From Drinking Liberally;
Unfortunately, in South Dakota, the Democratic Party has shown little ability to take advantage of Trump’s unpopularity. Democrats continue to lose the Voter Registration battle to Republicans. According to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website, Democrats lost another 449 registered voters in February while Republican registration increased by 325 voters. In all the Republican advantage over Democrats increased by 774 voters in February. Overall, it now stands at 87,112 voters or, to put it another way, by an average of 2489 voters in each of South Dakota’s 35 Legislative Districts. That is a big deficit for a Candidate to overcome and a big hole the SDDP needs to climb out of.
A year ago the South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) announced a big voter registration drive. It even got a $10,000.00 grant from the DNC to conduct registration drives on Indian Reservations. The SDDP doesn’t have much to show for its effort. Since last April Democratic voter registration statewide has dropped by 11,360 voters, from 169,688 to 158,328 or 6.7%. I encourage the SDDP to rethink what they are doing. I don’t know what it is but it obviously is not working.
I think it is time for ALL NEW leadership.
Yeah, Democrats think they are winning some sort of popularity contest nation wide. In reality though they are losing ground everywhere. They have the media and they hire groups to show up and protest places and it makes it look like their message is a popular one. Truth is the word is out and those activities are despised by the general public. You all need to decide if you are Socialists or a party of and in support of our representative Republic.
Fluff–
Very well said and I 100% agree. The way they operate is very brash and loud, having the appearance that their thinking is the majority. Liberalism is not the way most people think in this country. It fails everywhere it is tried, i.e., Detroit, Baltimore, LA, San Fran, Memphis, and every large city run by Dems.
There’s still a lot of good old-fashioned common Ssense throughout South Dakota. And the thing is the more common sense you have the more obvious it is how much liberalism and the Democratic party’s core philosophies are flawed. It’s really no wonder they continue to lose ground. They are just simply out of touch.
Democrats are leaving South Dakota for the surrounding states that have much more to offer. Better amenities. Better jobs. Better quality of life.
Democrats are realizing that they don’t have to stay and put up with the constant flow of bullsh!t coming from state government and they are voting with their feet. They will find opportunity in Minnesota and never move back.
Democrats in South Dakota? Where?
Or maybe your biggest effort should be engaging productive members of society rather than spend money on trying to register a group of people who are the lowest functioning beings on this continent. Believe me, I’m not complaining since I’d rather your party remained gelded, even though the only alternative is a group of turn the other cheek weaklings that actually move your agenda along nicely. Republican/Democrat=synonymous
Scott, I need to correct a misprint I made in my original post. The per-district calculation should show a Democratic Party deficit of 2489 voters per district, not 2889 as I wrote. The Democrat’s disadvantage against Republicans is still really, really bad (far larger than at any time on the Secretary of State’s website which goes back to 1968). It just isn’t as really, really bad as my misprint would suggest. I apologize for the error.
As I have said here several times, I left the Democratic party to become an Indy several years ago when Daschle decided to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I felt the party no longer supported diplomacy.
As for liberalism, I think that is the one thing the Dem party in SD misses. Most people in Dem leadership are card carrying NRA members that are PRO-LIFE, and they wonder why people are NOT voting for the alternative party? Guess why? Because your are just Republican Light.
If the SD Dem party would get back to some of their core beliefs like rights for the working class and affordable higher education they may start getting more votes.
As for liberalism, great liberals throughout history have accomplished many things for our country, including;
1. The 40-hour work week.
2. Weekends
3. Vacations
4. Women’s Voting Rights
5. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
6. The right of people of all colors to use schools and facilities.
7. Public schools.
8. Child-labor laws.
9. The right to unionize
10. Health care benefits
11. National Parks
12. National Forests
13. Interstate Highway System
14. GI Bill
15. Labor Laws/Worker’s Rights
16. Marshall Plan
17. FDA
18. Direct election of Senators by the people.
19. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Workplace safety laws
20. Social Security
21. NASA
22. The Office of Congressional Ethics. Created in 2008.
23. The Internet
24. National Weather Service
25. Product Labeling/Truth in Advertising Laws
26. Rural Electrification/Tennessee Valley Authority
27. Morrill Land Grant Act
28. Public Universities
29. Bank Deposit Insurance
30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
31. Consumer Product Safety Commission
32. Public Broadcasting/Educational Television
33. Americans With Disabilities Act
34. Family and Medical Leave Act
35. Environmental Protection Agency
36. Clean Air Act
37. Clean Water Act
38. USDA
39. Public Libraries
40. Transcontinental Railroad and the rail system in general
41. Civilian Conservation Corps
42. Panama Canal
43. Hoover Dam
44. The Federal Reserve
45. Medicare
46. The United States Military
47. FBI
48. CIA
49. Local and state police departments
50. Fire Departments
51. Veterans Medical Care
52. Food Stamps
53. Federal Housing Administration
54. Extending Voting Rights to 18 year olds
55. Freedom of Speech
56. Freedom of Religion/Separation of Church and State
57. Right to Due Process
58. Freedom of The Press
59. Right to Organize and Protest
60. Pell Grants and other financial aid to students
61. Federal Aviation Administration/Airline safety regulations
62. The 13th Amendment
63. The 14th Amendment
64. The 15th Amendment
65. Unemployment benefits
66. Women’s Health Services
67. Smithsonian Institute
68. Head Start
69. Americorps
70. Mine Safety And Health Administration (This has been weakened by conservatives, resulting in recent mining disasters.)
