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.

Santorum Wins:

Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri all fell into Rick Santorum’s column last night in the GOP Presidential race.

Many on the right are looking to anyone but Mitt Romney…and I don’t blame them.

Veterans Job Caucus:

It’s always nice to see elected officials, many who never served in the military, throw a crumb or two at veterans.  Sen. Jon Tester announced through a press release that he established a Senate Veterans Jobs Caucus.  In a press release, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said they have formed the bipartisan Senate Veterans Jobs Caucus.

Everybody likes to take credit and most of the time the local media never checks.

One thing the “Jobs Caucus” should consider:  50% of the taxpayer-funded staff employed by senators and representatives must be veterans…

First Special Service Force:

The Montana Congressional Delegation is sponsoring a bill to grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the First Special Service Force.  The unit trained at Fort Harrison near Helena, Montana.

This is well-deserved.

Readers may be interested in knowing that Interstate 15 in Montana and Alberta Highway 4 from Helena to Lethbridge, Alberta Canada, was named the “First Special Service Force Memorial Highway” back in September 1999.  There are signs along the route.

Letter to the Editor Rules:

The Great Falls Tribune has come out with their “rules of engagement” for letters to the editor and guest opinions in their newspaper.  It’s fun to read.

Any serious campaign will have one or two people employed who “assist” their supporters in getting their talking points in newspapers, blogs, and forums.  It’s a very important job…

$99,120 Fine:

The City of Great Falls is being fined $99,120 “for failing to purchase state-mandated renewable energy credits.”  The City Manager was quoted saying, “The money has to come from somewhere.”

That was an earth-shattering statement…

License Plates:

The City of Great Falls is looking “into creating a new city specialty license plate.”

If they do that, maybe they can use the money from the sale of Great Falls plates to pay the $99,120 fine?

And, some citizens in Great Falls would probably like to see some current and former city leaders sent to where the plates are made…

Speaking of Fines:

The Associated Press reported, “Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar was correctly fined $21,000 for violating ethics laws by using state government equipment for re-election campaign work.”

There are some folks in Montana smiling about this…

Running Mate 1:

Montana Governor Candidate Jim O’Hara (Republican) announced that former Montana Highway Patrol trooper Scott Swingley of Helena would be his running mate.  You can read the story HERE.

O’Hara received a lot of free publicity with the CBS Evening News doing the story about his courthouse signs.  But can he turn the publicity into votes…

Running Mate 2:

Montana Governor Candidate Corey Stapleton (Republican) announced last night that he had selected former state Senate President Bob Keenan of Bigfork as his running mate.  You can read the story HERE.

The Stapleton campaign seems to be doing better these days and right now it appears the race is between Stapleton and Hill. 

Endorsements:

The Strohmaier for Congress campaign sent me a press release via e-mail with the subject, “Montana’s Top Conservation Writers Endorse Dave Strohmaier” saying that he was recently “endorsed by influential Montana authors: William Kittredge, Rick Bass, Annick Smith, Peter Stark and David James Duncan.”

That’s a pretty impressive group of authors…

Candidates and Elected Officials:

Please send your press releases to The Western Word at this e-mail:  Western_Word@Yahoo.com.

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.

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…”If you “believe” it they will come…and it did!

There was also the sentence in the Great Falls Tribune story that gave me a chuckle when someone wrote about the eight “large” C-130 planes; I guess they were contrasting that to eight “small” C-130 planes…

The whole C-130 situation was also great political theater!  Schweitzer, a Democrat, needed to be involved some way in this big announcement (he is a politician and his term as Governor is coming to an end) so he issued the press release (a day before) to get into the story – probably much to Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester’s dismay.  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Baucus/Tester (and their people) read Schweitzer’s press release.

Tester needed his name in this story to shore up votes in Cascade County (where the Montana Air National Guard is located).  Baucus is a little worried that Schweitzer (or any breathing Democrat) will take him on in 2014, and with Baucus’ light not burning too brightly these days, he wanted to be needed to be in the story.

The only thing that would have ticked off Democrats Baucus and Tester more would have been if the “lone Congressman” Republican Denny Rehberg would have announced it.

