Donald Trump’s receipt of the nuclear codes in 72 days makes my loss in yesterday’s District 3 Senate race seem trivial. Yet I must observe….
Republican legislator Al Novstrup spent the most beautiful pre-election weekend possible attending a tailgate party and football game 150 miles from his district and obstinately arguing on Facebook that his embarrassingly ignorant comment that Sharia law rules Dearborn, Michigan, is actually true because Demkota Beef makes halal meat (I wonder where Al got that idea…). His opponent (that’s me!) spent that weekend knocking on the last 600 of several thousand doors personally visited since the end of May.
Al’s lazy illogic won him 6,364 votes from our neighbors and an eighth term in Pierre. 4,031 voted for me. That shows what honesty and hard work gets a Democrat in South Dakota.
Democrats took a beating everywhere in South Dakota. Not one new Democrat won a seat challenged by Republicans last night. Former Democratic legislator Dan Ahlers returned to beat the odious and genital-obsessed Republican incumbent Roger Hunt in District 25 by a recount-worthy 33 votes, but Ahlers still finished second to new Republican Rep.-Elect Tom Pischke, who will probably dedicate his time in Pierre to arguing that men don’t have enough rights.
My friend, former refugee, and champion of human rights Clara Hart got over $76,000 in campaign contributions thanks to one great mention from Bernie Sanders. Yet she drew a lower percentage of the District 6 House vote than the stronger Democrat, Joseph Weis, who ran against the same Herman Otten/Isaac Latterell tandem in 2012 and spent less than $750 on his whole campaign.
Another friend, Senator Scott Parsley, legislated as one of the most moderate, pro-business Democrats you could ask for. Yet District 8 threw him out in favor of inexperienced twenty-something Jordan Youngberg.
And the top of our Democratic ticket? Henry Red Cloud 25%. Jay Williams 28%. Hillary Clinton 32%. Paula Hawks 36%. The new Democratic default vote in South Dakota appears to be 30%. Rep. Paula Hawks’s superior intellect mattered not one whit, and her extra effort over that of the rest of the top of our ticket didn’t push her through the old assumed Dem default of 40%.
It’s not as if South Dakota Democrats are losing to great statesmen. We Democrats face no Peter Norbecks, never mind any Ronald Reagans. We face ignorant, self-serving dissemblers like Al Novstrup, and we get beat. Being smart and right didn’t save us. Raising money didn’t save us. Ballot measure synergy didn’t save us (more on that in my next post!).
Last night we Democrats lost two Senate seats and two House seats. Republicans now control our Senate 29–6 and our House 60–10. There have not been this few Democrats in Pierre since 1954 (see historical chart on page 50 of the Legislator Reference Book).
We South Dakota Democrats have no cause for joy. Last night’s results show we have completely squandered George McGovern’s legacy and left our state at the mercy of a Republican Party that can unchallenged continue to block Medicaid expansion, erode our gains in teacher pay, trample on the rights of our LGBT neighbors, annul women’s right to end their pregnancies, and let the state budget slide toward further emergencies in the name of keeping taxes low. We Democrats have failed to field the loyal opposition South Dakota so desperately needs to save it from the complacent corruption of one-party rule.
And I am part of that failure. For all my cogitation over the past decade-plus of blogging, for all my efforts to inspire by example and run a smart, efficient, principled, and fearless campaign, I couldn’t break 40%, either, against a petty man who sits around the last days before an election watching football and stoking fears of Sharia law. I did everything I thought would provide a model for Democratic success, and I produced failure, just like every other new Democratic candidate (and several more experienced colleagues).
Beating the self-serving ignorance of the Republican Party should not be hard. Yet somehow, for us South Dakota Democrats, it is. We face an enormously hard challenge in building a new South Dakota Democratic Party—not a wing of the Republican Party, but a real opposition party—that can make a credible case to volunteers, donors, and voters that we can win and can and should govern.
I welcome your suggestions toward that vital goal.
The bright spot of the night: Dan Ahlers Wins in District 25!! He’s better in Pierre than any 10 Republicans combined.
Cory, well done on your campaign. But, it’s not just hard work that earns votes, it’s having the right ideas. That combo in you would be amazing. And you only have to shift a bit.
Dust off, and back in the rodeo. You played a key role in a massively successful ballot issue and thanks for that – together we got done more than I ever did in 5 years in Pierre.
Speaking of horses, have I ever mentioned I stopped going to rodeos ten years ago because I think calf roping is horribly cruel? Watch it close as that calf runs with a rope around it’s neck and flips when the horse stops. I imagine you can relate to that feeling today. Peace.
Aw come on, Cory don’t rub salt on the wounds. You will win one of these years. (Clay County is still Democrat. You would win there easily)
Move to the middle that’s where the votes are easy to say don’t take it personally, but we’re not a Bernie Sanders state. The demographics are just not here. We should appreciate all those who worked hard in their campaigns they’ve done a service regardless of the outcome.
The encouraging & fascinating thing for me is we voted for these people (by # of votes cast) in descending order:
Chris Nelson
John Thune
Kristi Noem
Donald Trump
So more people believe in the work Nelson is doing than even in what Thune is doing, let alone Trump.
Cory, you need to tell your story sometime about the young proud conservative you were 25 years ago and why you became a Democrat. I’ve always wanted to hear it and I think that is something that other South Dakotans would find intriguing.
You are needed in South Dakota . There are many people that like you and know you are a decent person.
Cory, you would be a force in building up the Democrat Party in Minnehaha County also. Tell your wife to move there!
I don’t live in your district, and I’m not a democrat. (I am a former Republican who voted for Gary Johnson this time around.) After all that, take the following for what it is worth.
1) I wish you had won your race. All politicians should be more like you are: transparent, open-minded, trying to figure things out, and educating / engaging other minds on the issues.
2) Overall I enjoy DFP from the alternative point of view it offers and for you in particular.
3) The users of DFP sometimes ridicule other points of view, using personal attacks and perjorative language. This is a shame and totally unnecessary. I can see how some who otherwise might have been attracted to the cause instead find themselves alienated.
I’m disappointed by the results, but not entirely surprised. I know Democrats have an uphill battle in SD and it has only gotten harder as time has progressed. However, I think it is worth noting that Cory is a relative newcomer in his city and his district. Some people resist “newcomers” and stick with the establishment candidates regardless of performance, ideas, or results.
To some degree I sense that many if not most South Dakota voters vote for whoever has the “R” by their name without any consideration for the candidate themselves. We see ballot measures succeed which are clearly more progressive ideas, but the candidates pushing them don’t experience the same results. The typical South Dakota voter votes Republican because that is what they have always done, and that is what their parents did.
At the end of the day, one has to admit the Republicans are just better at winning. They have a laser like focus on issues that appeal to the fear in many people. Muslims, guns, God, taxes and emails…. they drill it into the voters and never relent. And it works.
It may be that South Dakotans accept and adopt certain planks and ideas from the Democratic party, but can’t stomach the entire platform.
Maybe some of this can be overcome with a grassroots effort and a solid ground game.
But maybe some of it can’t.
Maybe some of the inherent challenge is going to be how I hear many Democrats express the belief that the electorate just don’t know any better, and that they, the candidate, know what’s best.
South Dakotans have rejected the idea of Kallipolis and it’s philosopher kings. It’s definitely been a mixed bag. The Republicans definitely seem overly obsessed with abortion issues, which the populace has repeatedly reigned in via referendum. But overall, South Dakotans seem to agree with the way the state is running.
I’ve heard you speak about what you want to accomplish in Pierre. I would recommend, Cory, that you first seek to listen to what your district wants. Not just the 4,031 who voted for you, but the 6,364 who voted for the other guy (actually, especially them).
Reflect upon it. Earnestly try to understand where they’re coming from and why. And then see if there’s a way you can accomplish what they want within your principles.
I really hope that people like you, Paula Hawks, and others will run again. One problem, IMO, is that Dems keep introducing new people to voters in every election. I know it is tough work, but the inroads that are made are never built upon. And congratulations on getting a lot of other issues in front of the people. Change sometimes moves at a glacier-like pace, especially in South Dakota.
The Novstrup guy may have won but at least he doesn’t get to rip teens off on paying them less just so can get wealthier.
(If that is a rude statement to conservatives out there, it is ruder to disenfranchise a group of people by paying them less than they’re worth.)
Outside groups, outside unions, hateful liberals, anti-religion crazies all were SHUT down in SD! Quit whining you crybabies. I wish I could have seen Cory’s face and all of you in the utter defeat. Your media was lying to you ALL along with those polls, trying to fix the race. Quit crying. Move to Canada.
Corey, you could move to NY.
“Tell your wife to move there!” So there’s a little bit of Trump in all of us I see. He’s probably not going to be as bad as we think. All these kids bringing home big money now. At least Hickey’s amendment passed. Scott Parsley losing is a poor reflection on voters as was Jeff Nelson before him, both two very experienced, professional men bested by young Republicans without much more than an R behind their name. Maybe another lesson is stop the tribal stuff that simply alienates. A bummer the voting law didn’t pass, it’s about power not good decision making what a shame. Go for a bike ride man.
Steve, you could also sit on a vertical cheese grater.
The point of this comment, Steve, is not to make a cheap insult or bullying comment, but to highlight that you have no moral authority to tell a fellow citizen to leave the land he loves. I’ve never told Trump supporters to move to another state or country. You insult me to make such an arrogant suggestion yourself. I have as much right to occupy South Dakota as you do (and we both have none, in the eyes of our Lakota neighbors).
Now, with that out, back to figuring out the real problems instead of resorting to cheap gloating.
