Williams Running for Senate as Eisenhower Republican?
By Cory Allen Heidelberger on 2016-02-26
Yesterday’s edition of the Potter County News offers an interview with Jay Williams, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Williams offers this explanation of why he wants the job and why Senator John Thune has not earned another term in Washington:
Jay Williams in Potter County News, 2016.02.25, p. 7.
Why do want the job as South Dakota’s U.S. Senator?
When I would misbehave as a kid, my mom would tell me not to be a “dog in the manger.” That old story tells of the dog, who couldn’t eat the oats, but none the less lay in the manger so the horse couldn’t eat, and consequently, they both starved to death.
We have seen that happen in Washington, DC. The government shutdown was a perfect example. Now the Senate is boasting that they won’t even consider a nominee for the Supreme Court. The Republicans would not even look at the President’s proposed budget. There is no compromise.
When my dad came back from WWII, where he was a fighter pilot and survived a prisoner of war camp, he was a Republican. But the planks in the Republican platform in the 1950s included provisions that supported equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender; that supported extending the minimum wage; that called for strengthening labor laws to make it easier for workers to join unions; that promised to protect Social Security; that called for expanding unemployment benefits to cover more workers. These are all things that were part of my dad’s Republican party that would not be considered by the party today.
I’ve don’t know Senator Thune personally, but I believe he is a good man. However, he is highly influenced by forces from outside South Dakota to follow the Republican agenda. That is apparent by the funding he has. Senator Thune’s huge campaign fund of over $11 million, comes mostly from sources outside of South Dakota. In the last two years, according to Federal Election Committee records, he raised over $2.4 million with over 90% of that money coming from out of South Dakota and more than $1.3 million of it coming from “Other Committees Contributions.” These “Other Committees Contributions” come from businesses and Political Action Committees, not one of which is located in South Dakota and more than half of them list their address as the District of Columbia. Of the $1 million he received from “Itemized Individual Contributions,” less than $180 thousand came form individuals who listed South Dakota as their home. Fewer than 750 of the more than 2,500 individuals who contributed to him listed South Dakota as their home.
Senator Thune has limited experience working in the private sector, having been a member of the political world for most of his adult life [Jay Williams, interview, Potter County News, 2016.02.25, p.7].
Minor rhetorical note: Mr. Williams, don’t waste valuable ink or breath telling us Senator Thune is a good man. The Senator has $11 million of other people’s money to get that message out; he can handle that. Let every word out of your mouth tell us why you would be a better United States Senator.
Major political point: my fellow Democrats, will you fire up about an Eisenhower Republican? And contemporary Republicans, can you think back to the 1950s, rediscover your own roots of social conscience, and elect a Senator who gets things done? Even Mundt, when he wasn’t sitting next to Joe McCarthy and calling Democrats Communists, built roads and dams….
Senators show up for maybe 3 days a week, but the cardboard cutout of Thune’s likeness is placed in front of the cameras while McConnell tells the press that those on the GOP party side are all refusing to work. (I think it may have been Thune personally, but it could just have well have been a cardboard cutout).
In the private sector if you refuse to work you don’t get paid. And you get fired. Maybe senators shouldn’t get paid until they agree to work. Maybe they should get fired if they won’t work.
From what I can tell, the only time in Thune’s adult life that he didn’t get a government paycheck was from 2002 – 2004 between his loss to Johnson and his defeat of Daschle. During that time Sanford Health took pity on him and hired him as a lobbyist, though it’s questionable what if anything he did for his fat paycheck. He also went on the MetaBank board and watched as his campaign manager Dan Nelson caused MetaBank a million dollar + loss. Maybe “It’s Time” Thune was sent into the private sector, but it’s buyer beware for anyone who hires him.
jerry
2016-02-26 12:53
Yikes, Williams is Thune lite. Is this the best we can do to field an opponent to Thune? Williams was correct in being the guy that will take on Thune if no one else in the room will do it, can someone else say they will the the other guy or gal in the room? I do not see this ending well.
Jenny
2016-02-26 14:22
You’re right Thune’s been on the govt dole forever and if he ever gets out he probably already has an easy lobbyist job lined up.
He has taken just as much lobbyist money as Daschle ever did, I’m sure. So the GOP is really no better. But they think he’s a good proper nice innocent man that would never do that.
Jenny
2016-02-26 14:26
From what I’ve read about Bernie’s campaign he sent a corporate check back that was sent to him. Go Bernie! I’m ready to vote for him on Super Tuesday. When is SD primary again, oh yes, way in June. Last again, lol!
Jenny
2016-02-26 14:32
Has Thune the Loon ever even sponsored a major bill?