One person told me that it was like watching a dog and pony show listening to Baucus and Tester taking credit for everything that is good in the world during their press conference at the airport when announcing the C-130 mission in Great Falls.  One has to remember that politicians are pretty egotistical in nature and would do most anything for some positive press coverage.

One of the funnier lines came when Tester was talking about the C-130s.  Tester showed us his knowledge of military aircraft is at a premium when he said, “They’re different than the F15s…”

Uh…huh…but at least he did not say they were “large.”

The odd person out and probably a loser in all this was Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg.  But Rehberg was not left out without a fight – he fired a warning shot that he was not giving up on the F-15s.  He issued a press release with the headline, “We’ll Take the C-130s, But Leave the F-15s Too.”

Good idea.  There would be nothing at all wrong with that.

The Montana Air National Guard is located in what I call a battleground area (June 8, 2011 column) for the possible Rehberg/Tester General Election match-up.  Tester earned a victory with this announcement, but Schweitzer and Baucus kept him from getting the perfect score and all the glory that comes with being perceived as a leader.  Tester needs all the help he can get during his re-election year.

Finally, it does not appear that everyone likes the proposed new mission.  A non-scientific poll that was in the Great Falls Tribune asked the question “Are you pleased that the MT Air National Guard F-15s will be replaced with C-130 planes?”  With 250 people responding, 52% said No and 48% said Yes.

Let’s face it, jets are just sexier.  Top Gun was not about “large” cargo planes…

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.

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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.

Conservative or Liberal

Do you live in a conservative or liberal state?  A new Gallup poll tells us “Mississippi remains the most conservative state in the union, and, along with Utah, Wyoming, and Alabama, is one of four states with 50% or more of its population identifying as conservative.  At the other end of the ideological spectrum, 40% District of Columbia residents and 30% of Massachusetts residents identify as liberal; all other states have a liberal population of 26% or less.”

For those in Montana reading this, Montana ranks #11 on the conservative scale (45.1% conservative, 32.6% moderate, and 18.7% liberal).

AP Enterprise: Rehberg underreports lobbyist cash

In case you missed the story, you should read it HERE before reading my analysis.

While I am not enamored much by Jon Tester or Denny Rehberg, I found the Associated Press story by Matt Gouras more of a hit piece on Rehberg than anything.  Here are five things I took from the “enterprise” story which was almost as big as the aircraft carrier with that name (the story contains about 1030 words):

1. The story kind of reminds me of an AP reporter from the 2006 election named Jalonick, who seemed to work hand in hand with democrats.  She seemed to be a fan of Tester and it showed in her reporting.  You can read my thoughts about her work by searching for her name on this website.  Apparently she now covers “food policy for The Associated Press” and I am not joking…

2. I would find it hard to imagine a busy AP reporter having the time to examine thousands of campaign donation documents without first being told there might be a story there by someone else – which is fine if the tip/source is disclosed.

3.  Campaigns are supposed to try and obtain the occupation of their donors.  If they do not, it’s not that big a deal.  Check through any donor lists and you’ll find missing information about occupation or you may even find entries like “passed the hat” with the event the hat was passed around listed and no names.

4.  As I mentioned about Tester’s campaign in a column posted last Wednesday, “It’s the details that will get you…” This is not the first rodeo for Rehberg and his campaign team.  By not having quality control procedures in place to gather as much information as possible (with records of when the information was requested) from donors, this has probably harmed the momentum that the campaign appeared to have recently.

5.  It appears that even after all the help from Gouras, Jon Tester is still the leading recipient of campaign cash from lobbyists – and that is amazing coming from a fellow who railed against those nasty lobbyists in 2006.

Tracking state candidate money

Lee Newspaper reporter Mike Dennison reports on tracking campaign donations in Montana and finds that it is still a work in progress.

Montana is probably a decade behind some states…

Once Upon a Secret

CNN is reporting “The author of a new tell-all book claims she lost her virginity to President John F. Kennedy when she was a 19-year-old White House intern, and that the affair lasted 18 months.”  The book is titled, “Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath.” The book is due to be released Wednesday.

White House interns…

Lieutenant Governors

Lee Newspapers published a story asking the question, “Lt. governors: The spare tire of politics?” and saying, “It’s an odd job” but then gives us this earth-shattering piece of information: “The most important function of a lieutenant governor is to succeed a governor who dies or resigns.”

