Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kurt Evans is upping his pitch for his party’s nomination. The Wessington Springs Libertarian announced last night that he plans to recommend Richard Shelatz for lieutenant governor.
Ever the humble sort, Evans buries this good news, announcing it not just on Friday but at 11:28 p.m. Friday, and on a liberal blog, no less! (Don’t forget—I’m arguably 52% Libertarian.)
Shelatz is vice-chairman of the South Dakota Libertarian Party. He joined Libertarian chairman Aaron Aylward in disavowing the flag-burning demonstration planned by Evans’s sole announced challenger for the nomination, C.J. Abernathey of Eureka. In announcing a running mate, Evans gains another step on Abernathey, who has yet to name his wingman or wingwoman for the governor’s race.
Libertarians will decide whether to place Evans and Shelatz on the ballot at their do-over convention at the Fort Pierre Pizza Ranch a week from today, Saturday, June 9.
Dammit. If Mr. Evans won’t have me, I’ll have to reach out to that insaner Mr. Abernathy fellow. He seems angry most of the time, so a calming and soothing presence like grudznick alongside him will bring him many more votes.
Kurt, who is Shelatz? Where does he live? What does he do? Does he have a family? What is his political history? C’mon, tell us about this fellow. BTW, did you consider any women? Why not select one?
Inquiring minds want . . .
Debbo,
Kurt’s history with women is complicated, with incidents with students at SDSU and his own mom. I doubt many women who know his past, especially in today’s #metoo climate, would consider accepting an offer to be his running mate. He is a regular commentor, so I will leave it to him to explain himself.
Oh. Okay. Thanks Joe.
Kurt?
Deb asks:
The information at the state party website is all I’m comfortable giving you for now, Deb:
http://lpsouthdakota.org/who-we-are/
I considered three men. There are no Libertarian women (ha ha).
Joe Nelson writes:
Deb writes:
A South Dakota State University senior accused me of stalking her in 2003. I was never criminally charged, but the SDSU campus police banned me from the campus, and a circuit judge issued a restraining order against me. I appealed the restraining order to the state supreme court, but the attorney general’s office intervened in the appeal and overwhelmed me with more lies than I could afford to answer. I believe it was a misunderstanding and a series of terrible injustices.
Joe refers to incidents with “students” (plural) at SDSU, but I don’t know what other student or students he might be referencing.
In 2006, I was charged with a family assault against my mom. After reading the law, I pleaded not guilty. Mom never supported the criminal complaint, and the prosecutor filed a motion to dismiss it before it went to trial.
Grudz, I encourage you to contact Abernathey, offer your services, and report back to us on the conversation.
SD Libertarian meetings do seem to be dominated by men. How many women has the SDLP nominated since the 1990s?
A 2013 survey found 68% of Libertarians were men and 94% were non-Hispanic. Says Katherine Mangu-Ward, “Libertarianism has historically been a fringe movement. And fringes tend to be populated by men. There are exceptions, of course, but in general, if you investigate the long tails of any bell curve you’re going to discover a sausage fest, and libertarianism is no exception.”
But then there’s Ayn Rand.
Speaking of sausage fests, the Minnesota DFL endorsed Erin Murphy for governor yesterday. How is that relevant, you ask? Her husband was very happy to be on stage with her, apparently:
https://www.twincities.com/2018/06/02/erin-murphy-gets-dfl-backing-for-governor/
Sorry, Rohr, I didn’t recognize her hubby or see his name there.
Cory writes:
In 1998, the state Libertarian Party nominated Mary Ann Winter of Huron for secretary of state and Dorothea Vandenburg of Volga for commissioner of school and public lands, and they each received more than 11,000 votes (around 4 1/2 percent).
Back then independent candidates were allowed to list party affiliations on the ballot, and Deb Barton of Rapid City also broke 10 percent in 1998 running for the state house from District 30 as a Libertarian-affiliated independent.
In 2002, Gwen Caldwell of Hot Springs was our candidate for the state senate from District 30. She got 20.7 percent of the vote, which is the state party’s best showing by percentage in any legislative race so far.
So the answer to your question is technically three, I think, not counting Deb.
I believe the LPSD’s current communications director is a woman too, so it’s not like females are being systematically excluded or anything. :-)
For the record, the other two “founding mothers” of American libertarianism are Isabel Paterson and South Dakota-born Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Who amongst you can bone me up about the mad dad movement like Mr. Pischke and Mr. Abernathy are in? Do they have a blog with information? I’m ok with the Libertarian sans demon weed thing, but don’t want to get my name associated with dead beats who don’t pay their bills.
Why do Libertarian candidates like Abernathy and Novotny always seem so angry?
That’s why my calming presence and ever cheerful demeanor will help Mr. Abernathy with the polling, Mr. C. But in answer to your question, it is because most people become Libertarians because of some perceived wrong done to them by the man and they want to stick it back to the man.
Look at Messrs. Evans, Newland, and Abernathy; the most prominent SD Libertarians of our time. It’s all about sticking it back to the man.
Grudz, to your query, perhaps start with the Disgusted Dads FB page, of which CJ says he is COO. They also have a website.
See also on FB Supporters of South Dakota Shared Parenting, who are on a tear against Tamera Enalls, who is challenging Tom Pischke in District 25, for saying in a May 26 article in that Sioux Falls paper that she would “protect our children by stopping legislation that may impose laws for presumption of joint custody vs. best interest of the child.” For this statement, one of SSDSP’s commenters calls Ms. Enalls “a trashy whore.”
A May 20 video shows Rep. Pischke speaking about shared parenting legislation in front of a banner for Americans for Equal Shared Parenting.
Well, Disgusted Dads/Shared Parenting sound like a lovely bunch.
Kurt, thanks for the follow up.
“grudznick” writes:
At the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus Christ identified Himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1, announcing that He had come to proclaim liberty to captives. There’s probably no one reason most people become Libertarians, and for me it’s more about following in Christ’s footsteps and finding the way I can most effectively proclaim liberty.
Deb writes:
No problem, Deb.
Cory had asked:
I’d replied:
Make that four. I believe the state Libertarian Party nominated Bette Rose Ryan for lieutenant governor in 2006. She and gubernatorial nominee Tom Gerber received just under 3,300 votes.
Hat tip to Tony Venhuizen for calling this to my attention:
https://sodakgovs.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/libertarians-and-the-modern-history-of-minor-party-candidates-for-sd-governor/