I tried to get my kid to come back from China to run against Thune. I thought it was time for the early Millennials to start moving into the Senate. Since she’s worked with a lot of Republicans, I thought she might be able to skim off some of Thune’s support. Well, she wasn’t interested, but she tried to interest someone of her generation to run. I guess none were interested.
Jenny
2016-02-26 14:58
Which is worse the politicians that grab these handout or the PACs working for the Corporations that hand them out? I say the Politicians since they choose to grab the dirty money and keep the govt as filthy corrupted as it is. This is the main reason why I’m supporting Bernie, he hasn’t taken dirty money, at least from what it looks like. To me, that’s a sense of decency that is sorely lacking today in Govt.
John Kennedy Claussen
2016-02-26 15:01
Mr. Williams needs to travel the state with a prop and place it near him wherever he speaks. This prop should consist of a Hollywood director’s chair and chalkboard, a basketball, and a bunch of play money.
Such a prop would symbolize what he is really running against. Like it or not, this is the “Year of the Donald” and when you are up against $ 11 million you need a way to grab attention and quite frankly inform and entertain the electorate, which goes beyond newspaper interviews. You need a way to show the people of South Dakota that our current Senator up for election this year is merely a “Hollywood” creation in terms of political image, a frequent dribbler, and the benefactor of $ 11 million dollar from the wealth class at the expense of the true values of most South Dakotans… It is time for it to be game on in this senate race…
Jenny
2016-02-26 15:18
Hey Cory, I’m off to see Bernie here in Rochester tomorrow!
Roger Cornelius
2016-02-26 16:18
South Dakota needs a Jay Williams voice in the Senate, not a picture of a voiceless John Thune.
moses
2016-02-26 20:22
dont forget the suntan and the camera for photo op.
drey samuelson
2016-02-27 00:00
Cory–I almost always agree with you, but I don’t on your suggestion to Jay Williams that he shouldn’t waste his breath stating that John Thune is a good man. True, Thune has more than enough money to make that case himself, but I don’t believe that a political campaign has to be 100% about pointing out why you’d be a better candidate that your opponent–briefly acknowledging that your opponent is a good guy (assuming you think he is, as Thune is, in my view) is a refreshing change from the constant political acrimony with which we’re inundated, and Lord knows we can use a little of that–especially in a year like this one!
Drey, I challenge the notion that we Dems have to work extra hard to be extra nice. We’ve been just as nice in the past, and has it added any value to our campaigns? When time, ink, and attention are finite, we need to use them as efficiently as possible. Jay’s essay had a number of other phrases like that, spending time tempering a message that doesn’t need to be tempered. I don’t think voters will say to themselves, “Gee, I never heard Williams say Thune is a nice man, so I’m going to vote for Thune.” Any voter who would say something like that is just rationalizing a vote she planned to give to Thune anyway.
leslie
2016-02-27 06:57
thune has a resume of a political animal swathed in god and the GOP. he was privileged to personally avoid military service, scored political appointments at every step and is now groomed by no less than lawyer/sen. leader McConnell almost 20 years his senior. heady stuff while doing little of substance despite great opportunity. Williams probably means thune is a safe family man to boot, scheduling hours of “jogging” on the pay roll maintaining his physique above all else.
as long as Jay has professional advice, his nod to civility highlights the democratic ethic of a renaissance man high above the crassness of republican politics today.
take him out, Jay!! the next 8 years in DC are gonna be great for us!!! Your resume of genuineness should trump kid thune’s. but don’t take a knife to a gun fight, and don’t forget to duck. GOP takes no prisoners it doesn’t torture 1st. sorry for the horrendous though perhaps necessary clichés.
Paladn
2016-02-27 14:19
I am impressed with the courage and fortitude of Mr. Williams; however, how does he hope for success when the party he represents, historically, cannot raise significant funds, develop effective media campaigns nor GOTV? I hope party leaders will work to change the past to assist this and other campaigns.
Senators show up for maybe 3 days a week, but the cardboard cutout of Thune’s likeness is placed in front of the cameras while McConnell tells the press that those on the GOP party side are all refusing to work. (I think it may have been Thune personally, but it could just have well have been a cardboard cutout).
In the private sector if you refuse to work you don’t get paid. And you get fired. Maybe senators shouldn’t get paid until they agree to work. Maybe they should get fired if they won’t work.
From what I can tell, the only time in Thune’s adult life that he didn’t get a government paycheck was from 2002 – 2004 between his loss to Johnson and his defeat of Daschle. During that time Sanford Health took pity on him and hired him as a lobbyist, though it’s questionable what if anything he did for his fat paycheck. He also went on the MetaBank board and watched as his campaign manager Dan Nelson caused MetaBank a million dollar + loss. Maybe “It’s Time” Thune was sent into the private sector, but it’s buyer beware for anyone who hires him.
