Why are Democrats trying to destroy a Montana business? Kim Strassel tackled that story in a recent Wall Street Journal column: Jon Tester Bashes a Montana Company

It just so happens that she is in Montana to keynote a banquet in Billings so we got to chat with her on the radio Tuesday morning.

Bridger Aerospace is a local success story. It's an aerial firefighting company run by veterans, started by veterans, and employing veterans. They had nothing but incredible positive press.

"Based in Bozeman," Strassel writes, "the company began hiring, buying planes, landing government firefighting contracts, and bringing in private capital. In January 2023 it went public, becoming one of Montana’s few listed companies. As recently as September 2023, a Bloomberg piece glowingly described the company’s 'hot growth.”

But then the company's Navy SEAL founder Tim Sheehy answered the call to run for the United States Senate. And that's when the attacks against his company started coming.

We talked with Kim Strassel about a host of topics Tuesday morning from our radio studios in Billings Tuesday morning, including her piece about Democrats deliberately trying to tear down a Montana business in order to help themselves in the 2024 election.

Kim Strassel: "I was most shocked when I saw an ad from Jon Tester actually joining in on this and bashing on the company and suggesting it was failing. What senator does that? All right. I mean, we have partisan politics, but you should want local businesses to be thriving and doing well...It was really quite remarkable to me. And the other thing too is, yeah, not only does this business offer a lot of great employment for veterans and local people, also- my understanding is that when you get a job there at Bridger Aerospace, you are issued equity- stock in the company. So as these Democratic attacks have continued, it has helped to drive down Bridger Aerospace's stock price that is hitting employees and their 401K's. I know that there are locals that have invested in the company, because they were proud to see a locally owned and grown company, they're getting hit by these attacks as well, too."

Click below for full podcast audio with Kim Strassel:

Also- if you can't access the WSJ article, here's a piece by Fox News:

Tester scorched for trying to discredit GOP opponent's veteran-founded firefighting firm: 'Political warfare'