Last updated on 2014.11.01
I have never heard an Independent or third-party candidate on the South Dakota ballot sound as serious, as well-versed in policy, or as downright sane and competent as Larry Pressler. Coming off last night's Senate debate performance, in which he sounded as passionate and determined to win as anyone else at the table, Pressler issues two final radio ads.
Does he go for schmaltz and nostalgia? Does he get dear wife Harriet to say what a swell guy he is? Heck no. He sticks with policy, pitching better air service for South Dakota and his noteworthy idea to turn the Hot Springs VA hospital into a center dedicated to treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder:
Air Travel:
PTSD:
Comparing Pressler to the likes of Chad Haber, Emmett Reistroffer, B. Thomas Marking, and Gus Hercules sets a pretty low bar. One could perhaps argue that, with a 5–1 record in statewide elections and 22 years of Washington D.C. experience and connections, Pressler should be able to mount an even stronger campaign.
But Pressler's smart, wonky performance in the 2014 Senate race sets a standard for all future non-Republican, non-Democrat, low-budget candidates in South Dakota to demonstrate their fitness for public office.
PTSD treatment FOR VETS, NATIVE AMERICANS, SUICIDE SURVIVORS and other emotional traumas deserves serious funding, research and discussion here too. 5 days before the election, meh
Yup, good stuff alright. Very sincere and believable. Must be spending the Scheiffer money. Any word on the scale of the buy, Cory? GRPs? Dayparts?
Spent the night in Hot City last night: it could be something if there were jobs. The VA and IHS should be merged.
I would like to see Rick get elected next week. He was a college chum, I was neighbors with his brother, and I just know him to be a great guy. However, I would be happy with Larry Pressler or even Gordon Howie. I can trust them. So I seem too be in the ever growing "anybody but Mike" party, these days. No matter what people think of John Thune or Kristi Noem, they weren't criminals before they were elected, nor have they been since going to DC (at least as fares I know). With Rounds, we know he was either involved in the frittering away of half a million, he was an incompetent governor, or he was just stupid. Someone can probably spin a fourth option, but no one could make me accept it as being a true option. He would be a bad option, but if he does win, at least I will know he did not pull the wool over the eyes of most South Dakotans, as he would only win with an incredible minority of the vote. Makes me wish we had a 51% rule in South Dakota.
how about we all go out and vote for a veteran who has served his /her country honorably and see who wins!!!!!!!!!
Cory Heidelberger wrote:
>"Comparing Pressler to the likes of Chad Haber, Emmett Reistroffer, B. Thomas Marking, and Gus Hercules sets a pretty low bar."
Has Emmett offended you personally, Cory? I just finished watching him on SDPB, and I thought he was phenomenal. To be honest, I'm relieved, because I strongly endorsed him in a letter to my hometown newspaper this week.
Thanks for not making me look stupid, Emmett. :)
I like Pressler's plan, but really that building is in such bad shape it's probably a money suck. Is there another building besides the big one that would be suitable?
I'm thinking it sounds good for Pressler, and there's not a chance in hell. Or Hot Springs.
Kudos for Pressler for admitting his PTSD issues.
Lar, did you stay at Bob's new joint?
Some interior work with insulation and all would be well. The problem was that it is a hospital so there has to be certain things done that would not need to be done in a mental health retreat. Hot Springs has already had success there with the kind of treatments for PTSD that Pressler is talking about. He wants something that would be more far reaching. As a veteran with those issues, I salute him for the courage to come out and admit it. This unending war keeps generating more and more soldiers with mental issues to go along with the rest of us. It shows no signs of abating so we will need more treatment clinics and retreats for damaged and broken veterans.
Sorry, Bill! No such numbers in the Pressler press release. Maybe he's just buying free air time on friendly blogs? ;-)
Monty will know if there's any paid media. He calls the stations all the time. Our media guy will know too, I just haven't had a chance to ask him. Too bad if he's just online. That means hardly anyone will hear them. Unless he's on Pandora or something.
No personal offense, Kurt. I'm looking strictly at percentage and impact on the press coverage and the electorate. Emmett went on camera on SDPB and didn't barf on his shoes. He didn't have to work for that media. Pressler has earned all sorts of press coverage. Had he been hitched to a party, that party could have leveraged that attention into all sorts of publicity, fundraising, organizing, and synergy with ticketmates.
Pressler is posing enough of a threat to draw serious attack ads from the GOP and Dems and their PAC allies, plus $200K from Kevin Schieffer, who ought otherwise be licking the boots of his GOP friends in high places, to defend Pressler. Neither Emmett nor any other third-party or Indy candidate has had that impact on a South Dakota race since... well, not in our lifetimes, right? When is the last time a non-Dem or non-Repub mattered in a South Dakota race?
Cory Heidelberger asks:
>"When is the last time a non-Dem or non-Repub mattered in a South Dakota race?"
