Theocratic Sound and Fury Draws Paltry Rapid City Crowd

Gordon Howie just can't stop making speeches. Howie got 75 people—about 2% of the Black Hills voters who helped him place fourth in the five-man gubernatorial primary—to waste a nice Father's Day afternoon sitting inside the Ramkota listening to Howie, Pastor H. Wayne Williams, and struggling novice talk radio host Shad Olson play more Glenn Beck karaoke.

Now I suppose I can't trust the Rapid City Journal's account of the event, since RCJ is just another tentacle of the godless liberal media. Fortunately, instead of having to go to the trouble of attending one of Gord's self-aggrandizing "On the Right Side" rallies, I can simply download his screeds from his website. The content is predictable:

• Pastor H. Wayne Williams wallows in his persecution complex. He portrays Americans United for Separation of Church and State as an "assault dog" for reporting him to the IRS for endorsing Howie from his church pulpit. Indeed, how vile, that any citizen should report violations of the law to the authorities.... H. Wayne also notes that his church hasn't filed for 501(c)3 status, which I assume means they are thus obliged to pay regular taxes on all income received. Better call the accountant....
  
• Kermit Staggers chimes in with lines weaker than I would expect from a political science professor, rehashing the tired old "Constitution doesn't mention separation of church and state" argument... but ignoring the fact that the whole concept of church-state separation comes from Jesus of Nazareth himself (render unto Caesar... oh, wait, don't remind Gordon of that one).
• Gordon Howie has trouble finding material to fill four pages, so he includes the same Thomas jefferson quote twice. He also includes the Ten Commandments, as if anyone bothering to pick up his little paper doesn't already know them.
  
• Shad Olson uses many big words (and you think I'm bad?).

Kevin Woster wonders if the Howie-Olson-Williams-Staggers show could represent a political force to be reckoned with. If they actually promised to do something for the polis, I might say yes. But Howie and his bloviating pals aren't doing anything. They aren't proposing any practical action. They're just blogging out loud, enjoying the sound of their own voices. They don't say anything about education, the economy, energy, the environment, or any other practical policy issues that South Dakota needs to deal with. Their little puppet shows are all about them, about what wonderful, pious, manly Christian warriors Gord and Shad and H. and Kermit are.

A movement driven by personality and persecution complex is not a sustainable political movement. It's marketing for egomaniacs who can't accept the electoral ruling that they are wrong for South Dakota.