I’ll take the job…

The Shirt

Matt Lauer of NBC interviewed President Obama prior to the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Lauer showed a video of the President from an interview three years ago.  It appeared that Obama had on the same shirt (or same style of shirt) that he had on for the current interview.  Watch the video HERE (the comparison is at the 4:18 mark).

Does it really matter?  Nope.

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Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.

Today is “the day the music died” – and The Western Word honors that day, so read on!

Welcome to the 80th edition of “Caught My Eye!”  Caught My Eye is posted almost every Friday morning right here!  This is the column where I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to comment about during the week (and often with just a touch of sarcasm).

Today I talk about planes in Great Falls, the Political Practices soap opera, a birthday, unemployment, Komen/Planned Parenthood, I share the e-mails from my political inbox and I close it out with American Pie.  Enjoy the read and enjoy your Friday…

Planes.  The Planes. 

The Great Falls Tribune is reporting this morning that Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and Montana Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. John Walsh “believe they will receive notification of the new flying mission this morning from the director of the Air National Guard.”

The new flying mission will supposedly consist of eight C-130 cargo planes.  They will replace the F-15 fighter jets.

In other news, I “believe” I will win the lottery this weekend…

Update:  The Great Falls Tribune reports that the Montana Air National Guard “will get a new unit of eight large C-130 cargo/transport planes to replace its current F-15 fighter jet mission.”

I am sure glad they are the “large” C-130s…

There Are Four:

The leaders of the Montana Legislature sent four names to Governor Brian Schweitzer to fill the Commissioner of Political Practices slot.  He can pick someone else.

This whole process reminds me of a soap opera…

Birthday:

I have a birthday coming up next Friday and this year I am requesting large bills (tens and twenties) to help me celebrate.  Please do not send bills that I owe…

I am getting close to being older than dirt; I’ll let you know when that happens…

Unemployment:

The new rate is 8.3% down from 8.5% last month.  That is good positive news, but the fact is that thousands of people are not counted because they have exhausted their benefits and given up.

It’s also very good news for the Obama Campaign and every Democrat running for re-election as they can say they are making slow and steady growth.

Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood:

If you missed it, the Komen folks “decided to cut breast screening grants” to Planned Parenthood.  The Associated Press reports that those grants totaled $680,000 last year.

We can all have our differences on abortion, but these were “breast screening grants” and should not have ended.  Hopefully Planned Parenthood can obtain other grants and donations to continue breast screening. 

Update:  About an hour after posting this story, the Associated Press reported, “The Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity on Friday abandoned plans to eliminate grants to Planned Parenthood.”

That is a good thing…

Jack’s Political Inbox:

Almost every week I share some of the e-mails I received from elected officials, candidates, and groups.  This week there were five that caught my eye.  Enjoy!

-The Montana Democrats sent an e-mail with the subject “Grassroots 2012: See You Soon” where they talk about the upcoming workshop in Bozeman February 3 & 4.   They also say, “We’ll have great speakers like Senator Jon Tester and Congressman Pat Williams at the event, and you’ll have a chance to learn about organizing, messaging and more.”

Hopefully Tester will bring a suitcase full of beef for the dinner…

-The Rick Hill for Governor Campaign sent an e-mail with the subject, “And our 2000th Contributor is?” where they write, “This week we’ll achieve yet another milestone in our race for governor: the 2000th contributor to our campaign.  If you contribute today, it could be you.”

I was happy to receive this e-mail and not another one about a Great Falls fundraiser for Hill “In the back room of Jakers Grill.” 

-The Steve Bullock for Governor Campaign sent an e-mail with the subject, “The Biggest Threat to Citizens United” where they write, “The biggest threat to Citizens United.  That’s what a national political reporter called Steve Bullock.”

I think Jon Tester is the “biggest threat to Citizens United” because he outweighs Steve Bullock…

-The Stutz for Congress Campaign sent a press release with the subject, “Stutz Highlights His Stand Against Special Interests in Video” where they write about the campaign releasing a biography video of Stutz.  The video was done in Montana by Montanans.  You can view it HERE.

I like the part about him not being a millionaire (I’m not either).

-Rehberg for Senate Campaign Manager, Erik Iverson, sent an e-mail with the subject, “Get ready…” where he writes, “Get ready — because Senator Tester’s special-interest, negative attack squad is preparing to let loose a torrent of desperate, misleading attacks against Denny.”

