Okay, I know, I know, I am a cynical bastard sometimes, but I can’t help to wonder what they are thinking with propping up Rick Weiland for their Senate candidate?

Of course, a possible governor run by Herseth-Sandlin has it’s appeal, for once, the Dems just might be able to take back the governor’s office (that is if she decides to run).

But Weiland? Don’t get me wrong, Rick, in most senses of the word is a ‘True’ Democrat, but not sure how that will bode with SD Voters.

Rick has a uphill battle. Besides NEVER winning an election, he has been out of the game for at least a decade. That, and they will hang the lobbyist thing around his neck like you wouldn’t believe. Also take into account that Rounds has a great record of winning, and the amount of money that will be flowing into his campaign treasure chest will be enormous. Weiland will probably be outspent 2 or 3-1.

Rick, on the other hand has some things going for him. He knows how Washington works (or for that matter doesn’t work) and Rounds has a horrible record when it comes to transparency, spending and nepotism. Those three issues alone could sink him.

BUT, Rick needs to get out ahead of the game, and fast. He needs to pound those issues and not get caught up in a catchup, putting out the fire game like Heidy-Scott experienced.

Rick also needs to get the SD Dems organized, and quickly. No more chili feeds on the reservation and FB fiddling around. The Dems need to knock on doors, and take this campaign to every city, small town and county in this state. That means boots on the ground, because we know Rounds will be busy dumping leaflets from the back of his airplane.

Rick also doesn’t have a voting record that can be held against him, besides being a wealthy lobbyist, he really doesn’t have any cobwebs in his closet, and if anything, propping his wonderful family up on a pedestal will do him well. His wife alone has virtually single-handily made the State Theatre a reality and with the help of her very talented children runs one of the most successful DTSF restaurants. Rick has done well in this department and needs to exploit this to high heaven.

In a nutshell, Mike Rounds disgusts me to no end. The man’s entire political career has been of helping himself and his family to the feeding trough of the taxpayer. Rick needs to drive this point home, hard.

Can Rick beat Marion Mike Rounds? Sure, but he better come out swinging, and he better do it soon, because the fight bell has already rung.

8 Thoughts on “Are the Dems screwing the chicken on this one?

  1. WOW! on May 13, 2013 at 5:41 pm said:

    Weiland has no chance.

    Rounds wins 70%-30% if the race were today. In November 2014 it might be worse.

    I don’t see anyone not names Stephanie in either party who can defeat Mike Rounds.

  2. Testor15 on May 13, 2013 at 6:59 pm said:

    Do you think there will be any one running the campaign who will do actual campaigning outside of Sioux Falls and Madison? I do not think the SD Democratic party knows how to wage an actual grassroots campaign. If it does not entail Facebook games most are lost.

  3. hornguy on May 13, 2013 at 7:14 pm said:

    Aside from legacy candidates, the SDDP has a lousy bench, fueled in part by decades of losing. If you constantly lose, you have no way to keep young prospects in the state, whether it’s campaign staff, state representatives, whoever. If Weiland can buy votes with the crab egg rolls at Parker’s, he’s got a great shot.

    Otherwise, this state continues to prove that it’d rather vote Republican over Democrat and ideology over competence pretty much any day of the week. This persistent imbalance is awful for good governance and is the kind of thing that acts like a petri dish for cronyism and corruption. But until the rest of South Dakota decides that it gives a crap, what’s anyone to do?

    And as much as it might make some people cringe (and not unjustifiably so), the Democrats’ best hope for a new face in the near future might be Mike Huether. He assumes a generally pro-business bent, avoids social issues, and holds a high-profile nonpartisan office in the state’s largest city. Run Huether in an open race for statewide office and I think he’s got as solid a chance as anyone with the D by their names – SHS and Brendan Johnson included.

  4. Anthony D. Renli on May 13, 2013 at 8:42 pm said:

    Ok – as much as I hate to admit it…

    pretty much the only person who could beat Rounds would possibly be Noem in the primary… and frankly that scares the shit out of me.

