Dave Gallik, a Democratic legislator from Helena, says he is preparing to name a formal exploratory committee to see if he could raise enough money to run against Denny Rehberg, R-Billings, for Montana's U.S. House seat.

Gallik, who has been on what he calls a "test the waters tour" of the state, stopped by my office at noon today. The self-described "loudmouth" said that he has encountered enough dissatisfaction with Rehberg's performance to make a race feasible, but he won't run unless he can get campaign pledges of $100,000 to $150,000 to launch the race.

"There is a dissatisfaction out there," he said, "but when I ask for specifics, the specifics are kind of hard." He added, "Denny Rehberg's voting record on important stuff is under the radar screen." By "important stuff," he meant Iraq, prescription drugs and the No Child Left Behind Act, among other issues. Instead, he said, Rehberg has spent much of his time and energy on a "stupid" bill to protect private property along the Missouri Breaks. All that bill would accomplish, he said, would be to remove from landowners the option of selling their land to an attractive buyer: the U.S. government.

Gallik said the U.S. should admit it was wrong to invade Iraq without United Nations backing. He said we should do a "mea culpa" to the UN, admit that UN intelligence was better than ours, and see if we can get help to rebuild the country. He criticized Bush's $87 billion spending plan in Iraq at a time of record budget deficits as "credit card spending" while needs at home are neglected

Gallik rejected the "liberal Democrat" label, but acknowledged he is "a little more progressive than most." He said he was able to pass 12 of 35 bills he introduced in the Montana Legislature, an indication of his ability to work in a bipartisan fashion.

He said of knew of no other Democrats planning to get into the race and had talked to many of the most likely candidates. Steve Kelly was the Democratic candidate in 2002 but didn't get much support from the party.

Gallik is a Great Falls native and a lawyer in private practice in Helena. He was chief of staff for six years for former U.S. Sen. Brock Adams, D-Wash., and is serving his second term in the Montana Legislature.