I. Am. Ready.

Romney Speaks:

Mitt Romney is scaring the GOP folks because when he opens his mouth nobody knows which voting group he will offend next.  And now the GOP “Gods” are worried.  Read the story HERE.

The latest is when he said he was “not concerned about the very poor” because they have an “ample safety net.”

Let me clarify what I think Romney really means:  I am not concerned about the very poor because I am very rich.

Deputy Dayna (Update):

Readers may remember that on Wednesday I wrote about receiving an e-mail from Jon Tester’s new Deputy Campaign Manager, Dayna Swanson, and although she was the “new” Deputy Campaign Manager she was also listed on Tester’s Senate official (taxpayer-funded) staff as “Senior Advisor & Montana Staff Director.”

I’m happy to report that team Tester corrected that minor detail. Good job!

Now if they would just finish those yearly ethics reviews that were promised…

AP Highlight in History:

On Feb. 3, 2009, Eric Holder was sworn in as attorney general, becoming the first African-American to hold the post.

Now the Republicans are after him big time over “Fast and Furious.”

No matter whom the AG is, the other political party goes after them…

On This Date (Feb. 3) in 1959:

Rock ‘n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

And with that, it’s time for American Pie:

Two More Things:

Follow me on Twitter @TheWesternWord and…Don’t forget to stretch…

(That was my salute to Groundhog Day – the movie).

If you are dropping by for the first time, Thursday Numbers is where I take a look at the numbers in the news and provide some commentary with them.  The information can be used to astonish and you just might overwhelm your friends, family, and co-workers with the knowledge you obtained from this column!  You may even be cooler to your children…

Today I take a look at the numbers behind Facebook, Romney and the poor, unemployment, Jesus comments, a no-fly list, Groundhog Day, Christie’s birthday, leap year, and a couple of Super Bowl quarterbacks!

845,000,000

Facebook contends they have 845 million active monthly users.

It all started in a dorm room…

200,000,000

GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney says his net worth is about $200 million.

With that much money, no wonder Romney said he is “not concerned about the very poor” because they have an “ample safety net.”

367,000

That’s how many new claims for unemployment were filed last week.

While some reports in the news are telling us “fewer people file” one has to think that with several years of the new claims being around 350-400 thousand per week, we may be running out of jobs and/or many people have just given up.

95,000

According to this story, the Forest Service received about 95,000 comments from the public about the Jesus statue on Whitefish Mountain in Montana.  The Forest Service recently decided to allow the statue to stay for 10 more years.

The staff here at The Western Word believes in Jesus…

21,000

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. no-fly list “has more than doubled in the past year” “to about 21,000.”

I wonder what Senator Rand Paul thinks about this…

20,000

Osi Umenyiora is a defensive end for the New York Giants.  According to this story he “was fined $20,000 by the NFL on Wednesday, a few hours after he missed a mandatory morning media session.”

1887

That’s the first year that Punxatawney Phil (Groundhog Day) made a prediction.

90

Legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee died yesterday.  He was 90 years old.  RIP.

75

According to this story, “75 percent of people have texted, emailed, used apps or surfed the web while nature calls.”

Guilty…

71

According to this story, “Animal rescuers in Massachusetts said a woman who bought two rats to save them from being snake food soon found herself with 71 rodents.”

58

Christie Brinkley turns 58 today.  Happy Birthday!

You know you want to see the clip from National Lampoon’s Vacation, don’t you?  Click HERE.

46

The heck with the Roman numerals, it’s Super Bowl 46 on Sunday!

39

According to this website, Punxatawney Phil has only been correct 39% of the time.

Phil is probably about as accurate as most weather forecasters…

34

Super Bowl quarterback Tom Brady (New England Patriots) is 34 years old.

31

Super Bowl quarterback Eli Manning (New York Giants) is 31 years old.

29

There are 29 days in February this year (leap year).

27

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is 27 years old.

He is rich…

10

Fox News has been number one in cable news ratings for 10 straight years.

6

Punxatawney Phil predicted this morning that we’ll have six more weeks of winter.

1

Since it’s a leap year that means there will be one more day of politics this year…

H/T to Bob Englehart and his “Leap Year Blues” cartoon.

