My kind of Democrat

"For six years it [Montana] has been one of the only states in America with a budget surplus: this year it is a record $433 million, proportionally equivalent to a federal surplus of $858 billion." [Cutting Costs the Montana Way.]

This article by Montana's democratic governor contains good advice for local governments too. "Finally, we don’t spend money until we’ve found the lowest price. Around here, government contracts aren’t a way to take care of friends. Quite the opposite: we use our purchasing power to get the lowest possible rate."