Happy Monday faithful readers – I am blessed that you stopped by – so thank you!  We are now entering April and spring fever is in full swing.

Since Saturday night was the deadline for the first quarter of fundraising, many politicians are waking up in piles of money raised (more on that below).

If you are new to Monday Morning Politics, this column is where I take a look at political stories from the past weekend and provide (sometimes snarky) commentary about them.

Today I write about a new poll, Baucus and Rehberg as The Godfather, military support, going to court with the Governor, profiles of the candidates, non-native, a big dinner, hiring veterans, I share some fundraising e-mails, I talk about the transportation bill and much more!Obama 49%, Romney 45%:

A new poll from Gallup reveals, “If asked to choose between them today, 49% of U.S. registered voters say they would vote for Barack Obama for president, while 45% would choose likely Republican opponent Mitt Romney.  While Obama’s advantage is not statistically significant, it is the largest he has had over Romney in Gallup polling to date.”

The poll also found that voter enthusiasm for Mitt Romney is dropping like a rock.

Romney does not excite voters…

Baucus and 2014:

Back on March 16, I commented about Max Baucus (Democrat) sending out a campaign e-mail and said that it probably angered the people who are running in 2012 that he would take valuable time from them to send out an e-mail.  Now according to the Associated Press, “U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is coming out with an early campaign advertisement this week and clearly making an announcement that he will run again in 2014…”

Running an advertisement does not really mean Baucus is running, but he needs to make the impression that he’ll be around or he will become inconsequential in Washington, D.C., very quickly.  He’s already feeling that here in Montana with all the attention being paid to the Tester/Rehberg contest.

The folks in the media need to understand that Max Baucus is like The Godfather (Vito Corleone) for the Montana Democrats.  On the other hand, Denny Rehberg is The Godfather for the Montana Republicans.  One does not go against the Godfather because the Godfather has “family” who will “get you.”  You must kiss the ring…and maybe other parts of the body to survive…

New Military Support:

The Montana Chamber of Commerce announced that they are forming a new military support group.  I think this is a good thing and I applaud them.

Hopefully they will put someone in charge of it who has actually served in the military…

Thumbnail Profiles:

Lee Newspapers ran a couple of stories with thumbnail profiles of candidates running for governor on both the Democratic and Republican primary tickets.  Good stuff.

For the Montana “purists” out there who think non-natives don’t quite measure up to Montana natives, it appears only two of the nine candidates were born in Montana – Democrat Steve Bullock was born in Missoula and Republican Jim O’Hara was born in Fort Benton – so your choices are easy.

Montana GOP Takes Schweitzer to District Court:

The Montana Republican Party has decided to take the ethics charges against Governor Brian Schweitzer (Democrat) to state district court.  The GOP contends the Governor used taxpayer funds to promote his own name while campaigning.

Recently, the Montana commissioner of political practices tossed out the case against Schweitzer.

On paper, one would expect the court to find Schweitzer guilty – but it all depends on the judge…

400 for Dinner:

On Saturday evening, the Yellowstone County (Billings, Montana) Republicans held their Lincoln/Reagan Dinner.  The Billings Gazette reported that almost 400 people attended the event.

Did they eat prime rib?

Hire Veterans:

According to a press release from U.S. Senator Max Baucus, “Baucus is teaming up with the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Montana Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, veterans and businesses to encourage Montana employers to hire veterans.”

That’s a good thing.

I wonder how many veterans Max Baucus, Jon Tester and Denny Rehberg have employed in their congressional offices.  If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk, right? 

Their press people can e-mail the answers to my e-mail address on the right…

Healthcare:

According to a story in the Great Falls Tribune, U.S. Senator Max Baucus (Democrat) “hopes” the Supreme Court upholds the health care law.  When asked, Congressman Denny Rehberg (Republican) used his comments to remind readers “Baucus wrote the bill and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., voted for it.”

The Supreme Court decision will be interesting…

Transportation Bill:

The Great Falls Tribune gave their opinion over the weekend about the transportation bill, writing, “The House should pass the bipartisan Senate measure and restore a level of certainty to the construction industry and to localities that depend on other aspects of the transportation bill.”

I think they should, too, but only if it’s paid for…

Fundraising Deadline:

Saturday night at midnight was the deadline for the first quarter of 2012 fundraising.  The e-mails were hitting my inbox fast and furious and Twitter was buzzing with Tweets from the candidates.

-A t 11:01 a.m. on Saturday, Erik Iverson, the Campaign Manager for Denny Rehberg, sent an e-mail with the line, “But Senator Tester and his special-interest allies will say and do anything — including spending millions on false and misleading attack ads — to keep Tester and President Obama in office.”

“Say and do anything.”   Of course!

-At 11:03 a.m. Jon Tester’s campaign sent me an e-mail writing, “I’m no stranger to close races.  And I’ve learned that it’s days like today that can make the difference between winning and losing.  The $10 you give before you head out to enjoy this Saturday could get us to our goal and put us on track to win.”

I wanted to “head out,” but the cost of gas prevented me from going anywhere…

–U.S. Senator Al Franken (writing for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) sent an e-mail with the subject, “Pythagorean.”  He writes, “Democrats are facing a real algebra problem.  X = President Romney. Y = a Republican Senate.  X + Y = Z. Solve for Z.”

I miss Al Franken the comedian…he was a lot funnier than the math teacher….

-The John Kerry for Senate campaign sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Jon Tester and you” where he writes, “We need to keep Jon in the United States Senate.  Unfortunately, Montana is being targeted by big money groups and secretive special interests looking to influence the next election.  Jon needs help now, before the FEC deadline on March 31st, to show that his network of support is strong and ready.”

Everyone has special interests going after them it seems…

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