Overly simplistic I think and I’m not a Dem, but it seems that the decline of the Dems in SD is related to ideas and tactics that drive away more voters. Dems lose elections, move positions on issues further left, yell louder about how they are right, lose more voters and, then, lose elections. Repeat cycle. I would like to see a better balance of power and I think many would, but the balance has to be more toward the center for voters to want more Dems in office. Who is the voice of the party? What are your core values and messages that resonate? Again, overly simplistic, but the cycle is definitely in place.
Cory, while the loss is disappointing, you have brought significant power to the democrats and moderates in South Dakota through your strong initiated measure efforts. Your initiated measure work has helped to provide a stage for thousands of voices that are otherwise getting lost in the mix. As numerous people have echoed, it brings about change in a meaningful and popular manner, and for that, you should be proud.
Now, if the Democrats can start to huddle themselves around that middle ground where we have been finding so much success in initiated measures, more success could come in their direction.
Well I meant it like a “maybe you could get your wife to want to move there”, happy camper. That’s where there are a few democrats left in the state.
Wayne: “It may be that South Dakotans accept and adopt certain planks and ideas from the Democratic party, but can’t stomach the entire platform.” Please clarify. What parts of the platform do you feel the Democratic party can’t stomach?
CH:
You are truly the personification of TR’s “Man in the Arena”. Stay positive, hold your head high, never give up!!
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
–Teddy Roosevelt
Telling people what they want to hear, as uninformed and divisive and meaningless as that pablum often is, may win elections in SD (and other places) but our children, especially our daughters, need the intelligence, courage and conviction you demonstrated in your campaign and in your work here. Never underestimate the value of what you have done. Thank you. And, yes, stay involved.
I second Timoteo’s post.
I am very proud of you and your candidacy Cory. I am thrilled that you took up the cause for District 3 and you fought the good fight, over 4000 people are with you…You are not alone my friend!
On Trump’s Landslide Victory …
This was a whitelash lynching of American tolerance. “Take our country back!” means “Take our white supremacy back!” It’s your country to kick around now, Republicans. We lifetime liberals are going to just watch y’all for a few years, give you an honest chance, help you when we can and I’ll personally keep my opinions to myself. Change is always good and this one will probably turn out good, also.
I gloat because you talk down to people and believe yourself superior. Gloat away! Your political dream is nothing… HAHA
(Steve P, you have far too much invested in attacking me personally and rationalizing your bad behavior. Grow up.)
Really Steve, why don’t you go bug Pat Powers at the War Toilet?
Cory’s blog is just so much more interesting and not deadly boring like Pat’s, isn’t it Stevie P? Cory is nice enough to not block you either. He gives everyone a chance to behave.
Cory,
I appreciate your work. You should consider a statewide race in the future. Get your name recognition up and let people know that there is a person who cares about the issues and understands them. I think you would get a great deal of attention and you would make your opponent work hard also. Just lay all your cards on the table on Day One of a campaign and go to the issues from there on out.
Thank you Cory! Your candidacy showed courage and strength. Do not listen to the haters … they will be on the wrong side of history.
South Dakota republicans like Steve P. have proven once again that you truly can’t fix stupid.
Jenny’s right about the Powers Dump Site, on the day after monumental victories all he has is a handful of anonymous comments sounding like Steve P.
Roger, how was turnout in Indian country? Any ideas? Thanks.
Thank you, Corey! You are fighting the good fight, lifting up important issues, and serving as an example to us all to put action behind rhetoric. So many people, myself included, appreciate what you are doing!
Steve P. I am impressed with your skills at calling people names. Could you let your kindergarten teacher know that you will be late for class?
Hmm… so if yelling louder about our principles drives voters away, are we not supposed to advertise our principles? Was Trump particularly quiet in enunciating his principles? Are Republicans in general quiet about speaking their truths?
As a supposed ammosexual, deplorable, kkk, hitler, drumpf supporter….I can’t help but laugh at the left crying about name calling.
Someone suggested Americans became numb to Trump and his outbursts, but Hillary on the other hand is so calculating when she made her verbal missteps like calling half of Trump supporters bigoted ‘deplorables’ it came across sounding loud and stupid. It was pretty dang dumb.
Cory,
I am sorry to hear you lost. But 4,031 people did vote for you. It is tough being a Democrat in SD; admittedly the values of SD lay more with the Republican party than the Republican party.
My thoughts on moving forward:
1. Be seen as identifying more with the common man.
2. Try not to be perceived as an elitist member of the intelligentsia.
3. Stop the insinuating posts about Republicans being ignorant, dumb, wingnuts, et cetera. It gives the impression that you would not be able to work with them if you got to Pierre.
4. Encourage the commenters of this blog to be respectful, and cease the name calling. A man is often judged by the company he keeps.
5. Talk more about the issues that concern your district. You advocate quite a bit for pro-choice and LBTQ issues, but are these really issues that the people of District 3 care about?
6. Get a job that shows your are invested in the community for the long haul. Hard work is certainly a part of the culture here in SD, and I think the voters need to see you as a hard worker. Unfortunately, part-time substitute teacher/full-time blogger does not evoke the image of a hard working person (even if it is hard work)
7. Perception is too often reality for a lot of people. Even if you mean well and you are an intelligent caring person, if you are not perceived as such, then in peoples’ minds your are not.
Even then, it might not work. I was incredibly surprised that Parsley lost to Youngberg. I saw them both at the debate in Madison. Parsley was intelligent, and knew the issues, and certainly seemed like someone who could work well in Pierre. Youngberg was ignorant of the issues (many times, self admittedly), and seemed like someone running because someone else thought it was a good idea (looks like they were right).
It doesn’t surprise me that Hawks lost. I watched the debates; she did not do enough to distinguish herself from Noem. You say she is more intelligent, but too often in the debates, she agreed with what Noem put forth. The only thing that distinguished her greatly, were her stances on abortion and LGBTQ issues, and not enough SD voters care enough about those issue to vote for her over Noem.
Ultimately, this is a democracy; no one is looking for philosopher kings or to be shown out of the cave.
McGovern spent years growing the party. it didn’t happen overnight. There were a lot of reasons he was successful in building the party, not all of which could be duplicated now.
He knew just about everyone in the state before he ever ran for anything. We had two Congressional seats back then, which made it easier to campaign. McGovern lucked into the Kennedy years, which brought in a lot of young Catholic leaders and voters. South Dakota was getting cut in to the federal government gravy train (mainstem dams, irrigation projects, etc.) during the 50s and 60s, so having a Democrat massaging Democratic politicians in DC made shaking the money tree easier. Of course, bringing money back to SD made the business community happy, and McGovern had good relationships with business leaders.
More interesting info: SoS Krebs just released the numbers for voter registration.
2016
Total: 544,402
Republican: 252,102
Democrat: 170,711
Independent: 118,639
Libertarian: 1,619
Constitution: 500
2006
Total: 507,132
Republican: 240,101
Democrat: 190,905
Independent: 74,608
Other: 1,518
In the last ten years, every party has seen a growth except the Democrats. A drop in over 20,000 registered voters, where as the Republicans increase by 12,001. (I moved form R to I from 2006 to 2016, makes me wonder if others did too)
If a Democrat wants to win, they have to appeal to the center, not the left.
Politics isn’t for everyone. I liked issues, and didn’t care much for ass kissing, not calling out racism or stupidity when it was evident, etc. A couple of times I just had to let some awful statements slide, and I felt awful about myself to this day.
Joe’s advise would not be my advise. Janklow’s bluntness didn’t hurt his political career, but it seems with a majority of South Dakota voters you can be blunt to appeal to racists, and that gets you elected. If you are blunt in calling out racism, that labels you as too “politically correct.” Heavens, we should never hurt the feelings of the racist bullies who have no problem hurting others. There’s a reason bullies gravitate to the Republican Party. That’s not me.
Well, as evidenced by the election results, the stupid are in power, and I’ve always found it far better to speak truth to power.
How does it feel to support a narcissisitic, racist, misogynistic, sexist, deplorable who might very well be convicted of repeatedly raping a 12 or 13 year old girl and beating her as well, Daniel Buresh? Yeah, but HRC did the same things.
Snowdrift Snookie sez only strippers use poles. Not true you stoopid cow. Donnie Drumpf used Poles to help work on a building and then he didn’t pay them.
Hey Joe,
Our government is not a democracy. That is a fallacy that continues to be perpetuated. The United States of America is a constitutional republic! Many of the founding fathers feared a democracy because of unlimited majority rule. That is why we are a nation of laws under the constitution.
Cory, I think Joe Nelson hit it on the head with #s 3 – 5.
When it comes to planks of the Democratic platform, the proof is in the pudding (i.e. where initiated measures & referendums originated from the left and gained wide traction). However, it’s pretty clear that South Dakotans have no love lost over unions. They’re also pretty unaccepting of progressive taxation. I’ve heard time and again from my very conservative friends how they’ll never vote for an income tax because we can’t trust South Dakota to actually reduce taxation from other sources.
I know a lot of farmers who’re getting really frustrated with how much they’re paying to school districts, but don’t have a mechanism to pass those increased tax burdens on to the end consumer like a regular business does. There might be some areas of commonality there.
I think South Dakotans are still wrestling with abortion. I think we’re still trying to figure out how much should be left to an individual’s right to choose, and how much should be left to the interest of the state. There’s a lot of morality mixed up in there. South Dakotans writ large aren’t as conservative as the people they send to Pierre when it comes to this topic, but they’re certainly not in the Democratic camp of it being wholly a woman’s right to choose.
Joe’s right, though. You need to focus on the concerns of those you want to represent. I’m trying to do that now for the folks in my sanitary district. I don’t have grand aspirations – I just want to keep costs low and the poop in the pipes and lagoons (and not in our basements!). You need the same.
But it ultimately comes down to respect. You have to respect those you disagree with. You have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they mean well until they show they don’t. Heck, it’s why I keep coming back here, even after getting some pretty nasty vitriol spread my way from time to time. I disagree with Darin a lot, but I value and respect our conversations. I also value Troy coming here to provide additional rational perspective.
