Low fundraising for progressive Democratic gubernatorial candidates signals that Democratic donors nationwide aren’t paying enough attention to the need to build anti-Trump firewalls at the state level:
The left’s anti-Trump fervor at the federal level is not fully extending itself into state races. While progressive congressional candidates are being generously supported by super PACs and individual donors eager to overturn Republican majorities in Congress, gubernatorial hopefuls aren’t seeing the same type of support.
“A lot of resistance-attention is focused at the Washington level,” says Catherine Vaughn, CEO of Flippable, an independent group supporting Democratic candidates for state legislatures. “We have been trying to get people focused on states. We are trying to show people that it’s even more important that we elect more progressive governors and legislators in the states” [Alan Greenblatt, “Progressive Candidates for Governor Trail in the Money Race,” Governing, 2018.09.06].
Hey, donors, where do you think these those Trumpists in Washington come from? A lot of them make their name in state politics. Letting Trump voters insulate themselves with Trumpist governors and legislators (as is keenly the case here in Aberdeen, where all of our Republican legislators go to racist anti-immigrant rallies and call the conspiracy theories they hear good educational material). Elect some Democratic governors and legislators who can jam that Trumpist message at the local coffee shops and in the local papers, and you’ll have brave elected officials at the local level who can beat back those local grassroots-fires of racism and reckless ignorance.
The theme applies to protesting Donald Trump’s visit to South Dakota today. I hope lots of people get out to Russell Avenue this afternoon and signal their disgust at Il Duce’s dangerous selfishness and incompetence. But after shouting at the deaf man in the White House, those protestors all need to translate their rage into action for their Democratic candidates (and yes, on the South Dakota ballot, Democrats are pretty much your only option for concretely fighting Trump and Trumpism) for Governor, Attorney General, Legislature, and every other position where we need to build sanity and goodness back into our government. Protest, yes, but then get out and volunteer and donate for the good neighbors in your own state and town who will make a difference against the tyranny currently plaguing America.
I wonder if young Mr. Sutton considered paying the $500 to get a ticket into the Trump deally out there in Sioux Falls. He could have wheeled around and gotten thousands of dollars of news reporting out of it from the media on TV. I think the kids call that “crushing the party.” He could have laughed and laughed and laughed. People would have thought it was funny as all get out.
We’ll see here’s the thing:
I used to go to both Democrat and Republican events, and noticed a major difference:
Democrats show up for the free food and ask the candidates “what are you going to do for me?”
Republicans show up and pay for their food, and ask candidates “what can I do to help?”
Decades of Democratic politicians promising free stuff, promising to take care of people, promising to deliver other people’s money, have resulted in a party of people who can’t imagine any reason why they should do anything but vote. Give a candidate money? What? Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Make the corporations pay for your campaign! Make the taxpayers pay for your campaign! Didn’t you just tell us we were the poor and oppressed? Why are you asking us for money?
They used to be humans, now they are wingnuts. They say give everything to the wealthy and the hell with the rest of you.
Anne … You just made up that story. Got any more? Hmmmmmm?
I know Porter, my thinking too. It’s boilerplate.
I’ve contributed to local races here in Minnesota. I’m also a one of those big shot out-of-state donors to a SD candidate so you all better watch out for my influence peddling! I will contribute one more time to Tim Walz in the Minnesota governor’s race and one more SD candidate.
I am going to OWN SouDakota and make the Koch Brutes look like chumps!
Oh, come on Anne.
Anne: I have a different take on the parties.
Let’s start with the premise that wealthy people and corporations can afford to make larger political contributions to the candidates and issues of their choice than citizens that are less affluent. In my experience, Republican policies generally favor the wealthy relative to the policy positions of the Democratic party which has more generally favored the middle-class and poor. When your Republican policies favor the wealthy, it’s not a mystery who the wealthy are generally going to favor with their political contributions. They know which side their bread was buttered on.
If your average Republican political contributor is able to give more comfortably than the average Democratic political contributor, Democratic party candidates have to overcome this disadvantage by involving more contributors, a la Bernie Sanders. I actually think national Democratic candidates aren’t at as much of a disadvantage as state and local Democratic candidates.
“Downticket” means you are losing so much you should do the best with your losses. America is taking America back. The “courts” are on our side. You learned that this week.
Young Ms. Beal makes a lot of sense, and types rightly. I know I pay for my food and ask what I can do to help, and some of my libbie friends seem to think they are owed things. Entitlement, they call it.
The only thing we are entitled to is what we paid in, just like you Mr. grudznick. You paid into Social Security and you are entitled to withdraw from the fund. Thanks FDR, a real libbie. You get Medicare because you paid in. Thought you knew that.
Hi Corey..what if our local/state ”democratic” officials don’t espouse democratic values?( when I say Democratic, I mean..intelligent, reflective and open minded). To a certain extent, Billie and Tim are good guys and they have my vote, but I feel like I’m voting for the lesser of the evils.
RJ, in that situation, compare shoes. You need new shoes. You really want black dress zipper boots with some grippy soles. All you can find are big ugly brown clodhoppers (you have nothing that matches those) and some boring black lace-ups lacking tread. You can’t go to work barefoot.
Less-than-ideal candidates are better than shoes. You can’t persuade shoes. You can persuade candidates. Send Tim to Congress, send Billie to the Governor’s Office, and then send legislators like me to give them constant hell and pressure them to get wholly in line with the democratic and Democratic values we ought to be pursuing. We’ll get a lot further with them than we will with Dusty or Kristi.
Cool story, Anne. Too bad, as others note, that it’s apocryphal, wishful thinking. I just attended the Brown County Dems picnic. We charged for our food. People came. People paid money. People asked what they can to help Democrats win.
And do you think Donald Trump has ever honestly asked what he can do to help others? Do you think Donald Trump came here for Kristi without asking what she’s going to do for him? Get a grip.