A handful of Independent candidates have filed for Legislative races. The one I find most interesting so far (and Pastor Hickey will, too!) is Kathy Miles, who wants to take back the District 15 Senate seat that Angie Buhl took from her in 2010.
Miles served three terms in the State House and one term in the Senate as a Democrat before voters turned her out in 2010. Part of Buhl's success came from the fact that Miles backed Referred Law 6 in 2006 and other anti-abortion legislation. District 15 rejected the 2006 abortion ban 61% to 39%. Miles also served on the 2005 Legislative task force on abortion, which generated much of the propaganda on which our Legislature has based subsequent assaults on women's reproductive rights. Buhl has vocally advocated for women's equality and bodily autonomy. But interestingly, Miles's SD Right to Life pal Jenna Haggar won her seat in the District 15 House as an Independent in the 2010 general election.
Perhaps we can compare the Miles challenge to Rep. Lora Hubbel's assault on sanity in District 9. Rep. Hubbel's remarkably close finish behind Senator Deb Peters in the District 9 GOP Senate primary may have had much to do with abortion-obsessed voters ignoring the broader interests of their district and the sheer nuttiness of much of what the challenger says, much to the detriment of their own party.
I don't think Kathy Miles suffers from anything like Hubbel's craziness. And, like Mark Vargo, I like to think that giving the voters a choice is a good thing. I just hope that Miles has evolved to recognize the value in giving women a choice, too.
Kathy Miles is the single most unresponsive elected official I've ever encountered. Miles isn't "nutty" like Lora Hubbel because she didn't bother to explain to anyone why she thought and voted the way she did - she never thought she owed it to her constituents to explain.
I was Miles' constituent in 15 for 6 years. The voters did the right thing by voting Angie into office the first time, and they should vote for her again.
I'll add to Anna's bit by saying that at least Lora Hubbel is kind enough to lay out the insanity for all to see. You know what you're getting. There's value in that.
If Anna's claim is true, then that sort of unresponsiveness is even more dangerous. A person that feels like they owe nothing should never be taken lightly, especially if they're on some crusade.
I am not a current or former constituent of Miles or Buhl, but I did contact Miles when she was in the Legislature. She always responded to my messages - including those times when she knew I was on the other side of an issue. My observation is she was well-liked and respected by legislators and lobbyists alike, and many would be happy to have her back in Pierre.
I talked to Miles at legislative coffees and when I went to Pierre. So a few times a year, at least, and I also e-mailed her. Each time I talked to her, I had to reintroduce myself because she had no clue who I was.
Each time I asked why she voted a certain way, she said she was doing what the people in her district wanted her to do. Mind you, in six years, I never once saw her knocking at my door asking me for my vote. Nor had anyone else I knew in 15 ever seen her out campaigning.
So it's nice to know that she responded to people who weren't her constituents while she ignored us in 15 and that "many" (such as?) would like to see her back in Pierre. Luckily, people in 15, rather than lobbyists, are the ones who get to decide if she goes back or not.
So Cory, why do you call those you disagree with crazy
Hasty generalization, Steve. I don't call "those I disagree with" "crazy" as a general rule. I don't call Kathy Miles crazy, although she is wrong about abortion and women's rights. In this post, I call Lora Hubbel crazy. She and you both get such treatment from me, because you both say crazy stuff.
Darn, Rep. Buhl is also stepping down at Dakota Women blog deciding you can't blog and be in public office too. http://dakotawomen.com/2012/06/08/see-you-around/
It was a bit icy, me and her, for the first term in Pierre. But she'll tell you I don't have horns and at this point I'd return the compliment. We actually worked together a bit on a couple things. If she and I can get along, you'd think Stace, Sibby and I could too.
Who didn't see this Kathy Miles challenge coming this year??
Back in '08 or maybe before I dubbed Angie and her friends the "crass talking Tanya Hardings of psuedo-feminism." Being good capitalists, they figured out a way to turn that into a profit: http://www.cafepress.com/trashtalkingtonyas
I plan to order a mug one of these days for my desk in Pierre, assuming voters send me back in November.
Let's make sure no past DW blog posts/comments get scrubbed. All mine are still intact over at voicescarryblog. You CAN blog and be in public office but you have to have really really thick skin, you have to make time for it but not get sucked for hours into the weeds with anonymous critics, you have to be amiable with everyone and you have to really think through your comment policy. I get nothing but good feedback from my vote explanation posts. Angie is right, you can't blog like we did back in the day. She made a good decision stepping away from DW - it would be hard for her to continue there without the rest of what we see there embarrassing her publicly. We have to behave and be nice if we want to win others to our viewpoint. Are you listening Sibby?
You're a pig, Hickey.
Steve, Sibby lives in a separate, parallel universe with a thin (but semi-impenetrable) veil between his cosmos and ours. Communication is one way at best (him to us), and most messages get scrambled coming and going. That's the most generous way I can think of to try to explain why communication with him on line is such a... um... peculiar experience.
Larry, WTF? What did Hickey do now? I thought his note was okay.
Meanwhile, does Kathy Miles have any Internet presence?
He's marginalizing her, giving her permission, and casting doubt on her associations: it's right out of his training to be the parasite he is today.
Bill, is Larry also out in that parallel universe where communication is not truly possible?
Larry, you're firing on a lot of cylinders today.
If Miles isn't online, maybe she's just counting on endorsements from Dennis Daugaard and Gordon Howie. Those seem to go over really well.
the cross is the intersection of either+or.
Sorry, Steve: I was out of line.
Thanks, Larry.
"Steve, Sibby lives in a separate, parallel universe with a thin (but semi-impenetrable) veil between his cosmos and ours."
Spoken by a true New Age Theocrat.
[CAH: Aaaaarrrrggghhh! Bad Sibby! :-P]
Thanks Larry ! I'll try to stay away from the line too as I've surely crossed it here before .
"If she and I can get along, you’d think Stace, Sibby and I could too."
Why? liberal Republicans should get along with liberal Dems. Liberal Republicans and conservative Republicans fight like cats and dogs.