Cheers to the Mitchell Daily Republic for recognizing that GOP U.S. Senate candidate Marion Michael Rounds is pulling our legs when he pander-shouts that he'll eliminate the federal Department of Education:
HISSES to former governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds for repeating, during his Friday night visit to Mitchell, his earlier call to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. The same day we printed his comments about that, we also printed a separate story revealing that South Dakota is third-most dependent among all states on federal government aid for K-12 education, receiving 16.4 percent of its K-12 budget from the feds. A man who governed a state so dependent on federal education money lacks the credibility to claim the federal government should have no role in K-12 education. Change and improve the Department of Education? Fine. But calls to abolish it strike us as unrealistic political pandering [editorial board, "Hisses and Cheers," Mitchell Daily Republic, 2014.05.25].
Normally Rounds's feigned ignorance of fiscal reality would end on June 3, when he could stop having to recycle old-conservative dog whistles to beat Stace Nelson and focus instead on calling Rick Weiland a liberal. But if Rounds wins the primary, he'll have to keep saying silly things like "Nuke the Department of Education!" to beat back the conservative challenge from Gordon Howie.
And the longer Rounds has to do that, the longer voters will have to see that Rounds is a spineless panderer with no credibility.
illegal rounds campaign sign(4x8) on west blvd., rcsd. new wells fargo pres' yard.
There is only one way Rick Weiland can bear MMR int the upcoming senate race. He MUST use Mikes own words against him. If Rick has a 30 second add, he has to use the first 15 seconds for soundbites and writen quotations from Mike. Then the last 15 seconds to tell the voters exactly what he " Rick" is going to do. No generalities, real answers to the problems that the state and nation face. The same applies to 60 second commercials.
Rick can't run on generalities if he wants to win. Sure he wont get the hardcore right to change their minds, but the people of this state aren't as dumb as MMR think they are. They will at the very least respect Rick for real answers to the problems.
If Rick doesnt do this it will be Rounds by 20 points. The time is now for hard hitting adds, not I'm a family man, or I'm one of you, but a real presentation of the facts.
The Blindman
Speaking of playing both sides and hedging your bets, Cory, you praise the Mitchell Daily Republic for blasting Mike Rounds over his handling of education, yet, the next post you say this: "Governor Mike Rounds appointed Democrat Oster to be Secretary of Education... which in GOP primary land shows that Rounds doesn't want to abolish government control of education; he wants Democrats to run it! " Yep, playing both sides for your advantage.
...for your side's advantage.... "...which in GOP primary land shows that Rounds doesn't want to abolish government control of education; he wants Democrats to run it! " Your "clarification" answer to my comment will be: "I'm not having it both ways, I was just trying to explain that's how the Republicans would see it in your above statement. Yes, maybe so, but, you will NOT admit that you are gleefully this is so. See, I know these political games. Just based on all I've read from your posts for months is that I perceive you think 2014 is going to be 1986. Right? However, I don't believe it will be because Rounds is not Abdnor and Janklow is not involved in this race. That's the difference.
...and Weiland is NO Tom Daschle. Daschle had already been in the House when he ran against the incumbent Abdnor. Rounds is not an incumbent and Weiland has never one a national race and has no record to run on like Daschle did. It's not 1986 again.
Nervous, G-Man?
No Chris. I don't have a horse in this race. I live out in Oregon.
G-Man, I'm having trouble pinning down the "both sides" point. I don't think 2014 is 1986. The challengers in this primary are not softening up Rounds to to the same degree hat Janklow did to Abdnor in the much more focused, man-on-man primary of 1986. But we have Howie and Pressler to continue that pressure to the general. I am pleased about that, because that will divert resources from the Rounds campaign and help Weiland, who indeed is not Daschle.
Rounds's hiring of Oster is perfectly consistent with the Nelson and MDR critique, demonstrating Rounds not only has no interest in abolishing the federal department of education but is happy to appoint someone who by label at least would be considered Left of the Republicans he could have picked to run education. But who Rounds picked for Ed Sec does not change my (forget Stace; my) general critique of how Rounds ran education policy.