A “Blue Collar Place”

According to a story in Sunday’s Great Falls Tribune, Governor Brian Schweitzer has a new home being built near Georgetown Lake that he recently showed to some of the media. It’s a 4000 square-foot home built on a couple lots that cost about $2 million (the lots cost about $2 million, not the home).

I really have no problem with the Governor spending his hard-earned money on a nice home with a view of a lake. During his next term, he’ll be able to get away a few times to relax and drink some beer he can get from the Budweiser executive that lives down the shore a ways.

The Governor said that area was a “blue collar place” and that brings the lyrics to mind from a great rock band called “Styx” and their song, “Blue Collar Man.” Others may call his remarks off the wall (or nastier), but if you can spend $2 million on a couple lots to build a nice home on, you can call it a “Blue Collar Place,” “The Ponderosa,” or anything your heart desires as far as I am concerned. I don’t live in his blue collar world.

For those of you who have the “Blue Collar Man” song in your head now, here are some of the lyrics (Come on, lets sing along): Give me a job, give me security, Give me a chance to survive, I’m just a poor soul in the unemployment line, My god, I’m hardly alive, My mother and father, my wife and my friends, I see them laugh in my face. But I’ve got the power, and I’ve got the will I’m not a charity case…I’ll take those long nights, impossible odds, Keeping my eye to the keyhole, If it takes all that to be just what i am, I’m gonna be a blue collar man.

76 Senators have been to Iraq

It does not appear from the information in this article that Max Baucus and Jon Tester have visited Iraq. We can give Tester a “hall pass” for not going yet, since he’s only been in office for nine months. But, there’s this thing called “August Recess” coming up, so maybe he should pack his bags and go and get a first-hand look since he’s been so vocal about the war. I’m sure there’s a few trips planned by Senators and Representatives.

Baucus, on the other hand, really has no good reason that I can find for not going there in the last four years.

On the other hand, as a veteran I can tell you most of the troops don’t really care if Senators and Representatives come to visit or not. It’s helping the Senator and Representive fill a block, get a talking point, and it’s all about winning the next election to them. When they return from the trip, the senator or representative will show us their “official” photos with them talking to the troops, eating with them, and telling them how proud they are of their sacrifices. They do it for almost all their visits at events, so they can use them later. You can bet some of these photos will show up in their next campaign. You can see some already on their respective official websites.

I never really cared about getting ready for a VIP visit. It wasted my time, messed with my schedule and did not really excite me, although one time the cookies on Christmas morning from the General tasted really good.

Keenan in the Crosshairs

The Montana Democrats are very good with their “first strike” capability. They don’t play defense very often. They are on offense most of the time. If this was football I would say offense wins some games, but defense wins championships. But it’s politics, so offense is the only way to go – shove the ball down their throats, make em play defense all the time – never let them score. If I ran a campaign, that’s the way I would do it.

They already have some talking points up on their website about Bob Keenan and “all the terrible things he’s done.” The Democrats also have the website under their control called, www.bobkeenan.com.

Keenan may run in the Republican primary against Mike Lange with the winner taking on Max Baucus. For Lange, the Democrats only have a link to his tyraid that was caught on video and made a YouTube moment, so it appears the democrats feel Keenan is more of a threat…if he enters the race.

So it looks like the Montana Democrats are on top of their game, but it’s just the pre-season before the election of 2008 so there may be a few fumbles or interceptions along the way.