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Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.

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!

Tester & Rehberg & Money:

The Associated Press reported that the Denny Rehberg’s Senate Campaign said, “it has plenty of money despite a growing cash gap in his race against U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.”

Did anyone expect the Rehberg campaign to say something like, “Since we are behind in money raised, we’re folding up our tents and quitting.”  Sometimes the folks writing or reporting these stories give us a great laugh due to their ineptness.

The Rehberg team has to be concerned about the money that is not rolling in, but you’ll never hear it publicly.  For team Tester, they have to be thanking their lucky stars that he received a seat on the Senate Banking Committee.  During reelection this is a wonderful seat to have for fundraising – and it is showing in the fundraising totals for Tester.

Daines & Dems & Money:

Republican House candidate Steve Daines may be the “Romney” of Montana politics this season (you can figure that part out).  Daines reportedly has about $630,000 in the bank which puts him way ahead of the Democrats.  The GOP side of the ticket for the open House seat really needs to have more than one choice.

The candidates on the Democratic side will be fighting it out (if they all actually file).  As of this morning, three have filed:  Robert Stutz, Dave Strohmaier, and Jason Ward.

Deputy Dayna:

Yesterday afternoon the Montanans for Tester Campaign team sent an e-mail with an introduction of their new Deputy Campaign Manager, Dayna Swanson, and to raise money.  Dayna wrote, “I have lived in Montana my entire life and get the importance of every donation…”

Hopefully Tester is not making Swanson do double duty this election season.  As of this morning she is still listed on Tester’s Senate official staff as “Senior Advisor & Montana Staff Director.”

It’s the details that will get you…

Jesus Wins:

It’s always nice to see Jesus win one (especially in this day and age).  Coupled with Veterans and it is twice as nice!  The Flathead National Forest released a statement saying they had reauthorized a permit “for ten years and is for the display of a statue of Jesus Christ on a 25 foot by 25 foot parcel of land near the top of Chair Two at Whitefish Mountain Resort.”

Let the court cases begin!

Thanks go to Congressman Rehberg for taking up the cause for Jesus and Veterans.

Do Nothing:

According to a story on the Council of Foreign Relations website, “What should Congress and the Obama administration do to bring the federal deficit under control?  Well, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s annual Budget and Economic Outlook, released today, the answer is quite simple: absolutely nothing at all.”

Of course, Congress won’t do “nothing at all” but the report and story are well worth a read.  Note – the report is about 165 pages.

Congressional Trips:

According to LegiStorm, “Privately funded congressional trips hit new highs in 2011.”  They also report, “The seven most-traveled members of Congress in 2011 were all Democrats…”

It’s always fun to see what LegiStorm finds…

Romney/Obama:

That could be the race for the Presidency in November, but for right now they have exercised their voices via song.  You can listen to Obama HERE and Romney HERE.

Jack’s pick:  Obama wins the “Sing-off” easily.

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Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.

As the ultimate football fan, I came up with six “rules” and “things to consider” and “stuff to know” for the big day…

First – If you are going to a friend’s house, show up at least 30 minutes to an hour before the kickoff.  Nobody wants to talk about babies, mall sales, and traffic during the opening kickoff…

Second – You need to be nice – this is where people who have no idea about the rules of football watch – so this Sunday is a little different than week eight of the NFL season…when these people were probably at the mall, at a baby shower or watching NASCAR.  Face it, some women are actually watching this game because Tom Brady and Eli Manning are cute (and rich).  Men would never watch a television show because (never mind).

Third – There are normally funny commercials, which make it tough to head off to the bathroom during a commercial break.  Now really is the time to get that TV in the bathroom (like you always wanted).  Some commercials cost about $3.5 million (for 30 seconds). You should not miss them…

Fourth – Yum…there’s food.  Being from the Kansas City area and the home of the greatest tailgating fans (Chiefs), Super Bowl Sunday is about tailgating in your house.  Super Bowl Sunday has the distinction of being the day that the second-most food is consumed (first is Thanksgiving).  About 90 million chicken wings are consumed.  I’d like to give a big shout-out to all the chickens who gave their wings for this weekend (walking is good for you).

