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It is amazing that at the same time Democrats were failing to find anyone to run against South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune, they were actively working to convince a Democrat to not run a statewide campaign for federal office.
Back when Democrats needed votes in the House for the Senate health care bill, many groups closely allied to the Democratic party and the Obama administration threatened serious repercussions for the House Democrats who voted no. One of those threatened was South Dakota Rep. at large Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, who ended up voting no. Kevin Weiland, a doctor who supported health care reform, was recruited as a potential primary challenger. With the law now passed the national Democratic leadership, in the form of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen, put pressure of Weiland to drop his bid for the South Dakota’s House at large seat.
Whether Weiland had a chance of beating Herseth-Sandlin, whether it would have been good for the party, and/or whether the national leadership should have gotten involved are more complex issues. The incredibly stupid thing about this moment is that at the exact same time members of the National Democratic leadership were trying to talk Weiland out of a state-wide run for federal office in South Dakota, they were completely failing to find absolutely any Democratic to run against Sen. Thune. The filing deadline just passed so Thune will run without a Democratic challenger. They should have been encouraging Weiland to switch races instead of dropping out all together.
Weiland was prepared to challenge Herseth-Sandlin because she opposed the new health care law, so he should equally want to take down Thune who also stood in the way of health care reform.
Would Weiland be a good candidate or have any chance of beating Thune? It is very unlikely he would win but he definitely stands a better chance of beating Thune than his current Democratic opponent “no one.” Almost anyone is a better opponent than no one. It is not unheard of for a very popular politician to completely crumble (Think George Allen and “Macaca”) and just like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t buy a ticket. Even if Weiland didn’t win, forcing Thune to take some politically tough stances might have some value by possibly hurting a potential Thune 2012 Presidential run.
Maybe next time the Democrats have someone willing to run a statewide campaign and there is a Republican about to go unchallenged for an important office, they will do a better job of putting two and two together.
42 Comments
So much for 50 state, contest every race.
I agree. Someone should run. Ya never know. Even a person that is not famous, but has a flair for the issues and a bit of personality might get some money comming in and give it a good run. Unfortunately, I do not live there, ha…. hope they can still get someone in there !!
It’s all about protecting the incumbents, because a bad Democratic incumbent is so much better than a good Democratic challenger. /s
WTF are those guys thinking? That we like having GOP-Lite claiming to represent people, even as they do whatever the corp-rats tell them?
Do we have to go to pitchforks and torches for them to figure it out?
After we lose seats in the next election House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen better be replaced why the Dems will have to show us no more, More of the Same!
Can South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin expect our votes in her race I would thin k not have fun in November.
Don’t think we will forget.
And if you think the Tea Baggers will vote for you because you voted No well then you are stupid. Surrender only encourages them.
They are quite aware of what they are doing:
Working for the Corporations,having bad Dems in congress,is one way they can keep Corporate dominance over our lives.
And then feed us the standard Bu..shit”we just don’t have the votes” to implement change.
It’s we who can’t seem to bring ourselves to the realization”Dem leadership”don’t give a flying f..k about us.the people.
Not one genius in the leadership of the Democratic Party thought it would be a good idea to find and run a candidate against Thune, the guy who beat Tom Daschle for the Senate seat six years ago?
I will admit that I did not check every vote on the “hcr” bill, but, according to the post,
should probably get some support from FDL pups. I could be wrong, so what is the correct story?
Now, how much more does it take to show that the dims really support the candidacies of rethugs and DINOs (blue dogs), not progressives. The only reason pelosi and hoyer are dims is that it is easier for them to be elected that way.
The elites are trying to punish those who resisted their push for fascism. The elites have now succeeded in turning 1/6th of economy into fascism and now they’ll be sure not to let a crisis go to waste (even if they are the ones who manufactured it) so that they can turn the other 5/6ths of the economy into fascism. As has been shown, everyone is supposed to march into lock step or else they will be punished. Obama moved mountains to bring fascism to this country while more and more people lost their jobs and now he’s greased the skids to have corporations outright take over more and more of our government.
Good point you would think Rahm at least would understand revenge? But now I see he only understands bullying…us!
The GOP however he gives them every courtesy because he wants to be liked by them.
My bold I assume she threatened a no vote early on when healthcare still had a hope of a Public Option? Or was she a Progressive who would only vote for the Public Option if so then I admit I’m wrong, that and I’m confused by this post.
1/6 of the world economy or just ours? What countries or parts of our economy are fascist I’m not doubting you just curious to see if I missed any segment in my count of the fascist parts of the economy?
Steny Hoyer, Tim Kaine, Rahm Emanuel…what more need be said?
. That wouldn’t be very bipartisan-y would it?
Spineless, Lacks Stones, Lacks Stones and a Spine but pretends to have them:)
Who am I kidding show me a Dem any Dem with a Spine and a Pair.