I hope we can have continued difficult dialogues about real topics, but it’s tough when there’s a group of people who dismiss entire segments of the population, or spout hateful rhetoric that apparently is okay because it’s coming from the left.
All that said, 38% of the vote is pretty good right out of the chute.
So yeah. Reconsider. Reconcile. Retool. Redouble your efforts. But most of all, you need to show to District 3 that you’ll represent the majority of their interests the majority of the time, and build the trust that when you don’t have a direct mandate, you’re trustworthy enough to do what’s right for the folks in your district, and not necessarily what’s right for your party or your person.
Thomas,
Our government is very much like a democracy, but it is not a “pure democracy”. It is not a fallacy to call our government a democracy, as many aspects of our society fall inline with what a democracy is. Here is a nice document put out by the State Department: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/49271/dwoa_122709/Democracy-in-Brief.pdf
Please read it. I think it makes good distinctions in regards to democracy, constitutionalism, and federalism.
Sorry I spelled your name wrong, Cory. The sentiment is still the same! Keep up the good fight!
We are proud of you Cory, you ran a great campaign. Honestly, today I’m feeling defeated, but today I would say, it doesn’t matter what our policies are, how good of candidate we have, or how much money is raised. All that matters is what is behind your name on the ballot. That is how they win. Plain and simple. And then some have the nerve to gloat and act superior, thinking their candidates are the best. Nothing could be further from the truth.
People have to realize that this is a partisan blog. We lean to the left and we are going to disagree with the GOP more often than not. Cory does call out rude people, and he’s blocked very rude, obnoxious people like Larry Kurtz on here.
The name calling like Marlboro Barbie Noem and Drumpf is all just in good fun. Liberals have been called everything in the book.
Democracy was a beautiful thing and then we got wiki leaks. That overtook democracy and spanked it like the spoiled brat it is. We, the half of the people, only listened to a hacker that fed the echo chamber of captured news cycles with breathless reports of the snoop of a private person’s emails. Then we wanted to see Weiner’s wiener in detail, so we took the bait from a willing participant in the scheme, law enforcement. This whole process will be a good lesson for the working people of this place to see how the new tax break will put thousands in their pockets yearly while taking that from the wealthy…what?? Sorry, I got that backwards. Yes, just the opposite.
Marlboro Barbie is Thune not Noem.
I won’t presume to give Cory political advice about his future, he knows what he wants to do.
What I can tell you is that Cory was a very competent candidate and would have been a powerful legislator.
The problem is not Cory, the ballot measures or that he is Democrat.
The problem is that South Dakota republicans have accepted the “normalized” thinking of the likes of Trump and his kind.
Trump type politics have been festering like an un-lanced boil for decades just waiting for a pin-prick, Trump poked that boil and the festering puss erupted in a volcano of hate.
South Dakota republicans choose to be ignorant and like Trump himself says, “uneducated” voters.
They don’t like anything progressive and yet whine and complain when they don’t get federal financial support. The SDGOP keeps South Dakota a welfare state for good reasons. They scream and yell that we should all be independent and accept personal responsibility while at the same time demanding “their share” of federals $$ and Thune, Rounds and Noem delivering them.
If Donald Trump is true to his word, South Dakota may get kicked off the welfare rolls.
Good post, Mr. Cornelius Right on message. AND Should Cory choose another campaign, this ass kickin may be the best thing that’s ever happened. Almost all powerful politicians tell that tale.
RC, I thought about exactly that as I watched the election, if Trump does what he says that $12 million hole voters put in the state budget will be the least of Pierre’s worries. SD just might be about to see what bootstraps are all about. Cory, I don’t live in your district (it’s much worse here) but from what I seen you ran a good campaign, stay with it.
Steve Hickey, thanks for the encouragement. But “shifting a bit” in ideas—how do I do that? How do I take political ideas I hold quite sincerely and “shift” them? If you’re talking about actually changing my ideas, that might take some persuasion. If you’re talking about just not talking about certain bothersome ideas… well, that would require sedatives and a Pat Powers-scale blog scrubbing.
Hap, same question: how do I “move to the middle”? I might sooner try moving everyone else to where I am than move myself to where they are… especially when they really ought to move to where I am.
(Jenny, have I really not told that conversion story? Or has it just come out in dribs and drabs in a dozen comment sections but not in one unified narrative? And will telling that narrative help us win votes?)
(And remember, as for moving, that’s not up to us. That’s up to the church she serves and the future churches who might choose her to serve them… or, in the vernacular of her employers, it’s all up a certain capitalized supernatural being. ;-) )
I have to wonder what Clara Hart did with the $76,000. She didn’t spend it on advertising, that’s for sure.
Clara Hart just like all republican politicians get to put campaign proceeds in their pockets.
I can’t imagine her going on shopping spree, what I can see Clara doing is continuing her advocacy for social change.
By the way scott, what do you think Thune and Noem will do with their millions? It has been noted that they sure didn’t do any tv ads and very little in media ads in general.
Speaking of moving, Canada is building a wall to keep Americans out and they are going to make Trump pay for it.
How long do you think before David Lust brings the sale of the South Dakota School of Mines back to the table? Lust is like an apocalyptic zombie that just keeps coming back.
Timoteo, I’m glad to have readers of a Libertarian bent joining us.
Do you think the excesses of some DFP commenters cost me votes? How many District 3 voters read this blog, and how many of them either confuse me with or blame me for my commenters? (Commenters, you know I love you, but I ask from the perspective of an outside observer.) In what meaningful ways, if any, did Dakota Free Press factor into this election?
Huff post clearly describes what happens when ya ain’t got nothin to say. Wikileaks was one thing for sure, but she never had the courage to sell the people on how she would help the economy and find them something to believe in. Now those same voters are going to find out that the pot is empty again for them and the social funds to help them are drying up as well. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-democratic-party-deserves-to-die_us_58236ad5e4b0aac62488cde5
When we figure out that the message is what Bernie was speaking, then we win stuff. We should be talking about real jobs, real economic growth from legalizing marijuana for one thing, that energizes voters. When you only get the few votes that dems get, you just as well experiment to find the target. Sure as hell ain’t happening now. Get in the game to win. Stop putting folks out there for office with nothing to sell other than they are not the other guy. Big deal, sell something that makes sense.
Not to be trying to use perjorative language or anything inflammatory, just the truth.
Wayne, I will earnestly listen… as long as I’m still allowed to call out patent B.S. like “Dearborn is run by Sharia law!”
That said, I notice that one of the Trump-surge narratives is that Trump tapped into a deep anxiety among lots of voters. That anxiety expresses itself in wrong, counterproductive ways, like scapegoating immigrants and thinking Trump has some magical touch that will fix everything, but it’s there, and Hillary Clinton and we Democrats aren’t speaking to its real causes for enough of those voters.
But it is also possible that a lot of those voters can’t bear to listen to the real, honest answer to their anxieties: burly blow-em-up foreign policy and corporate power grabs disguised as noble free market philosophy have caused far more problems than any nefarious liberal plot.
Maybe there’s my problem: I’m not just listening for show. I’m listening to critique and fix whatever mistakes I hear.
Henriksen: I hate glacially paced action. I want change now! :-)
I agree that we need to develop a regular team, folks who make the rounds of the papers and the radio programs, folks who become familiar to voters, folks who appear on yard signs and billboard more than once (so we can save some money and reuse those materials!).
I also understand how hard it is to get intelligent, ambitious people to go through a cycle like this when it seems like lots of smart, honest effort goes for naught and then repeat that effort.
Jenny, I suspect Al Novstrup would consider your observation on his failure to rip off teenagers as rude and “inappropriate.” I will contend it is perfectly appropriate to point out what bad legislation he has passed and what good we have done by saving South Dakotans from his attacks.
(Hap, no bike ride today, but I did take the dog for a three-mile run. He’s making me faster.)
It is very clear the majority of South Dakota residents are not interested in what the Dem’s are seeking. The Dem’s need to get back in touch with the people of South Dakota if their party is to survive.
We seen the same thing with Hillary- the liberal view – Gun Control -more welfare, gov’t health care to name a few were voted down with the Trump.
The environmental issues have become to crazy to be substanabile. We need jobs and energy. The dems want to take us back to the horse and buggy days.
When one looks at our inner cities Trump is right -the dems have just brought more hardship. Wages have not went up the last eight and Obama Care is a disaster.
Not hard to figure out why the Dems are disappearing.
MD, I am proud of our success on those four ballot measures. We’ve made South Dakotans’ lives better with each of those votes.
Now when do we get some love in return for that positive change in the form of those thousands of empowered voices voting for our people?
But Jenny, those Sioux Falls Dems crapped out, too. The average percentage for contested Senate Dems in SF-adjacent districts appears to be one point below my District 3 showing. Proportionally, there are as many Dems there as here in brown. The only major advantage would be better access to the statewide media. (The Aberdeen paper did one report on my race all year, and no reporter has called for comment since the results came in.)
That, and hills. Sioux Falls has hills. I could do hill work.
Quit running dingbats.
If the political platform of Democrats wasn’t hammering the pocket books of the people actually working in this country maybe you would get some traction.
Big Government dreams are unsustainable.
The arena! Thanks, HydroGuy! The arena is fun. It’s even more fun when guys like Bolin and Novstrup come right at me, swords drawn, ready to battle face to face.
Thinking about what Barbara says… given a choice between saying what voters want to hear and speaking truth to power, I will almost always choose the later.
“You are not alone”—thanks, Wayne! I thought about that while running errands today. Not everyone passing by is spotting me and thinking, “Yuck, it’s him!” for every six passersby who marked Al’s name, four marked mine. If my voters and his voters got into a rumble, we’d be at a disadvantage, but we could still survive.
