some. “Oh yeah, here comes the bad guy to town,” he said. “I can’t help what people assume about me … All I can do is stand up for what the Constitution was founded on.”

He unabashedly advocates some of his more controversial positions.

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