    I totally agree with your assessment of Rounds, but sadly he was and is wildly popular, and is pretty much going to walk away with this. All he has to do is keep running on his “Nice Guy” image and not get arrested for murder and he is basically untouchable. I don’t think that SHS could have beat him, but she would have made a good showing.

    I think that WOW! is actually being optimistic about Ricks chances to win the seat.

  5. Winston on May 13, 2013 at 10:12 pm said:

    So is this the “Morning After” for the SDDP or what? The nuclear exchange between the Johnson and Sandlin camps in the past week leaves Weiland laughing all the way to the bank. But can he beat Rounds? I hope so.
    Weiland is definitely a good old liberal from the Eugene McCarthy wing of the Democratic Party, but is 2014 a Democratic year? The latter question is a “no,” but the former questions is only a “yes” if Rounds can end-up in a bloody primary fight with Noem and with Weiland having little or no opposition in his pursuit of the Democratic Party Senate nomination.

    Added to the possible Rounds/Noem struggle
    would be an opening in the House seat, which I think a Brendan Johnson could win, that’s probably the only silver lining in this entire nuclear exchange within the SDDP over the past week. The true brilliance of a Weiland Senate candidacy is that it may smoke Noem out and enticed her to run for the Senate and make Brendan a US Representative.

    I think the ball is really in Noem’s court. If she runs for the Senate then the Democrats in South Dakota will probably breathe for another day, but is she holds unto her House seat I am afraid that the future elected Party leadership of the South Dakota Democratic Party will primarily consist of a member of the Hunoff Family and the District 15 Democratic Legislators.

    Sandlin for Governor you may ask? She cannot win that one, but she probably could have beat Rounds on the right day. A pro-choice Democratic women can get elected to Congress from South Dakota, but not to the Governor’s Mansion, even if her maiden name is “Herseth”….

  6. hornguy on May 14, 2013 at 1:15 am said:

    I’m willing to take SHS at her word as to the reasons she’s not running, but losing twice statewide after serving basically kills your career as a candidate. Why would she want to take the risk of blowing that against Mike Rounds when she can undoubtedly sit back and pick a much better and easier opening in the future? She’s only 42.

    Similar logic applies to Brendan Johnson. He’s not even 40. All the time in the world.

    Who can’t wait? Kristi Noem. There’s no future for her in the House, unless she’s content with being a faceless zombie who’s never going to be more than a token member of C-team leadership. And yet, she’s not someone I would ever see being entrusted with executive leadership, which rules the Governor’s office out. If she doesn’t take a crack at this Senate seat, her only hope is that John Thune gets bored with Washington and decides to leave in ’16. Otherwise, she’s potentially frozen out for a decade.

    A Noem/Rounds primary? If the underlying dynamic among conservatives is next year what it’s been in ’10 and ’12, my money is on Noem. Rounds is so easy to paint as a typical establishment guy, the kind of candidate only a max donor or one of his acolytes in Pierre could love. Only Mike Rounds could making a sitting Congresswoman look like an outsider.

    Rule #1 in politics: Don’t wait to win later, because tomorrow doesn’t always come.

    If you’re Kristi Noem, what’s the upside of waiting?

  7. “If Weiland can buy votes with the crab egg rolls at Parker’s, he’s got a great shot.”

    And would probably be more affordable then buying advertising on the TV Stations.

    “the Democrats’ best hope for a new face in the near future might be Mike Huether”

    Too bad he is a Democrat in Name only.

    Noem in the Senate? That scares me more then Rounds & Huether combined.

  8. Your man Mike on May 14, 2013 at 6:05 pm said:

    “Too bad he is a Democrat in Name only.”

    HA! I would love for him to run and the D party have to claim him as their own. Then I’d get to read all the comments here about how dysfunctional the D party is in South Dakota.

    BTW – I’m guessing Herseth enjoys the executive pay at Raven and might stick with that for a while.

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