Last updated on 2013.05.12
Pat Powers's job is to retool all the artillery he had diligently lined up against a Brendan Johnson or Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Senate run to now rain fire on Rick Weiland. The GOP spin machine thus flogs some meme of Weiland being "less interesting" and then offers the delusional suggestion that the presence of adjectives in a Weiland press release alludes to a meme that does not exist outside the echo chamber of Pat's mind.
Is that the best you can do, Pat? Here, let me put my brain in the wayback machine, turn back into the bloviating conservative of my youth, and do your job for you. Rick Weiland has hired Democracy Partners, a proudly progressive outfit that has campaigned for the AFL-CIO, the Brady Campaign, Carol Moseley Braun, Emily's List, the Democratic Party of Slovakia (!), the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Richard M. Daley, and other purveyors of loathsome liberaldom. They're regular Marxist revolutionaries!
And for the perfect cherry on top of Powers's personality-based, issue-free politics, one of Democracy Partner's campaign boot camp leaders is attorney, author, and activist Christine Pelosi. Pelosi. La fille Pelosi!
Jiminy crickets, Pat! I know how hard you work copying and pasting Rep. Kristi Noem's press releases, but how can you miss good fun like a Pelosi running a South Dakota campaign?
Weiland's consulting firm pick and Christine Pelosi's employment therein deserve as little press as the Agenda 21 shouting that will ensue over Weiland's good work on green building codes (and for the record, I mentioned that before Pat). But if we have to take any signals from this fun little connection, we add Democracy Partners' employment to the endorsements and other evidence that Weiland will incline toward the Demcoratic wing of the Democratic Party.
Isn't having the name "Pelosi" associated with your campaign here in South Dakota kind of like eating a breakfast heavy on gravy and sausage followed by brunch with even more gravy and taters just before heading into the county fair boiled egg eating contest? Intentionally handicapping oneself so much indicates a very high level of confidence or an attempt to psych out one's opponents.
As if Huckabee is a credible witness.
Democrats should get Nancy Pelosi into SD. She would charm, disarm, and awe the SD Press and make mincemeat of the GOP mythology. South Dakotans would also find out that instead of her having cloven hooves, she is charming and very intelligent. At some point even stolid SD Republicans might want to ask, "Why did the big-money GOP demonize a nice intelligent person like Nancy Pelosi?"
It is time for a full frontal assault on GOP stupidity, distortion, and retrograde irrelevancy.
Douglas Wiken is right about that. Bringing her here for a tour would neutralize the GOP demagoguery that they keep using because it works. She'd have to travel around the state though and get some face time, do press interviews. A fly-in appearance would be worse than no appearance at all.
"Full Frontal Assault," starring Nancy Pelosi... I like the sound of that!
R, does Tim Johnson have enough friends in the Senate who'd be willing to come say, "Tim Johnson served SD well; send Rick Weiland to continue Johnson's work"? Would that message sell with voters? Should Weiland want to align himself with Johnson in that way?
I misread your first sentence, I thought you said Pat Powers is a tool.
"Full Frontal Assault," starring Nancy Pelosi against the GOP strong hold Stace Nelson and his band.
That would be fun to watch.
Stace Nelson plays in a polka band called GOP Stronghold? Who knew?
I had no other name for some of the ultra extreme right wing folks. They are too large to be called a trio, and too small to really be a group, plus their number are always change, I thought 'band' was a good adjective
I'm not judging or hating.
If "Full Frontal Assault" is going to be a movie, Nelson can play in a polka band.
A movie? I thought we just to Pierre/Ft. Pierre and watch this to groups battle it out over the Oahe dam. Last man standing wins.
Curious whether the Carter Center will be in the state to monitor elections with one party rule controlling the ballots.
Tim Johnson is a great senator. Just the kind of person any Democratic candidate would want to emulate. I am certain that Tim has many friends in the Senate from both parties simply because of the no nonsense way he conducts himself. He has never engaged in the overheated partisan rhetoric that got Thune into leadership and Noem onto Fox news. He's a workhorse while they are showhorses.
Here's what would make a difference in senate races nationwide. People are leaving the senate because they are fed up because government is polarized. Those senators from both parties who are leaving (and have nothing to lose) know better than anyone else which of their colleagues are the political hacks and which are open to bipartisan compromise. They ought to go around the country and campaign across the aisle for the good ones, and the candidates identified by the good ones.
Rounds will win easy against Weiland.
Brendan Johnson supporters need to get Brendan into the House race not back Weiland.
R, I hope Weiland will prove himself to be that kind of workhorse. (And someone remind me, just what work did Rounds do?)
Mike, let's think bigger: how about Brendan backers urge him into the House and back Weiland in the Senate race?
It depends on how moderate Weiland is. If he's a hardcore lefty, the Democrats will have problems.
I hope the Democrats start fielding more moderate players like Herseth-Sandlin.
G, I don't know how many hardcore lefties we have left anywhere in South Dakota. I don't see any hard evidence yet that Weiland will run a Wellstone revival. But I'm convinced that SD Dems need to moderate their moderation if they want to distinguish themselves in the politocal marketplace.
The moderation we can win on is real fiscal conservatism. À la Clinton, we can argue that Dems can bring real deficit reduction by ending corporate handouts and voodoo economics. Add investment in education and infrastructure to support long-term economic growth, and you have a recipe for popular and effective policy that would give people solid reasons to pick a Democrat over a Republican.
Cory, I understand that corporate handouts are a bad idea. But, the Democrats in Oregon don't understand that. See, they run this state and they play the same game the Republicans in SD play. The Democratic run government in Oregon just gave Phil Knight and Nike a huge corporate handout. So, tell me what party doesn't do this? Any party in control that doesn't do this?
Democrats in Oregon just gave Nike a huge corporate handout.
Doug and CAH Ms. Pelosi would charm us with her eloquent appearance and ruffled feathers she sometimes wears around her neck but once she opened up her mouth and gave us her vision for a liberal South Dakota whomever she is backing becomes toast in any election.
Imagine Sarah Palin appearing on behalf of some earth hater, Charlie: Pelosi's eloquence contrasted with Palin's quirkiness would prove South Dakota's voters are not interested in the facts or flush toilets.
If the Democrats, who control Oregon, give their corporate handouts, then, why should we believe that the Democrats in South Dakota would not turn around and do the exact same thing once they are in power, although they campaign against it now?
(Ah! There's the answer to my question from another thread.) G-Man, I'll grant that power can corrupt. But are we really supposed to sit idly and accept the status quo out of fear that if we win, we'll become as bad as the current crony capitalists? Pessimism doesn't make for a winning campaign or good governing agenda.
Let me offer this theory: American democracy depends on checks and balances. Parties have an obligation to fight hard and be competitive. They must campaign as if they intend to win every seat, but we must count on at least two parties being strong enough to keep that from happening. If one party drops the ball and the other party sweeps, we've got trouble.
By that theory, Dems have an obligation to pour on the hot sauce not in the places where they can get easy wins, but in the places where winning is hardest. By that theory, this blog plays a more important role here in South Dakota as a voice of opposition than it would in Oregon where it might find a more favorable audience. Agree?
O.K., Charlie, so we both want Nancy Pelosi to come here. Shall we send a joint invitation?
Cory, the SDDems should invite Wyden to come. Senator Wyden, who will replace Sen. Baucus as Finance Chairman, could have some wise advise for how to win campaigns. Just a suggestion.