Sen. Burns' Verbal Attack Draws Fire

Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., listens to President Bush speak during a fundraiser in Washington in this March 27, 2006 file photo. Burns' recent "verbal attack" on a firefighting team for its work on a Montana blaze angered some firefighters, drew harsh criticism in state newspapers and has left the three-term Republican scrambling to repair the political damage. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci - AP)

Last year, the senator denied a flight attendant's claim that he told her she could "go home and be a mother" if her airline job were eliminated.

Doug Neil, a firefighter from Great Falls, said he has received a number of calls from angry firefighters during the last week.

"I definitely believe it should reflect badly on him," said Neil, the legislative liaison for the Montana State Firemen's Association. "The gaffes in the past with flight attendants and people who choose to wear questionable jewelry, we know that he has slips of the tongue, it's just unfortunate when it hits close to home."

But Ed Bandel, a farmer near Floweree, called Burns' comments an "accident."

"He was talking to the wrong people about the fact there was a problem with the way they fought the fire," said Bandel, who said he leans Republican. "It seems to me he should have been talking to the higher-ups, not the men doing the work."

The Missoulian newspaper said in an editorial that "Burns' remarks were characteristic of the kind of know-nothing blather you sometimes hear from the local malcontent in a bar or coffee shop." The Montana Standard of Butte wrote, "The way things are going for Montana's Conrad Burns, all challenger Jon Tester may have to do is to stay quiet until November to win the hotly contested seat."

Burns apologized the day the confrontation made headlines. During a conference call with reporters, he said there was no anger in his comments and characterized the encounter as a nonevent. He also said he approached the firefighters, who told him they did not want a visit and he left them.

The senator's office says Burns is not backing down from his apology, only clarifying "there was no anger in his comments, only frustration."

A videotape obtained and circulated by the Democratic Party shows that when the conference call ended, Burns turned to officials in the room and said, "that's the way to shut that down ... that works."