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Munsterman for Governor campaign manager Pat Powers continues to look too far in the future by concentrating his fire on Democrat Scott Heidepriem instead of Munsterman's three immediate Republican primary challengers. And it's not even good fire. In what promises to be standard GOP procedure in 2010, Powers avoids policy and instead attacks Heidepriem for the endorsements he gets from George McGovern and Jim Abourezk.
Heidepriem's hanging out with liberals! shouts Powers. He's Castro! (Yes, Powers really did make the former association.) Powers tells us nothing about what actual policies Heidepriem will advocate that will drag us into liberal Sodom and Gomorrah; he simply provides a bogus verbal template on which his sheep can transpose their favorite irrational fears.
It's not like Heidepriem is hanging out with some fringe radical like me (although he did chat with me once at a debate tournament—uh oh! Lib-a-palooza II!). Heidepriem's receiving the support of two former United States Senators, fellow South Dakotans elected by us. Heidepriem is receiving the support of McGovern, a decorated World War II veteran and U.N. Ambassador on World Hunger, and Abourezk, an Arab-American civil rights leader. So if there's guilt by association, we can expect Heidepriem to support courage under fire, fight hunger, and defend civil rights—oh! the horrors of the liberal agenda!
Powers also fails to explain why, if McGovern and Abourzek are such nefarious liberals, they're choosing pragmatic Heidepriem over his real wild-eyed liberal challenger, my man Ron Volesky. (And indeed, I'd like to know, George and Jim, what's up with that? Where's the love? Run hard, Ron!)
Oh well. The Republicans know they have an executive and legislative history that have left us with a structural deficit and shaky budget unable to withstand an economic downturn. They know the policy choices they have to make in the 2010 will not be pretty and will not make for cheery campaign slogans. So Pat Powers, like Lucas Lentsch and the state GOP, are turning early to distraction and slime. It's Obama-Ayers all over again... but the South Dakota Republicans can't even find an Ayers.
Up next from the Munsterman campaign (when they remember "primary" means first): attacks on Knudson's association with liberals at Harvard, Daugaard's association with liberal Chicago lawyers, and Knuppe's liberal facial hair.
The State of City Politics
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I think this image says it best. A street light was taken out in front of
Minerva’s downtown in front of Shriver. I laughed about the caution tape
and the ...
18 hours ago
Super post, Cory. PP's starting to look like Breard and Sibby running running the Whalen campaign.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/08/20/news/opinion/opin01.txt
I notice it's the liberal commentators who are howling the loudest when I point out that Heidepreim, who is trying to cast himself as a conservative, might find that such a portrayal is made difficult when the two most liberal politicians in SD history wrap their arms around him.
ReplyDeleteAnd with his response, he still says nothing.
ReplyDeleteHe still doesn't promote Munsterman, but instead continues his attack on Heideprem.
Wouldn't Munsterman prefer his campaign manager to be reinforcing Munsterman's good points instead of whining about the future oponent?
But really, PP should remain his campaign manager. Does everyone else a lot of good.
Trudge forth.
I had the chance to meet and speak with 3 of the 4 men running for the Republican slot. The voters want policy discussed, you will not win with labels. Keep your eye on KK. He understands the danger of debt.
ReplyDeleteThere goes my shot at the Republican nomination for Governor. They'll surely discover that I hang out on this blog!
ReplyDeleteOh, I just remembered: I'm no longer a Republican, but an Independent. Easy to forget those little details.
Pat, I'd give my right sidebar to have George McGovern and Jim Abourezk endorse me.
ReplyDeleteYour liberal labeling is completely devoid of policy analysis. Why is it impossible that two well-known liberals might find common ground with an arguably more conservative Democrat (one who has to be conservative, since the failure of leadership from the preceding Republican governor and legislatures have made anything like liberal spending impossible)? What are the "liberal" Heidepriem policies McGovern and Abourezk are pointing to in their endorsement that scare you?
Heck, Pat, when people ask about the SD Blogosphere, I endorse your blog as a source of news and conversation over numerous other conservative blogs... does that mean you're a liberal?
Stan, you get it! (but what's new? :-) )
ReplyDeleteThad, keep pushing that policy-from-the-outsiders line! And on debt... well, keep polishing up your "No more pork for South Dakota" line. That could be a hard sell... but one I'd love to hear you make.
Bill and Taunia: :-)
The reason why South Dakota is light years behind almost every state in the country is because we have been a one party rule at the state level for many years.
ReplyDeleteIn order for things to get accomplished, we need a transition of power from one party to another over time in order achieve actual results from our government.
Power in politics should be like the stock market. Swings up and down, which is actually healthy for a long term investor. The same is true for politics. If one party has control for too long, it becomes for lack of a better term...a dictatorship.
Look at the governors South Dakota has had in recent history. The last true statesman we had leading the state was Mickelson. Janklow and Rounds have been miserable, and keep the true potential of the state and it's people tucked under their thumbs.
I currently live in Wyoming, which historically has been very conservative, and always will be. However, Governor Fuedenthal (a democrat) has the highest approval rating of any governor in the United States.
Compare Wyoming to South Dakota, which share similar tax structures, and I see daily how progress and two party rule works.
Education is properly funded, the roads are better so on and so forth. Plus, no tax on groceries!
How is this accomplished? A shift in power that actually makes politicians accountable to the people.