Bolo Ties and Flatops

Now, I'm not a bolo tie kind of guy; I've always lived on the East Coast. But I have to applaud Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer who spoke up to say that a bolo tie is as dressed up as any piece of silk from Brooks Brothers. Here's the story via Bull Moose about a high school senior who was barred from his graduation for sartorial reasons:

A Charles County high school's decision to deny a diploma to a senior who wore a bolo tie to graduation didn't offend just the student and his family. Montana's governor is mighty annoyed, too.
"To have some high school say that a bolo tie is not a tie is an outrage," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), who called The Washington Post yesterday after reading an article about 17-year-old Thomas Benya.
"In Montana and anyplace in Indian country, a bolo tie is dressed up," he said. "A tie is a tie."
Schweitzer, who has a collection of more than 30 string ties, called to encourage Benya yesterday and is sending him a Montana state bolo.

I like these Montana Dems. State Senate Majority Leader John Tester kicked off his campaign for the U.S. Senate with Pearl Jam bassist and Montana native Jeff Ament, touring the state in a big rig that reads, "You're behind the right guy" on the back.

Here's an enthusiastic blurb from New West Missoula:


He's a tall, old farmer who thinks progressively, but acts traditionally. He's got a farmer's flatop and a farmer's belly, but he's refined enough and savvy enough to play ball with the big boys in D.C. without looking like a hick. He looks you in the eye when he tells you he knows how to represent all of Montana in the U.S. Senate and you believe him -- and he rarely spits out a canned quote.