It looks like the Democratic candidate for Congress, Jim Hunt, got his feelings a little hurt when he received a letter from a fellow veteran, who just happens to work for the Montana GOP.

The press release, which you can access HERE, in no way belittles Hunt’s 23 year career in the National Guard. It came from the Montana GOP, not Congressman Rehberg. It basically tells Hunt that he is breaking several regulations from the Department of Defense when he uses his military title and photos from his career in the military without a disclaimer. He should take this as a wake-up call.

It is not even close to a “Swiftboat Alert” as Hunt called his post on the Daily Kos and other websites.

I, as a former member of the military, understand that regulations must be followed, silly as some may seem – even if it costs your campaign money and valuable time to correct them.

Several candidates from the left and right have made the same mistakes. Many folks who have commented about the oversight by Mr. Hunt apparently never served in the military or took the time to read the regulations. These regulations should not be violated. Hunt should correct them immediately or possibly suffer more severe penalties than having his feelings hurt.

The good news is it now appears Hunt understands the regulations a little better. He posted a statement about it on a couple of websites, and he listed his name on the posts as “By: Lt. Col. (ret.) Jim Hunt.”

Good job.

He also listed this disclaimer at the end of his statement on his website:
(THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DOES NOT ENDORSE THIS POST.)

Wonderful.

I commend Mr. Hunt for his work in starting to clear up these violations. With a little help from friends, and maybe after making a call to the Guard’s Public Affairs or legal office for clarification on things he does not understand, he’ll get through the rough and tumble world of big-time politics.

Then he can go back to practicing law in November.