Fifth – A bunch of alcohol is consumed – so don’t drive after drinking – and remember they are your neighbors and friends so don’t be hitting on them and saying nasty things after the alcohol takes over.  Remember almost everyone has a cell phone camera…and many folks have Facebook (or blogs).

Sixth – Madonna is performing at halftime.  Last year it was reported that over 162 million people watched the halftime show.  Remember who performed?  Answer: Black Eyed Peas.  You can check out the history of all Super Bowl Halftime shows HERE.  FYI – Kelly Clarkson will sing the National Anthem….

Maybe you’ve heard, but the Patriots and the Giants have played before – yes this season – but they also played in a Super Bowl a few years ago where the Giants defeated the then 18-0 Patriots 17-14.

Little known fact to impress your friends:  This is the second time that two teams with the word “New” in their names competed against each other in the Super Bowl (New England/New York).  The other time was in 2008 when the same two teams competed.

Second little known fact to impress your friends:  Only once has two teams with the word “San” in their name competed against each other in the Super Bowl (1995 -San Diego and San Francisco).

Why are Roman Numerals used for the Super Bowl?  According to a story in Huffington Post, “Bob Moore, historian for the Kansas City Chiefs, credits the idea of using Roman numerals to Lamar Hunt, the late Chiefs owner and one of the godfathers of the modern NFL.  (History also credits Hunt with coming up with the name “Super Bowl” for the big game.)”

Who will win?  Madden NFL 12 simulated the game and the Giants were the winners (27-24).  I picked the Patriots to win 24-20…

Think you know your stuff about the Super Bowl?  Then play Super Bowl Trivia HERE.

Next year’s Super Bowl will be played in New Orleans.

Have fun…

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord.

Candidates/Campaigns:  Want to get your press release or opinion piece published on TWW?  Sent it to TWW via e-mail at Western_Word@yahoo.com for consideration!  Publication does not necessarily mean endorsement.

Schools Deserve Better Support from Office of Public Instruction

Few things are more important to a community than well-run and locally controlled schools.  Virtually all school districts, along with teachers, parents, and community leaders, strive to provide the education and training our children deserve with less money than in times past.  While local communities band together, however, State Superintendent Denise Juneau and the Office of Public Instruction have proven themselves to be unreliable partners.

Building a new school is no small decision.  Responsible and engaged communities rightly consider whether a new building is necessary and financially justified.  Until recently, schools have benefitted from a longstanding practice enabling greater flexibility to direct budgets to areas of local concern.  A little over a year ago, Denise Juneau’s staff formally confirmed this practice and school districts took them at their word.  Now, after years of planning and consideration, local schools learn that the Office of Public Instruction has informed the Attorney General this practice, the very practice they advocated as recently as last school year, is illegal.

This level of chaos for our schools cannot be tolerated.  The Montana School Boards Association and Montana Rural Education Association summarize the situation with the following words of caution: “relying upon opinions issued by OPI and acting in reliance upon such advice only to find that there are fundamental disagreements among OPI staff could very well place your district in jeopardy”.

As Superintendent of Public Instruction, I will provide schools across Montana with a stable and predictable set of rules and guidelines.  Consistency in application and an emphasis on local control of public education will be provided.  The Office of Public Instruction will be a partner and resource for our schools.  It will work to strengthen our education system based on local needs and goals.

With over two decades working in public education, I understand the importance of making policy changes in collaboration with local stakeholders across the state in order to reduce negative unintended consequences.  Education and community leaders must be able to rely on official opinion from the Office of Public Instruction in order to set plans that make the most use of tight budgets and best serve students now and in the future.

Montana is home to great diversity of schools, most of which do well but need greater decision making power at the local level.  In my administration, our schools will be able to rely on the Office of Public Instruction to further their plans by encouraging local control, best practices, and consistent access to resources.

Sandy Welch

Republican Candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Sandy@WelchForMontana.com

406-823-0564

WelchForMontana.com

Almost every Monday I compile some of the political stories from the past weekend and put them in one place for all to see – and also offer some personal commentary!

Today I take a look at a super rich politician, I share the results of a poll, I check out who is on the ballot in Montana, I look at what Palin wrote, I write about Essmann getting out, I mention the “sweet 16″ who applied for a job in Helena, I talk about signs signs everywhere a sign, I let everyone know that the flim-flam man is heading east, and I wish a very happy birthday to one of my old bosses!

