Category Archives: Campaign 2012

Montana Senate 2012: Confident?

As I was reading the news this morning, I saw the headline “Tester confident his record will stand during big re-election challenge from Rehberg.”

In case you missed the news, first-term U.S. Senator Jon Tester (Democrat) filed for re-election on Tuesday in Helena, Montana.  You can read the story HERE.

Personally, Tester saying he is “confident” about his record seems like a stretch, but each person will have to make up their own mind.  For me, when a candidate (in this case a U.S. Senator) files for re-election, it begs the question, “Are you better off now than you were six years ago?”

So I quickly jotted down nine or ten things to help me answer that question (and to help me with this column) without even thinking too much about it.  Enjoy… Continue reading →

Presidential Politics

Almost every week someone asks me (or gives me their opinion) about the GOP Presidential race and if they don’t ask about the GOP Presidential race, they will ask my thoughts on the Denny Rehberg and Jon Tester race.

Since I write a lot about Rehberg/Tester, today I will share a few thoughts on the Presidential race and touch a little on Washington politics.

Many folks who lean to the right are not that excited about the candidates left in the GOP Presidential field (Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul).  That lack of excitement is great news for Barack Obama and his campaign team.

Although it’s a long way to November 2012, it seems to me that Barack Obama now has a better than average chance of winning a second term.  Those chances looked pretty slim just a few months ago. Continue reading →

Lynch – February Newsletter

Note:  The Jim Lynch for Montana Governor Campaign forwarded their February newsletter to me via my Western Word e-mail – it’s worth the read.

My favorite part (and something I think is very good advice):

As Montanans we will be preached to by the slickest of politicians.  Be very protective of your vote.

It’s very important you know the backgrounds of those you wish to vote for.  We cannot afford to nominate a candidate in the primary just to see his past come back to end our chances of putting a Republican in the Governor’s seat. Continue reading →

Montana Senate 2012: Defense & Politics

I write about defense and military news and issues quite often here at The Western Word, and I often talk about how politics play a role in defense affairs.  I also enjoy poking fun at folks who write or speak about defense happenings who never served and have no idea about national defense or the military.

I’ve also written about the area around Great Falls being very important (a battleground) for the upcoming U.S. Senator Jon Tester Congressman Denny Rehberg U.S. Senate race.

All that ties in with what I read today on the “Viewpoints” page of the local newspaper, the Great Falls Tribune.  Central Montana Defense Alliance (*CMDA) Chairman David Weissman writes, “Cargo plane mission for MANG signals bright future.”  I found Weissman’s viewpoint interesting on a couple of fronts (and not just because his name is spelled two different ways in the article). Continue reading →

Tied

First rule of politics:  you can’t win unless you’re on the ballot.  Second rule: If you run, you may lose.  And, if you tie, you do not win.  -Donald Rumsfeld

U.S. Senator Jon Tester (Democrat) rejected Congressman Denny Rehberg’s (Republican) counteroffer on Tuesday regarding campaign donations.  I enjoyed the jockeying and now we can all sit back and watch for even more fun and games over the next nine months.

Yesterday I predicted that Tester would agree to Rehberg’s plan right after Tester became a vegetarian… Continue reading →

Montana Senate 2012: Suckers

A friend sent me an e-mail yesterday asking me what I thought about U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s letter to Congressman Denny Rehberg asking Rehberg to sign a “Third-Party Advertising Agreement.”  The letter asked Rehberg to “publicly reject and work to prevent the broadcast of all third-party radio and TV ads” during their *campaign.

*Tester and Rehberg still have to make it through a primary election before they actually face each other in the General Election.  Rehberg has filed to run for U.S. Senate and he has a primary challenger.  Tester has yet to file for re-election.

I also heard a rumor that Tester, under separate letter, asked Rehberg to perform at least three miracles before sundown Friday (for those in the media, this was a joke). Continue reading →

Politics 2012: Wednesday Potpourri

The Western Word is a great place to stop by to read independent commentary about politics, sports, the media, and current events – so thanks for visiting!

There have been a lot of political happenings across the country these last few days, so today I picked a few of them to write about.  Read on to hear about Santorum’s big wins, a Veterans’ Job Caucus, the Congressional Gold Medal, running mates, big fines, license plates, letter to the editor rules, some endorsements, and much more!

Oh…and there’s some commentary to go along with it.

Continue reading →

Jets are just sexier…

Like many folks, I was very happy to hear about the Montana Air National Guard possibly obtaining a new aircraft mission (C-130).

I say “possibly” because this change in missions is planned for well into the future (almost two years) so anything can happen that could alter those plans.  The world is ever-changing and so are defense and security needs.  There could be a change in administrations.  The state where the eight planes are scheduled to come from could have a congressional delegation that puts up a fight to keep their planes.  Finally, our country is in deep financial trouble and there need to be cuts.

I also enjoyed poking a little fun at some of the story like Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and his Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. John Walsh issuing a press release (the day before) that told us they “believe they will receive notification of the new flying mission…” Continue reading →

Monday Morning Politics

The Monday morning after the Super Bowl is pretty depressing for me because football season is over, but now we have campaign season heating up – and oh how it is heating up!

The Western Word should be your destination for independent commentary about politics!  Bookmark it! Sign up for e-mail notification when new columns are posted!  Subscribe to the RSS feeds!

Today I take a look at a poll about conservative and liberal states, Rehberg and lobbyist cash, tracking donations, JFK and an affair, Lieutenant Governors, and the shirt.

Continue reading →

Politics 2012: Potpourri

Happy February!  Since I hate January so much, February 1st is a very welcome date!  Can spring be that far away?  Please…

Here at The Western Word I take a look at some political potpourri from Montana races to national races.  I talk about Tester and money raised, Rehberg and money raised, Daines and the Dems, Deputy Dayna, a win for Jesus and Veterans, a do nothing congress, congressional travel, and the sing off!

Continue reading →