Tom Cool, Democratic nominee for Secretary of State, recognizes exactly the sort of crypto-fascism offered by his underexperienced opponent Monae Johnson:
“They keep whining about election integrity, which we know are their code words for voter suppression,” Cool said when accepting the nomination. “They don’t just want to go along with the Supreme Court and go back to the 1950s, they want to return to the 1850s when it was only white men controlling this country” [Joe Sneve, “Sioux Falls, East River Candidates Fill Out South Dakota’s Democratic Ticket for November Election,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 2022.07.09].
The SDGOP spin blog thinks it can run a feminism critique on Cool (he talks about white men running, things, but he’s a white man running against a woman, for shame!), but Republicans waving the social-justice flag are as disingenuous as Republicans waving the election-integrity flag. We recognize that the rump Republicans who hijacked the South Dakota Republican convention to nominate election-liar Monae Johnson over mild-mannered establishment toady and entitlement-addled incumbent Steve Barnett would happily return us to a bygone era when government was only open to their kind. Sure, transport Tom Cool back to the 1850s, and he’d have been a member of the privileged class that the GOP wants to rethrone through apartheid, but Tom Cool is a 21st-century Democrat, meaning he believes in democracy, the enfranchisement of all Americans. Unlike Monae Johnson, Tom Cool will not abuse his position to concentrate power among the people who look and pray like him and deny the vote to others. Tom Cool will work to ensure that every South Dakotans gets an equal voice in affairs of state. Tom Cool will respect every ballot, no matter who casts it, no matter for whom it is cast.
Tom Cool is the real candidate for election integrity.
As long as a Republican is SDSOS no election in South Dakota is safe from hacks.
Republicans are The Great Pretenders. They always play the ‘victim” card and most always it works for them. (Exception Ravnsborg)
The Democratic convention is beaming hope for us. Woo hoo! I see the light! Cool!
Tom Cool is extremely qualified to be our next Secretary of State!
The least effective in the legislatures, ever, said:
BAH HA HA HA!
There’s an endorsement that just slammed the door on the 0.0093% chance that Mr. Cool fellow had.
Grudznick is drinking again.
Cool is qualified and Frank was a great legislator. Hard to be really effective with right wingers like yourself Grudz.