President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address contained these words, “…to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan…”

In what used to be the norm, most members of Congress served in some capacity with the United States Military. These days they are harder to find roaming the halls of Congress.

Montana is home to over 100,000 veterans (I am one of them) so this voting bloc can make a big difference in a statewide race. Since Conrad Burns was defeated in 2006 by Jon Tester, Montana has not had a military veteran serving in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House. Congressman Pat Williams was the last U.S. Representative from Montana to serve in the military.

It was really no surprise to me that U.S. Senator Jon Tester brought forth the Veterans issue after hearing that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann proposes to cut $4.5 billion from the Veterans Administration (VA). Frankly, I am surprised that Bachmann would propose these cuts although the chances of VA funding being cut are very slim. But there it was – posted on her website (PDF).

EDITOR’S NOTE Feb 5:  On February 4, Congresswoman Bachmann issued a press release that said, in part, “One point on my discussion list was a $4.5 billion proposal that would affect payments made to our veterans. That discussion point has received a lot of attention and I have decided to remove it from consideration.”  You may read the whole press release HERE. 

Bachmann is speaking at the Lewis and Clark County Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinner in Helena on Saturday night. Congressman Denny Rehberg may announce his intentions to challenge Tester for Montana’s junior U.S. Senate seat at this dinner – at least that’s what everyone is counting on and reporting about.

On Twitter Wednesday afternoon Tester posted, “Rehberg will announce his candidacy for Senate next to Michele Bachmann. Will he call for cuts to vet benefits too?”

Snap. Crackle. Pop. In a Roll Call article posted today, it is reported that “House Republican leaders have a simple strategy for dealing with Rep. Michele Bachmann: Ignore her.”

For good or bad, Bachmann is now part of the 2012 U.S. Senate race here in Montana; she can’t be ignored here.

Tester knows, just as most people who follows politics, that VA benefits are sacred. It has been since the mid-1980s the last year VA funding(PDF) was cut. Perception is the key and perception can win or lose votes. Tester’s campaign team knows this.

Plus if you have a lazy reporter (which Montana has a plenty) misinformation can spread like a forest fire in a wilderness area.

Tester commented “I’ve got a very, very strong record on veterans…” during a recent interview, which went unchallenged by the reporter. Tester does have an inside track on veterans issues, not because he has done anything spectacular, or due to a strong record, but because he has a seat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (which for some reason has very few veterans, Tester included).

The VA is better now than it was last year. It’s better now than it was in 2000. It is better now than 1990, 1980, and so on. It’s better in Montana, too.

Most of the VA clinics across Montana were opened long before Tester became a Senator – when Burns and Rehberg were on the VA/Military Appropriations committees in the Senate and House – and the plans to expand most other VA facilities were planned long before Tester took the oath. Tester did get the VA mileage reimbursement increased and does deserve a tip of the hat for that.

While veterans’ benefits are a hot-button issue, the fact is nobody will allow a third-term Congresswoman from Minnesota to cut any benefits for any veteran.

The question is will the voters (not to mention the media) understand this…Jon Tester hopes they don’t.