Congratulations on making it to Friday! We are now just 11 days from Election Day 2012.

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

Today I write about Rick Hill’s money, the Inter Lake editorial, the Republican Governor’s Association, Fox returns money, don’t sign the checks, the libel suit, the worst campaign ad, the Rolling Stone interview, Sununu crashes, I crack open my political inbox and share, and there’s a lot more to make your Friday go by more quickly.

Rick Hill’s Money:

The Rick Hill for Montana Governor campaign suffered a severe blow when a state district court judge issued the temporary restraining order over the $500,000 donation Hill received during the six days when some believed there were no donation limits in Montana. The judge ordered Hill to stop spending the money and cancel the ads bought with the money until the legality is decided. The Associated Press has the story HERE.

We can argue the legality of the donation during those six days (I think it is legal, but the court will make the final decision), but the issue that I (and several of my remaining friends have) is that it appears nobody in the Hill campaign thought about how taking a half-million dollars would look to the average voter. He looked like a desperate candidate grasping for straws…

Daily Inter Lake: “If no law exists, no illegality exists”

Late Wednesday, the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake newspaper chimed in on Rick Hill’s donation issue saying, “…no court will be able to find Hill guilty of any wrong-doing.” The Hill campaign quickly sent a press release about the editorial saying it was, “A must read” and at the end adding, “What a glaring scrutiny of Bullock’s brazen political maneuvering in an attempt to steal this election.”

I’m thinking at campaign rallies Rick Hill’s supporters should shout: “If the law doesn’t exist you must acquit!”

Republican Governor’s Association:

According to the Associated Press, the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) was the donor of $685,000 to the Montana Republican Party which in turn donated it to Rick Hill and Attorney General Candidate Tim Fox.

I figured it was the RGA. I did think the Executive Director of the Montana GOP declining “to identify the sources of the money, but said it would show up when the state party files its next campaign finance report later this month” made the issue smell a little more.  Lee Newspapers has that story HERE.

Fox Returns $32k:

Montana Republican Attorney General Candidate Tim Fox returned the $32,000 he received during the time when some believed there were no donation limits in Montana. His campaign told the Associated Press that Fox had enough of the “political pingpong the courts are playing with this issue.”

Maybe it was because his opponent, Democrat Pam Bucy, filed a lawsuit to prevent him from spending it? Nonetheless, sending it back was a smart move by the Fox Campaign. I am sure the Montana Republican Party will be able to spend it in the next 11 days…

Don’t Sign the Checks:

Just when Democrat Steve Bullock (running for Montana Governor) was cruising along watching his opponent have some problems, his campaign made an error. The Associated Press reported, “The state deputy commissioner for political practices says Steve Bullock’s campaign violated election rules by writing 11 checks that were signed by someone other than the campaign’s treasurer or deputy treasurer.”

This is not a big deal, although someone should slap his campaign manager and tell him or her to wake up and get in the game…

Good luck with that:

Republican U.S. House candidate Steve Daines’ former boss filed a lawsuit against Montana Democratic Party for libel. The Associated Press (AP) has the story HERE. The AP reports, “RightNow Technologies founder Greg Gianforte says Democrats distributed print ads alleging the company was built with government contracts and then shipped jobs overseas. The lawsuit filed last week argues the claims are false.”

Now everyone knows…

Worst Campaign Ad?

According to The Hill, “The Republican super-PAC Now or Never will soon air an ad spoofing Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) trademark buzz cut to tie him to President Obama.”

You can watch the ad HERE. In my opinion, this ad is so freaking bad that it reminds me of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) ads of the past.

