LEAD did their presentation today. I applaud the group and their priorities (DOC: LEAD-SF). I have often believed that we need MORE women as legislators and political leaders, heck, 50% would even be a nice goal!
But during the Q & A session it was revealed that the growing pains are becoming a reality. They started out with about 100 members and have grown online to around 2,100Â in just a few short months (mostly due to the anti-Trump sentiment).
While I also applaud them on being non-partisan, as a women’s political group, they are going to have to ask some serious questions about their platform and that’s where the growing pains begin. It seems they want to recruit candidates for local races and the legislature but have yet to implement a platform.
This is troublesome.
While I say ‘Hell Yah’ to candidate recruitment, especially on a local level, you best have your ducks in a row when it comes to a platform and policy positions. While having a desire to run for office is a great thing, you better know what you stand for before you announce your candidacy, and you best have it set in stone. It will be the script you must stick to throughout your campaign, and should be SIMPLE and CONCISE. Remember good government is very easy, it’s based on common sense, not some special interest mantra or dogma.
I wish them luck in their endeavors and hope they form a strong platform soon, rather then later.
You raise some very legitimate points and concerns with LEAD.
However, I still hold out great hope for LEAD’s ability to promote and elect progressive candidates for the people of South Dakota in 2018.
This past March, the state leader of LEAD openly admitted that there are Republicans in their mix, when she addressed the Minnehaha County Democratic Party. So the question becomes, will the LEAD candidates be pro-choice and pro-business or will they be pro-choice and pro-worker? Hopefully, the latter…….