Super Rich Mitt:

We all knew that GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was wealthy, but I never imagined he was super rich.  The Associated Press reported,

Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama.  Then double that number.  Now you’re in Romney territory.

Romney is “1,800 times richer” than us regular folks… and, if elected, would probably be the first President to have a Swiss bank account.

There’s no way Romney (and other millionaires) understand the hardships that face regular people…

Speaking of Romney:

GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is the first Presidential candidate to make the ballot in Montana.  Romney filed the paperwork to be on the Montana ballot January 20.

Romney does have some organization on the ground here in Montana.

You can check out other legislative and non-legislative filings in Montana HERE.

Gingrich Preferred:

A new poll from Gallup tells us, “Republican registered voters nationally continue to prefer Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, with no sign in Gallup Daily tracking from Jan. 22-26 that Gingrich is giving back any of his recent gains.”

I’m mostly hearing from Republican faithful that Romney is too liberal for many, that he has a tendency to flip-flop…

In 2007, Romney defended his sons’ lack of military service by saying they were serving their country by helping get him elected and serving their country by taking a recreational-vehicle tour to all 99 Iowa counties.  He lost me with those comments.

Palin:  Cannibals in GOP Establishment Employ Tactics of the Left

Former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin posted her thoughts about the GOP Presidential primary on her Facebook page.

I am not all that excited about the GOP candidates and if voters are not that excited, they may stay at home.  That would be good for President Obama.

Essmann out:

Friday afternoon the Associated Press reported that Montana State Senator Jeff Essmann dropped out of the Republican primary for Governor.

He was a long shot at best – mostly because he entered the race late.

One interesting piece of information from the AP was that Essmann said he would return donations.

Heading East:

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer will give the keynote address at the 2012 Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in…Virginia.  The event is scheduled for February 11.

Back in April 2008, I wrote,

Schweitzer kind of reminds me of George C. Scott, who played Mordecai Jones in the 1967 movie, “The Flim-Flam Man.”  The synopsis tells us that Mordecai was the master of back-stabbing, cork-screwing and dirty-dealing-dealing.

So, the speech should be entertaining…

Jesus gets a hearing:

Congressman Denny Rehberg announced a hearing has been scheduled in the U.S. House about the Jesus statue on Whitefish Mountain. Read the Rehberg press release HERE.

People should not mess with Jesus…

Political Practices: Sweet 16

Lee Newspapers is reporting that 16 people have applied for the position of political practices commissioner.  As noted here on The Western Word, the deadline was Friday.

Best of luck to all the applicants…

O’Hara’s Billboards (Part II)

Back in November, I first mentioned Montana GOP Governor Candidate Jim O’Hara painting billboards of each county’s courthouse to get attention for his campaign.  Today the Great Falls Tribune is reporting, “O’Hara’s campaign may get a big boost this week.  He expects to appear on “The CBS Evening News” in a feature segment hosted by Steve Hartman either this Friday or Feb 10.”

Hartman does the “On the Road” part which usually airs on Fridays and it’s one of my favorite segments on the CBS Evening News. 

Happy Birthday:

First he was my Secretary of Defense, then my Vice President.  Happy 71st birthday to Dick Cheney.

Caught My Eye is my weekly column where I take a brief look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week – and often offer some commentary.

Today I take a look at defense/military news, how we are getting debated to death, the political practices job opening, a couple birthdays, Jeopardy, I share some e-mails from my political inbox, I celebrate a milestone on Twitter, and much more!

C-27J/BRAC:

As first Tweeted @TheWesternWord the C-27J transport plane program is slated to be eliminated by the Department of Defense (DOD).  The DOD also wants to have a couple more rounds of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure).

The Great Falls Tribune has the Montana Congressional Delegation’s response to the news HERE.  (Psst…they expressed concerns).

One thing to consider is this is just a plan put forth by the Obama Administration, but the state of Montana (or at least the Great Falls area) needs to get some people hired who do nothing but promote the state to defense companies, follow the issues surrounding the Montana military, put a plan in place to save the assets Montana has, and work with state and federal leaders in promoting the state as a place that is welcoming to the military and defense industry.  Yes, it will cost some money – and if the state and local governments can’t afford it, do some fundraising.  It’s an investment.

