I would be remiss if I did not wish a Happy 45th Birthday to a legislator who competes with Kristi Noem and Dennis Daugaard for keeping this blog in business: Representative Stacey Victor Nelson, Hanson County's loudest Republican. Rep. Nelson has figured in over 60 Madville Times posts since he entered the Legislature last year. I have no gift tonight, but sometimes I get the impression that Rep. Nelson gets more favorable coverage here than anywhere else in the South Dakota blogosphere... though my commenters still let him have it.
Dear readers, your well-wishes and further roasting of the Fulton Fulminator are welcome. But before any of try making fun of his name, consider:
- Stace is bigger than you.
- Hanson County has sent a Willard, a Wellington, and one Clarion I. Miltmore to Pierre.
I'm curious about the Fulton County Willard. Did he want to be called Mitt? Was he elected in 1971? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067991/
Best wishes to a young man on the anniversary of his birth
your birthday blunt is in the mail, stace.
Larry, you can mail cigars, but not your goodies.
Handguns ok, but water pistols banned at GOP convention: now do you get it, CAH?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/water-guns-banned-handguns-allowed-at-gop-convention/
[CAH: good grief! Can't I apply for a concealed Super Soaker permit?]
He looks older! Sorry, it's just fun to be mean to Republicans. Actually, I kind of like some of what he says and does. Libertarian steak. Maybe he has a latent gay gene. Ha.
You have to be cruel to be kind. It's an 80s thing thing!
John, I appoint you DJ for Stace's birthday party. Dance the night away!
Happy Birthday Stace. You are a great guy and I am glad you are in the legislature.
Willard & Clarion are apparently still alive. Maybe they can offer Stace some advice on aging gracefully.
Thank you folks, sorry for late reply. Concerned Citizens of Hanson County had a meeting last night about their efforts to block the organized effort by members of our state government in helping a foreign mega-dairy get established in the county against the best interests of the residence here. Gorgeous day yesterday though.
@Mr "H," You had your concerns about me at the onset, and we still differ on some issues; however, I hope that you have come to the rightful conclusion that I will do my best to serve my constituents to the best of my ability without regard to their or my party affiliations.
@Larry thanks for the offer, smoked a couple cheap cigars at Marine Mess Nights over the years, but nothing exotic.
@John I have a mean Libertarian STREAK in me. No self-respecting gay man would dress as homely as I do. :-D
@Mike Thank you Sir!
I'm warming to you also Rep. Nelson. It never ceases to amaze me that the most conservative Republicans seem to find common ground with Democrats more often than do the establishment Republicans.
In SD, often Dems & conservative Republicans join in opposing tax increases (maybe for different reasons), open government/good government issues, and crony capitalism issues.
It's easy for a Republican legislator to go along to get along, but Rep. Nelson is the first legislator in my memory who publicly fought party leadership and who so far has resisted all efforts to either beat him down or drum him out. It takes fortitude to withstand that onslaught. I think you will be re-elected Rep. Nelson, and I don't think that party leadership will succeed in marginalizing you in your second term.
Rorschach, what you are noticing is that Radicals (left) and Reactionaries (right) have much in common in that they are extremists. The political spectrum is a circle, not a line. If, on a clock face, you put liberals at 9 o' clock, moderates at noon, and conservatives at 3, you will find leftie radicals and rightie reactionaries at six. Note, their polar opposite is neither liberal nor conservative, but instead, moderate.
I lke that analogy, Bill. But SD legislative Democrats are not the radical left variety, but rather shotgun toting moderates - many of them anti-abortion.
What we have here is conservative legislative Republicans and legislative Democrats coming together to oppose an entrenched power structure whose primary guiding principal is to remain in power. Both the conservative Republicans and the Democrats believe there ought to be other guiding principals besides maintaining power and doling out jobs, contracts and plain old handouts to the courtesans.
Well said Rorschach, spot ont.
Rorschach, we're perhaps saying the same thing. (I could do this better if I could draw it rather than write it out.) People's political ideology exist on an arc on the circle I am describing, as opposed to a discreet point.
A "liberal" for example may hold various views ranging from say 10 o'clock down throug 6 all the way to 4 or so, moving counterclockwise.
Likewise a "conservative" may range clockwise from say 4 to 7.
To the degree the arcs overlap there is a potential political alliance against those opposite on the wheel, especially in an off-balance power struggle where the whole spectrum is disproportionately represented by current government.
What become hilarious to me then is guys like Stace, Howie, et al aligning with the Dems (or trying to...) all the while complaining that the Republicans aren't really Republicans.
It's kind of an Orwellian semantic thing... and bottom line, relatively foolish. The message, in essence is "hey Dems, let's get together and get rid of these RINOS." LOL.
Happy Birthday, Pete Seeger!
Little Boxes
Clearly, Bill, that is not what the person is saying. For the record, Rorschach sums up my senitments perfectly. Bill's comments about me are more of a blind man trying to figure out what an elephant is.
Stace, I started working my first major gig in politics on a National Campaign that made history in 1973. You were 6 years old then.
My boss was a master (Cesar Chavez) and my opponents were some of the slickest, smarmiest people on the planet (The California Ag Industry and the Teamsters Union).
During that time and since, I've met every kind of political animal you can possibly imagine and then some. I know exactly who and what you are.
Maybe someday you'll figure it out too.
But at 45, don't kid yourself, you're still wet behind the ears, kid.
Just sayin'.
Dang Bill, you missed your calling. Me? I used to have to work millions-trillions of hours on each criminal cases to try and get a good idea of what happened in a criminal incident that comprised often a short period of time! Hours of knee to knee interviews & interrogations. Heck, you got everyone figured out by a couple of simple off handed flipant blog posts without ever meeting most these folks in person.
Good to know that you have to be a purebred politicial animal to know anything in this old world. I am truly embarrased at my un-political bona fides of being a lifelong public servant. We need more purebred political animals in Pierre & DC to fix the terrible problems this country is facing because of the many purebred political animals that were already there...
On a serious non-flippant note, thanks for leaving my junk out of the past sparring bouts. You can be a mean cuss most times, but I give you credit that you never literally went below the belt.
On another serious non-flippant note... happy birthday Stace. You are still young with so much ahead of you. Heck, you might even learn some new things and change your mind along the way. Just a thought.