The South Dakota Democratic Party has joined several national Democratic figures in promoting an anti-Trumpism pledge:
Donald Trump’s racism, sexism, and bigotry make him unworthy for any office in America.
But despite his anti-Hispanic, anti-woman, anti-Muslim policies, Republicans continue to support him.
In standing by their leader, their values are one in the same. They need to be held accountable for their backwards, disgusting views.
TAKE THE PLEDGE: I pledge to vote against Donald Trump and any candidate who supports him [anti-Trump pledge, downloaded 2016.06.16].
I generally caution against single-issue voting, but dumping candidates like Senator John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem for backing Trump isn’t a single-issue vote. Endorsing Trump means endorsing a whole raft of discriminatory policies against Hispanics, women, Muslims, and whomever else Trump needs to scapegoat to win the Führerschaft. A candidate who either can’t see or is willing to ignore the danger of Donald Trump controlling nuclear weapons will also fail to show good judgment on legislation.
Take that pledge—no matter what, don’t vote for Trump and any of his fawning Trumpists.
I can not figure why Thune would back Trump. If Trump gets elected, there go all those photo ops. Trump will not want to be upstaged! Seems that photos are the main reason the GOP wants our boy in Washington. He sure doesn’t do much else, especially considering he is the 3rd ranking Republican.
The fact that Thune, Rounds, and Noem would jump into Trump’s political bed shows their corruptable politics. Good job South Dakotans who have elected these clowns. Good job South Dakota republican party that voted Trump in the primary. What are we, Alabama of the northern plains? I think so.
I will take the pledge not to vote for Trump, but not because he is a racist. He clearly is not, and most will believe the Cultural Neo-Marxist propaganda without understanding that their pro-Muslim position was the main factor in the Orlando mass murders.
I am not voting for Trump because he can’t be trusted with principles like gun rights. For example, he was for banning AR15s, before he was against it.
I am also taking a pledge not to vote for Hillary, because she represents the Anglo-Saxon New World Order. Again the cultural Neo-Marxist propaganda will result in her victory because many will vote for the global crony capitalist simply because she is female.
America has been already turned over as explained in Romans 1. This election is meaningless.
Really a pledge? Thats the dumbest tthing said this morning. After all the bitching and moaning about that stupid no new taxes pledge of Grovers the Dems want to lower the bar to more fully aline with the GOPs bullshit. Not just hypocritical, but meaningless.
The Blindman
http://grammarist.com/usage/one-in-the-same/
Dear God,
Last month you took my favorite musician, Prince. Last week you took my favorite boxer, Muhammed Ali. Then you took my favorite hockey player, Gordie Howe.
I just want to let you know that my favorite candidate is Donald Trump.
Lanny,
Can I add my favorite unsuccessful blogger?
You beat me to it Nick. Was that pledge written by some teenage intern somewhere? I don’t need to sign some grammatically incorrect pledge.
Careful, Lanny! We don’t want to act like Senator David Perdue.
Let Trump live a long life. Let him experience his national repudiation and shame.
And let him experience the loss of the Trump University lawsuit.
It’s not a foregone conclusion that Trumpy McTrumpface will lose the McTrumpface University lawsuit. His comments against the judge were meant to influence the jury pool. Even in California if he can get a small number of die hard McTrumpface supporters on the jury who believe their hero is being picked on by a Mexican then he will win his lawsuit regardless of the evidence.
I wholeheartedly endorse Nick’s and Ror’s critique of the Dems’ bad grammar. I acknowledge the general validity of Dithmer’s “pledge” critique—Dems can’t dismiss the Norquist no-new-taxes pledge on a general dismissal of pledges, then issue their own pledge as a valid political statement.
However, Bill D., let me see if I can carve some daylight for our Dems betwee the anti-tax pledge and the anti-Trumpism pledge. The anti-tax pledge is bad because imposing new and/or higher taxes is good policy in certain situations. The anti-tax pledge becomes a blanket, ongoing prohibition on using a wide range of policy options in any number of unforeseen situations.
