Lies, lies and more lies from AFP and the Party Bosses

By Representative John Fitzpatrick

Published in the Anaconda Leader

February 20, 2026

When Moses descended from the mountain top, he carried stone tablets upon which had been inscribed with the 10 Commandments. The Eighth Commandment said, “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” or, in plain English, “do not lie”. 

The Eighth Commandment is readily ignored these days especially on social media which has become the meeting place for the pathological misrepresentation of the truth. In Montana, internet discussions of the 2026 elections have become a tidal wave of lies, as illustrated below. 

Lie No. 1: Rep. John Fitzpatrick does not live in HD 76; he lives in Helena.

The truth: This lie was originated in mid-2024 by David Kesler, III who I demolished in the 2024 primary election. Kesler went so far as to publish a photograph of a home in Helena that he claimed was mine. Only problem, it’s owned by Helena attorney, Richard Tappan. Kesler got several of his cronies to file complaints with the Commissioner of Political Practices claiming that I did not live in HD 76 as a way of getting me removed from the general election ballot. The Commissioner dismissed every complaint for lack of evidence. Facts matter. Kesler and his pals don’t have any, so they just repeat the lie. I live at Georgetown Lake with my wife in House District 76.

Lie No. 2: Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a dark money group from Virginia has been telling the voters that Montana’s “budget is on fire” growing 13-16 percent over the previous biennium.

The truth: The state enacted a law in 1997 to set out the rules for how budget comparisons are to be made and when the law (Section 17-7-151, MCA) is followed the actual budget growth was 0.7%, or about 80% below the rate of inflation. AFP ginned up its big number by claiming that money transferred to state savings accounts was spending. Really? Since when is saving, spending?

Lie No. 3: According to the Republican Party bosses, Fitzpatrick votes with the Democrats all the time.

The truth: I’m a successful Republican legislator ranking 5th for effectiveness out of 150 legislators because I work to represent the people of HD 76 and do not take orders from the Bosses. According to legislative statistics, I voted with the Republican Caucus 87% of the time. Rep Bill Mercer, appointed by the President Trump as a Federal Judge for Montana, voted with the Republican Party 88% of the time. 

Lie No. 4: AFP also claimed that HB 231 allows unrestrained local government spending.

The truth: HB 231 was the residential property tax reduction act. It didn’t need language in the bill to restrict local government spending because there is already a law on the books that does just exactly that. See Section 15-10-420, MCA.

In the 1930’s Nazi Germany’s Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels famously claimed, “a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth”. Now you know the agenda of Americans for Prosperity,  the Party Bosses, and their associates.

Rep. John Fitzpatrick is a Republican from Anaconda representing House District 76.