我是一名终身蒙大拿州民主党人，我以能够以这个身份参选和服务而感到自豪。我参选州党主席，旨在团结民主党，我相信，只要我们共同努力，就能让蒙大拿州变得更好。但有些事情比标签或党派政治更重要。如今，蒙大拿州民主党比以往任何时候都更加分裂，这不是因为我们的价值观，而是因为美国参议院席位的竞争。
I am a lifelong Montana Democrat who has proudly run and served under that label. I ran for state party chair to unify Democrats, believing if we work together, we can make Montana a better place. But there are things more important than labels or party politics. And right now, the Montana Democratic Party is more divided than ever not because of our values but because of the race for the U.S. Senate.
我们希望能够达成共识的一件事是：共和党参议员候选人库尔特·阿尔梅不认同我们的价值观，我们应该竭尽所能阻止他。他将成为唐纳德·特朗普总统的傀儡，并橡皮图章式地批准那些正在撕裂我们国家的腐败、幕后交易和滥用职权。
One thing I hope we can all agree on is this: The Republican Senate candidate, Kurt Alme, does not share our values, and we should do everything in our power to stop him. He will be a puppet for President Donald Trump and rubber-stamp the corruption, backroom deals and abuse of power tearing our country apart.
阿尔梅将肯定投票剥夺女性决定自己身体的权利。特朗普已经在参议员蒂姆·希希身边有一个自动的顺从者 — — 我们不应该再送他一个那样的人。
Alme will be a guaranteed vote to strip women of the right to make decisions about our own bodies. Trump already has an automatic yes-man in Sen. Tim Sheehy — we should not send him another one.
这就是为什么今天，我立即辞去州党主席职务，并加入卡罗尔、丹尼斯·朱诺、史蒂夫·布洛克、南希·基南、乔恩·特斯特、马克·博克斯、卡罗尔和惠特尼·威廉姆斯以及许多其他人的行列，支持独立候选人塞思·博德纳参加美国参议院选举。
And that is why today, I am resigning as party chair, effective immediately, and joining stalwarts like Carol and Denise Juneau Steve Bullock Nancy Keenan Jon Tester Max Baucus Carol and Whitney Williams, and many others to endorse independent Seth Bodnar for the U.S. Senate.
我是一个持乐观态度的人。我不喜欢对任何人持负面看法，尤其是对民主党提名人。但有时保持沉默是不可能的；有时你必须让人感到不安，以实现更大的善。这次竞赛的胜者几乎肯定会就最高法院提名人进行投票。而关于民主党候选人阿拉尼·班克黑德是否致力于保护女性选择权、她对劳动人民的支持以及她对贫困人口的看法，确实存在真正的问题。
I’m a person with a positive outlook. I’m uncomfortable being negative about anyone, especially a Democratic nominee. But sometimes it’s impossible to stay quiet; sometimes you have to make people uncomfortable for the greater good. The winner of this race will almost certainly vote on a nominee to the Supreme Court. And there are real questions about Democrat Alani Bankhead’s commitment to protecting a woman’s right to choose, her support of working people and her views of people living in poverty.
有时保持沉默是不可能的；有时你必须让人感到不安，以实现更大的善。
Sometimes it’s impossible to stay quiet; sometimes you have to make people uncomfortable for the greater good.
班克黑德既没有赢得这场竞选的势头，也没有相应的资源和决心。不知出于何种原因，她一开始就向博德纳泼脏水，而博德纳明明是个正直的人，她似乎完全无视了这位共和党人以及自己在意识形态上的对立者。
Bankhead does not have the momentum, resources or will to win this race. For no apparent reason, she came out of the gate mudslinging at Bodnar a decent human being, seemingly ignoring the Republican and her ideological opposite.
她还从共和党的支出中获益，而这些支出正是为了分化反对派、为阿尔梅铺平道路。民主党人应该问问自己，为什么共和党人如此迫切地希望她出现在选票上。
She has also benefited from Republican spending designed to split the opposition and clear a path for Alme. Democrats should ask themselves why Republicans so badly wanted her on the ballot.