Debate #19:

These GOP Presidential debates are torture.  There are way too many.  The Republican Party really messed up having this many debates.  It may cost them in November.

Last night CNN hosted another one in Florida.  Overall, Rick Santorum performed well especially on the religion issues.  Newt Gingrich nailed the ultra-rich Mitt Romney over Romney’s Swiss bank account (that he initially failed to disclose) saying something like “How many Presidents do you know who have Swiss bank accounts?”

Uhhh…none.

Romney may have some serious problems over his failure to disclose.  The Los Angeles Times has the story HERE.

The next debate is February 22.

Political Practices Job:

Earn $57,689 a year and live in Helena, Montana!  Applications are due today to be Montana’s commissioner of political practices.  Four have applied already (not me).  You can get the information on where to send your application HERE.

The Governor can pick whomever he wants.

The Associated Press reports that “partisan maneuvering” is alive and well in the process.  You can read that story HERE.

As I have written many times, the political practices office is broken…

Happy Birthday:

Keith Olbermann turns 53 today!

Chief Justice John Roberts turns 57 years old today!

Who is…

Yes, I watch Jeopardy (to keep my brain functioning while I wait for the call up to the big leagues) so it was surprising the other night when MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s photo was shown and none of the contestants knew her.

You can see that moment HERE.

Jack’s Political Inbox:

Almost every week I take a few of the e-mails I received that “Caught My Eye” and share them with my faithful readers – and I add some comments.  Here are five that made the cut this week…

-Preston Elliott, the campaign manager for Jon Tester, sent me an e-mail on Thursday with the subject “Decision” in which he writes, “Jon’s right – the Montana Supreme Court decision to take a stand against Citizens United was a big deal.  But you know what other decision is a big deal?  Yours – your decision whether or not to be part of our campaign’s drive to raise the last $8,485 of our January fundraising goal.”

With all that money being raised by Tester, I would think the unemployment rate will drop to about 3% in Montana this summer after he hires about 10,000 people to work on his campaign (hopefully the campaigns will hire Montanans – you know because they push that “native Montanan” thing all the time)

-The Montana Republican Party sent me an e-mail early Tuesday afternoon with the subject, “1000 Days of No Budget” in which they sent a link to a video put out by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (WATCH HERE) and they also tell me that it only took 410 days to build the Empire State building.

That “410 days” info about the Empire State building is golden trivia information.  Thanks!

-Erik Iverson, the campaign manager for Denny Rehberg, sent me an e-mail late Tuesday afternoon with the same theme as the Montana GOP.  The subject was “1,000 days of Tester’s hypocrisy…” and Iverson asks, “Did you know it’s been 1,000 days since Senator Tester and his party bosses in the Democrat-run U.S. Senate have passed a budget?”

I heard that somewhere…

-Jim Messina, the campaign manager for Barack Obama, sent me an e-mail on Wednesday with the subject, “State of the Union” and he writes, “Last night, the President went to Congress and defined in clear terms what we’re going to be fighting for in the months ahead.  That means that right now, it’s on us to get his back and work like hell to build this campaign.  If we want to see this President re-elected, it’s time: Add your name and say you’re standing with the President — and our shared vision for this country.”

The good news for Mr. Messina and the President is that people are just not too excited about the four remaining GOP Presidential candidates (Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, and Paul) and if the voters are not too excited, they may just want to stay with the status quo (or stay home and not vote). 

-Siri Smillie, Volunteer Coordinator/Field Director for the Friends of Steve Bullock, sent me an e-mail with the subject, “The Great Bullock Bumper Sticker Challenge” where she asks, “Can you find five friends who are willing to put a Bullock bumper sticker on their car?  Just fill in their information here and we’ll send them stickers.”

Sorry, I don’t have five friends…

500+

I now have over 500 followers on Twitter!  Pop the cork!  The 500th follower is @walterpolhemuw of Chesapeake, VA.

I made it to 500 without the help of a television station.  Or a radio station!  Or a newspaper!  It was without the help of paid staff or on the government’s dime!

Add Me:

Hey campaign workers – just think if you added the western_word@yahoo.com to your media e-mail lists you might get some free publicity for your candidate.  If you followed me @TheWesternWord you would be in the know!  What are you waiting for?

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch…