And now from the Self-Aggrandizement Department...
Another wall from the radical theocrat echo chamber bounces Bill Napoli's name around as a primary challenger to rich Republican M. Michael Rounds. Bob Ellis joins Gordon Howie in trying to create the impression of a groundswell for Bill Napoli. Ellis declares Napoli a "real Republican" who can beat the "mealy-mouthed RINOs who sell out their values at the drop of a hat."
Ellis offers predictable fluff, dismissing Rep. Noem as a viable conservative challenger by claiming she has made no move and is running out of time to raise money to run for Senate. (Never mind that she's been non-stop fundraising since 2010 and beat Rounds in first-quarter fundraising; Ellis and Howie will not be deterred by facts.)
Ellis makes no mention of our beloved Rep. Stace Nelson, stoking my curiosity ever more as to why some of the most eager anti-GOP-establishment activists would ignore the potential of a current lawmaker with statewide recognition and a clear record of challenging that establishment.
And then it hits me: the Howie-Ellis crowd won't back Nelson... and it's my fault. Here's the magic sentence from Ellis:
The liberals loathe him and deride him–which is an excellent sign of what a good Republican he is [Bob Ellis, "A Real Republican in the SD U.S. Senate Race," American Clarion, 2013.04.18].
Liberals like me don't loathe Stace Nelson... and he doesn't loathe us. He talks to us. He drops by this blog and comments in a spirit of openness and civic discourse. He's wrong sometimes (as we all are), but he'll talk to us. If any of the conservative choices could forge common ground and win independent votes in a Senate general election, it's Stace Nelson.
And his willingness to talk to folks like me and his ability to appeal to us is exactly why absolutists like Ellis and Howie won't throw their cash and sweat behind his statewide candidacy. Ellis and Howie want full-out jihad. They want to purge South Dakota of any whiff of liberal politics. Stace Nelson, with his willingness to engage liberals in civil discourse, disqualifies himself from their good graces.
Sorry about that, Stace!
The far right also didn't like Stace's vote this session on prenatal care for soon to be citizens.I have a feeling this whole business with Howie and Napoli is just an attempt from that camp to get potential candidates to come down off of the fence post.
Ego is a powerful drug: Napoli has it in spades.
I've never considered Napoli a real conservative. He used to represent my district, and he seemed more in league with the Republican elite than with the little guys he likes to imagine he is in touch with. He was able to use his righty rhetoric to convince a lot of them he had their interests at heart, but then sell them out to the corporate elite. He's a flunky, like Howie.
I used to work with real conservatives in South Dakota, and Napoli always stood against any effort where grassroots conservatives were being trampled by the Republican corporate elite-Republican government alliance. Napoli blusters a lot about big government, but he loves big government when it's serving corporate interests. He never stood up for citizens against any outside corporate interests, even though the initial opposition to many projects from mining to corporate CAFOs to waste dumping was from conservatives and the little guys he likes to think he's in touch with.
I moved out of state before Stace Nelson became active, but he seems to be more of a South Dakota conservative, who looks to work with anyone for the common good.
Barry,
Stace's vote on pre-natal care, while not the best one he cast this past session, is not a problem from the conservative view.
But you are spot-on about the fence-sitters. Let the games begin.
Sometimes its not about your beliefs, it's how you act on them. Stace doesn't have a good record in that department and some may see him as a loose cannon. His publicist wouldn't get any sleep.
I have a question - Why does anybody pay attention to Howie, Ellis, Napoli, Sibby, etc. in regards to statewide political elections? Yes, they are popular in their particular cabals (well...except Sibby), but outside of their own little holes, they are considered either way to extreme to bat-poop crazy. Howie couldn't get more than 5% of the Republican votes in a state primary.
Yes, they can elected to the state House/Senate (well...except Sibby and Ellis), but are unelectable on a statewide scale. They have some influence, but they can do a lot more damage on a local level. I encourage them to waste their money and time against Rounds. They will lose, and lose bad. But every dollar they spend there, every hour they spend working on a Bill Napoli for senate campaign, is one less dollar and hour they can spend on the local level in Rapid City.
As an aside - the best quote I ever heard on Napoli - "Bill doesn't seem to understand that you aren't supposed to brag about your eighth grade education it if people can TELL that you only have a eighth grade education."
As an aside - the best quote I ever heard on Napoli - "Bill doesn't seem to understand that you aren't supposed to brag about your eighth grade education it if people can TELL that you only have a eighth grade education.".
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At least you aren't bragging about your fifth grade writing skills Anthony... ;) I know, I know, it happens to the best of us.
les is negatively more.
Anthony, I agree with your assessment that Howie, Ellis, and Randazzo represent a radical fringe mostly impotent outside of their dinners. They have a chance to change that if they put down their ideological pitchforks and join whatever the broader coalition Nelson could assemble. Their noisy flogging of a Napoli candidacy is news in that it tamps down the possibility that Rounds will face a viable challenge.
Mr. Nelson is not as viable as Mr. Napoli. Mr. Napoli is an accomplished senator and has many successes besides passing your typical District-of-Klouchek proclamations. If Howie and Ellis don't botch this up by overgodding again, Napoli could be a huger surprise than Jesse Venture.
Stace is my Representative and Cory you did hit the nail on the head when you said that Stace will engage a liberal like me and have good discussions.
As liberal as I am and as conservative as Stace we have had some heated arguments. But to Stace's credit he does talk with and directly to me. Others on the right I've talk to tend to talk down to me or patronize me.
I don't know or have talked to Napoli but he doesn't seem like the one who a person can talk to. Maybe I'm wrong.
Grudz, if folks cared about a record of legislative accomplishment, they wouldn't have picked Noem over Herseth Sandlin. That's not a voting advantage for Napoli over Nelson among the primary crowd.
Owen, I haven't spoken with Napoli yet, either. Does anyone have evidence that he can reach out and communicate with people outside the Rapid City wingnut-lunch echo chamber?
For the very reasons you cite why he is getting snubbed, is the very reason he would make a great Senator.