Never do I feel the urge to pronounce potpourri as poopery more strongly than when I use it in conjunction with the word conservative...
My conservative friends are up to various forms of monkey business this week:
The Republican Liberty Caucus of South Dakota tries to get David Montgomery and me interested in a poll on the 2014 GOP Senate primary. "Seems 2B grass roots," says RLCSD. Oh, sure, just like the Draft Brendan campaign.
But hey, any poll that has Stace Nelson leading with 70% of the vote (as of breakfast today) is worth mentioning... if for nothing else than to encourage District 8 voters to strike back and push Russ Olson over the top in a field of 15 choices. (Yes, Russ Olson for U.S. Senate! Put his reedy voice on the statewide stump, and we guarantee keeping Tim Johnson's seat blue and taking back District 8!)
The Republican Liberty Caucus doesn't tell us who they are. They are hung up on the "Republic Not A Democracy!" meme, which tells me they are a bit detached from practical policymaking.
The Fulton Fulminator doesn't appear to take this running poll result any more seriously than I do. Responding to this poll mention, Rep. Nelson tweets, "Need blinders. I can become hermit, enjoy my retirement, & NOT be slave to principles. Besides, no more running, my knees are shot." No more running... I await clarification as to whether this means no more Nelson on the ballot or that he simply won't be hauling his keester up Lookout Mountain with me on May 11.
Some other anonymous South Dakota conservatives are fulminating against the Common Core K-12 education standards. A website has cropped up claiming to represent South Dakotans opposed to this latest retread of education reform, but the site so far only catalogs national press on the topic. There's a Facebook page for South Dakotans Against Common Core as well. Their only South Dakota-specific content is a complaint that the Sioux Falls school district's pretty good plan to adopt Chromebooks and iPads district-wide is a plot to conceal what they are teaching and to "track everything about about your child, and report it to the government." They seem to think Common Core is a United Nations plot.
I'd love to see some serious political opposition rise up and put an end to the whole standards movement, which distracts teachers with a lot of talk and paperwork that contributes virtually nothing of substance to our ability to teach and kids' ability to learn. But if this conservative push against Common Core is just more Glenn Beck karaoke, it will have about as much practical impact as the 9-12 Project (remember them?).
challenge: bwaahahaha!
I hope Stace runs because it will be a bunch of BS if Noem does and pretends to be anything different than Rounds.
Political Smokeout has an interview with Stace Nelson expressing interest in running for the Senate. Obviously, funding a campaign is the biggest hurdle any candidate faces. Stace should be talking to the big national conservative groups about backing him. Unfortunately their first choice is probably Noem because she's in congress, but she's not conservative. She's just a calculating, talking point spouting, leadership rubber stamper. She has zero potential of ever changing the disfunctional conversation in Washington. Stace Nelson would at least bring 3 things Noem lacks: original ideas, independence, and authenticity.
While Noem dallies in deciding which race she will run, Stace ought to be talking to the conservative funding groups to line up support for himself. Either he gets the support for senate or he forces Noem's hand. If Noem runs for senate, then Stace is their guy for the House race. Either way - contacting those funding groups now works in his favor.
Mr. Napoli is the ticket to winning.
Common core I do not understand as well as Mr. Bolin who will make it the centerpiece of his run for the School Land Commissioner. And he seems not a man easily deflected from his mission.
Commissioner of School and Public Lands has no policy input on Common Core whatsoever. If Bolin makes Common Core the centerpiece of that campaign, he will demonstrate that he is sorely confused. Take it up with Melody Schopp and Dennis Daugaard, Grudz.