There may be a good case for voting for new/higher taxes from time to time. Is there ever any good case for voting for Donald Trump in any situation?
More hairily, can you imagine any down-ticket candidates who do so much good for their local constituencies in their elected positions that voters can in good conscience those candidates’ willingness to vote for Trump?
Rick Knobe says Thune, Rounds, and Noem must be in a “hypnotic stupor” to support Trump.
No Cory I decide when all this pledge stuff started that pledges were something a kid in grade school would sign. You know like a purity pledge. Everyone knows how well those things are working.
A pledge is nothing more then another reason to hate your neighbor. You might agree with 99 percent of what they say except for that pledge.
The Blindman
I won’t vote for Trump. Ever. But I did vote for Huntsman and would vote for him again despite the cognitive dissonance of his support for Trump. These are odd days, my dudes.
I never sign pledges – I detest pledges, but then I considered Martin Niemoller’s famous poem:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Insert any of the groups of people that Trump has come out and maligned. I will not stay silent on this one. Trump is the embodiment of many principles and policies – even if he is just reflecting his base, that are dangerous for our nation.
I used to think that maybe, just maybe Trump could be considered because of his anti-TPP stance which I agree with, but then he:
1. Spoke carelessly and loosely about nuclear weapons;
2. Threatened to default on US national debt which could cause global economic collapse;
3. Said Climate Change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese
The list of reasons to oppose this madman goes on and on. He is falling apart on national stage, accusing the President of treason, and he is making all of us less safe. The GOP must do something to self-correct. Trump is unfit to be President of the United States.
This was the easiest of all pledges to sign!
Dicta, here’s why Jon Huntsman supports Trump. Huntsman and Joe Lieberman are co-chairs of the No Labels group that seeks to elect a problem solver as President. Trump has pledged to support the No Labels agenda – though we know he likes labels a lot. See nolabels.org
I suspect that Jon Huntsman is very uncomfortable with his support of Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/11/trump-accepts-no-labels-prize-as-omalley-calls-him-racist-fascist/
Trump is a No Labels kind of guy, apparently. Or is he?
I suspect the same. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bug me, though.
As to Trump and his pledge: he’d pledge to kill every puppy in the US with his bare hands if it would get him where he wants, so the fact he might be dishonest here isn’t exactly bringing down the house.
Thune, a natural ally to Trump, can share in his public shame and downfall, just like when Thune signed the letter to the Ayatollah of Iran with 47 other Republicans to interfere with national foreign policy. Like Jay Williams said, had he done that as a commissioned military officer, he would have been court-martialed. Time to boot Thune. He has not been very careful and is merely a lesser version of an opportunistic version of Trump – all about themselves, not us.
Thune wants to be Trump’s VP pick, and he just may be.
Inapposite analogy is inapposite. A seated US senator and commissioned military officer are completely different creatures and have different expectations and powers. I thought the signed letter was ridiculous hand wringing, but to compare it to an officer’s duties and running afoul of the UCMJ is out there.
The Logan Act forbids any U.S. citizen, acting without official U.S. authority, from influencing “disputes or controversies” involving the U.S. and a foreign government. I agree that there are differences between Senators and commissioned military officers. But the Logan Act states “any” US citizen.
I’m familiar with the discussion surrounding the Logan Act. The problem is that in the more than 200 years following its passage, it has led to one indictment and zero prosecutions. It comes up anytime Congress takes controversial action re: foreign policy. Again, I think what congress did was ridiculous pearl clutching that amounted to nothing more than virtue signalling to their base, but a military officer speaking against the commander in chief is just qualitatively different.
The Pledge of Allegiance to an innate object makes people feel good and patriotic.
The Anti-Trump pledge makes people feels good and allows them to state their opposition to Trump and what he stands for.
There seems to be no harm no foul in either pledge.