Yikes, Williams is Thune lite. Is this the best we can do to field an opponent to Thune? Williams was correct in being the guy that will take on Thune if no one else in the room will do it, can someone else say they will the the other guy or gal in the room? I do not see this ending well.
You’re right Thune’s been on the govt dole forever and if he ever gets out he probably already has an easy lobbyist job lined up.
He has taken just as much lobbyist money as Daschle ever did, I’m sure. So the GOP is really no better. But they think he’s a good proper nice innocent man that would never do that.
From what I’ve read about Bernie’s campaign he sent a corporate check back that was sent to him. Go Bernie! I’m ready to vote for him on Super Tuesday. When is SD primary again, oh yes, way in June. Last again, lol!
Has Thune the Loon ever even sponsored a major bill?
Take a good look at who buys your Senator Thune, SD:
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=n00004572&cycle=2016#ind
I tried to get my kid to come back from China to run against Thune. I thought it was time for the early Millennials to start moving into the Senate. Since she’s worked with a lot of Republicans, I thought she might be able to skim off some of Thune’s support. Well, she wasn’t interested, but she tried to interest someone of her generation to run. I guess none were interested.
Which is worse the politicians that grab these handout or the PACs working for the Corporations that hand them out? I say the Politicians since they choose to grab the dirty money and keep the govt as filthy corrupted as it is. This is the main reason why I’m supporting Bernie, he hasn’t taken dirty money, at least from what it looks like. To me, that’s a sense of decency that is sorely lacking today in Govt.
Mr. Williams needs to travel the state with a prop and place it near him wherever he speaks. This prop should consist of a Hollywood director’s chair and chalkboard, a basketball, and a bunch of play money.
Such a prop would symbolize what he is really running against. Like it or not, this is the “Year of the Donald” and when you are up against $ 11 million you need a way to grab attention and quite frankly inform and entertain the electorate, which goes beyond newspaper interviews. You need a way to show the people of South Dakota that our current Senator up for election this year is merely a “Hollywood” creation in terms of political image, a frequent dribbler, and the benefactor of $ 11 million dollar from the wealth class at the expense of the true values of most South Dakotans… It is time for it to be game on in this senate race…
Hey Cory, I’m off to see Bernie here in Rochester tomorrow!
South Dakota needs a Jay Williams voice in the Senate, not a picture of a voiceless John Thune.
dont forget the suntan and the camera for photo op.
Cory–I almost always agree with you, but I don’t on your suggestion to Jay Williams that he shouldn’t waste his breath stating that John Thune is a good man. True, Thune has more than enough money to make that case himself, but I don’t believe that a political campaign has to be 100% about pointing out why you’d be a better candidate that your opponent–briefly acknowledging that your opponent is a good guy (assuming you think he is, as Thune is, in my view) is a refreshing change from the constant political acrimony with which we’re inundated, and Lord knows we can use a little of that–especially in a year like this one!
Drey, I challenge the notion that we Dems have to work extra hard to be extra nice. We’ve been just as nice in the past, and has it added any value to our campaigns? When time, ink, and attention are finite, we need to use them as efficiently as possible. Jay’s essay had a number of other phrases like that, spending time tempering a message that doesn’t need to be tempered. I don’t think voters will say to themselves, “Gee, I never heard Williams say Thune is a nice man, so I’m going to vote for Thune.” Any voter who would say something like that is just rationalizing a vote she planned to give to Thune anyway.
thune has a resume of a political animal swathed in god and the GOP. he was privileged to personally avoid military service, scored political appointments at every step and is now groomed by no less than lawyer/sen. leader McConnell almost 20 years his senior. heady stuff while doing little of substance despite great opportunity. Williams probably means thune is a safe family man to boot, scheduling hours of “jogging” on the pay roll maintaining his physique above all else.
as long as Jay has professional advice, his nod to civility highlights the democratic ethic of a renaissance man high above the crassness of republican politics today.
take him out, Jay!! the next 8 years in DC are gonna be great for us!!! Your resume of genuineness should trump kid thune’s. but don’t take a knife to a gun fight, and don’t forget to duck. GOP takes no prisoners it doesn’t torture 1st. sorry for the horrendous though perhaps necessary clichés.
I am impressed with the courage and fortitude of Mr. Williams; however, how does he hope for success when the party he represents, historically, cannot raise significant funds, develop effective media campaigns nor GOTV? I hope party leaders will work to change the past to assist this and other campaigns.