The State Election Board can reject the birther complaint on its agenda tomorrow on purely technical grounds, without comment on the merits of right-wing serial handout seeker Thomas Scheveck's irresponsible lies. South Dakota Republican Party executive director Tony Post should have just a bit more to say.
I don't ask for much from Post, just a simple acknowledgement of fact: President Barack Obama is an American citizen, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Just a few words would establish that Post has just a shred of character and commitment to truth.
Character and truth... oh, darn, I am asking Post for a lot.
The SDGOP exec manages to brand Scheveck's complaint a "distraction," but then offers this mealy-mouthed non-response to Scheveck's birtherism:
The state political parties are the entities that certify the presidential candidates, so Mr. Scheveck needs to take his complaint to the Democrats.... We know how that plays out, so we'll just beat Mr. Obama this fall instead [Tony Post, quoted in David Montgomery, "Rapid City Man Wants Obama Tossed off State Ballot," Rapid City Journal, 2012.05.10].
Tony, Tony, Tony... are you so bad at your job, and is the birther/Bircher vote so uncertain, that you have to pander to liars?
Post could use his authority as a party leader to stamp out ignorance and lies. Instead, Post leaves the birtherism of his target demographic unchallenged and takes a childish swipe at his opponents. As Dem chair Ben Nesselhuf says, "staying silent" on such radical lies "is just tacit approval."
Post is right that birtherism is a distraction. But if he really wanted to get rid of that distraction, he'd join responsible citizens in affirming facts and rejecting lies. Apparently the GOP doesn't pay Post enough to make honesty and character part of his job.
It's not that Tony is doing a bad job it's just that he's really not doing anything. Most people in the SD GOP have not met him. He is not good at returning phone calls.
He an ok guy and he'll be there as long as Rave is. Or Dusty etc hire him to run a campaign...
Then again, Post is just doing what Fox "News" has been doing for years: letting the birthers on to spew their craziness, and then saying, "but we never said we believe it..."
Isn't Post from MN? Our Repubs haven't been honest, responsible, forthright, or any other kind of stuff like that for the past few years. They've lied about their party income, cheated their landlord for a year! by paying no rent, had affairs with legislative aides, etc. Doesn't look good for SD Repubs.
Why yes, D.E., you did send us Tony. I'm torn between getting you to take him back or keeping here so he can continue to weaken the SDGOP.