Alright! The pity party’s over, liberals. Here’s Michael Moore’s post, today. (I DID say twice, today that more of we Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than voted for Don Trump.) And now, Mr. Moore’s five point plan to rebuild our Democratic party.
http://good-mag.co/5PointPlan
Greg says “Quit running dingbats.”
I, myself, have quit running dingbats long ago. Dingbats get tired when you run them. That is because dingbats are meant to fly. Making dingbats run is cruel.
Greg, it seems to bother you that people are running for office that have differing views than you. Don’t be a hater, Greg.
sam@ and Greg,
It is necessary for me to say this one more time so that you may comprehend it.
For the past 40 years it has been the South Dakota republican party that grown government to the point of the current $12,000,000 deficit.
If republican hold true to their promise that they will only raise taxes in the event of a crisis, well, look for another republican tax increase coming on the heels of the teacher pay increase the tax increase a few years ago for bridges and roads.
And speaking of taxes, it was the South Dakota republican party that has handed its citizens every tax and fee increase in those forty years. There is no denying that.
Now, do you want to tell me more about how Democrats are tax and spend liberals?
Be sure and read Porter’s link to the Michael Moore’s Facebook post.
Moore is right and we should not ever forget that Hillary was right and won the popular vote quite handily.
Specifically I liked Moore’s reference to the electoral college calling it a ‘arcane’ and ‘archaic’ system to elect our president.
Cory, don’t listen to or accept anybody’s advice, especially when it is really bad advice.
Dynamite playbook for SD.
Via Stu Whitney:
“President Obama’s eight-year stint set a tone nationally that Democrats could rely on, bolstering party priorities such as expanded health care, abortion rights, same-sex marriage and climate change.”
But hey you can always result to playing class warfare and calling us idiots.
After all Paula Hawks does have the “superior intellect”, maybe one day you guys can trick us.
Greg, contact NOem, Thune and Rounds to kill the bill man, stop the Obamacare. Do it. Demand it. Watch when there is silence. You are so predictable, now give them a call in the morning and get this going. You will see if you have a mind to, but you are to scared to do it. Life is funny like that. Show me your superior intellect.
You know Greg, Cory actually won. Oh, he did not beat Al, nope, he did not, but he did beat most of the crappy things that Al has stood for. So that is a win, intellectually of course. The dude also had the juevos to take a run at public office. That is a big deal. We need more folks to do the same on both sides of the political aisle. He spoke clearly on what his support went for in the referred and initiated measures, gutsy moves man. That is what makes it all fun and makes being a citizen so important. The trick is already upon you Greg, and you even know it. That is why you are kind of edgy and pissy, amuses the hell out of me to see you all waking up to see what you have done. Me, I am gonna sit back and watch this all unfold and like your kindred spirit Clint noted, LMAO.
Greg, should I guess your positions on the Stu Whitney issues? expanded healthcare: I’ve already got health insurance so why do we need expanded health care? abortion rights: I’m a man so I don’t need abortion rights; same sex marriage: one man and one woman can get married based upon my religious beliefs; climate change, prove it to me, it’s not like 97% of scientists agree that climate change is a big problem or anything.
Nobody is trying to trick you Greg, unless you count making poor people pay a sales tax on food and clothing purchased here while the wealthy buy things out of state or on the internet and don’t pay sales tax. That sounds like a trick to me. Or the doctor or lawyer who makes a huge income, but pays no income tax to the state of SD while lower income South Dakotans spend most of their paychecks every month and are taxed on those expenditures. That is kind of tricky, but I don’t think the Dems are responsible for these tricks.
Joe N – I think you and I watched different sets of Hawks debates. LGBT and abortion didn’t come up a single time at any of them while all three televised debates very much centered on agriculture and Noem’s decision to leave the Ag Committee.
I’m not quite sure how you can try to appeal to the center more in South Dakota, as you suggest is key, than a message focused on protecting agriculture.
I listened to you whining, sappy rightwingers. They’re coming for your guns-wah wah. They’re going to force Sharia Law on everyone-wah wah. The Musllims are coming-wah wah. They are going to make us get gay married-wah wah. They are going to make abortion mandatory-wah wah. Obama is a Muslim and was born in Kenya-wah wah.
Well, they really are coming-to take your healthcare. They will install kristian Sharia Law on everyone. Black lives, Gay lives, old lives, poor lives -none of these matter to them.
Greg, Paula Hawks is smarter, more articulate, and more honest than Kristi Noem. That’s not meant to be a cheap insult. That’s an assessment of the skills of the people applying for the job. I appear to be in the minority, but it appears Kristi and the GOP have tricked a majority into seeing things differently.
Furthermore, as Roger notes, spending money and growing government is not unique to Democrats. The Republicans have had sole control of South Dakota government since Janklow I, and the Republicans have raised your taxes and hired more government staff. You are peddling a long disproven notion. As I’ve said a million times, I don’t view bigger government as an inherent good. If I can do less with government and more with volunteerism, I’m all for it. But I want smart, efficient, effective government that gets necessary things done, and I will fight hard for such government action when individuals and the free market aren’t able to do those necessary things.
The Democrats also do not have a monopoly on dingbats. Look at the cast of characters the Republicans run. Again, we Democrats aren’t losing to great statesmen. We’re losing to the Greenfields, the Novstrups, the Haggars, Arch Beal, Kyle Schoenfish, Jordan Youngberg, and a whole stable of legislators who are there because of money and connections and the favors of the uppity-ups rather than being great leaders with vision.
As COI points out, the Democratic agenda is South Dakota is very centrist. I focused on paying our teachers enough to keep them here, protecting your voting rights, and fighting corruption so as not to see tax dollars lining private pockets (or private gyms in Platte). That’s totally centrist stuff.
Of course, I agree with the items from President Obama’s agenda that Stu cites. And why is addressing climate change not a centrist issue? When the waters rise and flood our coastal cities, when the weather patterns change and droughts and storms wipe out our corn and soybeans on a more regular basis, it won’t just be liberals treading water and going hungry.
Cory: I don’t think it directly cost any votes (through voters stomping off in a huff from a particular incident), but it might cost you votes indirectly. A visitor who received vitriol even though acting appropriately himself either fights back, shrugs it off, or disengages. I suggest that regular human beings (in South Dakota) have good manners but weak tolerance for taking flak, choosing instead to disengage. While disengaged a person receives no intellectual or social benefits from DFP and has thus removed himself from your realm of influence.
(It may be that DFP is only a suitable community for people who enjoy slinging insults, who are otherwise thick-skinned, or who protect themselves by not posting, but that limits DFP’s potential appeal.)
Strum Luger tanks https://www.google.de/search?q=sturm+ruger+stock+price+history&trackid=sp-006 Making stuff up to scare the hell out of people is even more fun to see. When gun manufacturing is the first industry hit with layoffs it is even a more LMAO minute. Fakey fakes and the 2nd, gwhahahaaha. Great stuff from the fool’s on the hill. Now, that there is no more need for the guns that Obama was gonna take from you all, you thinkers can get down to the business of submitting one of the 60 bills you passed to kill Obamacare. Just change the dates on any one of the existing ones and get’r done boys and girls. Lets rock the casbah.
Cory has made supportive posts for open borders and a basic income for simply being an American to name a couple things that are off the charts to moderate voters. The combative nature of the comment section has lessened and isn’t much different from the Dakota War College, is it? But compare Cory’s election result to the other Dems most got creamed our state is working class with a brain drain it’s just demographics square block don’t go in a round hole no matter how hard and loud you hammer stubborn fools but you’re gonna encourage each other to keep doing the same thing over and over. What was wrong with Scott Parsley – nothing – he worked the town too. Only thing he had a D, but you’ve got people like Mike From Iowa who would never consider a Republican some of you are part of the problem. You expect to be voted in as the minority party when you don’t respect the Republican Party and need their votes like duh 6th graders get over yourselves. Your pride wears thin quit being stupid your way of thinking is partly to blame for electing Trump cause your arrogance and rigid ideology pushed working class Democrats away.
You SD Dems remind me of Bridget Jones you want somebody to tell you “you’re perfect just the way you are” ain’t gonna happen. Republicans are the majority you need them more than they need you.
SD Dems are kind of like the MN Vikings, they have had some star players on their team like Tom Daschle, Bernie Hunhoff and Stephanie Herseth (Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson and Chris Carter) but can never stay winning and ultimately lose important elections/games. :)
Then the SD Pubs always win and they’re like the Yankees where you just can’t stand a team that wins continuously.
(By the way, Greg! We have a couple Gregs in the commentariat—can you use a last name, too, or even an initial to distinguish you?)
I wouldn’t get too disheartened, democrats still hold the Governorship in Daugaard.
But by all means keep doing what you guys are doing, if you think climate change is a winning position in the electorate go for it.
It would seem people are keenly aware of the results accompanying a Democrat takeover of the health care business, and the results show nation wide. One can only imagine the price of energy if Democrat policy runs that too.
Also keep telling yourself you won the popular vote, but of course this country wasn’t setup for California to run it by mob rule. More reason to trash that old stale constitution.
Cory, this was a lesson I learned about listening & the way the male brain often works.
We listen, but we listen with the intent of offering solutions. True listening requires first and foremost to ensure that you hear, understand, and internalize what someone is saying.
Perhaps. Perhaps not. If I’ve learned anything during my time as a political scientist, it’s that nothing is so black & white when it comes to complicated policies and their impact on society.
Take for instance Mr. Cornelius pointing out how every tax increase in South Dakota for the past 40 years has been at the hand of Republicans. That’s a pretty accurate assessment. What he neglects to address is what would the tax climate have looked like after the same 40 years of Democrat control?
