And summer is rolling on…and it’s Friday!  That means it is time for Caught My Eye.

First, please keep the folks who live in Aurora, Colorado, in your prayers today as they suffer through the tragedy that happened last night.

If this is your first time visiting The Western Word (TWW), the “Caught My Eye” column is posted every Friday morning right here!  Here is where I take a quick look at some of the stories I did not have time to write or comment about during the week – and I often throw in a touch of sarcasm just to make you smile – so get ready to slide into your weekend armed with knowledge and a smile!

Today I talk about the Cancer ad war, the Montana GOP and Bullock, Special Operations for America, Santorum in Montana, complying with roadblocks, Obama and Small Business, Romney and taxes, Michele Bachmann, and I crack open my political inbox and share! There’s a lot more so read on…

Cancer Ad War:

First we had the Jon Tester for Senate campaign release a video on July 11 called, “Rehberg’s Wrong Priorities” that showed a cancer survivor and she talked Rehberg voting to eliminate breast cancer screenings.  It also showed Rehberg looking kind of goofy in a cowboy hat.  As of this morning it had 1,861 views.  You can watch it HERE.

Then on July 17, the Denny Rehberg for Senate campaign fired back with a video called “Heart” that showed Rehberg’s mother talking about Denny and her fight with cancer.  She says Jon Tester is playing politics with a deadly disease.  As of this morning it had 1,606 views.  You can watch it HERE.

Both are good ads and hard-hitting.  Rehberg’s ad might be more powerful if it featured someone he helped besides his mother – most mothers love their sons and would do anything for them.  Also, when a family member participates in campaign ads or sends e-mails on behalf of their relative who is running for elective office, it makes them fair game.  Overall, I’d give Tester the win in this little ad war.

MT GOP and Bullock:

In case you missed it, the Montana Republican Party was in court on Thursday regarding Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Bullock raising campaign money without declaring the office he was seeking on compliance forms.

This is an interesting case and I don’t know what the outcome will be.  I do think the Montana GOP may have a friendly ear with the judge in this case.  Everyone knows the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices office is broken beyond repair – it would be nice if the Democrats, Republicans, and the new governor would sit down in January and work together to change it…

Special Operations for America (SOFA):

According to this press release, “State Senator and Former Commander at SEAL TEAM SIX; Ryan Zinke, has announced the formation of Special Operations for America (SOFA). SOFA will advocate for the election of Mitt Romney and like-minded candidates who want to bring true leadership back to Washington and who believe in permanent and enduring American Exceptionalism.”

The Daily Inter Lake reported that other members of SOFA are former Army Brigadier General and Bigfork resident Paul Vallely and former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns.

To each his own, but Mitt Romney is not that strong an advocate for veterans/military.  In 2007/08 Mitt Romney defended his sons’ lack of military service and said they were serving their country by helping get him elected – by taking a recreational-vehicle tour to all 99 Iowa counties.  He later apologized, but those comments showed he lacks respect for the job veterans and military members do on a daily basis.

Santorum in Montana:

The Great Falls Tribune is reporting this morning that former Senator and Presidential candidate Rick Santorum will be in Cascade (MT) this Sunday to hold a fundraiser for U.S. House candidate Steve Daines.

According to the Tribune, “A donation of $1,500 gets the donor access to a VIP reception, private round table and a photo with the VIPs.  A $1,000 donation gets a donor into the VIP reception and a photo. Otherwise, $50 per person or $75 per couple gets donors into the event, where the country band The Ringling 5 will perform.”

I wonder if Steve Daines is thinking, “This is the largest event ever in the history of Montana politics.”

Political Inbox:

Every week I receive e-mails from candidates, elected officials, and/or groups (from all political parties) promoting a cause, many just hoping they get mentioned (in a kind and gentle way) on The Western Word website!  I select a few each week that “Caught My Eye” and share them with my readers.  I picked four that I think you will enjoy…

-The Tester for Senate Campaign sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Join us for the third annual Day on the Farm!”  For $50 per person attendees can get an afternoon of family fun, a barbecue, drink some Montana brews, and listen to music.  The event is September 8.  For $500 you get the day on the farm and dinner that evening at the Grand Union Hotel in Fort Benton.

Maybe attendees can drink beer and drive the tractor around the farm…

-The Rehberg for Senate Campaign sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Cancer” in which his campaign manager writes, “If you’ve been watching television at all lately, odds are you’ve seen some nasty, false attacks against Denny.”  He then introduces the video with Rehberg’s mother.

I do send my best wishes to the Congressman’s mother…

–Governor Brian Schweitzer sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Our Next Attorney General” in which he said, “Pam Bucy is the only candidate in this race with the experience to be our state’s top cop.  She’s the only candidate in the race that has argued in front of the Montana Supreme Court.”  He also introduced a video from the Bucy campaign.

The Bucy/Fox race will be interesting…

-On Monday, the Montana Republican Party sent me one of those e-mails with long subject lines, “Tester, Liberal Party Bosses Threaten To Drive Country Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ In Quest To Raise Taxes” saying, “In yet another reminder of their out-of-touch agenda, liberal Senator Jon Tester’s Washington party bosses today threatened to drive America over a “fiscal cliff” if Republicans don’t agree to raise taxes on job-creators.”

We may need to raise taxes to get out of this mess…

Comply with all Roadblocks:

The Livingston Enterprise reported that former state legislator and gubernatorial running mate “Joel Boniek, 51, of Paradise Valley, was arrested on misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer, resisting arrest and fleeing from or eluding a peace officer” on Wednesday.

The Enterprise also reported, “Boniek allegedly got out of his pickup truck and refused to comply with officers’ orders to turn around and place his hands behind his back. He allegedly argued with the officers and eventually “dropped his left hand near what looked like a holster” before a deputy brought him to the ground, the probable cause statement reads.  The deputy removed a loaded handgun from the holster, according to court documents.”

That was not a smart move…

Romney Taxes:

It’s an issue that is not going away and now there’s a new Gallup poll showing that 53% of the all-important independent voters think Mitt Romney should release more than two years of tax returns.  Even 30% of Republicans polled said he should release more returns.

Plus Ann Romney added fuel to the issue when she talked down to us peasants saying we’ve “given all you people need to know.”

Apparently the Romneys are just better than us…

Obama and Small Business:

Last week while I was on the road I got to listen first hand to the spin being put out by the right for the two lines in THIS SPEECH from President Obama where he said, “If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.”

For most of the day after this speech, FOX News replayed those lines over and over and brought in people to say how terrible the President was to small businesses.

When I heard the speech I understood what he meant, but I bet he’d like to have those to sentences back because they have been misconstrued to cause him problems.  Here’s the whole paragraph with those sentences and two paragraphs afterwards:

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.  Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.  There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own.  I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service.  That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together.

Bachmann Should Go:

Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) has stepped in it (again).  This time she said Huma Abedin, who is one of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top aides, has family members with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  A “fringe group of conservatives” in the U.S. House agree with Bachmann.

Thankfully officials like Senator John McCain have stood up for Abedin.  Bachmann is well-known for saying stupid things.  She has become more of a joke than a representative.  It is time for her to leave public life and quit embarrassing the United States.

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord