Former Republican Lt. Governor and current Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Bohlinger has played the game of politics pretty well this past week. Some observers might think his actions are straight from (former Governor) Brian Schweitzer’s playbook. Bohlinger was Schweitzer’s Lt. Governor.

Schweitzer’s gimmicks and actions always included getting the media to play along, and Bohlinger has accomplished that feat like an honor roll student.

Last Tuesday night Bohlinger told folks attending the Lewis and Clark County Democratic Central Committee dinner in Helena of his intentions to run for U.S. Senate, and a story was published about it the next day.

Last Wednesday when Republican Steve Daines was holding a “special event” in Bozeman to announce his U.S. Senate candidacy, Bohlinger told Lee Newspapers:

We need to challenge the tea party representatives who like the Taliban shut our country down,” Bohlinger told reporters, comparing it to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the terrorists’ actions on Sept. 11, 2001.

That statement sent the Tea Party crowd over the edge – and sent the Daines announcement to the back page.

But the fun was just beginning… 

Yesterday Bohlinger told a local CBS reporter that “U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) told him not to run for the U.S. Senate next year, saying he didn’t want to see a Democratic primary in the race for the seat being vacated by Max Baucus (D-MT).”

Current Lt. Governor John Walsh has announced his intentions to run for U.S. Senate.

Normally candidates don’t disclose their communications from those on high, but since Harry Reid is liked in Montana about as much as the flu, Bohlinger played his cards well saying D.C. insiders were meddling in Montana politics.

Then Bohlinger found out that Walsh was heading to D.C. to attend a fundraiser hosted by Montana’s two Democratic U.S. Senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, with special guest New York Senator Charles Schumer. Bohlinger reportedly asked about Schumer, “What the hell does he have to say about Montana and its politics?”

Bohlinger is also ticked off at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for getting involved in the primary.

Right now Bohlinger is like a fly that is buzzing around a Sunday afternoon family picnic. He’s getting noticed some, and he’s a little annoying to those attending. So far they have not swatted him, but if he lands on the food too much and becomes a bigger annoyance, watch out.

Now, if the Republicans could find someone to “annoy” Daines, this could become really exciting…

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