Let the Democrat in the room beat Bob Mercer to the punch: South Dakota Democrats continue to lag sorely behind Republicans and Independents in voter registration growth.
Note that I can say “growth”. We Democrats have climbed 1.01% from the ten-year low we hit in March. According to the Secretary of State’s July 5 tally, we Dems are now 168,625 strong. But that meager growth rate isn’t keeping up with growth in every other registration category. Democrats constitute 32.00% of the electorate, a ten-year low. Republicans have crept up to 46.45% of the electorate, a recent high, but still a tick under their 2006 level of 47.34%. Folks seeking alternatives has sipped most of the Dem milkshake, rising from 14.71% at the 2006 general election to 21.55% of today’s electorate.
Compared to the last two Presidential election years, we Democrats are the only group in a hole:
| GOP | Dem | Other | Total | |
| Registration totals 2016.07.05 | 244,754 | 168,625 | 113,524 | 526,903 |
| current/July 2015 | 100.65% | 96.17% | 103.45% | 99.75% |
| current/July 2012 | 103.49% | 90.63% | 127.63% | 102.75% |
| current/Nov 2008 | 101.34% | 82.49% | 136.53% | 99.33% |
We Democrats have lost one in six of the voters who were registered in our party in the Obama/McCain election. South Dakota Democrats have grown just a hair since McCain, while voters declining to identify with the major parties have grown by over a third.
But in a sign of voter disengagement, notice the relative flatline of total voter registration. Since 2008, voter registration has actually declined 0.67%. Over that same period, South Dakota’s population has grown 7.43%. If voter registration had grown proportionally with population, South Dakota would have almost 43,000 more voters.
Looks like I’d better carry more registration forms… and give more citizens a reason to get off their duffs and vote!
I really believe that many of us Independent registered voters tend to support the Democrat’s way of thinking. Voters who think like Republicans will register as Republicans, not as Independents. Plus we can vote in the Democrat’s primary without having to change our registration.
@Paul I have met a lot of Independent voters who are disgruntled conservatives who left the SDGOP because of the corruption and lack of Republican principles evident in many of our “Republican” elected officials. I have also met a lot of Independents who left the SDDP because they feel neither party represents them, but they do not share the war on God that many of the hard Left have pushed onto the Democratic Party.
The current slate of candidates for POTUS, leave a lot to be desired no matter what side of the aisle a person is camped out in.
We will truly see how low the SDDP can go after 4 years of President Hillary Clinton with her arrogance and unaccountability.
We won’t be engaged in WWIII with her as President though. With Trump I’m afraid that he will give orders to shoot down the next Russian hot dog pilot that buzzes one of our ships. Then he will taunt Putin. If we get into a war, Trump will say, ‘Who cares? They buzzed our ship first.’ We can’t afford his kind of recklessness in the oval office. And we can’t afford to beat any more plowshares into swords. We have too many swords already.
Stace Nelson, I hope that you and Cory can work together to restore some of our faith in state government. I believe that you both will.
All the SD Dems moved to MN. I know a lot of ex-South Dakotans here.
30 years of constant lies from wingnuts hasn’t satisfied the get Clinton crowd. It isn’t anything illegal,immoral or unethical the Clinton’s have done. It is a personal grudge by wingnuts that drives the wasted taxpayer millions and allows wingnuts to ignore veteran suicides, the poor, the elderly, the infrastructure and every other problem facing this nation.
Dems should get swept into office in every red state just because wingnut policies do not and have never worked for anyone but the wealthy.
More Democrats will move to Minnesota, Jenny, as the tea party looks to be taking over the state senate this year. They have purged the Democrats from the legislature, and now they are purging the moderate Republicans. SD is becoming a real tea party utopia – fueled of course by taxes paid to the federal government by Minnesotans and redistributed to the red welfare state of SD.
Over the years, I have been a Republican, an Independent and a registered Democrat. I like to think I would vote for the most qualified. But here in SD, I registered as a Democrat to put as much distance as possible between myself and the inbred Republican party. This is NOT your father’s Republican party!
I think Ror and Jenny are right. A lot Dems have moved out of South Dakota and into more progressive states such as Minnesota.
But I think the SDDDP has to do a better trying to show where the far right of the GOP is wrong. Such as a woman’s right to choose, gun control and education.
War on God? Hardly. A lot of churches have gone to being intolerant. They are the ones declaring war.
mfi, here is a list of Hillary’s bad deeds over the last 30 years that have turned so many people against her.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/all-the-terrible-things-hillary-clinton-has-done-in-one-big-list-2016-02-04
dude da south dakota democratic party is a frikkin joke!!!!!! we cud not get da green party fer people ta vote dis time but we gonna vote fer gary Johnson and bill weld from da librtaians.
cant trust Hilary an the democratic party are bought n paid fer just like the repubs. gary Johnson said da dems know how to spend. vote gary Johnson n no moor wars n free da plant!!!!!!!
bcb-I never realized just how bad HRC is. My eyes are open now.(if only I could quit laughing) Thanks.
lookin like gary johnson n mayb jill stein will be debatin hilry n Donald on tv
Kris, how’s your Green Party organizing going? Oh, wait, you told us: failure. The only jokes on the flow appear to be your organizing efforts adn your continued feigning of illiteracy. Neither is terribly funny.
Stace: “war on God”—seriously? Give me a break. Now you’re just making up excuses not to vote Democratic.
Paul, why are the Independents you know less inclined to just up and register with the party that reflects their views?
Jenny, Ror—uff da! There’s no winning back a demographic shift like that. Are we trapped in a feedback loop: enough Dems move away to deny us winning margins, we lose more elections, more Dems give up and move away… yikes!
Ror, on Hillary—so once again, electing a Democratic President means South Dakota Democratic registration takes a hit? Forgive me if a groan at the no-win situation: even when we win an election, we are doomed to lose registered voters? Whom do we have to elect to attract people to our party?
Does pulling Clinton toward Sanders’s policies help? Does her accession today to supporting public option help our chances of attracting people to our party?
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/09/politics/hillary-clinton-health-care-public-option-bernie-sanders/
dude gary johnson is n all 50 states. jill stein 37 states sd not 1 of them. no one trusts Hilary and trump = Nazis = ww3. dont b thrown shade on me because democratic party in sd is dyin n all old folks . not my prob. yer in da wrong party dude but gotta change the tude 1st!
Cory, I think that people register as Independents because neither party truly represents us. I financially will support individual candidates rather than supporting a party. I have never, never voted straight party. I used to tend to vote Republican when I viewed them as the party of fiscal responsibility, no more. I respect the Democratic party on social issues.
@CAH too many relevant articles to link. Pew saw it ten years ago http://www.pewforum.org/2006/07/06/do-the-democrats-have-a-god-problem/
The last DNC convention made headlines across the nation for the secular efforts attacking God in the DNC.
While the GOP is losing people because it is to loose on Republican principles, Democrats are losing registration numbers because it has moved so far Left.
HRC and Dems apparently have agreed to $15 minimum wage in deference to Bernie.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/bernie-sanders-minimum-wage-party-platform-225325
I don’t get it-wingnuts claim to follow the constitution but insist on dragging religion into government although the constitution is quite clear that they remain separate.
I’ve said it time and again here and I’ll say it again. If the SDDP ever wants to be significant again it needs to reach out to minorities. There is a growing Somali and Hispanic population in Sioux Falls that could to be welcomed into the SDDP. The MN DFL makes an honest effort to welcome refugees and educate them on the political process when they become citizens. I have seen them vote for the first time on election days and the excitement from them I remember fondly.
Sioux Falls is where the future dems are going to be, and I know the rest of SD doesn’t like hearing that, but it’s the truth.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a state party so dysfunctional like the SDDP. People must not care, Cory.
America has a corruption problem:
https://represent.us/#learn-more
The Problem: Congress doesn’t care what you think.
https://represent.us/action/theproblem-4/
When sales are down, CEO gets booted! This is a leadership issue. I agree with Cory, time to get out there with those voter registration materials.
If Democrats are still bent on electing Clinton, then yes the Democratic party may take a hit. We were told her e-mails were no big deal. I started to believe it. I’m not voting for Trump or Clinton; they’re both a national embarassment. Clinton is the consummate modern politician. Trump is a caricature of the consummate modern politician. If I had to choose between the two I’d choose Clinton. Thankfully I won’t have yo make that choice.
Sorry: Thankfully I won’t have to make that choice.
I was under the impression that Democrats were trying to beat Trump and put more Democrats in office. How can that be done without a GOTV with voter registration. Here we are in July, anyone hear anything about either of these in South Dakota? Me either, there was supposed to be some moolah for the down ticket Democrats, if they did not get the sums, then there should be moolah available for the GOTV crews.
Jenny, i agree …reaching out. Penn Dems &
SDDP formally support the Lakota efforts to remove Harney as the name of their sacred realm of the thunder beings in their version of belief in one God. The same god Stace is crying “Wolf” about in his make-believe WAR ON GOD. Bogus, Stace.
This is honoring and respecting the strength of their culture. It will protect children from suicide, for one thing. Self esteem-Dobson. U probably remember him.
Mr. Cerwinske, I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter, but after seeing what the Democratic Platform has put together, I will support her for that reason. She has embraced pretty much all of the Sanders’s platform with the exception of a couple of things, so to me, that seals the deal. BTW, I am an Independent voter that is very much a progressive.
Agreed leslie, the SDDP has stood for very little and their numbers show what that has done in the state. New leadership that can lead would be very helpful to bring some of us back into the fold. This bunch could not pick a winning idea in a crowd of one and that is why you see the Indy numbers rise.
Henry Red Cloud for South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. Leslie, do you support that kind of leadership?
Stace says dumb things but i forgive him after listening to a poem of patriotic bigoted drivel read resolutely on FOX by Judge jeanne. Some how i have a feeling she is not a real judge. But if Republicans vote based on FOX propaganda, they are manipulated by false plays to God & Country.
Ben on the other had will abdicate his vote, precisely how republicans plan on stealing this race. Bill spilled himself on a blue dress. Hillary didn’t use evolving email technology right. Republicans know how to confuse Ben and manipulate Stace.
That’s all they got. The GOP
Of course Leo. I don’t know you and haven’t met Henry yet but i have met Paula, Jay, Shawn Bordeaux, Kevin Killer and Troy Heinert. I don’t believe leaders are magic, but these people serve democratic and progressive values. But I know how Henry’s opponent has comported his PUC pro-crony-business reign, and it ain’t for the common Joe. Notice the TIF and 5 story glass castle BHPL, BHP & BHE is building on Skyline Drive “blighted land?
Ever hear of Regents, DOE, BANKING COMMISSION, Tidemann? We definitely need a different voice on the 3 member, attorney and staffed $100k a year technical/policy Public Utilities Commission. I know, the vote will be 2 to 1 against Henry for the 1st year or two, but my guess is he’ll not be a yes man for Daugaard, and will move us away from Koch policy, ALEC policy, and engender needed discussion on growing SD’s energy future for the 99%, not the one percent bastards.:) A PUC commissioner is a VERY powerful elected office and SDDP picked Mr. Red Cloud. No more “Bozeman Trail” in SD:)
Cory, you rule!
Stace Nelson seems to be developing a pattern here. He says “too many relevant articles to link” and then offers a single outdated, biased and easily dismissed example as proof. He did this same thing recently on a post about women’s rights and when called on it ran and hid.
The Christians versus Muslim clash to me is just a “my god is better than your god” playground bullying argument. We humans just never grow up. There is always a primal fight ready to be had.
The guardian, today says Trump is an idiot, and he is, for you republicans supporting his molotov cocktail politics. Democrats and progressives are going to take him down and the GOP, the mother alien that spawned him.
Trump has real estate developed mostly ocean-side across florida which will experience 34″ of sea level rise mid-century and 81″ by 2100. He still thinks “climate change is bullsheit (my edit) invented by China”. An idiot, with daddy’s money. This is the GOP. Thune, Noem, Rounds (yes the idiot SD Governor who after 2 terms built his home on the muddy Missouri view lot). This is 200k plus registered SD republicans actively involved in milking state and federal residents and funds for their personal benefit. this is daugaard refusing to expand medicaid benefits to 55k residents killing 30-90 each year for 5 years. Cruel. Heartless.
These global warming averages are preceded by high tides and storm surge flooding that are happening today. One mile of florida highway has required $20M repairs, 40k truck loads of new sand/gravel, 40 foot steel driven down to bed rock, and 4 yrs later the repairs are continuing.
Meanwhile Trump’s “Crooked Lying Hillary” (C) political muckraking is causing some liberal hand-wringing for the hesitant in red red SD. Stand for something people. Congress and the supreme court are only dysfunctional because republicans intentional have created grid-lock. It is not the Dems. Dems and republicans are not the same thing. Dems are progressive, liberal, really compassionate, and resolute about taking money out of politics. Hillary, an early feminist had been fighting republican obstruction since she finished law school in her young 20s. She is the real deal young people.
Get out there and register voters. Its fun and easy.
All you need are the forms and a pen. You can get the forms from your County Auditor and they still sell pens at your local store. Then go out and simply ask people, “Are you registered to vote?”. Don’t be shy because you are being of service. You’ll be surprised by the smiles and pleasant conversation you’ll get.
The last step is to drop your completed forms off at the County Auditor. You’ll get more smiles there.
For more information visit Champions for Democracy https://www.facebook.com/champions4democracy/ or the Secretary of State’s website https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/voting/register-to-vote/
Opps, spoke to soon it would appear. Now it is clear why Democrats are at a 10 year low, they appear to be as corporate as their opponents, the regular corporate Republicans. https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/751804772924157952
Here is what real progressives want and here is what real progressives get, more corporate America. http://www.c-span.org/video/?412247-1/dnc-holds-platform-meeting-orlando What Democrats fail to understand on what has happened to the working men and women, Trump, of all people, get. Most people understand that these trade deals, both in the past and this steaming pile of crap, have killed the middle class and all that goes with it. This is no longer about Bernie Sanders, this is about Hillary demanding the Democratic platform work for the good of the people, all people. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html
“Now it is clear why Democrats are at a 10 year low, they appear to be as corporate as their opponents, the regular corporate Republicans.”
dude been sayin it all along. vote gary Johnson dis election and help us build da green party here in sd. let da democratic party here in sd die in da nursin home. jill stein is da real deal but we only on ballet of 37 states dis time. both gary n jill might be n national debate on with hilry and Donald.
No, I’m not abdicating my vote, nor am I confused Leslie. Clinton lied repeatedly about her Top Secret e-mails. As a result Trump is closer to the presidency than he has any right to be. All she has to do is honorably step aside for Sanders. He polls better against Trump anyway. I’ll vote for Sanders. Otherwise blame for a Trump win rests squarely on the shoulders of Trump and Clinton voters.
BTW E-mail wasn’t new when she was Secretary of State and you brought up Bill not me.
Ben, did you get a chance to listen to the “emergency” hearing in which Congressional Republicans tried, but failed, to get FBI Director James Comey to say that Hillary lied? Hillary said her emails weren’t marked classified and Comey testified that this was true. Comey also testified that there were 3 emails out of several thousands that had an internal marking of (c), which he said meant that part of the internal document was classified, even though the document itself was not properly marked as classified. He testified that there was no evidence that Hillary had knowledge about what the (c) meant. He also testified that there was no evidence that Hillary or her staff intended to skirt the law or any rules, hence no mens rea.
Do you think the life long Republican with a reputation for integrity – Comey lied under oath to Congress in some effort to protect Hillary? If not, then what is the lie, or lies, that you believe Hillary told about her emails?
I am an Eisenhower Republican. I did not leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me. I registered as an Independent voter when I moved to SD. Party Registration was new to me, as we registered at the Polls and did not declare a Party Affiliation in North Dakota.
I fail to understand how many in our state can support the “Rs” after 7+ years of an Obstructionist Congress. The Wealthy WASPs in charge care nothing about the bottom 99%, they want our vote so they can stay in Power and pass out rewards to their peers.
IMHO, Out of State PACs seem to control our Legislature.
My 2 ¢
Bcb:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/06/hillary-clinton/fbi-findings-tear-holes-hillary-clintons-email-def/
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/may/31/hillary-clinton/fact-checking-hillary-clintons-claim-her-email-pra/
HRC is apparently supposed to be aware of information that is impossible to know. Yup. she lied.
beerbat shes a liar dude n hides stuff n wat she wants to do. sanders campane exposed her.
more of da same n nuttin changes wit Hilary. same old same old in dc
she voted to go to war n Iraq and pushed fer Libya. howd dat werk out fer us????????
war good fer businesss
“she voted to go to war n Iraq and pushed fer Libya. howd dat werk out fer us????????”
She voted for the war in Iraq and she said it was a mistake. I’ll give her a break because Bush lied to her and the rest of America.
I’ll ask you Kris the same question. How did that work for you?
Ben, thanks for the links. I see them both as credible sources. But they don’t seem to say that Hillary intentionally lied about anything. The PF link says there were two emails marked (I think Comey said there were three) out of over 30,000 emails reviewed that had a classified marking, but fails to add Comey’s testimony that these two or three were not properly marked and that Hillary likely was not aware of the meaning of the unusual and incomplete markings.
Your PF link reports: “It’s important to remember that only “a very small number” of her emails, two, were marked classified when they were first sent, and just 110 out of the 30,000 she turned over were classified but unmarked. Evidence seems to indicate that Clinton generally dealt with classified information in an appropriate manner.”
Anyone can make statements of fact that they believe to be true, and the statement later turns out to be incorrect. That seems to be what the links are describing – statements that Hillary likely believed to be true, but turned out to be incorrect in fact. That might be a mistake but it sure doesn’t look like an intentional lie.
That certainly was Comey’s conclusion. He testified that none of the emails the FBI reviewed were properly marked as classified, but three had a (c) in the body, which meant that the line after the (c) was considered classified. He testified Hillary did not understand the meaning of the (c) in a message that was not properly marked as classified, with that marking at the top of the document as required.
Likewise, Hillary could certainly have believed she was abiding by the rules and her use of her server was approved and appropriate when she made her statements. Indeed, if you read the IG report you would learn that there was an endemic problem relating to emails and classified materials at the Secretary of State’s office that had existed under Rice, Powell, and their predecessors. Given the state of the office when she was appointed, it seems reasonable to believe her when she said she thought she had complied with whatever rules were in effect. The fact that an IG report concluded otherwise does not provide a basis to infer that Hillary intentionally lied about her belief.
Again, that seemed to be Comey’s main point. Hillary and her staff never intentionally made false statements nor attempted to get around or violate any rules.
It seems justifiable to oppose Hillary because you disagree with her on policy, or perhaps you think she is incompetent based on the fact that she admits she made mistakes with her email while Secretary of State. But to paint her as a bald faced liar based on the later analysis of her email situation despite the explicit findings of the FBI seems unjustified.
Mfi- This is from the first article (on Pulitzer Prize winning PolitFact) I linked since you didn’t read it, but decided to comment out of ignorance anyway:
“Let me repeat what I have repeated for many months now,” Clinton responded. “I never received nor sent any material that was marked classified.”
Comey’s statement directly contradicted that point.
FBI investigators reviewed the 30,000 emails Clinton turned over to the State Department in 2014. The investigation found “a very small number” contained classification markings at the time they were sent.
Yup. She knew. She lied.
“I’ll ask you Kris the same question. How did that work for you?”
not good dude n not good fer my dad who came bak from Iraq n is suffurin. Hilary position has changed wit da wind.
BCB: I think I can live with Clinton not being indicted. However,Powell and Rice aren’t running for president. Trump has been justly criticized for his childish “but he started it” quips. What Powell or Rice did doesn’t excuse Clinton. For her to say otherwise is just a more sophisticated way of saying “they started it”. Like I said, Trump is just a caricature of Clinton.
Ben, I wasn’t very clear – I was relying on the IG report, not any statements by Hillary justifying her actions based on the actions of her predecessors, about the email problems at State when she took office. The IG report concludes:
“Longstanding, systemic weaknesses related to electronic records and communications have existed within the Office of the Secretary that go well beyond the tenure of any one Secretary of State. OIG recognizes that technology and Department policy have evolved considerably since Secretary Albright’s tenure began in 1997. Nevertheless, the Department generally and the Office of the Secretary in particular have been slow to recognize and to manage effectively the legal requirements and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic data communications, particularly as those risks pertain to its most senior leadership. OIG expects that its recommendations will move the Department steps closer to meaningfully addressing these risks.”
https://oig.state.gov/system/files/esp-16-03.pdf
Those findings seem to support Comey’s conclusion that neither Hillary or her staff knowingly or intentionally broke a single rule, and supports Hillary’s belief that she had complied with the rules during her tenure as SOS.
Here is Wonkette’s take on IG report about the email scandal:
http://wonkette.com/602246/confirmed-hillary-is-sleaziest-email-criminal-since-colin-powell
Bcb: Even so, it seems reasonable to believe they should’ve known where the investigation was going to lead and painted an accurate picture of what happened rather than spin and muddy the waters.
Even if it’s not “fair” to Clinton, if she’s primarily interested in defeating Trump rather than boosting her own profile, then step aside for Sanders who has a better chance of winning.
Why is this the Hillary Show?
Let’s get back to South Dakota issues.
Rough Rider: Sorry, but Cory brought it up :-)…
“on Hillary—so once again, electing a Democratic President means South Dakota Democratic registration takes a hit? “
“Let’s get back to South Dakota issues.”
dude I’m wit ya! lets give the sd democratic party a proper funeral n build da green party here in sd.
Go find a sheep, Kris.
BTW- Sanders is not going to get the nomination. Just more wishful thinking on the part of Hillary Haters.
You want a liar- Chokelahoma Guv Failin says Drumpf has been campaigning as a racial healer. There is a whopper you can prosecute someone for.
HRC did not vote for war in Iraq. Go back and read the damn resolution she and other Dems got stampeded into voting for. It was not a declaration of war. This dissemination of false info gets tiresome.
If Hillary is the candidate of choice for Democrats, then complaining about her, mis-characterizing her motives, and repeating the claims of Republicans is not going to help a single Democrat in South Dakota. Instead, it will strengthen SD Republican candidates.
Supporting Hillary’s policy positions and correcting mis-statements about her can only help SD Democrats, especially progressives and Bernie supporters. If you want change in SD, then give voters some positive reasons for change, such as the fact that Hillary is a very positive candidate that will advocate policies that help South Dakotans and pointing out that to get such policies enacted we need to elect Democrats that will help Hillary move forward.
We need to dump Thune and Noem on the federal level and work to get Democrats elected locally if we really want change. Attacking Hillary is tantamount to attacking all SD Democrats, and even attacking Bernie since he has now said he will vote for Hillary and is expected to begin backing her campaign publicly next week.
Ben, I realize that many politicians run to boost their own profile, but that doesn’t seem to be Hillary’s motive to run based on everything we know about her past. Like Trump, she doesn’t need the money or fame. Unlike Trump, she has a history of fighting to help children, families, women and those in need. I don’t think she is running to stop Trump. I think she is running because she believes she can still accomplish positive goals for people in our Country.
And Ben, some polls notwithstanding, not everyone agrees that Bernie would have a better chance against Trump than Hillary.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/feb/19/would-bernie-sanders-be-able-to-withstand-torrid-g/
MFI: Comey said no reasonable prosecutor would indict her. Fine. He also said no reasonable person in her position would have been as careless as her. There’s no rule that says Clinton has to be president. She can decide to step aside.
Btw Powell and Rice didn’t use a private server.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/09/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-said-my-predecessors-did-same-thin/
Bcb: Fair enough, but I’m an Independent, not a Democrat. Republicans and Democrats have worked together to keep third party voices out of the conversation since Perot. Johnson or Stein could dissapoint me. I basically know Trump or Clinton will.
http://reason.com/blog/2016/05/25/getting-the-libertarians-into-presidenti
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Presidential_Debates
Bcb: Your link brings up a reasonable question. However, the link also describes the author as this.
“David Brock rose to fame as a conservative attack dog on Bill and Hillary Clinton, then shifted to the left and founded the press watchdog Media Matters for America and the fact-checking Correct the Record to debunk attacks on Hillary Clinton.”
His view isn’t irrelevant, but he seems to be a firm Clinton supporter.
Ben, then as an independent will you support Gary Johnson if Democrats choose Hillary over Bernie?
By the way, here is some irony – I have been a registered Republican my entire life, so it seems odd for me to defend Hillary. Nevertheless, even as a Republican in SD I have always supported progressive ideas, including the idea that our society should help those in need and protect everyone’s civil rights – ideas that Hillary, as well as modern Democrats, have a long history of supporting.
In reality I am probably more of an independent like you as I try to vote for individual candidates based on their ideas rather than voting along party lines (although these days it seems the Democrats are the ones with the progressive ideas while our SD Republicans are following the anti-people path with all their obsession with genitalia, women’s bodies, who can marry who, where people pee, the right to discriminate against others because of religion, how to deny health care to the needy, etc.)
Ben- http://www.newsweek.com/2016/02/19/colin-powell-emails-hillary-clinton-424187.html
Yes, for now I’m supporting Gary Johnson. If Jill Stein were to win, although I don’t see how, I would be fine with that. Two very different candidates. I’m not as interested in getting my way as finding someone who can stop this growing divide. Johnson won’t be perfect, but he seems laid back and interested in debate from both sides. His unusual combination of beliefs on policy could create some strange bedfellows in their agreement or disagreement with those policies. Exactly what we need.
MFI: That article was from February. We now know Clinton set up her own private server. Powell and Rice did not. It doesn’t matter if she didn’t committ a crime. I don’t want someone who’s extremely careless with classified information being president. Especially when she had the nerve to suggest it wasn’t a big deal. Had she been more honest, it would have been more forgivable. It probably would have cost her the nomination though and she couldn’t have that.
ben dude dis was awesome http://www.press.org/news-multimedia/galleries/npc-luncheon-gary-johnson-william-weld
dump trump & bilary n vote gary
herd them at werk on da radio at da press club
What do we need to do so that we have a more “Balanced” Legislature here in South Dakota?
How can we elect more “Moderates”.
IMHO, South Dakota shot themselves in the foot when they voted Stephanie Herseth Sandlin out of Office. North Dakota did the same with Earl Pomroy. Byron Dorgan decided he was not going to Play the Game and retired.
Why is the Democratic party eating their own young?
Powell sent missives to foreign leaders on AOL! How much more careless can one get?
Brock was basically a paid hit man for the extreme right and finally his conscience got the better of him.
MFI: You could be more careless by setting up your own unaccountable server. Powell was careless. How does that excuse Clinton who’s running for president against someone anybody else could easily defeat right now?
Brock’s history as a Republican attack dog himself suggests he has credibility when he describes how the Republicans would treat Bernie if he was the nominee.
I wonder if Hillary expected her private server to be more secure than a private company like AOL and even more secure than the government email server. She would have no control over AOL, just as Powell had no control over AOL. And as the IG’s report indicated computer security at the State Department had its share of problems.
I wonder what Trey Gowdy’s motive is for reportedly using his own private email server to allegedly conduct government business?
The Brexit is going to be big time trouble for South Dakota’s ag industry. In addition to that pain, we now know that the rest of Europe is in worse financial status than we thought. We taxpayers know that there will be a bigger one coming for us here. From yesterday:
Deutsche Bank – “the most important net contributor to systemic risks,” as the IMF put it last week after a lag of several years – is having a rough time. Shares dropped 4.2% today to close at a new three-decade low of €11.63, down 48% since July 31 last year, lower even than the low during the doom-and-gloom days of the euro debt crisis and the Global Financial Crisis.
It’s not the only European bank in trouble. Credit Suisse dropped 1.7% today to CHF 9.92, another multi-decade low, down 63% since July 31. Other European banks are getting mauled too. The European Stoxx 600 banking index dropped 3% today to 117.69, approaching the Financial Crisis low of March 2009.
Now, we taxpayers bailed them out in 2008 (big banks are kind of like locusts and come back every 7 years or so). Now a main bank, the first of many, Deutsche Bank wants 150 billion Euros to right its ship. You may remember these guys from the past getting their hands in the cookie jar. They got it slapped with a 4 and half year prison term, big deal. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/ex-deutsche-bank-broker-sentenced-to-4-1-2-years-in-prison-io48jzrs
As the article notes, in the USA, we cannot do anything really with corruption. We have two ongoing cases of severe corruption with dead bodies and we cannot do much about it. Some ask why we keep electing them, the answer is that we hope to be a part of their corruption ring. If there is no rain, they provide the funds needed to keep you going. If your crop does not do very well, they provide the funds to make up for it. In South Dakota, that is not forgotten as they remind us each week in the papers.
Bcb: Fair point. But Sanders has made it incredibly far even though he’s saddled himself with the socialist label. A lot of that has had to do with his integrity which would have been in stark contrast to Trump. A vote for Clinton would feel to be made out of fear for Trump. He’s spread enough fear. I don’t want my vote to be part of it.
Trey Gowdy was not Secretary of State. Ya got to give them boys credit though, without the Ben Gayzee episode, no one would have ever known of the server until much later. The State Department has its own investigation going on with this as well. Hillary’s staff may be the ones who cannot get a security clearance because of the server, who knows? Of course she could pardon them, as was done with ol’ Scooter and the rest of the ones who have been caught.
When a new potential voter doesn’t feel like their vote can make a difference, they are less likely to register to vote. I’ve seen evidence that suggests one party rule is so strong in SD that people see less reason to feel like a vote in any direction makes a difference. “It’s a Republican state, and it always will be” is the #1 reason for removing ones self from the responsibility of paying attention to state politics in South Dakota.
Republicans candidates usually just pump the same old small government, low taxes, anti-liberal jargon over and over again to win. They don’t often have to talk about anything specific or unique to satiate the voters’ interests, and it contributes to keeping ideas small in Pierre.
South Dakota state government needs to be more inspiring and forward leaning, and then more people will care and, of course, vote. It’s that simple.
Trey Gowdy using a private server doesn’t help Clinton’s credibility. If anything I’m even more distrusting of her.
The republican state of affairs has gotten by because of handouts from the federal government, not because of fiscal intelligence. The only way that has happened has been because of Democrats taking the helm and moving the ship in ways to stimulate the economy after taking the bailout hits. So then, who do you want steering this ship with the new issues coming? In that likely event, what about those on the down ticket, do you want obstructionists or do you want people that actually know arithmetic? Here is the spooky, Germany does not have the moolah to bail out its most important bank. http://www.investing.com/analysis/germany-can%E2%80%99t-save-'most-dangerous-bank'-200140836
Ben, Bernie has been for the most part a real breath of fresh air and an asset to progressive policy ideas. It is great that he has influenced the national Democratic platform as well as Hillary to embrace many of his ideas. Given his impact of young folks and progressives it would be a shame for his work to be for naught if the Bernie supporters abandon Hillary.
It was not that long ago when potential Al Gore supporters abandoned him for Nader and look how that turned out. Whether it would have mattered is open to question, but since Gore lost by under 600 votes it certainly give one pause. If people supporting Bernie’s policies stay home or vote libertarian, they are effectively voting against Bernie’s policies especially given the manner in which he has changed the game for Democrats.
Still , Ben, after 30 years you can’t hang her for she has not been indicted for any crime.
Let’s investigate Gowdy’s illegalities and Darrell “my brother did it” Issa’s illegalities in investigating HRC. Pretty obvious who committed the crimes. This is my final word.
Ben, your point about Gowdy is dead on. If Gowdy continues to do something I have been doing I would be a bit embarrassed and like Hillary admit that I made a mistake and stop doing it.
I voted for Nader in 2000 because I just didn’t think George W. Bush had a chance. “Who would vote for that idiot?” I thought. And so, I learned the first huge political lesson of my life. It was YUGE!
I don’t want to hang her Mike, I just don’t want her as president. Thanks for the debate folks. I’m hanging (wasn’t intended as a pun) up my end of this thread as well.
[Kris, I “throw shade” on you because you degrade the intelligence of the comment section with your feigned illiteracy. Knock it off.]
Stace, get real. If I were waging war on God, I wouldn’t live in the house I live in. The “war on God/Christmas/Christians” is bushwah thrown by Republicans to avoid talking about real policies (which when placed on the ballot draw voters to the Democratic side more often than not).
Dems’ problem isn’t the Republican-imagined war on religion; it’s our acquiescence and apologies that let the GOP brand us and keep voters from seeing their agreement with our policies. That and the practical things commenters above talk about: registering voters and getting them out to vote!
Also not helping is our inability to get past our primary fight and focus on winning the general election. I’ve said I won’t exert myself defending Hillary Clinton, but I’m also not going to exert myself slagging her and giving Trumpists more excuse to vote for Il Duce. I’m going to focus on giving Democrats a reason to register and vote here in South Dakota.
The SDDP can’t control who gets the Presidential nomination. The SDDP can do something about voter registration in South Dakota. The SDDP can do something about getting the word out about its good Legislative candidates. The SDDP can do something about pointing out the failure of one-party rule in Pierre and convincing voters that their votes for Legislature can make South Dakota government better. The Trump/Clinton/email debate is a sure way to turn more voters off politics. Showing South Dakotans how they can make a difference right here in our home state can get them back into politics, into the art of building their own community.
dude I was at joe foss as long as I culd. had truble at sckool. no wunder you got fired as a teacher!!!
Great to read what the SDDP CAN DO !
I would block Kris, Cory.
I don’t believe that Kris aspires to be anything more than a troll here.
Agreed, Ror. As with Sibby, when we end up talking about a commenter instead of the topic at hand (here, the persistent weakness of SDDP’s voter registration), we lose relevance for the vast majority of readers who come here to learn about and intelligently discuss South Dakota politics.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz out! Who’s next?
I met DWS last year and told her to give Bernie a chance. Guess she didn’t listen.
https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p206x206/11169860_942048579149467_1371099212525431137_n.jpg?oh=1eb3e15ea09861e0caf645a66dbb2b17&oe=582F000F
Donna Brazile has been named interim chair. Good choice,imho.