The Anti-Trump pledge is only one of many forth coming tools to keep Trump’s racism in the headlines.
The oft-cited excuse of a number of these Senators, was that because of an impending snowstorm, they hadn’t really read what they were signing. Certainly a lack in the courage of their convictions, and certainly a lack of good judgment.
Huntsman is willing to back a racist just because that racist backs his political organization? I thought Huntsman was better than that.
If I ran any sort of political organization, I would view a Trump endorsement as a kiss of death.
The Washington Examiner labels the No Labels movement “dangerous and condescending.”
Yes, Dicta, but they both swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, as do all troops officer or not. I am always amazed that Congress and others in government see only protecting capitalism in that oath and not the founding principles upon which this endeavor of man was founded.
You’re citing the Washington Examiner, Cory? Since when is that a credible source?
I kind of like the No Labels agenda, and Huntsman. Lieberman, not so much.
My respect for Huntsman just went down the tubes. How can he endorse someone who has shown himself to be “nuttier than a porta potty at a peanuts convention?”
@Leo: : “I never sign pledges – I detest pledges, but then I considered Martin Niemoller’s famous poem…”
If one looks past the hagiographic hyperbole you’ll find that Niemoller was a recipient of the Iron Cross for his participation in Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare in WWI, supported Hitler’s rise to power and as late as the beginning of WWII, served in the German Navy at the outset of WWII and was an anti-semite. Consider this passage:
“We speak of the ‘eternal Jew’ and conjure up the picture of a restless wanderer who has no home and can find no peace. We find a highly gifted people which produces idea after idea for the benefit of the world, but whatever it takes up becomes poisoned, and all that it ever reaps is contempt and hatred because ever and anon the world notices the deception and avenges itself in its own way.”
I pledge to purchase no gin lower in quality than Seagram’s Extra Dry.
That’s not a particularly high bar, in case you are a non-ginner.
Bob, I pledge to buy you a jar or two of gin.
I’m with Dithmer.
I’m more preferential to Gordon’s Dry Gin. Not Beefeater 24. Or for that matter, Beefeater 4.5
Phil and Jackie Sonstegard are throwing a 250 dollar per person get together for Marty Jackley
Will that get the big egg farm at Parker?
Sorry Bob. I mean Beafeater 4.0
As I said, grudz, S your own D. POS CS MF SH
“Democracy is the theory that holds that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” H. L Mencken
Thune, Rounds and Noem are just giving their constituents what they want.
Lots of fun stuff here, but honestly – the Trumpster won all 3 of SD’s electoral votes on June 7 when he secured the ‘R’ nomination. We live in a Red State. Lots of others have evacuated having recognized that. Repubs could nominate even Donald J Trump and SD would vote for him. Wanna bet?
Here’s our task (as I see it). We have strong candidates for the Legislature this year all across the state. Elect them! I think Bernie was saying that tonite. It’s too late to put your name on the ballot this year, but get behind someone who did. Bernie lit the fuse. Be the dynamite.
“Repubs could nominate even Donald J Trump and SD would vote for him.”
I wonder? Will wait to see the polls. Barry Goldwater failed to carry SD in ’64; and he was much more rationale than Drumpf.
I pledge to vote against anyone at any level of office who would weaken the Constitution in any way.
Lonny said “Yes, Dicta, but they both swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, as do all troops officer or not.”
That doesn’t make Jay’s point a good one. A military officer is a member of the executive branch and boss numero uno is the President. Senators are part of the legislative branch, one that was designed to act on equal, even greater, footing with the executive and, at times, antagonistic to the executive’s goals. You’ve got no argument from me that what these senators did was messed up. But it’s not the same as a military officer and the analogy is dumb. I don’t even know why the point needs to be argued, as it’s a distraction anyway. What these senators did was worthy enough of derision that random points about court martials just gunk up the guts of an otherwise fair criticism.
Also: drink some scotch you proles.
