Welcome to Monday and Monday Morning Politics! Monday Morning Politics is brought to you by the number 43 today – there are just 43 days until General Election Day (Nov. 6) and just 15 days until absentee ballots are mailed (Oct. 9 in Montana).

Yes, even I think the campaign ads are getting pretty old…

Today I take a look at voting, I analyze the latest Senate and House polls, I write about a fundamentally misleading ad, I comment about a reporter coming to the rescue, I share the quote of the weekend, I mention the Senate blocking the transfer of F-15s, I share the disappointment with a Congressman, I laugh at the talking animals, and there’s much more!

Montana’s Absent Military/Overseas Citizen Voters:

If you fit into one of those categories of voters then you can now vote! According to the Montana Secretary of State’s website, “The Secretary of State’s Electronic Absentee System (EAS) for Montana’s Absent Military and Overseas Citizen Voters is now available. Register and vote using this system beginning September 21, 2012.”

Check out the website HERE.

MT Senate Poll Results:

A new Lee Newspaper Poll conducted by Mason Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C., finds that Republican Denny Rehberg leads Democrat Jon Tester 48% – 45% with 1% going to Libertarian Dan Cox. Six percent are undecided. The poll was conducted September 17-19 and the plus/minus is 4%.

How does that compare to the Tester’s last campaign in 2006? From October 17-19, 2006, Mason Dixon Polling & Research conducted a poll on the Conrad Burns/Jon Tester race that showed Tester leading Burns 46% to 43% with 9% undecided. Libertarian Stan Jones had 2%.

I think the latest poll is pretty accurate, but I am a little suspicious of only 1% going to Libertarian Dan Cox. Just a couple of weeks ago, a poll showed Tester leading by two points and Dan Cox was pulling 8%.

The rollercoaster ride for the candidates and campaign workers must be tough – will any of them break?

With the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House on recess until after the election, we’ll see a whole bunch of staffers taking “personal” and “vacation” time to come to Montana to work for their candidate.

This race will be decided by who can “Get Out To Vote” (GOTV) best…

Baloney Ad:

Lee Newspapers did a check of the Denny Rehberg’s new campaign ad called “Giants.” It’s another ad mentioning “baloney” several times. You can watch it HERE.

The bottom line about Rehberg’s ad, according to Lee Newspapers, is “While some of the claims in this aid may be true in a technical sense, its three basic accusations are, at best, debatable, and, at worst, fundamentally misleading.”

By the way, I like fried baloney…

To the Rescue?

Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick has popped up in a Montana U.S. Senate race again, this time writing a story called, “Senate Considers Political Polar Bear Bill” about the Senate Democrats attempting to help Jon Tester.

Jalonick wrote about the U.S. Senate race in Montana back in 2006 and, in my opinion, her reporting heavily favored Tester. Maybe she’s back to help her friend…

Quote of the Weekend:

In this story about Jon Tester’s sportsmen’s bill, the senator seemed to be frustrated with Washington, D.C. The Associated Press reported:

“That might take some of the politics out of it and if we ever made a decision here without politics it would be an earth shattering day,” Tester said. “This bill right here is a prime example of what is wrong in Washington, D.C. – it’s being held up for no reason whatsoever.”

Jon Tester needs to repeat after me, “It’s all about the next election in Washington, D.C.” “It’s all about the next election in Washington, D.C.” “It’s all about the next election in Washington, D.C.”

Senate Blocks Transfer of F-15s:

KFBB television in Great Falls is reporting that the Montana Air National Guard’s F-15s will be staying in Montana “well into next year” according to Senator Jon Tester.

One interesting thing was the last line of the story, “Calls to Denny Rehberg’s camp have not been returned.”

I feel for you KFBB – the Rehberg campaign does not respond very well to The Western Word, either.

Daines Leads Gillan:

Lee Newspapers released the results of the U.S. House poll reporting, “46 percent say they’ll vote for (Steve) Daines while 38 percent pick (Kim) Gillan. Two percent say they’ll vote for Libertarian Dave Kaiser and 14 percent are undecided.”

Many folks don’t know the candidates and with 14% being undecided, the candidate who has the most money to get their name recognition and message out will probably win the race. That favors Daines.

Although I am sure that Steve Daines is proud of his great-great-grandmother, frankly the ad is getting very old. I am hoping his campaign puts a new ad on the airwaves soon.

Rehberg Disappointed:

On Saturday, Denny Rehberg released a statement saying,

“I’m disappointed that the House and Senate have decided to adjourn with so much unfinished work to do. Any hard-working Montanan knows you don’t leave work before the work’s done. The House needs to act on the Farm Bill before it expires. The Senate has even more unfinished business on its plate. Folks in Montana are upset and so am I. There’s no reason members of Congress should get paid if they can’t get their work done, which is why I introduced legislation to stop Congressional pay checks from going out the door if Congress heads out the door prematurely.”

So are we, Congressman. So are we…

Talking Animals:

Question: What does a buck, a duck, a wolf, an antelope, a trout, and Senator Jon Tester have in common?

Answer: They are in a campaign video for Tester. Watch it HERE. The best line is the trout saying, “That’s where they hooked me” which received a chuckle from me.

I am not sure the use of talking animals will get Tester to the promised land of another six-year term. I think Denny Rehberg may have crashed and burned using wolves in a campaign video back in 1996 when he ran against Max Baucus…

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