Last updated on 2014.09.30
On those rare, refreshing occasions when Troy Jones posts an article on Dakota War College, the I.Q. of that blog doubles. Of course, double of nothing is....
On Monday, Jones issued a defense of Mike Rounds's Senate candidacy. Jones expands on a theme Rounds tries (unsuccessfully) to develop in his latest TV ad, saying the EB-5 scandal is all the Democrats have to campaign on.
I feel some Republican projection coming on: Jones's post makes it sound like Republicans are feeling boxed in by Rounds's missteps and feel they have nothing but tired old fears of Harry Reid and other national Democrats to run on. Jones pleads with South Dakotans to overlook "our concern" (Jones's possessive pronoun suggests he too smells something fishy) and elect a Republican Senator to have a chance of ending the logjam caused by the Nevada Senator's majority leadership.
As recently as last month, the party line at DWC was that Reid hated Weiland and that Rounds's victory was inevitable. But now Jones says Weiland is key to Reid's and Obama's and Franken's and Hillary Clinton's (!) liberal rule. South Dakotans have to elect Rounds to end the emasculation of Thune, Rubio, Cruz, and Paul.
Pretty quickly, we've gone from positive "Rounds is awesome! Rounds is unstoppable!" to fearful "We can't afford to lose! Don't vote for the other guy!" Rounds essentially disappears from the real action sentences of Jones's article. You could replace "Mike Rounds" with "this sack of moldy potatoes" in Jones's article and have the same basic argument: Smell? What smell—aaah! Harry Reid!
When a candidate's supporters retreat from arguing "Vote for our guy!" and resort to "Vote against the other guy!" you know something has gone wrong with their guy. If Harry Reid is all Republicans have to defend Mike Rounds, then Rick Weiland and Democrats have cause for optimism and reason to keep pushing.
p.s.: Jones contends that "there isn’t a shred of evidence that Mike Rounds knew about any of" the EB-5 shenanigans and that "it is unreasonable for any CEO to have known when an employee makes a decision to breach his fiduciary obligation to his employer until they are caught." The Aberdeen American News editors say nuts to that: captain of the ship! Republicans, get out your Harry Reid effigies....
Troy might outline his role in establishment of the Future Fund just before Governor Mickelson's plane hit a silo in Iowa.
There is no one in Washington to run the joint now. Congress has taken the next couple of months off to drink some beer and watch the tee vee. So all of Troy's blathering is just more of the same. Troy should answer to where NOem and Thune are while we are in a shooting war with the president calling the shots with no one to question the judgement. Congress is supposed to have the say in all of this and they did until the right wing took them over? I remember when NOem signed the blank check to more war after she signed on to sue the president for doing his job.
The nation and South Dakota need Rick Weiland to step up with no favors to Harry or anyone else that need to be repaid, so he can do the job of the American people, all of us. Troy is just doing the bidding of his little puppet master, Mike Rounds. Pretty pathetic when he whimpers and whines like the pet he is for a handout. Good boy, yes you can carry the dead birds that your Napoleon shoots this hunting season or claims to have shot, and you get to rid in the back of the pick up as well so you can open the gates.
Back under Saint Ronnie Raygun Congress had the role of watchdog until they were told by wingnuts to stop micro-managing Raygun's attempts to overthrow South and Central America and picking winners and losers in the Middle East.
Like my late father would say, "these boys don't seem to know whether their coming or going".
Jones' pitch to vote for MR because he's a Republican doesn't match up well against Pressler's "I'm as independent as South Dakota" theme. Troy makes it sound like we need Rounds in order to advance the national GOP agenda, not to represent the best interests of South Dakota should they differ from the national party's program. Pressler has it all over Rounds on this one.
That is true John, I have been saying repeatedly that Rick Weiland is running against 3 republicans, not 1 republican and 2 independents.
Agree, Roger. Pressler will probably capture the lion's share of Republicans disenchanted with Rounds because LP is an acceptable alternative to GOPers. Weiland indeed has his hands full.
John,
Do you think that more traditional will really turn out for Larry if Rounds continues to be on the ropes?
I'm curious what you think the republican vote split would look like.
My eyes are not functioning too good tonight, that should read traditional Republicans.
Years from now, Troy will look back at that article and want to ram his head against the wall until the pain stops. He's a loyal hack, but he's being played as a tool by his pal Rounds and the crooks in Rounds' inner circle.
"Right-wing fringe candidate Gordon Howie featuring Hitler book ..."
—paraphrase of South Dakota Smear College in August
"Rally behind Rounds because Gordon Howie can't win ..."
—paraphrase of South Dakota Smear College in September
An appeal to the pro-Hitler right-wing fringe.
The inner circle of the SD EB-5 is obvious. The evidence is the lack of action by key GOP leaders to exonerate Rounds. Why the stall? Why is the legal action to tackle down all those who took part of the illegal acts soooo slllooowwww?!
Yes, Roger, I do believe that many disaffected Republicans will turn to Pressler. He's a known quantity and I think most of us believe that he'll caucus with the GOP once in the Senate. Considering that MR can't break the 40% threshhold, I'm thinking that a good 10-15% of Republicans will abandon him. A few will go to Howie, fewer still to RW. LP gets the lion's share. Pressler's numbers will continue to surprise. I dismissed his candidacy earlier in the year, not realizing that Rounds could be such a terrible candidate, appealing to slightly over half the GOP voters in the primary and hanging on to a bare plurality now.
John,
If your analysis is correct, and I suspect you are on target, this could easily become a race between Weiland and Pressler. Maybe it already is.
troy, u did say in a previous thread where your comment introduced "birther" that "i never doubted obama ... was a muslim," didn't you? i am searching for credibility in your rationale supporting rounds and bewitching harry reid.
If this is indeed a race between Pressler and Weiland, then Weiland needs to dust off the playbook that sent this stooge back to South Dakota. There was a reason republicans and democrats alike disliked Pressler enough to not give a care about his seniority or the fact that they did not catch him taking a bribe. Pressler's opponent won the day and so can Rick on all fronts.
lesliengland, Troy can clarify, but I'm pretty sure what he was saying was that he believes Obama is a US Citizen, that his presidency is legitimate, and that he doesn't think Obama is Muslim, but rather that he is a Christian, just as he says he is. (Troy has other big problems with Obama, but those things are not among them).
I sort of recall the sentence you are remembering, and his wording was a little confusing. Actually, the whole conversation was.
http://www.alternet.org/belief/why-right-wing-christians-think-theyre-americas-most-persecuted