Tag Archives: Steve Bullock

Caught My Eye…

Ah yes…it is Friday!  Congrats for almost making it to another weekend (hold on for a few more hours).  Some of you will be getting a three-day weekend (President’s Day is Monday) so enjoy it.  Hey – why not just take off from work right now and get a head start on your weekend?

Of course, you need to read “Caught My Eye” first.

If you are new around here, then you need to know that Caught My Eye is posted almost every Friday morning right here!  This is the highly-read column where I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to comment about during the week, and I often add a touch of sarcasm.  By the way, everyone and everything is fair game…

Today I write about electronic signatures, countries we like, a big haul in D.C., constituent services, Rumsfeld and Rehberg, VA claims backlog, more thanks, a job offer, Kennedy, I share e-mails from my political inbox, and there’s a lot more!

Continue reading →

Caught My Eye…

There you are – you made it through this long week and Friday is well underway – Congratulations!  So now you deserve to take a few minutes of your time to enjoy another exciting edition of Caught My Eye.

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!

Continue reading →

Montana Governor 2012: It’s Sonju!

Yesterday Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill announced that he had selected State Senator Jon Sonju as his running mate.  Before I get into my analysis of the pick and because not many people outside GOP and legislative circles know him, here’s what the Hill Campaign had to say about state Senator Jon Sonju (taken from their press release):

From working in his dad’s body shop growing-up to helping expand his family’s Kalispell based manufacturing business, Sonju Industrial, Jon understands the challenges business owners face. Elected to the Montana Legislature in 2004, he has served in both the State House and the State Senate. During his time in the legislature he has been a consistent advocate for economic opportunity, smaller government, and the protection of our personal freedoms. Jon was born and raised in the Flathead Valley where he still resides today. He and his wife Tania have two young children, Jacob (6) and Brett (3).

Sounds like an all-American selection!

It was interesting yesterday what happened leading up to this big announcement (in a couple of ways) and it was interesting what the Montana Democrats had to say about the selection. Continue reading →

Monday Morning Politics

Happy Monday – and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from Dr. King:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Great quotes from a great man!

Almost every Monday I take a look at some of the political stories that I happened to catch over the weekend and put them in one place for all to see – I sometimes add a little commentary!

Today I take a look at Obama and Montana, the Montana political practices office, Huntsman, Forest Jobs and Recreation compromise, Bullock on MSNBC, and much more!

Continue reading →

Thursday Numbers

Happy Thursday – just one more day and you’ve made it to the weekend – so hold on!

If this is your first time reading “Thursday Numbers” this column is where I take a look at the numbers behind the news and provide some commentary with them.

You can also use this information to amaze your friends, family, and co-workers – and you may even seem cooler to them after sharing this information!

Today I take a look at campaign fundraising, a costly misstep, unemployment, the USDA, a couple of birthdays, beef on planes, football, and a class action lawsuit – so read on!

Continue reading →

Montana Governor 2012: Hey Mate?

With the date to start filing for office in Montana on Thursday (January 12), I started thinking about an e-mail I received way back in early September from the Rick Hill for Governor Campaign.  That e-mail was dated September 8 with the subject “Next steps” and it contained this paragraph:

Though I’ve been on the road full time for months now, we’re in the process of ramping up our campaign and expanding our effort.  In the coming weeks you’ll see my campaign name a running mate, bring on additional campaign staff, and roll out new policy proposals to address all the problems we’ve identified and studied in the past few months.

That was over 120 days from today – a whole football season ago! Continue reading →

Caught My Eye…

Oh yes…we made it to Friday, so congratulations!

Thanks for stopping by The Western Word for the first “Caught My Eye” of 2012.  If this is your first time visiting, Caught My Eye is my weekly column where I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week.  I sometimes offer my personal commentary, too.

This week I cover a lot!  I write about recess appointments, unemployment, campaign money, travels, I peek inside my political inbox, and I write about twins.  Enjoy! Continue reading →

Caught My Eye…

We’ve almost made it to the end of 2011 – and if you are like me, I look ahead to 2012 with great anticipation.

Thanks for stopping by The Western Word for the final Caught My Eye of 2011.  May you, your family, and friends enjoy the New Year’s celebration!

Please…please don’t drink and drive.

If this is your first time visiting, Caught My Eye is my weekly column where I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week.  I sometimes offer commentary, too.

This week I share some 2011 lists, a swap for VP, banished words, a turkey, I peek inside my political inbox and share, and much more!  Since you’re probably not going to get much work done today, take a few minutes and enjoy today’s column!

Continue reading →

Caught My Eye…

Happy Friday my faithful readers!  Thank you so much for stopping by and taking a look at another edition of Caught My Eye!

The Christmas parties are in full swing and, if you are like me, your calendar is filling up quickly with all the invitations from friends to speak and even to just show up and be seen!  It’s a fabulous life I lead being the publisher of The Western Word…eating the free food and never having to buy a drink…

That last paragraph was a joke – I have very few friends…

If you are new to these parts, Caught My Eye is where I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week and comment about them – sometimes I add a little sarcasm.

Today I take a look at Newt and the war, a naughty deputy, veterans vote and my need for a consultant’s check, a dog, women and Iraq, the omnibus, and I peek inside my political inbox and share!

Continue reading →

Montana Governor 2012: Toss-up

Besides the U.S. Senate race in Montana next year being close, the Montana Governor’s race is shaping up to be the same way (only with less money).

For all of us watching and commenting about the political process, it will be fun!  Right now it looks like the contest will be between Republican Rick Hill and Democrat Steve Bullock.

For those folks who are unfamiliar with the two, Hill is a former Congressman and Bullock is the current Montana Attorney General.  The current Montana Governor, Brian Schweitzer, is term-limited.

Recently a new Public Policy Polling poll was released and, overall, Hill leads Bullock 39-38, but 23% are undecided. According to PPP, “The margin of error for the entire survey is +/-2.4%, and +/-4.1% for the Democratic primary portion.”

After taking a couple of days to digest the results of the latest PPP data, here are a few things that stood out to me:

Continue reading →