Book Salon up at the Mothership with Moby and Miyun Park’s Gristle: Why You Should Think Twice About Meat hosted by Jill Richardson
Howard Dean, Alan Grayson and…..no….that’s about it.
That’s okay. I’m not really interested in yet another attempt to talk me out of being omnivorous and on top of the food chain. Out of respect for those who are interested, I’ll avoid that thread. :-)
I’m referring to healthcare reform with the government requiring that we buy products from the likes of Anthem Blue Cross and other private companies. Healthcare is 1/6th of our economy.
I believe that she voted for the House bill, which had the PO, but was opposed to the Senate bill, which didn’t have a PO. Again, I did not follow her voting record closely, but I believe that is what happened. If someone reading this thread knows better, please correct me so Things~ can make a good choice about her campaign.
Dr. Dean’s 50-State-Strategy scared the PISS out of “the powers that be.” They couldn’t get rid of him fast enough, and now they’re doing everything in their power to dismantle what he created. It’s just one more reason why I no longer give them a dime.
One reason among many others, yep. Me too.
You didn’t need to close a snark tag there, because what you said isn’t snark. There is a tiny ray of hope in GA 12, however, since Regina Thomas is primarying our POS John Barrow who, as she says, “has got to go.” She tried in 2008 with no campaign committee and virtually no funds and no media coverage. She got 25% of the vote. This time she’s got a campaign committee and an ActBlue page. If you have a spare dime PLEASE consider tossing it her way. She’s really good people, and has excellent hats!
So the independent petition deadline is June…
Looks like I’ve become persona non grata at the Orange Satan. I guess talking about the reality of unemployment in this country is a buzz kill when they are praising Orahma and the Democratic Dance Troupe.
Howie Klein introduced Regina to FDL in 2008. Here’s a linky. She scares the crap out of Barrow.
Me too. I enjoy being a meat eater and since I can’t raise my own I guess I’ll just have to contribute to the destruction of the planet for the rest of my life (which, if I live as long as my parents, should be about 6 more years).
Actually, it’s not for or against meat eating, but against factory farming, which vegetarians and meat-eaters alike can agree is NOT a good thing.
Does anyone know if there is a live Democrat in AZ that will dare to run for the Senate seat of McCain regardless of who wins the Rethug primary? Or was the whooping Dems (Pederson) took from running against Kyl too much for all our brave Dems in AZ?
True. I cook meat probably twice a week, and don’t eat out. ESPECIALLY at fast “food” junk mills. Until I hit the lottery, however, I can’t afford all-organic meat (even if I believed that what was being called “organic” in the local stores really was), even working 2 jobs.
Fear not. You are in good company. Being disliked and shouted down at Kos is a Badge of Honor: it means one fewer member of the Obama Personality Cult (OPC).
the premise is flawed. They don’t want to win elections.They are not stupid.
Wow, that’s pathetic, Democrats.
Give up on the dems. Even if you elect a democrat he will probably be a new dem, or he will be a progressive that won’t stick to his guns when needed, which is no different from a new dem really. The democrats aren’t reformable. I won’t give any money to even progressives now that they have betrayed us. Vote third party!
yep!
“Fascism is Capitalism in decay”
-V.I.Lenin
You took the words right out of my response, Marion. I can’t agree more.
I am from SD. I don’t know why Steny Hoyer got involved with a pretend Democrat either. She can’t win without Democratic votes and I have not heard one Democrat say that they would support her. Even at lunch the other day a guy at another table was saying that he can no longer support her. She went bad rapidly. This will be her third term if she wins. Usually it takes longer than a couple of terms.She voted no on every aspect of the health care reform bill. In the end, she said that even if were the perfect bill she would not support because of the way it was voted on. She isn’t a Blue Dog, she is a No Dog.
Interesting thread.
1. Dean scared the piss out of the party establishment in 2003, which is why they made sure he got squelched starting that December and later allowed him to become party chair only after he had agreed to keep his mouth shut when it came to policy. I suspect that he still scares them just as much, and hope that he’ll eventually be willing to confront them head-on (though that would be a big leap for him, since he’s always been very up-front about not doing anything that might really damage the party).
2. The comment about the new so-called reform in health care being fascistic is something I’ve been reflecting upon myself. Only the freak show which the Republicans have been staging could have sufficiently distracted so many Democrats from confronting this and so many other reprehensible aspects of the legislation (almost makes one wonder whether the Republican antics were a put-up job – just another back-room deal that Obama struck in his perpetual game of multi-dimensional chess).
3. People keep saying that the opportunity to confront Pelosi passed with the passing of the registration deadline for the Democratic primary. If people are serious about expressing their dissatisfaction, the best way to do so would be in November, by running a progressive third-party candidate against her (after all, that’s what the tea-partiers did in the NY special election – very effectively).
Just some late-night thoughts.
It make perfect sense when you really understand what the Democrat Party is all about: helping Republicans to win and keep power no matter what.
But they DID put two and two together and came up with keeping a Republican’s seat was important to them.