My underdog sympathies led me to enjoy that Sioux Falls paper's endorsement of Independent candidate Larry Pressler. My underdog sympathies also lead me to roast the Sioux Falls editor's for their specious dismissal of Democrat Rick Weiland as the best choice for the U.S. Senate.
Rick Weiland has voiced concerns about the world beyond our state borders. He generally approves of President Obama's moves to forge an international coalition to approach issues in the Middle East and supports U.S. efforts to fight Ebola. His views on opening Medicare to private payers is more liberal, we believe, than most South Dakotans would prefer, and his interest in working across party lines is questionable. Given his very public acrimony with the leaders of the national Democratic Party, we are concerned about his ability to move ideas forward at all if elected. Weiland is a personable candidate, but his main campaign push — fighting against Big Money — seems hard to reconcile given his years of service with former Sen. Tom Daschle. Weiland is an effective communicator, but overall, we don't think he hits the mark, either [editorial board, "Endorsement: Pressler Best Choice for Senate," that Sioux Falls paper, 2014.11.01].
The baselessness of the Sioux Falls editors' fitting of words to preferred conclusion astounds me. The Sioux Falls paper's anti-Weiland statement fails on multiple points:
- I noted yesterday that it is logically inconsistent to imply that Weiland is too committed to his own party's agenda but then to criticize him for vigorously challenging his party leaders.
- Saying that Weiland's service to Senator Daschle calls into question his commitment to fighting Big Money is like saying that the fact that managing editor Patrick Lalley owns a car calls into question his commitment to promoting bicycling.
- The editors have no basis for concluding that South Dakota voters do not support making opening Medicare as a public insurance option. I don't think the issue has ever been polled, but all candidates agree that South Dakotans love Medicare. Weiland's Medicare-as-public-option proposal is a brilliant, money-saving reform of the Affordable Care Act that beats the pants off the Rounds proposals to repeal the ACA and replace it with more business for his insurance company. The public option also enjoyed intense support in public opinion surveys during the ACA debate in 2009 and 2010. Show us one report or one poll, Sioux Falls editors, that shows a majority of South Dakotans rejecting the idea of a Medicare public option.
The Sioux Falls editors may have their reasons for voting for Larry Pressler. But they haven't given any consistent reason not to vote for Rick Weiland.
Endorsing Pressler was the coward's way out for the Argus Sanford and the Rapid City Journal. The editorial boards did not want to anger their Overlords.
All along, Pressler has been a safe alternative for disenchanted Republicans, both publicly and in the privacy of their voting booths. I didn't follow the Weiland "logic" at the AL, either, and would have been much more impressed if they'd just come out and said something like "Weiland is too much the liberal Democrat" for us.
I can't see it online and only get the hard copy paper at the office, but I'm hearing the RCJ endorsed Pressler too, is that accurate?
John, that is a lot of the problem with voters in this state, they would vote for the end of the world before voting for those damn liberals. They won't bother looking at policy and what would and wouldn't be better for them, it's just those damn liberals, then after blindly punching R in the voting booth sit back and bitch about state policy. When will it ever end?
The expansion of Medicare to whoever wishes to buy in would be the simplest and least expensive way to insure the most Americans. I would rather pay my health insurance premium to Medicare with their, by far, lowest in the industry overhead costs than to the insurance companies and their millionaire executives out to make a profit off my premium.
It's up now:
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/editorial-journal-endorses-pressler-for-us-senate/article_d47214bc-6ffc-5473-825f-a9e317e2bc79.html
LOL, Nick, reading your note, it just occurred to me that health insurance companies are the Joop Bollen's of the health care industry, skimming off the cream and maybe or maybe not giving their customers what they thought they were paying for. Maybe that's why Rounds the insurance man likes EB-5. He understands the business model. :-)
Rick Weiland is an "effective communicator," but we can't support him. Kristin Noem, on the other hand, has been proven to be totally INEFFECTIVE, yet the AL can support her???? Someone please 'splain!
You have a point there Bill. Rounds certainly understands charging fees, taking commissions and denying claims. It's all considered "good business practices".
The Sioux Falls based newspaper leans heavily in favor of the the Republicans. Noem is a Republican, that is why the newspaper endorsed her.
Their endorsement of Pressler is a freak happening, that likely will never be repeated.
JeniW. True. I don't think I've ever seen it happen before where both of the state's biggest newspapers refused to endorse either party's Senatorial candidate.
They fabricate reasons because they are in fabrication,not news gathering/reporting anymore.
Both SD newspapers have excoriated Rounds. I thank them for creating that opening. However, anyone who doesn't want Rounds to be the next US Senator from South Dakota cannot vote for Pressler. A vote for Pressler, at this point, is simply a vote for Rounds.* Rick can win if Democrats come home and vote for him.
Bonus: it will be fun to see Harry Reid eat crow.
*Pressler has fallen by as much as 20 points and what he has left is largely Democratic votes.
Slynn, yes, that's surest pathway to defeating Rounds, concentrate all the anti-Mike vote onto the Rick Weiland column. Any other strategy is fraught with risk. Use a rifle, not a shotgun.
...metaphorically of course....
This vote has turned into a guessing game rather than voting for the best man. Vote Weiland and Pressler loses to Rounds by 5 points. Vote Pressler and Weiland loses to Rounds by 5 points.
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You flat need 5% of the Repub's base to turn on Rounds for RW.
Cory, there you go again using that Logic thing.
Always, Francis. Always. Live long and prosper!
But Les, there are always alternatives. We are not locked into that guessing-game bind. The last SurveyUSA poll showed a quarter of Dems picking Pressler. If Sec. Gant's 60% turnout holds, well, I do some fast math on voter registration totals and find that if we can get a majority of those Dems to come to their senses, we put over 5 percentage points back in Rick's column. If a similar 5+ percentage points abandon Mike from the RCJ's telling its Republican readers that EB-5 matters and Mike is a crook, it doesn't matter where they go; Mike's 11-point lead in that last SurveyUSA poll disappears.
Hold onto your hat, Les. Fat lady is warming up, but she's got a fresh draft of "Death of a Salesman" next to the Requiem for Rick.
Now Dems! Dems!!! Get up and vote!
Did the Democrats just gain that 5% needed from Republicans with the Journal rejection of Rounds, possibly?
There seems to a solid number of the old school Republicans that don't care for Rounds or Pressler and Howie is out of the question for true conservatives.
I'll take the Journal rejection of Round as a win for Rick and perhaps some of those Republicans will be strongly affected by their party's most recent corruption scandals and say, "heck, I have not choice, it has to be Rick".
Quite possibly, Roger. Maybe I'm seeing too much of what I want to see and not enough of what is, but consider the EB-5 angle. At this point, voters don't need a point-by-point explanation; they just need to hear an authoritative statement that EB-5 matters. The FBI's ongoing investigation suggests that. A perp walk tomorrow (en tus sueños, I hear my Spanish teacher saying) would shout that. The RCJ endorsement says that. Instead of the Madville Times or a liberal out-state PAC, Republicans have their familiar, conservative newspaper telling them EB-5 matters and disqualifies Rounds from their vote.
5%? Yeah, I think so, especially if other papers pick up that signal and tell the locals tomorrow.
From the USA poll. Has Mike Rounds said enough about EB5.?
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36% believe he has and 54% of those are GOP.
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53% believe MmR needs to say more and of those 36% are also of my party.
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It appears the ship is taking on water and today's endorsements don't ease that pain.
Les, what's ironic is that is exactly what Larry Pressler told him in the first debate. And just like immediately after the debate he surrounded himself in his staff in the echo chamber.