Thanks for stopping by to read “Caught My Eye.”

NOTICE: No animals were harmed in the making of this column.

If you are a first-time visitor, “Caught My Eye” is posted right here every Friday morning! This is when I take a quick look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. I often throw in a touch of sarcasm to make you smile – or to irritate you just a little.

Today I write about the Department of Veterans Affairs, State Rep. Jesse O’Hara, John Walsh’s “Brand New” campaign ad, Steve Daines’ “Gayla” campaign ad, canceling recess, sending a message to Obama, plus we have a winner who is Making Montana Proud!

VA Secretary:

Representative Steve Daines called for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Eric Shinseki to resign on Wednesday. I applaud Daines for doing this. U.S. Senators Jon Tester and John Walsh should demand Shinseki’s resignation, too.

On Thursday, Sen. Tester posted a message on Twitter: “Asking VA Sec. Shinseki to resign before we investigate is politically convenient but irresponsible.” He was also on MSNBC talking about the situation in the VA.

This is a classic case of circling the wagons by Tester. I don’t think he is taking this issue seriously. The backlog of disability claims in the VA is terrible. Veterans have died waiting for VA care in Arizona. Other VA offices may have been doing the same thing. Shinseki has been head of the VA since January 2009. This is not like the Healthcare.gov fiasco where you can add a few servers and hit control/alt/delete.

As a fellow veteran, I think Walsh, who is the “Senate’s only Iraq War veteran,” should be leading the charge in getting better leadership in the VA. As for Tester, he is on the Senate Veterans’ committee. He should call Shinseki into his office and tell him to resign.

I said Shinseki should resign a year ago due to the backlog of claims and now with the mess recently discovered in Arizona, the VA sorely needs new leadership. They need more veterans working in the VA. The system in place for Veterans’ healthcare is not working. I said two weeks ago, “Congress must decide if spending money on leasing and purchasing buildings, hiring doctors and medical personnel, is better than sending veterans to civilian medical professionals close to home and covering their medical bills – and getting them the quality and timely care they deserve.”

It’s time to dramatically change veterans’ healthcare in the United States. Congress should do the same for Native Americans – the Indian Health Service is broken as well. Just because you have nice new buildings does not mean you have quality care.

State Rep. Jesse O’Hara:

Proving the Montana Republicans are still the best at forming circular firing squads, two constituents of O’Hara’s filed a lawsuit saying he is no longer a resident in his district. One constituent, Nancy Marten, said, “We had some legal questions for him. We wanted to straighten out some stuff with Fish and Game.”

O’Hara is not an attorney and even though many state legislators believe they walk on water, they cannot answer “legal questions” or give legal advice. Instead of using the lawyer for the lawsuit against O’Hara, Ms. Marten should have asked the lawyer her “legal questions.”

In my opinion, O’Hara has always been one of the good guys in the state legislature.

The pettiness and backstabbing in the Montana GOP is disgusting. Somebody needs to step up and put a stop to it.

New Campaign Ad/Walsh:

The John Walsh campaign posted a new ad called, “Brand New” on May 7.

In the ad, Walsh says, “There’s no graver threat than the exploding national debt.” He goes on to say he’s “brand new to the senate” but that he has “already sponsored a balanced budget amendment to put an end to waste, fraud, and abuse.” He closes the ad saying, “Defending our country must include repairing our fiscal house here at home.”

My analysis: The ad shows some photos of Walsh in the military which is always a good thing, and Walsh probably does his best job at communicating in this ad.

In March 2014, Gallup released a poll showing unemployment/jobs, dissatisfaction with government/politicians, economy, and healthcare ranking above the federal debt. While he might be able to say that the federal debt ties in with all these things, his ad does not do a good job in saying that. Overall it’s a decent ad, but not the best of the Walsh campaign.

I give the Walsh campaign ad “Brand New” a six out of 10.

Cancel Recess:

According to a press release, “Senator John Walsh today introduced the Do Your Job Act, which would require Congress to balance the budget or lose recess. The bill would cancel all Congressional recesses until a balanced budget resolution is adopted.”

I know when I was in elementary school and I had to stay in from recess, it was devastating, so Walsh’s bill just might work in Washington, where members of congress act like children most days.

Here are some other ideas for Walsh’s consideration:

-Make them eat spinach and other vegetables and eat everything on their plates. Back in my elementary school days, I hated that.
-Make them come to the senate and house chambers and lay their heads on their desks for 30 minutes. There will be no talking or whispering. This might be the toughest rule because we know how much politicians like to talk.
-Give them a spanking. There were a few times that I received a spanking with an oak paddle, and that always got my attention and I straightened up quickly.

I’m available to discuss other ideas…

New Campaign Ad/Daines:

The Steve Daines for Montana campaign is releasing ads so often that it’s a little hard to keep up with them. One ad, in particular, caught my eye. The ad is titled “Gayla” and it was posted on May 6.

The ad is about a Livingston, Montana, woman named Gayla Wing who claims her health insurance plan did not qualify when Obamacare “kicked in” and she has to pay for her insulin again. She is “glad that Steve Daines is against Obamacare” and that “we need more people like Steve Daines that will stand up for and help the working class.”

My analysis: We’ve all heard about people losing their health insurance because of Obamacare, and Daines found one to use in his campaign. I’m sure his opponents are checking out the accuracy of her story. There’s a lot of hatred from the right about President Obama and Obamacare here in Montana, so this is a very good ad for Team Daines to run. Plus, Gayla did a great job telling her story. I hope that Team Daines has helped Gayla explore all avenues to get her insulin covered – and just not use her issue for campaign purposes. Personally, I’d like to see Daines say he is willing to work to make Obamacare better, but he and his team probably feel saying anything good about Obamacare would lose them votes.

I give Daines’ campaign ad “Gayla” a nine out of 10.

Send a Message to Obama:

Gallup is reporting, “Three in 10 registered voters say when they vote for a candidate in the fall midterm elections, it will be to send a message that they oppose U.S. President Barack Obama.”

In November 2006, President Bush was in the same boat as 31% said they would vote to send him a message.

Looks like the President will have a light schedule this fall, which is good because it’s a good time to stay home and watch football.

Making Montana Proud:

This section is where I mention people or groups whose actions embarrass Montana in some way.

-From the Associated Press/Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Craig Lee Barth, 53, was “on probation for a felony DUI faces another felony DUI charge after being stopped on Interstate 90 near Bozeman.”

The next part will make you shake your head: “Court records in the weekend case say Barth has at least eight prior DUI convictions dating back to 1985. However, the Montana Supreme Court’s Sentence Review Division upheld Barth’s five-year commitment to the Department of Corrections for a 2008 DUI, which records said was his 13th conviction.”

Why would any judge allow this man to be free?

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch…

 

## END ##