South Dakota gets some extra Google juice, as alphabetical luck meant our delegation to the Democratic National Convention took the mic at just the right moment for our fifteen votes to push Hillary Clinton’s running roll call vote over 2,382, the number she needed to become the first female major-party Presidential nominee.
Rep. Shawn Bordeaux (D-26A/Mission) greeted the convention and the nation in Lakota. South Dakota Democratic Party Chair Ann Tornberg delivered our vote.
On our delegate roster, pledged delegates Alli Moran, Dylan Workman, Clara Hart, Cully Williams, Margaret Potts, Paul Schipper, Allison Renville, Mark Winegar, Rachel Caesar, and Randall Sanderson voted for Senator Bernie Sanders. Pledged delegates Scott Parsley, Carrie Ackerman Rice, Shawn Bordeaux, Lee Ann Pierce, BJ Motley, Cecilia Firethunder, Jeff Wilka, Paula Hawks, Rick Weiland, and Jennifer Slaight-Hansen voted for Clinton. Our five unpledged (“super”) delegates—Tornberg, Joe Lowe, Sharon Stroschein, Bill Walsh, and Tom Daschle—also voted for Clinton.
South Dakota’s delegation projected dignity and pride during its lucky moment in the national eye at this formal pivot in history. Sanders delegates Winegar and Hart, standing just below their party chair, felt no need to stage some distracting gesture of protest. Like the other delegations who took the mic—and profoundly unlike the Republican delegation that had to spend last week excusifying for a happenstance celebrity nominee profoundly unqualified in experience, character, and temperament to preside over the United States of America—the South Dakota delegation could express honest pride in both candidates. The South Dakota delegation could join the plaudits for Sanders, described by Hawaii’s roll caller as “the leader of our revolution, which shall continue,” then echo the refrain sounded by 102-year-old Arizona delegation honorary chair Geraldine “Jerry” Emmett: “the next President of the United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
Of course, South Dakota didn’t really make Clinton the nominee. Our delegates’ votes counted as much as everyone else’s, including Larry Sanders, from the Americans Abroad delegation, who came to Philadelphia to vote for his little brother:
That’s a real Bernie bro.
Bernie Sanders himself spoke the last words from the floor during roll call, officially moving the historic nomination:
In that one motion, Bernie Sanders showed more class and dignity than the Republican nominee has since the beginning of this Presidential campaign… and a fair bit more than some of his supporters at this Democratic National Convention. Let us honor that class and dignity, and that shown by the South Dakota delegation, by carrying out the imperative Sanders has declared, to knock off the outbursts, to defeat “the worst candidate for president in the modern history of this country,” and to elect the first female leader of the free world.
Bernie has more class and dignity in his pinky finger than Don the Con could ever dream of having. Lots of great moments at the convention in the last two days, and these two things were certainly great highlights.
Like some of the Bernie supporters are saying right now. They support Bernie, are a little wary of Hillary, but “fascism is fascism” and in no way will they allow a Trump presidency. That is good to hear.
No facepalms required from the South Dakota delegation this time.
No grandstanding (Isack Latterol locating the camera then doing a facepalm for the camera). Nobody making a fool of themselves (Pam Roberts forgetting our state slogan). We were well represented.
It was somewhat ironic that red state South Dakota was the state to put Democratic Hillary Clinton over the top with their votes.
Watching this convention, I am continually reminded that Democrats’ most radical candidates and ideas all make far more/better sense than the Donald Trump Party.
GOP is burning, and they don’t have any water to put it out. I wonder what it feels like watching the business model of your very own belief system going down in flames on a national level. I think we’re looking at a GOP apocalypse here.
Good thing she got something from South Dakota because it is that last votes she will get from SD in her race for the White House.
I’m proud to be a Democrat this morning, nominating the first woman of a major party to be president which followed the election of the first black president in US history. Contrast this with the Republicans who had their nomination hijacked by the original rich angry white guy with discriminatory rhetoric and a narcissistic focus on himself.
Stumpy you are lying through yer teeth, There are at least a handful of people on this blog from South Dakota who will vote for HRC. Their votes count-you lose again.
Mike, you’re right: Team Clinton is already organizing to fight for South Dakota. We may do much more than offer the red-state convention irony that Roger notices. We may see South Dakotans answer the call of conscience that Ted Cruz and Barack Obama have made clear to them. Electing Donald Trump is unconscionable.