It’s official. Congressman Denny Rehberg announced his 2008 reelection bid this morning in Billings. He’s running for a fifth term as Montana’s Congressman. His announcement was webcast via dennyrehberg.com.

Some Montanans are probably sad that Rehberg decided not to run against Max Baucus again. I’d like to have seen that contest. Baucus is probably the happiest that Rehberg is running for reelection in the House. One could almost hear the cheers from Max’s seven Senate offices and from his eight campaign offices when Rehberg made his announcement. Max does have some competition. It seems almost every Republican has decided they want a chance to take on Max. I think there are six at last count. Maybe it had something to do with St. Patrick’s Day…and alcohol?

But, back to Rehberg’s announcement: I believe that Rehberg has been very good for Montana. Having a Congressional District that covers a whole state, compared to a few square miles as some Representatives do, Rehberg has worked hard to visit every Montana County each term. Rehberg employs a very professional staff. When I have met them, you can tell they actually care about Montanans and the issues we face. They work extremely hard to cover this vast state, and with less people and resources than our two senators.

Rehberg’s importance to Montana grew significantly when he landed a coveted seat on the House Appropriations Committee a few years ago. With the defeat of Conrad Burns in 2006, Rehberg’s the only person from the Montana Congressional delegation with a seat at the appropriations table. He can actually deliver federal dollars to this state, instead of just talking about it, copying press releases or writing a letter to an agency and releasing it to the press. His spot on the Appropriations Committee has made Rehberg, in my opinion, the most valuable member of Montana’s Congressional delegation.

With the takeover of the Senate and House by the Democrats in 2006, we’ve seen record high gas prices and a stock market that has lost over 1000 points. We’ve seen the approval rating of the Democrat-controlled Congress dip to an all-time low. We’ve seen an America that is less safe, but we’ve seen the Democratic majority hold hearings on such important things as baseball players shooting themselves in the butt with performance-enhancing drugs. Finally, if the Democrats are allowed to stay in the majority, you can bet we’ll see huge tax increases. I can’t afford more taxes.

Montana can’t start at the bottom of the seniority ladder in the 435 member House of Representatives. During this campaign, you can bet the Democrats will use their dirty playbook from 2006 to try and defeat Rehberg. Montanans can’t fall for that again.

Rehberg is not a perfect candidate. No candidate is. But he has shown that he will stand his ground for what is good for Montana, even if it means going against his party’s President. Rehberg has also shown that being a hard worker and by surrounding yourself with good people, you can do an outstanding job as Montana’s only member of the U.S. House of Representatives. That is why Jack the Blogger believes he deserves another term.