The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Montana last month dodged questions about her ties to a group that explicitly advocates the abolition of capitalism in the United States.
"That sounds like contemporary communism," said Montana Public Radio reporter Edward O’Brien of the Industrial Workers of the World, a labor group for which Montana legislator Amanda Curtis’ husband is a representative.
Her ties to the group have come under scrutiny since she won the Democratic nomination for Senate. She replaced disgraced Sen. John Walsh (D.) on the ticket after it was revealed that he plagiarized his final paper at the Army War College.
Curtis laughed when asked about her ties to IWW in a Friday interview and dodged two questions about those ties.
CURTIS: Well, there is a clear distinction between millionaire congressman Steve Daines and working class teacher Amanda Curtis. I stand for working Montanans, I will be the voice of working Montanans everywhere I go, every day of my life, and I’ll continue that in the United States Senate.
O’BRIEN: But I think the critics would say that sounds like contemporary communism.
CURTIS: I stand for working Montanans, I will do what’s right for all Montanans, on this campaign and in the U.S. Senate.
In addition to her IWW ties, Curtis has praised controversial labor leaders, including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, who chaired the Communist Party of the United States and was given a state funeral in Red Square after she died during a visit to the Soviet Union.