I look at bastions of Democratic control and I don’t see utopia, either. I think the tax burden on South Dakotans would be higher under Democratic control, and I’m not certain we’d be better off for it.
So it’s accurate that Republicans increased taxes, but there are few Republicans in South Dakota who believe Democrats wouldn’t have raised taxes even more.
Cory, there’s nothing wrong with calling out BS to blatantly false assertions.
But I notice you also did quite a bit of mental contortionism when it came to IM 21 after I asked you to apply the same people-are-rational-executors-of-their-lives paradigm you use when it comes to a woman’s right to choose.
I think what folks like myself and Hickey are trying to say is, you need to learn to budge a little.
I’m a huge fan of Ted talks.
I’d encourage everyone to watch this one about why we think we’re right, even when we’re wrong.
But by all means keep doing what you guys are doing, if you think climate change is a winning position in the electorate go for it.
Perfect example of wingnuts burying their head in the sand for political gain. Global warming isn’t about getting elected, it is about the survival of our planet and everyone-including science hating wingnuts.
“you need to learn to budge a little” In what ways, Wayne, or is it just the same abortion issue that South Dakotans are obsessed with?
SD takes more federal welfare than the Dem states that have higher taxes. Why can’t ‘pubs admit that one?
MN has higher taxes but less people in poverty and no food tax and a billion dollar surplus. Those are pretty good statistics.
So if dems came out to be pro life, the ‘pubs would be merrily happy and everything would be utopia?
Good news Wayne B. Now you and Hickey can lobby to get Roe v Wade overturned. That will make all of the women very happy to know that men have seen fit to take control of their bodily functions as you view them incapable of doing so. Let’s do this. Right after you put Obamacare out, then do this. Budge a little or a lot, but get it done. Then pass a unfunded tax break for yourselves as you seem to note that the Democrats would have done far worse under Obama for 8 years or Clinton for the 8 years before that. Yes, history is on your side of course. Roger is just wrong on his proven facts, we should be listening to your hypothesis on all subjects. Get this stuff done now, you have the presidency and you have the congress and the supremes. Go get’m.
Mike From Iowa who would never consider a Republican some of you are part of the problem
Precious lot you know. I voted for as many as 5 wingnuts on Tuesday-3 for the iowa Supreme Court that refused to even consider overturning iowa’s first in the nation Gay marriage law.
These Justices were appointed by wingnut Guv Braindead and have been pilloried by the religious right-a group that is forbidden by law to get involved in politics. Has something to do with tax exempt status.
ps I voted against Grassley and “cantaloupe calves” King because they waste space and air and are overpaid for what they do, like Dakota’s three amigos in congress.
Greg, who cares who won the popular vote? That is all yesterday’s news. Go call your representative and get after this kill deal on Obamacare. Dag gum it man, stop whining. Your clan has had 8 years to submit 60 many bills to kill the thing, get’r done. The banker in Pierre needs to hear what you have to say about his political view, I am sure he will be as amused as I am, better call Troy on that one. Your a funny guy man. Now, call the three amigos and let’s move on.
Absolutely I agree that rising premiums angered Americans and made them vote for a candidate other than HRC. This is why the Dem National Platform should be to get Medicare expanded for all. Medicare has been working for forty years, is popular and there’s no valid reason why it shouldn’t be expanded. Increase taxes and cut corporate welfare to pay for the expanded cost.
Rising premiums now? That is why they cannot kill Obamacare. Killing it will not solve the problem, it will only exacerbate it. The good news is that republicans now have the dude back in the senate that caused the problem in the first place, little Marco. Problem solved when he retracts the poison pill he inserted. Now, if they kill the Obamacare and put things back the way they were, there will only be a few that will be able to afford the health coverage just like it was in the recent past with 40 and 60% rate increases. Hospitals will not be able to cover the expense and we have the bomb that will destroy healthcare once and for all. Then we can build the more progressive system that has alluded us. NOem, Thune and Rounds, kill the bill! Make it happen. Show that Obama the door. Oh, never mind, Obama has left the building..LMAO
Exactly, Jerry. And of those who can afford their old health coverage, subtract anyone who actually used their health benefits and now have on their medical record a pre-existing condition that will at best, not be covered or only be covered with an even higher premium, and at worst, be a reason for outright denial of health insurance, when they go back. 20 million people. I agree. This is the first Trump promise to be broken – to be followed by several others even before he takes office.
Wait until we hear a foreign policy speech. It will begin like. “Here I am at Trump_________ great place with superior room service and the best taco’s ever. Yes, come and stay here, under budget and on time with just a few more payments to make on this baby and it is ready right now for you” Hillary is a crook, and Obama was not born here, little Marco is now my friend, Meatloaf will take questions today. Now, I have to go for cocktails”. “Oh and regulations are for suckers”. Regarding Obamcare, repeal and replace it with Trumpcare. Same thing only a different color on things, get my drift?
Jerry, I’m not looking to overturn Roe v Wade or the other SCOTUS decisions. I believe the state has a mitigated interest in the topic, but it’s a balance.
My goal, however, is to plant acceptance that philosophical stances must be consistent. If Cory believes a woman has absolute right to decide to choose whether to terminate or carry to term the life inside her, then surely a person has an absolute right to make a decision about getting a loan from a payday lender, so long as all laws are being followed.
I don’t believe we’ll have utopia. But a more perfect union? Definitely something worth striving for.
Part of the challenge, Cory, is when things get broken down into slogans, you lose the nuance. If it’s all about right to choice, you lose the conversation about the desire to make abortion a choice of last resort.
Let’s set abortion aside for a while, though.
I’m inclined to agree with the absurdity of denying Medicaid expansion on the grounds of uncertainty whether the Feds will “uphold their end of the bargain.” It’s a lame excuse.
But even while you decry the hypocrisy of South Dakota being a net taker of Federal tax dollars, you fail to examine the why, or how we sit in comparison to other states.
Cory – Did you watch the video? Are you a soldier or a scout? Which do you want to be?
Wayne B.
I don’t have any idea what Democratic tax increases would have looked like over the past 40 years and neither do you.
The reality is that in those 40 years republicans are responsible for every tax and fee increase in this state, including counties that are dominated by republicans.
Comments have been raging that Cory needs to listen, needs budge, needs to compromise. Cory needn’t do any such thing, the last thing I hope Cory will do is compromise his values. If you want Cory to be an ignorant incompetent like Al Novstrup, it ain’t gonna happen.
Powers and the SDGOP used their usual attack ads on Cory saying that he wanted to raise taxes right and left and Brown County voter bought it.
It appears to me that no one, including you Wayne, read what Cory’s position on taxes was. Just to remind you, it was about fairer taxes following the same thought of Bernie Sanders.
Well Wayne, nice justification for South Dakota being a red welfare state, other states are getting more.
Sorry, that doesn’t work for me.
I’m inclined to agree with the absurdity of denying Medicaid expansion on the grounds of uncertainty whether the Feds will “uphold their end of the bargain.” It’s a lame excuse.
Not lame at all. Wingnuts aren’t the least bit shy about making Liberal policies fail and to cut funding for Medicaid expansion is a sure way for the gubmint not to uphold its end of the bargain. Social policy cuts is a major part of wingnuts plans.
Wayne, it is all up to you now and your posse. Do what you will to abortion or to anything, overturn them all, you guys can do this, so do it. I will still be LMAO at the absurdity of you thinking you can govern. You all have those 60 many bills to kill Obamacare, get after them as they seem to be written. We shall see if that is the case though. Deny Medicaid Expansion makes sense to me now as well, why bother with that when you kill Obamacare..pardon me while I LMAO…Back now. Keep it up my man, make the government small enough to drown in a bathtub. I want you to go in front of all of those folks that get subsidies and tell them the cork went out of the tub, but you are going to be seeing a huge tax break for the president. That should make all of them delighted. This just keeps getting better watching you try to defend the absurd. Tell us again about we not living in a welfare state, please. Then show us the counties that get all the subsidies and who gets them. Pick a county, any county.
The very best thing about Democrats not having any power is that all of the crap that will be discussed in the next few years will be so stupid that Democrats need to pull the Republican act and just go home to their districts to vacation and point the fickle finger of fate at them for their lack of governance. Republicans will be begging John Boehner to come back. You won it, with lies, now own it. The other best part is to listen to the right wing echo machine mumbling to itself while the old guys die off bitching about black folks and their fooling around with white women.
Jerry, I share your optimism! Who will hate radio attack and blame for all the evils in our country now that Republicans hold the House, the Senate, the Presidency, and the Court (with a Trump appointee replacing Scalia)? This brings to mind the old warning: “Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it.”
Now will come the other dream of right wing nuts. No Medicaid Expansion for you, but we will offer this tasty nugget, Medicaid block grants..Get ready for Grandma and Grandpa to be coming on home. http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/what-happens-to-current-nursing-home-residents-if-the-house-budget-resolution-becomes-law/ Indeed, remember when you thought that you could retire and have some kind of life while your relatives were in the nursing home, or assisted living, thanks to NOem, Thune and Rounds those days might just be wishful thinking. Buy some more sheets and forget about downsizing, here comes your new job! While you are changing the sheets, be grateful that your new president just got a huge tax cut and so did the rich senators and whats her name. All is good.
This is the perfect way for NOem, Thune and Rounds to discuss why they were for this and how well it will work especially if cognitive impairment is in the works. Watching this all unfold should give voters a very good picture of what happens when dumb stuff occurs.
Hold on gang. Wingnuts will be running around claiming they have to clean up Obama’s messes- you know low unemployment, booming stock market, 80 straight months of economic growth, more people with insurance, deficits cut way down, near total end to occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., etc.
Sorry, I forgot the big one- wingnuts will bring Osama bin ladin back to life and set him free so they can blame Obama some more.
So, who gets to tell 20,000,000 Americans that they no longer have health insurance?
Jerry,
Who needs to transport oil by train when you can get on the Medicaid Expansion train?
No one Roger, no one gets to tell the 20,000,000 hard working Americans that they will loose their health coverage because it ain’t gonna happen. I really don’t know if NOem will ever bring it up again as a vote because of the possibility that it might get to the presidents desk. Nope, that is not gonna happen, to risky. There is to much at stake here with investors and with no solutions. Rant and rave they will, but they will not have the juevos to make it happen. I am not so sure about the Medicaid Expansion here though as the non marketplace premiums are skyrocketing. The only way to bring them down is either by the senate or by expanding Medicaid. Daugaard may have to push that one across as he knows that there are still guarantees from the fed that they will pay more than offset.
I guess the best thing to do as far as the future of the state party would be to wait until the national DNC is sacked and then keep some and thin out the rest. The state folks need to find the way to get funding for races. Without the money, there is always going to be what we now have.
Today, so far, over 100,000 new applicants into the Obamacare Train. Get on the love train, hop on, get on the love train…Yeah baby. Democrats, be proud you were rebels to get this done.
Hillary was beaten by her association with trade deals through her husband. Bernie discussed that and got the traction that was clearly shown in how workers have gotten screwed in this country. If Dems had a pair, they would focus on the economy and the jobs. Simple stuff https://ourfuture.org/20101017/Lorain_OH_Keep_It_Made_In_America_Town_Hall_Meeting
Here is how it is done. Get Howard Dean back in the game and lets make America really really great again.
The bottom line is that a lot of voters feel left out, and the solutions presented haven’t increased their buying power nor their quality of life in the last 15-20 years (or at least they haven’t felt either were occurring).
Agreed doc, they know, as most know, we have been treading water and that is all with the poor gettin real poor. Clinton did not address that and Trump said the was gonna end NAFTA which would kill the investors and the manufacturers quick like. Bernie has the answers and says he is considering a 2020 run.
Robert, I wonder how much of those feelings are based what people hear from social media, talk radio, 24/7 news stations looking for ratings, and the like. It seems that voters are constantly being told things are bad, they don’t count, they are losing buying power, or whatever else gets clicks, ratings, or tune ins. That was certainly Trump’s repeated message and I have read that this was based on Trump and surrogates listening to these sources to determine what people fear and how to make them believe life in the USA is terrible enough to require a Trump do over.
Nate Silver finds that Trump supporters don’t have it so bad economically speaking. Instead most seem to be doing quite well with a median household income of $72,000.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-class-support/
Media definitely played a role, and Trump used it to his advantage to get free marketing for his campaign.
Clinton attempted to limit mistakes with regard to the e-mail or Foundation issues, perhaps because there was an active investigation. The Trump approach was not to worry about making mistakes…just keep going. In fact the more mistakes he made, the less weight each one seemed to have.
The idea that all Cory and Democrats need to do is move to the center. Well, first of all, if Democrats move far enough to the center to supposedly sway Republicans, we’d be Republicans! We’re a separate party because we have believe in different ideas! We don’t want to BE Republicans!
Also, changing wouldn’t make ANY difference! I talked to several Democratic candidates talk about going door to door campaigning. The reaction they got to their positions on the issues was very well received, in fact, often greeted with acceptance, even enthusiasm. Then the voter would ask what party the candidate was with and they would say, “OH! I can’t vote for YOU!” All they go by is the party label! That’s why we tried to change how the primaries work so people would have to find out what the candidates really stand for! But Republicans and the Koch brothers scared people into believing voter wouldn’t know who they’re voting for!
Jerry, Noem’s bestest selfie bud Schock indicted on 24 counts of fraud etc today.
Joe, interesting. In America, who isn’t a common man?
Donald, I share your frustration that bluntness is fine for Janklow and Trump but not for us Democrats. Notice that Joe points out Hawks’s failrue to disagree more bluntly on more issues in the debate as a negative for Hawks. I agree.
Like Donald Pay, I can’t let patently false and racist statements slide. If legislators don’t want me to call their bills bigoted, they should stop proposing bigoted bills.
(Republic, Not A Democracy!—good grief, how tedious and unproductive. I have yet to hear anyone tell me how making that points helps us solve any policy debate.)
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/poll-trump-voters-risky-solutions-country-231203
This bears out what bcb sez at 16:23.
Thinking about what Wayne and Jenny said—maybe Republicans need to learn to budge a little in our discussion of progressive state income tax.
Don’t be blunt, Democrats. Budge, Democrats. Be something other than what you are, Democrats.
Exactly clcjm, if Cory and Democrats aren’t true to their values we are nothing. I have no desire to change my belief system because of some republicans bad advice.
On the national and state elections Democrats lost, that does not translate to “we were wrong”. In fact, in time Fuhrer Trump will prove that we were right. I stand by that comment.
The Fuhrer has no idea what his policies will cost the country in turns of economics alone.
Fuhrer has already announced a 5 point plan for massive deportations of immigrants both legal and illegal.
Not sure a progressive income tax is possible for the foreseeable future, Cory. Not even if it were paired with a pro-growth initiative, some re-work of how ag land is assessed/taxed, and some reduction in property taxes for everyone else.
How can a progressive income tax be possible in 43 other states but not South Dakota? Are we that backward? (There I go again, being blunt, not budging, not sounding like the common man… even though I’d sound like the common man on this point in 43 other states. ;-) )
What if you could set such an endeavor up to be revenue-neutral and show that it would benefit their interests and even reduce the costs of government.
Wouldn’t you then have a better chance of getting a tax reform package with a progressive state income tax through a Republican legislature?
Since you guys brought it up. I like the idea of eliminating the sales tax on food, reducing the sales tax on everything else by half, reducing property taxes by half, and replacing the lost revenue with a progressive income tax on a revenue neutral basis. People would simply pay a percentage of their federal income taxes which could be simple and not require much more in the way of state resources to enforce it. I’d like to see an analysis of what a proposal like this does for working class families in SD. I know it would help reduce the tax burden on the poor and elderly on a fixed income. It would also bring in some revenue from folks who use SD as a tax haven right now and from some wealthier individuals who make a good living here, but don’t pay a proportionate amount in taxes supporting our state.
Drumpf warned Obama not to undertake any foreign policy that he might be at odds with. Excuse me mangled apricot hellbeast, but America does have a Potus and you are not him and never will be.
Dr. McTaggart, that sounds like a progressively practical and reasonable approach. It would not involve hate or name-calling, but a common sense approach to making your point. If one wanted to do that, I guess. Others would do the name-calling and march down the streets carrying signs. I am glad nobody is calling Mr. Johnson names after the elections because it would be hurtful and counter-productive. Immature.
Dr. McTaggart- the only things in life that are certain are death, taxes and SD Republicans voting against an income tax. The only way to make progress like this happen is through an initiated measure.
“Are we that backward?”-Eliminate that sentence. You asked a good question then followed it up with that. What point does it serve? Instead of thinking about your previous question one might now be thinking you’re insulting them.
Got you all butthurt, didn’t it? You people need to stop taking yourselves so seriously. You’ll get ulcers. Grow a thicker skin.
Downton Abbey was just to much to bear for Aaron. I wonder if there was a tear in her eye when the news reached her, naw, she is to calculating for that. Thanks mfi, you are right, way too serious these thin skinners, the paranoia must be taking its toll. They worry bout having to watch their party of no under the glare of truth.
I agree with you grudznick. Identify the problems, find the common sense solutions that everyone can agree upon.
I agree that “income tax” is probably the wrong language to use in order to move things along. So why wouldn’t Republicans be interested in “wise investments”, “common sense solutions”, and “efficient government”? If tax reform can benefit their constituencies as well as yours, then why not?
“A redistributed funding mechanism to save money, create inefficiencies, and provide for the necessary public services.”
That’s what they’d probably say.
Scratch inefficiencies and insert efficiency’s.
They may like it better if the state income tax were a simple percentage of whatever the federal income is…anything that needs a table or a function would be d.o.a.
But you do need a different name than state income tax…Balanced Budget Fee….Freedom Funds…Patriotic Assets, etc.
To complicated for the right wing. Make it initials and something that goes with first. Like I T First. I T First Dakota There ya go, put it on a bumper sticker and you have a winner. Anything longer than that is lost in comprehension.
Complicated isn’t the issue. Simpler is better to get the message across.
Like Cory’s hot dish with a cold beer :^).
Elitists like Hillary saying we’re gonna put coal miners out of work alienated voters who used to be Democrats.
PC pointing liberal jerks create a divide to their own base of working class voters. This is probably most true in the rust belt but to some degree in South Dakota. They don’t want to be a Democrat with a bunch of snobs who look down on them.
Trump understood this perfectly, knew just how to play it, but Democrats are to blame for forgetting their roots.
happy camper,
West Virginia used to be the bluest of blue states when coal was king and the unions were strong. But I think issues with the Second Amendment and not coming through for the coal miners flipped the state to red.
So if the constituents do not feel fulfilled or listened to, then problems will occur.
Give those fellers in West Virginia shovels and tell them to start digging. First ones that can match what one of those big crawlers can take out the the top of a mountain wins. They need training in some other profession and that is gonna be difficult considering their lack of education. Good people that love a place that does not love them back. Only work there is welfare and undertaking for the black lung. That is why opioids and benzodiazen are big there and getting bigger. Mix those with some lightning and you have problems.
Unions in South Dakota are dying. Almost dead. 80-20. That’s a real beating in election terms. That’s a worse beating than that one fellow took from Mr. Thune. Unions drug West Virginia down with them.
I would say those folks are problem solvers and engineers, even if they do not have the prototypical training. But part of the challenge is using that experience to grow the local economy if coal fades due to global economic pressures.