在班克黑德成为候选人、而我担任党主席的几个月里，她从未试图就共同价值观展开对话，也拒绝接受本州经验丰富的商界和政治领袖的建议。对于一个几乎刚来到蒙大拿州的人来说，她这种拒绝倾听和学习的态度令人费解且刺耳。蒙大拿州民正因住房负担能力危机、燃料价格飙升和一场难以解释的战争而窒息。我希望由愿意倾听的人来代表我们，而不是那些固执己见、掩耳不闻的人。
In the months Bankhead has been the nominee and I’ve been chair of the party, she has not sought a conversation around shared values and has refused advice from experienced business and political leaders around the state. For someone almost brand new to Montana her refusal to listen and learn is puzzling and jarring. Montanans are suffocating due to an affordability crisis, rising fuel prices and an inexplicable war. I want representation by people willing to listen, not those who dig in their heels and cover their ears.
作为党主席，我意识到，要找到这个党的核心与灵魂，不能去位于海伦娜的总部，而应该去小镇，去厨房餐桌旁和篝火边。我们的党，也就是那些试图出售公共土地的共和党人，其核心与灵魂恰恰就在那里。在蒙大拿州，成为一名民主党人最重要的事情，与我们的执行委员会或22页的章程毫无关系。蒙大拿州没有政党登记制度；我们不需要党证和名单，而是围绕共同的价值观聚集在一起。
As party chair, I learned that you won’t find the heart and soul of the party at our headquarters in Helena. You’ll find it in small towns, and around kitchen tables and campfires. You’ll find the heart and soul of our party the public lands Republicans are trying to sell off. The most important part of being a Democrat in Montana has nothing to do with our executive board or 22 pages of bylaws. Montana doesn’t have party registration; instead of cards and lists, we gather around shared values.
我的职责从来不是保护某个候选人名单上的位置，也不关心谁的牌子立在了谁的院子里。
My job has never been to protect a ballot line or care about whose sign is standing in whose yard.
我了解博德纳，他是一位善于倾听的人。他善良、勤奋且聪慧。我可以自信地说，他心中装着蒙大拿州未来的最佳利益。但我并非轻率地做出这一决定。我相信这个政党。我相信萨姆·福斯塔格。我相信正在我选区参选的谢莉·芬特众议员，也相信蒙大拿州各地参选州议会的民主党人。但我的职责从来不是保护某个党派在选票上的位置，也不关心谁的牌子立在谁的院子里。我的职责始终是推动本州民主党人所关心的事业，而目前，实现这一目标最清晰的途径，正是通过一位独立候选人。
I know Bodnar to be someone who listens. He is kind, hardworking and bright. I can say with confidence he has what’s best for Montana’s future in mind. But I did not make this decision lightly. I believe in this party. I believe in Sam Forstag. I believe in Rep. Shelly Fyant, who is running in my district, and the Democrats across Montana running for the Legislature. But my job has never been to protect a ballot line or care about whose sign is standing in whose yard. My job has always been to advance the Democrats in this state care about, and right now, the clearest path to doing that runs through an independent candidate.
蒙大拿州的民众或许已经感觉到，华盛顿和我们的民主制度，早已不再为他们服务。这个问题必须得到解决，而博德纳正是围绕这一点构建了他的整个竞选活动。我们的解决方案必须大胆，有时甚至需要采取令人不适的措施，以推动积极的变革。
Montanans can feel that Washington, and our democracy, stopped working for them a while ago. This needs to be fixed, and Bodnar has built his entire campaign around it. Our solutions must be bold, and sometimes uncomfortable, steps toward positive change.
我们州和国家的未来正面临考验。我希望蒙大拿州所有的民主党人都能与我一起，在今年选择最合适的人选，即使他并非他们原本所预期的党派成员。
The future of our state and our country is at stake. I hope all Democrats across Montana will join me in choosing the best person this year, even if he’s not from the party they were expecting. The post Why I am resigning as Montana Democratic Party chair to endorse an independent Senate candidate MS NOW