Rep. Stace Nelson isn't saying no to a Senate run...
I believe we have a civic duty to serve; however, retail politics and political machines have stolen the election process from the voters. I will carefully consider requests to run for higher office with my pastors, my family, and the community I serve, before I make this decision. I am humbled and honored to be mentioned to serve my fellow South Dakotans in such capacity. Please give me your candid feedback. God bless [Rep. Stace Nelson, response to poll, "Should Stace Nelson run against Mike Rounds in the Repubican primary for U.S. Senate?" that Sioux Falls paper, 2013.04.17].
...but pretend blogger and pretend kingmaker Gordon Howie may be saying no to Stace Nelson. Howie is beating the drum for Bill Napoli to lead the Tea Party's last charge. Howie's quasi-declaration of Napoli's candidacy is filled with the usual Howie-hocum of "reliable" and "anonymous" sources, undocumented confirmations, and "napkin polls" at unspecified Lincoln Day dinners showing weak support for M. Michael Rounds. But Howie is throwing in with the "conservative and outspoken Napoli" and asking folks to join him in raising the unspecified amount of money that some secret group of donors says Napoli needs to run.
Just Stace's luck: the moment he plays a little less hard to get, his noisiest locus of West River support picks someone else as the Great White Hope.
Life is short. Stace should go for it. He truly embodies Goldwater's line, "A choice, not an echo."
As I had hoped and predicted. I have enjoyed many hearty breakfasts discussing important things and Mr. Napoli has never disappointed the breakfasters. This is wonderful news indeed. And word is that lots of money is pledged.
BILL NAPOLI: A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.
Run Stace even I think you would be better then either one of the others.
The Blindman
Here is the deal. The Tea Partiers like Stace, Gordon, Lance and Napoli all think Noem is hot and don't care what she does as long as she keeps up her looks.
I don't see any other reason for them liking her especially when it comes to her record.
Bill Napoli doesn't have the political skills that Stace Nelson has. He doesn't have the populist appeal to reach beyond his base on the right and attract the casual voter to him in both the primary and the general. Not everybody is a political animal who reads blogs like we do.
Bill Napoli is good at saying "no" - which is a skill valued by Republicans and many independents. Stace Nelson says "no" to the powers that be, and he's good at explaining to regular folks why. Stace Nelson just brings more to the table than Bill Napoli, and the big money national funders won't have any problem seeing that fact. Just look at the famous Napoli quote posted by The Blindman. Napoli is unelectable in a statewide race.
Let me add that the worst thing the anti-Rounds contingent can do is put up more than one candidate against him in the primary. In a 3-way primary race Rounds wins. Pick your champion, conservatives. Just one.
Stace is a better candidate, he projects well to many farmers and non GOP establishment republicans. He has better name recognition and I think he can raise funds easier.
As for Napoli, I don't know him, he doesn't have the name recognition Stace has, and being from Rapid City puts him at a disadvantage. And though it may say he has big $ committed, pledged and in hand are two VERY different things. Generally about 50% especially in a primary for this is what you can expect.
I hope someone runs against Rounds, I just don't think this guy is the best candidate.
Maybe I'm hanging out with the wrong Internet crowd, but I don't hear a groundswell of voters from outside Rapid City saying, "Bill Napoli's a great guy!" the way I hear folks from around the state cheering Stace Nelson. The only pro-Napoli stuff I hear is the shoddily disguised press releases from the Gordon Howie crowd. Napoli has spent the last couple years bloviating at wingnut lunches in Rapid City; Nelson has been cleverly building his statewide appeal.
And R is right: the RINO-shouters' only hope against the Rounds money machine is a united attack behind one candidate. They need to have a pow-wow, just like the Dems' leading lights, divide up the ticket, and send one good person against each of the GOP mainstream. Nelson for Senate, Napoli for Governor... oh, shoot, their bench of viable candidates just ran out (and I'm stretching to call Napoli viable). Beyond those two, what do they do, draft Stephanie Strong to mount a convention challenge against Jason Gant?
Stace fails the Brad Ford test since Stace is married to an Asian.
Stace is the real deal. I don't think a 3 way primary helps Rounds because it makes it so Noem doesn't have to be the bad guy. Rounds takes all the shots. Noem takes none while Stace distracts Rounds with wild accusations.
Like I've said before, this is our race to give up. I don't want Kristi Noem in the Senate. She will fly to the Senate primary before you can say boo if Mike gets a primary challenge. Kristi can beat Rounds with Nelson in the mix..
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Stace is an honest hard working fella electable on many fronts. He is not a politician(complement Stace) and SD generally will not elect someone who cannot sprinkle a little fairy dust in a statewide.
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Stace can do more for SD by staying in Pierre. DC is done, stick a fork in it.
"He is not a politician(complement Stace)"
That is the good and the bad and the main reason why I don't think he will fair well on a larger level. The media tends to tear normal Joe's apart, even though they are more like us than any politician will be.
DimBulb: 'fare' well, normal Joes.
media is plural: media tend to tear.
As I 'tear', wipe my eyes and take another run at this thanks to Lar giving me a little more insight, we will almost easily control all the seats if we don't give up the House for the Senate. .
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What do you say Kristi, take one for the team?
DC is not done. It's a hard reform hill to climb, but it can be done. Don't give up hope, Les.
And brief language critique: "politician" need not be a bad word. A politician deals with the art and science of the polis. A politician takes on the hard work of figuring out how we live together in community. In that sense, Stace Nelson and the interested parties reading this blog and offering their suggestions for public policy are politicians.
Larry.....never stop your childish ways. Watching you destroy your credibility is hilarious.
right, DimBulb. pot: meet crack.
Don't go there, you two.
SDGOP chair Craig Lawrence says to his fellow Republicans at last night's Minnehaha County GOP dinner, "We must stop shooting at each other.... We are often divided by ourselves, giving one another conservative litmus tests.” Notice that he doesn't address the issues over which Howie, Ellis, and Nelson do their shooting.
"Don't go there, you two."
Don't lump my ass in with that bully. The fact you allow his uncalled for responses shows your true character. You support childish name calling just like Larry.
It is very rare when Cory's stuff contradicts mine and it is only upon the introduction of religion, snark, or stupidity from commenters, especially cowardly ones, that forces my entry into a thread.
This post isn't about me -- that's my other post, about how Stace's willingness to talk to scuzzy liberals like me dooms his primary chances.