Grudznick,
I wouldn’t say that Unions drug WV down with them. While there are other industries in WV (particularly tourism), the economy was too dependent on coal.
If you want to keep using coal, then you will have to find a way to use it better than we do today. It is simply losing the battle against cheaper natural gas.
Give those fellers shovels and put them to work clearing the mess Mr. Peabody’s coal hath wrought on those great mountains. Mountain top removal to get the coal is what they can now clean up. It will keep them and their children busy for eternity cleaning up that mess.
West Virginia was blue because it was anti black. That was how the democrats used to roll. Then, presto changeo, Democrats have changed into the republicans they were. Keith Ellison for chairman of the DNC with Howard Dean as his enforcer. They could go all the way.
Mike and Jerry,
Do you want to effectively communicate with people or not?
Perhaps you’re right. But just about every book on effective communication says you’re wrong.
Fuhrer Trump’s three priorities that he announced to day:
Healthcare
Border security and immigration
Jobs
Well Mr. Cerwinske, I cannot answer or in any way effectively communicate for Mike but, it seems like you and I are communicating right now, or maybe it is just my fingers reacting to some unknown outside force.
So, now what>
Roger, that is three priorities thingys to concentrate on? I am puzzled, I thought it was ISIS that was going to be number 1. I seem to remember that he was gonna personally bomb the sh*t out of them. Oh well, I am sure that no one noticed that but you know who.
I used to watch Hannity and Colmes when I was in high school. I loved Hannity. I grew to respect Colmes. I valued his perspective in part because he cared to understand ours. I don’t recall him engaging in name-calling or snarky remarks which I perceived to be a liberal trademark. It’s sad to me that he was often mocked and derided by other liberals. I can hardly stand listening to Hannity now. Alan Colmes was an effective communicator on that show.
I preferred Bevis and Butthead as they made as much sense as Hannity and Colmes. I am not sure which of the two were perceived to be the liberal, but clearly they were both a match made in Roger Ailes melon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQUaguZawJQ
Jerry, your comment illustrates my point. Name-calling and snark. You seem to have little desire to develop the relationships necessary to bring about change in this state and country.
No name calling at all. I am merely pointing out that a high school student was more interested in some talking heads blathering about stuff that should have been what your parents should know. You should have been hanging with the babes man. I can’t even imagine what your conversations would have been like in those days. Developing a relationship has to do with common interests, I can see that you are not a connoisseur of Bevis and Butthead any more than I am with political talking heads. Both have the same caliber of nonsense as they both are cartoons. Sorry you lost your youth dude, I really mean it.
Enough about name calling, it is what it is.
I get the impression that republicans come on DFP and tell us how nasty we are for calling names and in the next breath or previous posts we find they are masters at name calling.
Quit complaining about name calling and either ignore it or find a find a intellectual creative way to deal with.
I can see why they are name callers, they started watching Hannity before their voices changed. Talk about indoctrination, man, who knew. I always thought that something was weird about these guys but thought it must be something else. Turns out my instincts were correct, like something out of a Stephen King movie. The moon is kind of getting full too, so there is that. It is no longer a mystery. So is this Powers guy one of those who got stamped out in high school as well? Geesh, it must have been a tough time for them, no wonder.
Roger, Jamie Dimon is being vetted for secretary of the treasury, who knew. The next announcement will be to go to the mall and shop just like 2001-2002. Borrow money on your new line of credit to get that big ol tee vee to watch stuff on. Life is funny like that history repeating and all.
Jamie Dimon as sec. of treasury? I thought everyone voted for Trump because he was not controlled by Wall Street and the establishment. I thought Trump people said on here that he was not a crony capitalist? Trump is putting Wall Street in charge just like every other administration. Big surprise. Not. At least the stock market will be happy.
What will Trump tell us next? That he’s not going to build a wall and lock her up?
As Yogi would say, “It is deja vu all over again” If you are gonna steal from the vault, it is best to have the keys and avoid the middle man. I think it is time for Trump Air to come out and do some contract flying, this is the perfect grift man and they even have Rudy to let them know how the wiseguys do it.
Trump was underestimated from the beginning. Michael Moore did a good interview on Democracy Now admitting he got played by Trump the first time they met and he is smarter than he is given credit. He wants to win. He’s a winner. But does he have a center of any sort does he care about the working class?
Sarah Palin is being talked about for Secretary of the Interior. SARAH PALIN. Can’t make this up.
Many of you have told Cory to keep doing exactly what he has been doing. If you refuse to learn lessons from this you deserve to keep losing.
Paul Ryan has Medicare privatization on the board now. Rank and file old guys will be choking on their coffee while wondering who in the hell to blame for this. That damned Obama is not gonna be the whipping boy anymore. Got to be someone to blame before self flagellation sets in. Get ready for the tax increases and squirrel away some cash for mom and dad as they are going to be needing some serious help with their expenses.
Kansas, the country will be just like Kansas, except on a much larger scale. The looks on Trump voters faces when they finally figure out they got played for suckers will be priceless, it pisses me off that the rest of us will have to go on this ride with them.
Wait until the Social Security is privatized with Wall Street at the helm. The checks will be coming, maybe, from JP Morgan. Your check depends on what your investment is in the market. If you loose it all, that is how capitalism works, greeters would probably have those positions filled but maybe you could work in the scrap yard taking apart of VCR’s and the like for scrap. Of course, it could always get worse. NOem, Thune and Rounds are in complete support of this, so we have that going for us, which is just peachy for the over 65 crowd and the disabled. What do you think will happen to property taxes? Who knows, could be a buyers market out there, just like before 2008.
Ryan said yesterday he also plans medicare privatization that will be tied to ACA repeal. All of this before Trump is even inaugurated. I have 8 years to go to retire, I assume at this point there will be no retirement for me, just will work till I drop. The Republican way.
Every time we get Republicans in control my 401k takes a beating, I’ll assume that is a feature, not a bug, in Republican policy.
Tim, sometimes you have to destroy the village to save it. In the meantime, the echo chambers of the republican mind will be like Baghdad Bob saying all is well, there is no enemy at the gate. Don’t believe your check from Wall Street, it will clear as soon as next week, hang on. In the meantime, Secretary of the Interior, Sarah Palin, has announced that she will be going after her 150,000th baby seal using the same club she has been using in the past. Yes, this darling of environmental caring is about to deliver some care on baby seals, how lovely. In other news, it sure is gettin hot in the world. No grass for cattle, no water to drink, but you can walk around in shirt sleeves which is a good thing because you sure cannot afford a coat. Have some more lentils they go good with the mud pie recipe just in from Haiti. BTW, the Medicaid block grant expires the 2nd week of January as it has done since it was initiated, put your name in the lottery for the drawing. Assistance is available call the Pierre office and record your message, good luck.
Tim, the 401k will now be initiated with a dosage of opioids that will make you numb while you watch it become just a piece of paper. Mattress sales are going up though, the ones that have a compartment in them for those who finally think that Wall Street might be just a little shady. It gives a new personal touch to sleep number. I suggest going with the 50 dollar unit as those are a little easier to dispose of as cash purchases without worrying about the watchful eye of the minders. A little lumpy as time goes on, but worth the trouble.
Don’t be angry with Trump for winning be angry at the Democrats for losing.
Liberals fail to understand these working class voters don’t want a hand out, they detest welfare, they just want a decent job.
Trump exploited the disconnect the Dems are responsible for this mess.
Jerry, sometimes I wonder if the govt does want us all addicted to Oxycodone so we don’t have to think how corrupted the system is, plus it makes more money for the pharmaceutical companies. At least a few states legalized recreational marijuana to help them live through the next four years!
happy camper, it does appear that the best way forward is every man for himself. When we see pain or feel it, take another pill. If the pill does not do the job, take more and then take more by washing them down with a good shot snake oil.
BTW, what is a liberal anyway? The social programs that were put in place to protect the vulnerable, worked. But how can you feel superior, if you cannot witness despair? We must get that swagger back and the only way to do that is with bling. Got to have it man, lets go and start a bubble in some kind of ponzi scheme. I heard that this new administration was going to pardon Bernie Madoff to work with Jamie at treasury, should be a good fit.
Most stock prices went up after the election. Marijuana stocks (TRTC) went down 25% back to uncertainly a bad place to be, the working class people are very afraid. It’s pathetic when a billionaire wearing a suit and baseball cap can relate better to them than the leaders of their own party. Totally unacceptable in fact.
Get in their head or better yet get to know some. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Educated Democrats have left these people behind but think free college is the answer like they want to be just like you they don’t. They can’t stand over-educated liberals who blather like they know everything.
https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Elegy-Memoir-Family-Culture/dp/0062300547?tag=bisafetynet-20
Those “working class” Drumpf voters had above average incomes and they all fell for the lies about jobs coming back and coal being relevant again.
Drumps whole campaign was lies, Kellyanne Comrade admitted Drumpf doesn’t care about truth and makes up his own facts.
There was no truth to any wingnut claims that the economy had tanked or there weren’t any jobs being created. The gullibles fell for one lie after another because they got spoon fed exactly what they wanted to hear-not what reality was.
Had the economy or anything else failed it would be because right wing nut jobs tried to sabotage Obama from day one and anyone who can’t admit that is only lying to themselves.
Obama-the best Potus ever- persevered in spite of complete and outright obstructionism by white bastards unfit to lick his shoes.
Oh no these people’s lives in Ohio for example are not good those high paying jobs are gone drug use is high South Dakota is not a representative map, but yes absolutely they were obstructionists. Republicans will probably come in now, tinker with Obamacare and call themselves saviors it’s politics not actual caring about the American people we do have to look out for ourselves they don’t give a who, but the Democrats are still to blame for the loss of this election. Protest against the stupidity, arrogance, and corruption in the DNC and high up they failed you: President Donald Trump, Secretary of the Interior Sarah Palin, …..
