Tag: south dakota

Democrats idly spit on gun control advocates for 2014 and beyond.

Via JWF (and AoSHQ) comes this remarkably bald-faced gesture of contempt by Democrats towards gun control advocates.

Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate.

The two candidates most mentioned in the Hill article above were former Governor Brian Schweitzer (for Montana) and former Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (for South Dakota).  Both are supposedly firm gun rights advocates; neither will survive being flipped on the topic (neither would Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, both of whom sensibly voted against Joe Manchin’s* background check amendment).  Of course, it’s an open question whether any of those four mentioned will survive even without being flipped on the topic, which is why the DSCC has zero intention of catering to fanatical gun-grabbers by allowing them to dictate ‘acceptable’ candidates.  This, of course, was known: what was perhaps unexpected was the way that nobody’s particularly trying to hide this political calculus. Continue reading Democrats idly spit on gun control advocates for 2014 and beyond.

Senator Tim Johnson to retire?

Looks that way:

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat, does not plan to run for re-election when his current term ends in 2014, sources close to the matter and key Capitol Hill staffers said on Monday.

Johnson, 66, joined the Senate in 1997 and has been widely expected to retire at the end of his term. He plans to make the announcement on Tuesday, the sources said. Johnson’s staff said that he will hold a press conference at the University of South Dakota on Tuesday.

Normally I’d say something mocking about this, but it’s medical: the man had a blood vessel burst in his brain in 2006.  Whoever at the DSCC made Sen Johnson run anyway in 2008 should be dragged out onto the street and beaten with sticks for that petty cruelty…

Moe Lane

PS: Yup, on my list as Serious Risk.  The Democrats are very likely to triage this race, too…

 

Will Senator Tim Johnson (D, South Dakota) retire?

Very possibly.  From the Washington Post:

…in a telephone press conference with South Dakota reporters on Wednesday, Johnson said his earlier statement should have been more clear about the prospects he will seek a fourth term.

“If I run again, I will run a strong campaign is what I meant. But only if I run again, and it’s far too soon to make that statement,” Johnson said.

Continue reading Will Senator Tim Johnson (D, South Dakota) retire?

You know, when you’re a political junkie…

…like I am – and like the folks at Hot Air are – you need stuff like this every so often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ST2K4U_XQ5Y#

Not that it’s a good ad; it’s actually a horrible one.  But it seeks out new and exciting ways to be horrible, which is… refreshing.  Heck, it almost made me forget that there is no such thing as a conservative Democratic politician, and that this Jeff Barth fellow would of course immediately line up behind Nancy Pelosi’s crony agenda (assuming that he actually survives the primary, and likewise survives the general election).

Almost.

Moe Lane

PS: It needs hardly be said, but I will anyway: Kristi Noem for SD-AL.  It is a measure of the current election cycle that her seat is not considered to be particularly at risk, mind you…

#rsrh Stephanie Heseh-Sandlin the vampire, sayeth… YouTube?

I get sent the most quirkiest stuff, sometimes. Possibly because I’m quirky, myself.  Or just plain goofy; that works, too.  Anyway, if this was anybody besides YouTube, I’d call this a sardonic commentary on Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin’s re-election prospects:

…but since it is YouTube I can only conclude that the comparison of Herseth-Sandlin’s campaign to the Undead is purely unintentional.  Completely accurate – down to the vulnerability to sunlight – but unintentional.

Moe Lane

PS: Kristi Noem for Congress.

Hypocrisy Watch: Rep Herseth-Sandlin (D, SD-AL).

Make up your mind, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin:

Last week, we examined whether Max Sandlin’s job as a lobbyist would be something that Republicans try to exploit, like they did in the 2004 Daschle/Thune contest. Herseth Sandlin emphatically said that her husband should not be attacked in the campaign.

I didn’t know it at the time, but Max Sandlin already had jumped into the battle by sending out a fundraising letter on behalf of his wife.

Continue reading Hypocrisy Watch: Rep Herseth-Sandlin (D, SD-AL).

Sen. John Thune (R) to pitch in across country.

I’m sure that the Democrats are kicking themselves right now:

The South Dakota Republican — who also leads the Senate GOP Policy Committee and is widely viewed as a 2012 presidential contender —is up for re-election this year. But no Democrat or Independent filed to run against him, leaving him with plenty of time and money to help Republicans win seats this November as the party seeks to regain a true sense of relevancy on Capitol Hill.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said Thursday he planned to meet with Thune soon to explore ways the up-and-coming first-term Senator could help the NRSC and GOP candidates from now until Election Day. Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) added that he fully expects Thune to be a strong political asset over the next 135 days.

Senator Thune is, after all, possessed of a dangerous combination: he’s able, popular, and not particularly busy this electoral cycle.  Two out of three would be a net gain for the GOP’s 2010 electoral campaigns; three out of three is very welcome news.  And since the DSCC’s recruiting program so spectacularly fell down on the job here*, you can even say that this bit of good fortune is ultimately due to the Democrats…

Moe Lane Continue reading Sen. John Thune (R) to pitch in across country.

Lots of Primaries today.

According to RCP, we’ve got primaries in California, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia.  The news has been dominated by California’s, Nevada’s, and of course South Carolina’s – but they’re all important, so if you’re a voter in that state, hie yourselves and any reliable Republican voters within reach to a polling station.  You can let the Democrats in your life sleep in, particularly in New Jersey and Virginia.

Also: KEEP YOUR VIDEO CAMERAS HANDY, PARTICULARLY IF YOU LIVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA.  Anti-reform opponents of Nikki Haley and Bill Connor may be now past the point where their shenanigans can shape public opinion in time for the actual primary election, but there’s plenty of things that you can do to illicitly affect an election.  Fortunately, sunlight is an excellent disinfectant – and, remember: as Mark Steyn notes here, Helen Thomas was taken down by a flipcam.  There’s a reason that both Instapundit and I keep harping on this…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

#rsrh Tom Daschle will not be… *avenged*.

The amazing part of this story is how calmly people are taking it:

S.D. Dems Skip Senate Race Against GOP’s Thune

PIERRE — South Dakota Democrats have failed to find a candidate to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune.

Democratic Party officials had acknowledged earlier they might not find anyone to run against Thune, a popular politician who is seeking a second term in the Senate. The lack of a Democratic candidate became official Thursday when election officials posted the final list of candidates who submitted nominating petitions to run for statewide offices and the Legislature in the June primary.

Jim Geraghty notes that this isn’t going to help Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin; I’ll add that it’s not good news for probable Democratic gubernatorial challenger Scott Heidepriem, either.  On paper, this is not a bad battleground for the Democratic party.  They have an incumbent Democrat in the at-large House seat: a retiring Republican governor opening up that position; and a Republican Senator who beat the Democratic Senate Majority Leader in a squeaker in a GOP-friendly year up for re-election.  They should be aiming for a sweep; instead, they’ve cut their resources down to the bone.

Well, it’s easy to bet big when you’re winning anyway.

Moe Lane

PS: Thanks for the seat!  We’re going to use the resources we saved from not having to defend it to pick off a couple of Democratic-held House districts.  Much obliged!