Jack’s Political Inbox:

I subscribe to receive updates from candidates, elected officials, and/or groups (from all political parties). Several others just send me their info without me asking just hoping they get mentioned (in a kind and gentle way) here at The Western Word! So each week I select a few that “Caught My Eye” and share them with my readers – and sometimes poke fun at them. This week I picked five that I think you will enjoy…

-The campaign of U.S. Senator Jon Tester sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Know what next Wednesday is?” which I thought was a reminder about it being Halloween. I was mistaken. They wrote, “Next Wednesday is the last day in October — and our deadline to hit our $200,000 goal for the month. We’re still about $20,000 away. That means we need 2,000 supporters to give $10 in a week.”

What costumes should Jon Tester and Denny Rehberg wear for Halloween? Leave your ideas in the comment section…

-Dave Hoffman, the campaign manager for Democratic U.S. House candidate Kim Gillan, sent me an e-mail with the subject, “Reinforcements” in which he writes, “Today Steve Daines showed his true colors by holding a secret, closed-door fundraiser with Tea Party Leader Eric Cantor. Eric Cantor would not be in Montana twelve days before Election Day if Republicans felt comfortable about this race.”

I believe that Eric Cantor is one of the problems in Washington…

-The Montana Republican Party sent me an e-mail with the subject, “MTGOP releases judge’s 100% partisan contribution record” in which they write, “Helena District Court Judge Kathy Seeley, a 100% Democrat donor, recently ruled against Rick Hill, the Republican nominee for Governor, in a campaign-finance case. This came after Federal District Court judge Dana Christiansen, an Obama appointee with thousands of dollars of donations to Montana Democrats, sent the case to Seeley’s court.”

IMHO judges should not donate to candidates, as it sometimes raises concerns about their impartiality (see above). And while I am on my soapbox, judges should be appointed to the bench and not run for election. It makes them look like whores to the political system (although it makes it easier for me to get out of jury duty).

-The Montana Democratic Party sent me a press release with the subject, “Rehberg Backers AFP Bring Anti-Medicare Message to Montana.” They contend, “The out-of-state Americans for Prosperity is touring Montana to support Congressman Dennis Rehberg and his plan to end Medicare as we know it. Like Congressman Rehberg, AFP is a supporter of Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan to privatize Medicare by turning it into a voucher system.”

I think people are worried about Paul Ryan’s stand on several issues….

-Brock Lowrance, the campaign manager for Republican governor candidate Rick Hill, sent me an e-mail with the subject, “The voters or the courts–who should decide this race” in which he writes, “Sue ’em Steve Bullock’ has has [sic] resigned himself to the fact that he can’t beat us on the issues. He wants a judge to decide this election in his favor, instead of waging a fair fight at the ballot box. Yesterday, a District Court Judge ordered our campaign to take down all our campaign advertising. There was no hearing, no briefs, no arguments, no notice, just an abusive order. It’s unprecedented, it’s outrageous, and there is no doubt that Steve believes it will allow him to steal this election.”

In my opinion, I think the attempt to get District Court Judge Kathy Seeley to recuse herself from the case may end up costing the Hill campaign valuable time in the last 11 days of the election. If the Montana Republicans feel that Hill broke no laws, then the quickest decision possible would be the most helpful to the campaign instead of having that decision delayed because of a recusal request and finding a new judge.

Obama – The Rolling Stone Interview:

OK, Obama said a dirty word in the Rolling Stone interview. OMG!!!! He was quoted saying “the other guy” is a bull*******.

The folks on the far right were not amused by Obama’s choice of words (imagine that). I wonder if Fox News will be doing a special about it this weekend…

John Sununu crashes:

On CNN Mitt Romney surrogate John Sununu was asked about former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsing Barack Obama. Sununu said, “Well, I think when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being president of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him.”

Shameful. Sununu finally crashed. Sununu comes across as an angry old man and has a history of saying things like that. I even tweeted several days ago “John Sununu is such an angry man. Is this really the type of person Romney wants speaking for him?”

Sununu has backed away from his remarks according to this article.

Happy Birthdays:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton turns 65 years old today. Jaclyn Smith of Charlie’s Angels fame is 67, and Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune is 66.

One More Thing:

Don’t forget to stretch…