We Democrats are responsible for a lazy group of pill-billies that chose beer over night school and now they’re underemployed and refusing to blame their economic failure on themselves? We achievers are to blame for your unfulfilled life situation? Game on, Republicans. We Democrats are much better at “everyone for themselves” and will still always be ahead of you because we improve while you complain.
Porter sums up nicely why Democrats lost, his superior attitude is why working-class people don’t have a place in the Democratic party. Look for a deeper understanding of their life, what shaped them, Porter sounds like a pull yourselves up by the bootstraps Republican. This used to be Democrats huge voting block they are still important, not everyone has a background to go to college, college isn’t for everyone.
That book was great even the Amazon reviews are enlightening:
I was forced out of a poor, rural West Virginia town sixteen years ago. I struggled to assimilate into to what I had always envisioned as “normal” life and relationships, the things sitcoms are made of. I now live in an fairly affluent suburb of the Bay Area. The journey here was not easy. I miss my hometown and my family immensely but know I can never “go back there”, because there is no home to go home to. The decline of blue collar jobs and rise in drug addiction destroyed my hometown and much of my family. So I “get” this book and I hope others that haven’t been exposed to a life such as his will also get it.
The worst enemy to the good people of Appalachia is hopelessness. You can’t truly understand hopelessness unless you have witnessed it. The author has. Over the years I have uprooted the best and brightest of my cousins and brought them to California to show them what hope looks like and sent them back home with lectures on education and solid work ethics. I hope that this was enough to keep them on the right track for a better life, only time will tell.
We lost the election, Camper but we’re already ahead in the term. We lost two days ago and we already have a plan of action. You won two days ago and you have no idea what you’re doing or where you’re going. “Welcome to Loserville, Republicans. Population … YOU!!” Read ’em and weep, pilgrims.
1. Most Americans Did Not Want Donald Trump to be President
2. Most Americans Do Not Support Trump’s Signature Proposal
3. Democrats Have Throttled a Republican President Before
4. The Presidential Election Pendulum Can Swing Fast
5. Winning In 2020 Is More Important Than Winning In 2016
Great book on the poor, Happy. You know, I was going to join the Republican Party, at one time. Then the found out I could read. (pop. YOU)
sorry … fat thumbs the = they
Double down on insulting the other side and see where that gets you. Democrats haven’t learned a thing from this election. Maybe if you get out of your echo chamber here you will actually see that a majority of your party followers don’t agree with you Porter.
Sarah Palin as Secretary of Interior? Nah!
She’ll probably be put in charge of the ‘grab ’em by the pussy’ White House dating site.
Trump needs a serious oil man from Wall Street for Secretary of Interior.
The “I’m more enlightened than you” stupidity from liberals is partly my shift to Libertarian but still I voted for Hillary the better choice. Working-class will further split from the Democratic party as long as this “I climbed up you didn’t, I know better” attitude continues from insecure detestable snobs that tend to be liberal in the Democratic party nationally, although it shows itself everywhere.
Thanks for the advice, Buresh and Happy Camper. Danny, you’re gonna love the “everyone for themselves” next time you’re fighting a fire. Camper, are we supposed to pity you because your “working class” didn’t even try to “climb up”? College isn’t for everyone but continued education is, unless you want to be left behind blaming others. By the way, boys … “Want some cheese with that whine?”
Gotta sign off for a while to Make South Dakota Great but thanks Cory for keeping a somewhat unsafe space where we learn the most in my opinion. Consider reading Hillbilly Elegy much to be learned from those who have fallen behind and most probably gave Trump the election not good for any of us.
People that voted for Trump and now want Giuliani as Attorney General need to read about how the 9/11 NYC firefighters communications firefighters equipment was not working on that day.
Why, b/c they had cheap stuff that should have been updated and they had fought for better equipment for years, but Giuliani had denied b/c cutting the budget was more important. The firefighters in the second building could not hear the orders to get out. Giuliani denies this but I’m going to believe the NYC fire department before him.
It’s welfare, really. Donny Trump said,” Vote for me. I’ll give you a job.” All his supporters deserve to work for Donny Trump. I hear he’s a really good boss. Except for those 3,000 lawsuits from people and businesses whom he wouldn’t pay what he owed. Voting for Trump to get a job is kinda the lazy way out, don’t ‘ya think? Maybe … improve your skills and find your own damn job, the way the rest of us did. Get off the pain pills, cut down on the booze and take a few night classes because I’d wager that’s what Donny Trump’s advice to you will be, now that he conned you out of your votes.
Can’t you just hear right wing nut jobs screaming if HRC had contact with Russian officials during the campaign? Can’t you just hear the wingnuts if HRC solicited campaign funds from overseas like Comrade Drumpf did? What if HRC made millions off her campaign using the Clinton Foundation to host her events and charging her campaign inflated sums?
wayne b., I wonder if the highest vote for chris nelson was a racial vote? this would not be a surprise for SD.
also joe nelson, 170,000 dem voters plus 118,000 independents would seem to crush the republicans by 38,000 votes, when harnessed. shouldn’t independents be moving more to the left?
and, nationally, scott prouty’s secret video exposing Romney’s 47% sentiment at the last minute gave Obama the win in 2012 just like Comey’s red herring fbi/indictment/email scare 11 days before this election likely gave trump the needed bump in the end. it is interesting how these little malfeasances, like the supreme court intervention in bush v. gore, swing entire elections–in republicans’ favor–again. yet another stolen election. when are we going to learn? “trump is not my president”, that could easily become my adopted position. he is a clown, the best the republican clown car of a party could field. this is not saying much for republicans. that is where responsibility for this continuing trump debacle will unfold. i’m pretty sure trump will not have time to personally answer any more of my tweets, if indeed he ever was the real tweeter. he’ll enlist more karl roves, more sara palins. sigh. the educated brilliance we have available could bring real change, but the republican party is again successful in installing lightweights like george bush to run the country.
how we lost our chance to retake the senate is not yet clear to me. the biggest loss of course will be bully trump’s know it all stupidity and laziness in just about everything he blames Hillary for, and the deep retrograde the politicized supreme court may have the opportunity to sink to.
finally, porter, though I’ve yet had a chance to read your longer posts, your comments here impress. thanks for a hopeful fallback position on 11.09@10:19. in the meantime USAF is flying inane circles around RC in military celebration of the election results and for more war, non-reassuringly. and people here want us to move to the center? when the climate shift is not immediately halted it won’t matter. nice job republicans. you sell fear while whistling in the dark.
more on FBI comey. hopefully Obama will fire him to make a statement. maybe prosecute him. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-comey-clinton-loss_us_58262ba1e4b060adb56e5cc7
Bernie says at nyt: the Democratic Party. I believe strongly that the party must break loose from its corporate establishment ties and, once again, become a grass-roots party of working people, the elderly and the poor. We must open the doors of the party to welcome in the idealism and energy of young people and all Americans who are fighting for economic, social, racial and environmental justice. We must have the courage to take on the greed and power of Wall Street, the drug companies, the insurance companies and the fossil fuel industry. today
Good one, Leslie. Go Bernie. ??
Isn’t Mr. Bernie dead now? If he is leading a new great revolt that will be very entertaining. Please tell him I approve and he may continue.
I get so sick of those on the right being critical of those on the left for supposedly being less accepting of the views of others. What a bunch of BS. This is simply conservatives doing what they do well, controlling the narrative. Conservatives have their fair share of harsh words and names for others as well. Quit playing the victim.
Unfortunately Leslie, that would have been much easier had the #BernieorBust camp not allowed us to take one yuge step back. Kind of a self-defeating position Bernie supporters have put themselves in.
We can’t succeed calling “income tax” something other than “income tax” any more than we can succeed calling “bigotry” and “misogyny” something other than “bigotry” and “misogyny.” We need to be the party of straight talk… and the party of living up to our straight talk. Unlike Republicans, we need to say what we mean, and do what we say.
But I suppose I shouldn’t say that about Republicans, either, because I’ll hurt someone’s feelings. Sigh.
I think the straight talk should be put on cards mailed out to people to read. If they do not agree with income tax and the refunds involved, they can toss in the trash. If they do and want to hear more, they should be able to do so. When tax is mentioned, it should also be mentioned about refunds. If you want to sell Brussels Sprouts you will fail, if you want to sell them with the idea that there will be bacon with them, they get interested.
If you are gonna use big words to call them out, do it in bar room talk. Folks get that kind of straight talk. Don’t forget that most of these got into high school because they aged out of grade school (I am not kidding). So know your crowd.
Obviously elections matter and make a difference, but we lose sight as Democrats when we fail to recognize how institutional racism, bigotry, inequality, etc. isn’t going to be solved by focusing on who wins the next election. “The best way to accomplish x is to elect Democrats!” is an uninspiring and losing message. SDDP’s recent self-congratulatory letter asking us to pitch in and give $$$ to help build for 2018 already comes off as tone deaf. We need accountability and ownership of defeat to start the process of building lasting coalitions into the future. If they can’t put any demonstrable effort into helping down-ballot candidates and continue to primarily focus on federal races and the occasional private fundraiser with the Clintons, they’re a part of the problem. We need to be talking about how we’re going to organize and help people whose safety and well-being is being threatened right now.
Jon, what practical efforts can we raise money for and invest in right now toward that end of protecting people (with an eye, of course, toward building on that practical effort to recruit fighters for the 2018 election)? Do we organize rallies and witnesses for Legislative hearings come January and February/ Do we organize big attendance at crackerbarrels to grill legislators? Do we canvass and phone bank with allies from local LGBT orgs, ACLU, NARAL, etc.? What actions can I propose that would make you and other recipients of that fundraising pitch say, “Heck yeah, I’ll write a check for that!”?