Watch “The Secret History of ISIS” on PBS and you’ll quickly realize Trump would be a disaster, and then be forced to accept we South Dakota hillbillies considering ourselves experts in world affairs is also laughable. Cheney’s lies, sophomore decisions from Obama (that we supported). We’ve screwed things up beyond belief and opened the door to Jihad creating much of the current instability and terror. We’re arrogant and dumb: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/the-secret-history-of-isis/
http://juanitajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/tt160615.gif
Nuh-uh, Happy. Obama is responsible for the Orlando shootings because ISIS showed up on his watch-sez John McCShame , wingnut sinator from Arizona.
Later McCain pulled back that statement, but in his full statement he actually said just what the PBS documentary said, which is the few remaining extremists in Iraq went underground when Obama set a hard date to pull out which allowed them to regroup and use the same successful tactics in Syria which was to create sectarian violence. We voted for Obama to get us the hell out of there but we didn’t understand the dynamics/consequences. We’re too stupid to feel shame over the horrible mess we created. Can’t believe we have any allies left. We earn the label Dumb American every day.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/16/politics/john-mccain-obama-directly-responsible-orlando-shooting/index.html
Let’s get to the heart of this matter, Don Coyote. The poem is about REGRET. What we have at our disposal in this high-speed technological world, is the ability to research and assess in order to use FORESIGHT. We can see what is and project what is coming with Trump, and it is not looking good. He lacks any understanding of our constitutional principles. Stop this Trump nonsense now as he is already placing our nation’s security in danger and creating divisions within our country. Trump is unfit to lead this nation.
Obama’s unwillingness to call ISIS radical Islam, Jihad, and their desire for caliphate (Islamic State governed by Sharia) was just stupid. It allowed those radicals to define the narrative. You never want that. Obama didn’t want to call it a holy war so it left ISIS alone to create propaganda. The West should have been creating internet sites, radio and TV stations using peace loving Muslims and clerics to say the caliphate is not their goal, and not the way they interpret Islam. In a vacuum ISIS has been very successful in recruiting young, lost Muslim men. Stupid stupid stupid. When a young Muslim does a search on ISIS, Jihad, caliphate etc, we want him to find the information we want him to see, that Muslims around the world do not support it, are against it. Crying mothers. Truthful information was our ally but Obama blew it.
Do you really believe peace loving Muslim clerics need to hear Obama say anything at all for them to condemn ISIS?
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
R U serious?
Absolutely I’m serious. These young Muslim men think they are following Muhammad’s teaching as directed by ISIS. We should have given a stage to peace loving Muslims to say there is no caliphate, and be paying young Muslim men against the war to be community organizers. When I say we I mean the west. We’ve allowed young Muslims part of ISIS to be held up as heroes. ISIS recruiters know how to work them. We’ve sat on our thumbs pretending we can’t call ISIS radicals trying to create a holy war.
What makes you believe these young Muslims would listen to an infidel? Doesn’t make any sense to me.
No, I’m saying there are 1.6 billion Muslims. They have influence. We should have financed and created internet sites, radio and tv stations featuring them saying they are against ISIS, and created paid jobs on the street to help intervene. You keep telling me almost all of them are peace loving (like duh) but Obama refused to discuss that ISIS are Islamic radicals. It’s been detrimental. We let ISIS create their own narrative.
I think Obama has handled it just about right. He isn’t giving them the satisfaction of knowing he thinks about them and what they do, all the while he is taking out their leaders over there. Actions speak louder than words.
What kind of a signal does it send our enemies when congressweasels openly defy the Potus on foreign policy? I’d be more concerned about that.
Who dreamed up the words Radical Islam in the first place? Sounds like Frank Luntz so that Thune and Rounds could keep up. These bozo heads make me laugh when they all sing from the same music sheet, the same talking points. Radical Islam is a talking point, nothing more and nothing less, in other words, it is bulls–t. On the same note, what is ISIS or ISIL or stinky butts? http://www.ibtimes.com/isil-isis-islamic-state-daesh-whats-difference-2187131
I took the pledge. Now it’s your turn.