Well, I mattered in 2002 because I gave John Thune, David Montgomery and Pat Powers someone to scapegoat for "spoiling" Thune's awful campaign:
http://politicalsmokeout.tumblr.com/post/61206378242/libertarian-evans-to-run-for-u-s-senate-in-2014
Of course, although I'd sent it to him, Montgomery never said a word about this:
http://jacobtlevy.blogspot.com/2002/11/rachel-dicarlo-at-weekly-standards.html
Speaking of Thune's awful 2002 campaign, I'm shocked that Democrats have been giving him a free pass to campaign for Rounds in light of these:
August 26, 2002 (Rapid City Journal):
South Dakota would be better off if it had a Republican senator who could work not only with Daschle, but also with President Bush and GOP members of Congress, he said.
“I think having muscle on both sides of the aisle is important,” Thune said.
October 22, 2002 (Minnesota Public Radio):
For Congressman John Thune, the race is about political balance.
“South Dakota would benefit from having muscle on both sides of the aisle. I think right now we kind of have a one-sided team in the United States Senate,” Thune says. “We got people who can work with the Democrat side — Tom Daschle can work with the Democrats.
I could work with the Democrats, but I also could work with the Republicans and with the White House, and I think that’s a very powerful combination for South Dakota.”
October 24, 2002 (Rapid City Journal):
Thune said South Dakota already has power among Democrats in Congress because Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle is the Senate majority leader. The state’s second senator should be a Republican who can work with other GOP lawmakers and President Bush, he said.
“That is a team with muscle on both sides of the aisle. That gives us a strong bipartisan combination,” Thune said.
November 4, 2002 (PBS News Hour):
REP. JOHN THUNE: With Senator Daschle, obviously you’ve got a leader among the Democrats, but right now South Dakota has what is essentially a one-sided team in the Senate, and I think we need a team with muscle on both sides of the aisle. I think South Dakota’s most effective, most powerful combination is a team that can work not just with the Democrats, but also with the Republicans in the Senate and with the White House to get things done for the state.
By the way, Cory, thanks for allowing this dialogue. Pat Powers has repeatedly blocked me from responding to his accusations at South Dakota Smear College:
http://dakotawarcollege.com/so-how-many-of-the-challengers-were-actually-running-campaigns/
Pat Powers had written:
>>"And what about the Libertarians? For all their bluster, Emmett Reistroffer seemingly gave up after his arrest for unlawful occupancy."
I'd replied:
>"Emmett has continued to work very hard on his campaign."
Powers had written:
>>"As for the rest of the field, without a Democrat in the race for State Auditor, perennial electoral spoiler Kurt Evans had no Republican to spoil without a Democrat in the race."
I'd replied:
>"I've never been an electoral spoiler, much less a perennial one. Google 'jacob t levy rachel dicarlo' (without quotes) to learn more."
Those were my only statements in the comment I tried to post. I'm wondering how many Smear College advertisers would pull out if they really understood how ruthlessly and viciously Pat Powers lies.
[Is it just a coincidence, or is the spam filter here more forgiving today?]
But Kurt, in 2002, you pulled out, scored less than 1% of the vote, and established no foothold for the Libertarian Party or any other insurgent group. Did anyone run ads against you? Did you get any press pre-withdrawal?
I review my files and find this 2013 article noting that South Dakota has been remarkably low on third-party campaigns for U.S. Senate—just six since 1938, never scoring much better than 4%. Pressler will beat that easily... but is Pressler laying any groundwork for anyone else's future run?
Dave, yes, a 51% rule with a run-off would serve us well this year. Any legislators care to put a bill to that effect in the hopper? Or shall we initiate?
Cory wrote:
>"But Kurt, in 2002, you pulled out, scored less than 1% of the vote, and established no foothold for the Libertarian Party or any other insurgent group. Did anyone run ads against you?"
David Kranz (ha ha). No, no one ran ads against me.
>"Did you get any press pre-withdrawal?"
Not nearly as much as I got after the election, but by 2002 standards my campaign website was state-of-the-art:
http://webarchive.loc.gov/lcwa0006/20021021073806/http://www.kurtevans.com/party.html
(A technical point of clarification is that I didn’t consider my Thune endorsement to be the equivalent of a withdrawal. I still thought of myself as a candidate, still recognized the right of others to campaign and vote for me, and—contrary to widespread media reports—wouldn’t have removed my name from the ballot even if I could have.)
>"I review my files and find this 2013 article noting that South Dakota has been remarkably low on third-party campaigns for U.S. Senate—just six since 1938, never scoring much better than 4%. Pressler will beat that easily... but is Pressler laying any groundwork for anyone else's future run?"
I'd say almost any non-major-party campaign helps to lay groundwork for future non-major-party campaigns, with an occasional obvious exception like Chad Haber's.
>"... a 51% rule with a run-off would serve us well this year. Any legislators care to put a bill to that effect in the hopper? Or shall we initiate?"
Minor parties have been calling for ranked-choice ("instant runoff") voting for many years.
http://decorumforum.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-south-dakota-libertarian-party-had.html
Larry Kurtz posted:
http://decorumforum.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-south-dakota-libertarian-party-had.html
I realize you and I have divergent political and religious views, Larry, but you've hit a new low in dirty campaigning by drawing attention to those hideous pictures of me.
(Ha ha.)
there are few uglier human beings than mr. haber: if only you could overcome your propensity for quitting, mr. evans.
Larry Kurtz wrote:
>"if only you could overcome your propensity for quitting, mr. evans."
Touché.