Editor’s note: The following story was written by a student in John B.

Saul’s graduate
reporting class at The University of Montana. You are free to share or publish this story,
provided you retain the reporter’s byline.

House District 96: Steve Eschenbacher

BY WILL GRANT

Steve Eschenbacher wants to put Montana back in the hands of

Montanans. He says the strength of the state is its people and so
they should have the power.

A candidate for House District 96, Eschenbacher is a libertarian

running as a Republican. He prefers to use a small “l” for
libertarian because he says he is only moderately consistent with
their traditional views.

Eschenbacher’s campaign is based on his belief that the

specialization of private entrepreneurs will lead to fiscal and social
independence from the federal government. And “let’s face it,” he
said, “that’s the future.”

And the future for him, at least, is the one-room schoolhouse. One
of his battlegrounds for independence is the education system.

He said he believed teachers working in one-room schoolhouses

would be more independent because of less administrative
personnel.

“Like superintendents, curriculum development. Why did we

create these things? Because… I don’t know,” he says. “Why are
these people having to be involved?”
Without paying the salaries of these bureaucrats and with no
annexes to any buildings, his plan would free up capital to pay
teachers higher salaries, he said. The weeded-out professionals
could operate as private contractors offering their services to the
public.

As far as minimizing government, for Eschebacher the oil field

isn’t far from the schoolhouse.

The Bakken Formation of Eastern Montana is a large oil reserve

that Eschenbacher believes could contribute to energy
independence. Removal of federal drilling restrictions would open
the door for local energy companies to develop the Bakken
Formation and soften the blow of rising energy costs, he said.

Eschenbacher acknowledged that Montana’s energy independence

was a ways down the road. For him, more immediate change
should be in health care.

As a public defender, Eschenbacher said he had seen the health-

care system fail the mentally ill, who are relocated to other
facilities around Montana to receive treatment and rehabilitation.
Ferrying these people back and forth is neither economical nor
prudent, Eschenbacher said.

“It’s not morally right, it’s not fiscally right, but it’s legal,” he said.

He wants to establish a facility with the psychiatric personnel to

serve those people in Hamilton.

He said the mentally ill are legally underserved because there is no

insanity defense in the Montana courts. He called the system for
dealing with these people outdated and too general.

Which is also the way he feels about health insurance.

He wants to redesign health insurance to better fit individuals.
According to him, the current system categorizes people and often
provides unnecessary or irrelevant coverage. Specializing
insurance programs would be more effective and cost less, he said.

Eschenbacher said his pursuit of independence would put teachers

in control of their schools, give Montana back its oil and better
serve the mentally ill. He wants to see more Montanans and fewer
Feds.

Of nearly every sector of society Eschenbacher asks the question:

“Do we have to have the government do it?”

And to him, the answer is generally “No.”