Young Muslims (American Christians, Jews, Et. Al.) need a good liberal education. Good Luck with that idea in America today.
In the case of Trump, I take the pledge: I will not grill ANY Trump steaks this summer, AND I will not attend Trump University in the fall.
Curt, note what Ed said. South Dakota bailed on Goldwater; South Dakota could bail on Trump. Anything is possible in 2016.
At the last second, Trump will decline the nomination and D’s had better be prepared for whomever may take his place. Jeb looks very good compared to Trump, Cruz looks good next to Trump. R voters will see any replacement as better than Trump and quite a relief, creating a better turn out.
As Trump mounts his Rocket Steed to colonize Mars (something only he could do) a shiny new candidate will step up with little time to vet or smear the dirt on him or her, black or white. (What?, it could happen, if taking guns from Veterans will stop all gun deaths and create a utopian rainbow every day, R’s might run someone other than a rich, white guy)
The latest Democrat hissy-fit over guns assures they will not hold the office of President, nor will they take back any Congressional seats. Look for a repeat of 2010 when they got their backsides handed to them over guns.
Barry, I’m willing to argue that Dems didn’t lose in 2010 because of guns. They lost more because the GOP made a concerted effort to dominate state races so they could control gerrymandering and because President Obama and the Democratic Congress pressed their advantage and got stuff done that was easy for the GOP to turn into a freakout session. Notice that taking away our guns was not among the things the President got done in his first two years.
As for the wild scenario of Trump withdrawing in Cleveland, well, I love it! It’s brilliant! It’s dramatic! Disposing of Trump and replacing him with anyone else would instantly raise GOP polling numbers ten points. Heck, it might even instantly grab 20% of Hillary voters who would find their lesser-of-two-evils calculus thrown out the window, especially if the GOP has the good sense to nominate a replacement who wasn’t getting beat up in the primary by Trump and the press. People get excited about new things.
The drama and brilliance of that move is why it won’t happen. I’ve learned not to bank on great Hollywood plot twists anywhere but the movies. This show lurches on as predicted: Trump accepts the nomination at a convention he turns into a farce. We Democrats elect our own disappointing dynasty candidate. We divide Congress evenly.
And Presidential voter turnout hits an all-time low.
Argue away, but Americans see through the lies you (Democrats) tell yourselves. They can see that the capacity of a magazine makes no difference to “safety”. They can see through the hypocrisy of banning a gun because it has a pistol grip. They saw the Brady Ban come and go with no discernible difference in crime and no change in who is dying. They also see the logic of shooting rather than rushing someone gone mad. If they don’t live in a State like South Dakota, they see criminals running rough shod over Law Enforcement and lament the fact they can only be armed if they have diamonds or cash to protect. Family is left out of that equation, not valuable enough to protect. If they do live in SD, they enjoy the safety of having good people armed and concerned about their neighbors. But we did recently see a random robbery murder and a home invasion murder in Rapid, so your message is getting out there to the violent criminals: good times are coming, just vote “D”.
If they do live in SD, they enjoy the safety of having good people armed and concerned about their neighbors.
In iowa we got GOOD unarmed people who are concerned about their neighbors, but, we don’t fantasize about taking on bad guys with guns because we are realistic and not tools of NRA propaganda. We also don’t live in fear for our lives and don’t blast away at the first strange sound.
Has anybody found any evidence that military-style assault weapons in the hands of everyday citizens has stopped a single crime anywhere?
Barry, this AR-15 owner isn’t a Democrat. He’s not lying to himself or anyone else. He recognizes that more pauses to reload mean more chances for targets to defend themselves:
http://thoughtcatalog.com/daniel-hayes/2016/06/i-am-an-ar-15-owner-and-ive-had-enough/
I do not lie to myself or to any fellow citizen.