71. Food Labeling
72. WIC
73. Peace Corps
74. United Nations
75. World Health Organization
76. Nuclear Treaties
77. Lincoln Tunnel
78. Sulfur emissions cap and trade to eliminate acid rain
79. Earned Income Tax Credit
80. The banning of lead in consumer products
81. National Institute of Health
82. Garbage pickup/clean streets
83. Banning of CFCs.
84. Erie Canal
85. Medicaid
86. TARP
87. Bail Out of the American Auto Industry
88. Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
89. Wildlife Protection
90. End of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
91. Established the basis for Universal Human Rights by writing the Declaration of Independence
92. Miranda Rights
93. Banning of torture
94. The right to a proper defense in court
95. An independent judiciary
96. The right to vote
97. Fair, open, and honest elections
98. The right to bear arms (Do you really think extreme right wingers would allow anybody besides themselves to have firearms if in power?)
99. Health care for children and pregnant women
100. A stable and strong government established by a Constitution
101. The founding of The United States of America
102. The defeat of the Nazis and victory in World War II
103. Paramedics
104. The Brady Handgun Act
105. The Glass-Steagall Act (It has since been repealed and we’ve been paying the price for it.)
106. Oil industry regulations (The Gulf paid the price after conservatives tore many of these regulations down.)
107. The Affordable Care Act which makes insurance companies more honest and fair.
108. Woman’s Right to Choose
109. Title IX
110. Affirmative Action
111. A National Currency
112. National Science Foundation
113. Weights and measures standards
114. Vehicle Safety Standards
115. NATO
116. The income tax and power to tax in general, which have been used to pay for much of this list.
117. 911 Emergency system
118. Tsunami, hurricane, tornado, and earthquake warning systems
119. Public Transportation
120. The Freedom of Information Act
121. Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery
122. Antitrust legislation which prevents corporate monopolies (These laws have been savaged by conservatives, which is why corporations are getting huger and competition is disappearing leading to less jobs and high prices.)
123. Water Treatment Centers and sewage systems
124. The Meat Inspection Act
125. The Pure Food And Drug Act
126. The Bretton Woods system
127. International Monetary Fund
128. SEC, which regulates Wall Street. (Conservatives have weakened this regulatory body, resulting in the current recession.)
129. National Endowment for the Arts
130. Campaign finance laws (Conservatives have gutted these laws, leading to corporate takeovers of elections.)
131. Federal Crop Insurance
132. United States Housing Authority
133. Soil Conservation
134. School Lunch Act
135. Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act
136. Vaccination Assistance Act
137. Over the course of nearly 50 years, liberals contributed greatly to the eventual end of the Cold War.
138. The creation of counterinsurgency forces such as the Navy Seals and Green Berets.
139. Voting Rights Act, which ended poll taxes, literacy tests, and other voter qualification tests.
140. Civil Rights Act of 1968
141. Job Corps
142. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
143. Teacher Corps
144. National Endowment for the Humanities
145. Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966
146. National Trails System Act of 1968
147. U.S. Postal Service
148. Title X
149. Kept the Union together through Civil War and rebuilt the South afterwards.
150. Modern Civilization
I have read that unless they embrace the Grudznick Cannabis template there is not hope for the Democratic Party in South Dakota.
Would it not be easier for those Dems to just move to Minnesota? Why punish themselves? Sounds way too Catholic!
150 things that I’m sure the above posters think “ruined” America.
I understand why you switched to Indie l3wis. Did not do that myself, but understand your views. Right now 46% of this state is R, 30% D, 23% I, and 1% other. I believe a huge majority of the 23% I’s are disgruntled D’s. Do you agree?
Several of the items on your list were initiated/approved/signed into law by republicans. Perhaps the Congress at those times were democratic/liberal? Can you clarify some of those items?
PFFTTT!!! Let’s debunk this list. I’ll start. #100 – Group effort conducted by the founders. Not a liberal only claim and today’s parties weren’t exactly in existence. #55 – See above. #98 – See above. #13 – President Eisenhower’s legacy, a Republican. #149 – Puh-leeeeeze.
Okay, someone pick up the next five or so please…..
Fluffer said:
“You all need to decide if you are Socialists or a party of and in support of our representative Republic.”
Rebuttal – People who claim to be supportive “of our representative Republic” don’t collude with Russians;
many of whom are former KGB communists (the worst of the socialists)….
Jon said:
“It fails everywhere it is tried, i.e., Detroit, Baltimore, LA, San Fran, Memphis, and every large city run by Dems.”
Rebuttal – What you are really talking about is Democrats being left to run urban centers, which are a greater challenge then running a white picket fence town like Sioux Falls or Fargo……Having Democrats run our major cities is analogous to (Although, the Democrats are definitely the minority in South Dakota), if you care to notice, how quite a few of the State’s Attorneys in this state are Democrats? Why is this? Well, because like the political leaders who become mayors of major cities in this country, who are Democrats also, only Democrats seem willing to do their civic duty and do the best with what they have to work with….. Republicans just don’t care, they don’t…..Unless they can figure a way to profit from it…
Canadian said:
“They are just simply out of touch.”
Rebuttal: They are not out of touch, rather their bucket list needs to start being more than just a social bucket list. It needs to be an economic bucket list too.
And as far as Legerdemain, well, he is absolutely right!
Knothead Peasant said:
“Democrats in South Dakota? Where?”
Rebuttal: Well, there is still a 158,328 of them…. 😉
Henrik said:
“….lowest functioning beings on this continent.”
Rebuttal: That sadly sounds too much like Romney’s “47%” comment, I am afraid…
L3wis’s list is an impressive list, but I would add two things to it; and that is that twice in a century Democrats saved capitalism via FDR and Obama, which is quite ironic when Republicans often claim to be the defenders of liberty and capitalism themselves, but they sure know how to mess it up, however…. It probably has something to do with that greed thing…..My guess…..
There is also a lot I could say about Democrats in South Dakota and the State Party, but for the sake of brevity let me just say I like the people who are running the Party right now. There is a lot of promise and articulateness with the presence crowd, but as a Party we all need to stop being manipulative and start having a game plan; which definitely includes voter registration and a greater GOTV.
Because what we need right now is not a 2018 plan, rather we need a 2028 plan and it needs to start today!…. And we must stop the manipulative mentality via image only, which has permeated our Party. I am not sure if this is by design, or if it merely speaks of the power vacuum within the SDDP that thus allows this to happen, but in the last eight years we have gone from being a Party that ran two Republicans as Democrats for governor in 2010, then it ran two pro-choice women in 2014, who are then followed by a West River legislator, who is pro life and wears a cowboy hat some four years later. This reality sends too many mixed signals to the South Dakota voter and it suggests a manipulative mentality or reality, whether it be by design or not, and this is not good and is at the heart of the problem for Democrats in South Dakota today, I am afraid…..Never has the slogan “Proud to be a Democrat” had more relevance than today, but to be “Proud” means that one does not need to rely upon manipulation, however…
#StopTheManipulation!
#GoFindSomeVoters!
VSG – Rebuttal to your rebuttal to me…..actually I don’t have one. I agree 100%. So let’s work collaboratively to lock up Hillary and close this dark chapter of Russian collusion once and for all.
Fluff, contrary to what FOX tells you, Hillary is not the 45th President….. 😉
Laugh it up while you can fluff. Your days are numbered. Right now there are 140 million silent generation and baby boomers in this country. There is an equal number of generation x and millenials. By 2028 there will only be 75 million silent and baby boomers. Generation X, Millenials, and eligible Generation Z voters will be triple the silent and baby boomers. The republican party has a minority of women, black, and hispanic voters already. Add the disparity of generational groups, and your party is dead by 2028. RIP.
Wow, the comments are impressive and factual. I voted one election as Indy and discovered but two items. The republicans get a full ballot. I’ve thought about re-registering Republican so I can vote on all subjects. I’ll probably vote dem on many and refrain on others.
It is true but a few own this state. They are republicans but represent the Kleptocracy. Minnesota seems a good immigration for dems. There you’ll feel a part of guaranteed constitutional liberty. The taxes are more but it gets spent on people and not filtered into making politicians and billionaires wealthy.
To answer Warren Phear’s question about which Party registered independents lean toward, the South Dakota Democratic Party staff sites a recent poll that shows Independents split 60% Democrat and 40% Republican. I believe Nielson Brothers has shown a 55% Democrat, 45% Republican split in the past. If accurate either split helps a little but not nearly enough to help Democrats overcome the registration gap in most instances.
News flash Warren, I am Gen X and most of my friends are Gen X or Millennial. And most of them are right leaning conservatives. The few that I do have that are Democrat are leaving that party due to the insanity of their message and their underhanded tactics. Lewis nails it, the Dem party is F’d. I’m independent by the way, I just apply common sense to my political views and don’t trust any of them.
I’ll let Florida and the other swing states decide which way gen x’ers and z’ers are leaning. You’ve lost Florida forever, just a question of time before the rest follow suit.
How many democrats are RV or PO box residents who don’t vote because they’re never in the state?
Or, rather to whining about “leadership”, LEAD. Go out and get a stack of voter registration forms from the registrar’s office and start knocking on doors.
It is not factual to say Trump is unpopular.
The polling numbers are the same or better than Obama’s.