Weiland Stakes Claim as Johnson Democrat with Issues Statement

Because Team Weiland has yet to post any useful issues statement on either their Facebook page or their sub-scrapbook-quality Tumblr site (again, sub-scrapbook-quality and Tumblr are redundant), I have post campaign e-mails so the majority of South Dakotans online can learn what specific policy positions U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland supports.

In this morning's campaign e-mail, Weiland stakes out several positions, including, most importantly, the contention that South Dakota Democrats need to run as Democrats:

It's no surprise that South Dakota Democrats want Tim Johnson's seat to be held by someone who shares his progressive/populist values.

And I absolutely do.

Like Tim Johnson, I support the right of all American citizens to have health insurance, regardless whether they have pre-existing conditions, regardless of whether, because of illness, they've reached an artificial "cap" on expenditures. The provision that allows children under 26 years old to remain on their parent’s health insurance has provided coverage to more than 9,000 young people in the state and more than 3,000,000 nationwide. Like most South Dakotans, I view this as a moral issue, and not something that should be judged by sticking your finger into the wind. People's lives are at stake!

Like Tim Johnson, I recognize that every American, regardless of sexual orientation, should be treated as an equal.

Like Tim Johnson, I recognize that it's wrong to continue to give tax breaks to Big Oil and, at the same time, cutting programs like Head Start for our most vulnerable children.

Like Tim Johnson, I recognize that it's wrong to support tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and, at the same time, supporting doubling the interest rates on student loans, as is currently scheduled to happen on July 1st.

Like Tim Johnson, I recognize that we must sensibly address the fact--and it IS a fact--that our planet is heating up, and that if we continue to play political games, it will profoundly affect our lives, and the lives of our children and grand-children.

And like Tim Johnson, I recognize that expanding background checks in order to keep lethal weapons out of the hands of individuals with either a criminal record or a record of mental illness is absolutely necessary. 90% of Americans believe this, and it's shocking that our Congress is so cowardly that it refuses to pass this legislation!

And what I also believe is this: that a Democrat in South Dakota can run true to our core values and get elected. I don't need to give you a reminder of the names of the progressive Democrats whom our state has sent to Washington, you know them as well as I do, and I plan to follow in their footsteps.

And do so proudly and with my head held high [Rick Weiland, campaign e-mail, 2013.05.31].

Claiming to carry the banners of both progressivism and Tim Johnson is an interesting combination, given that Tim Johnson isn't exactly the noisiest or bluest liberal in Washington. That's My Congress rates Senator Johnson a "milquetoast conservative" right alongside John McCain, Orrin Hatch, and Rand Paul (what? Rand? check that math!). GovTrack ranks Johnson below a majority of Senate Democrats on liberal ideology and leadership. National Journal ranks Johnson a little more liberal based on his 2012 voting record, tying for 22nd-most liberal with Hawaii's Daniel Akaka and beating Dianne Feinstein, Bernie Sanders, and John Kerry.

But whatever the overall rankings, Weiland is saying to South Dakotans who have elected Tim Johnson to Congress eight times that they have voted for the same sensible progressive positions that Weiland wants to bring to Congress. Right to health insurance, gay rights, responses to climate change, gun buyer background checks... Weiland is saying that's what you've voted for in Johnson, and that's what you can vote for in him.

Weiland is saying he doesn't have to act like a Republican to win. He can emphasize the Democratic side of the Democrats who have won and follow them to victory. Democratic wing of the Democratic party, I hope you're listening.