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Popular Empowerment: Displaced Plainsman Captures Mission of Blogosphere

Leo Kallis says one of the most nicely profound and profoundly nice things about my blog and the challenge of Annette Bosworth's petition that I've heard all week. A scholar of language, Kallis pins down the exact nature of the dichotomy that I forge with Pat Powers in the South Dakota blogosphere:

Cory's challenge of Annette Bosworth's nominating petitions, reveals that two men also view the purpose of the blogosphere far differently. Powers uses Dakota War College to project power or, at the very least, the perception of power. He posts press releases from incumbent Republicans United States Senator John Thune, United States Representative Kristi Noem, and Governor Dennis Daugaard without comment. While he has not officially endorsed anyone in the Republican primary for the South Dakota United States Senate or South Dakota Governor races, he has saved his most pointed barbs for political gadflies like State Representative Stace Nelson and gubernatorial candidate Lora Hubbel.

Cory, however, seems to see the web as a way to diffuse rather than project power. His blog is a tool to tweak and prod the establishment. He admits that the Bosworth challenge was an exercise is crowd sourcing [Leo Kallis, "A Belated Minor Musing On The Challenge To Annette Bosworth's Nominating Petitions," The Displaced Plainsman, 2014.04.04].

I could get bogged down in a word game about diffusing (Should we say defusing the powerful and empowering others? Is power finite, a million watts for one dictator or one watt for each of a million citizens? Can we create and distribute more power?). But I mustn't let that inquiry distract me from thanking my friend and fellow blogger Leo for expressing perfectly the point of all this online discourse: the democratization of the press to inform and empower citizens, not soothe and subdue them. Thank you!

Kallis also raises provocative questions about the apparent absence of both the Republican and Democratic Party establishment from the effort to challenge Bosworth's suspect petition. Go read his commentary, and tell him what you think!

18 Comments

  1. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.05

    Cory, I want to go back to something that Mr Kallis said toward the end of his blog post. He indicated that the SOS, "opined" that Bosworth would win this challenge. Would it not, or should I say, is it not, unethical for the SOS to make any kind of assessment, before he has reviewed the evidence?

  2. grudznick 2014.04.05

    When Mr. Gant says "th-th-th-that's all, folks" he will end this foolishness.

  3. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.05

    grudz, why do you see democracy as foolishness?

  4. Kal Lis 2014.04.05

    Lanny,

    I'm pretty sure I said that Powers opined she's make the ballot not the SoS.

  5. Kal Lis 2014.04.05

    Cory,

    Thanks for the kind words. I'll stick by diffuse to "spread or cause to spread over a wide area or among a large number of people."

    Interesting question about whether power is finite and the acquisition of power is a zero sum game.

  6. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.05

    Mr Lis, Sorry for the misread. You are correct.

  7. grudznick 2014.04.05

    Mr. Stricherz, I never once have said that I see democracy as foolish. Let me take you deeper into my mind.

  8. rollin potter 2014.04.05

    People, why are you wasting your time on this woman????
    You must be smart enough to know that MS. Bosworth cannot win an election in South Dakota!!!!! all you are doing is giving her free publicity!!!!
    If you want to do something constructive get MR.Tsitrian and MR.Nemic on the ballot for GOVERNOR and LT. GOVERNOR and have them appoint MR. HEIDELBERGER as there chief of staff!!!!!!

  9. tara volesky 2014.04.05

    Here we go again, let's focus on Bosworth instead of Rounds and Daugaard. Whose side are you on anyway?......SD or Rounds and Daugaard?

  10. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.05

    Well Mr or Ms grudznick, you maybe never said that democracy is foolishness, but you said that SOS Gant would end this foolishness, implying that the great efforts by Cory et al on investigating these fraudulent petitions was foolishness.

  11. mike from iowa 2014.04.05

    I'll take chopping them down one at a time,in any order. Not exposing Bosworth is doing the state and its peoples irreperable harm. If you can get this one,then maybe the rest will dot their Is and cross their Ts. Seems like those that play fast and loose with campaigning will repeat their activities after election. Just saying.

  12. tara volesky 2014.04.05

    Anything to distract from EB-5. Let's focus on second tier candidates so we don't have to address the real issues like SD corruption. The SD Republican establishment love the Madville Times! It's all about Bosworth, who wouldn't get 10% of the vote. And than we have Stace Nelson, whom the Madville Times is again downplaying along with Gordon Howie. That is just what the Republican establishment want you to focus on Cory! When you focus on the 2nd tier candidates, than you are not focusing on the real culprits who are DD an MR.

  13. Lynn G. 2014.04.05

    Tara it looks like everyone is getting "played" with the circus side shows going on and "baiting".

  14. tara volesky 2014.04.05

    Smart woman, Lynn. You get it. Let's all focus on the circus candidates, then we don't have to focus on the real candidates like DD and MR. Than, we don't have to address EB-5. Let's talk about religion instead, joke, joke. The Democrats are following the Republicans game plan. Walking right off the cliff. To easy.

  15. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.04.05

    Tara, I agree that we should spend more time focusing on the records and policies of Mike Rounds and Dennis Daugaard. I've spent lots of time talking about EB-5 whenever I've had new, useful news about it.Can I get a little help from any of the candidates? Nelson has spoken up on the issue. Where is Rhoden? Where is Ravnsborg? Where is Myers nowadays?

  16. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.05

    Tara and all, I agree with Cory. I am in high hopes that once the municipal elections are done next Tuesday, we will start to see the media doing their job on the EB-5 and other issues that should be getting the focus. Cory has pounded on EB-5 almost incessantly since last November, This latest change to the Bosworth fraudulent petitions, has only come since the filing deadline toward the end of March. There is still almost two months until the primaries, so the focus of all the political coverage should go in that direction.

  17. Tara Volesky 2014.04.05

    He's still waiting for your phone call.

  18. Lanny V Stricherz 2014.04.06

    Well grudz, looks like you may be wrong, after all. Seems like SOS Gant is not going to make the final ruling, at least not yet. He is going to have the Atty General weigh in on whether or not the good lady and her husband disqualified her by perjuring themselves by saying they were collecting signatures when they were in the Phillipines.

Comments are closed.