It was no surprise to me that DJT won the presidential election. If you looked at the math, Harris had no clear path since she announced, the numbers got progressively worse as it got closer to the election. On top of that, let’s pretend for a moment she did win the popular vote and it was a tied electoral college, DJT had a majority of the US state houses on his side, he had Congress and the Supreme Court. Even if a tie came to fruition, DJT would have won. All the liberal tears aside, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.
When the DNC gave a parting gift to Howard Dean as chair of the Democratic Party, Dean proposed this age old idea;
Howard Dean pursued an explicit “fifty-state strategy” as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, putting resources into building a Democratic Party presence even where Democrats had been thought unlikely to win federal positions, in hopes that getting Democrats elected to local and state positions, and increasing awareness of Democrats in previously conceded areas, would result in growing successes in future elections. Democrats who supported the strategy have said that abandoning “red states” as lost causes only allowed the Republican Party to grow even stronger in areas where it was unchallenged, resulting in lopsided losses for Democrats in even more races.
Ironically, the Republicans have had this strategy for decades and it finally paid off on Tuesday night. I have been warning the state Dems that if you keep hanging your hat on where people can go to the bathroom and who can wear a dress instead of better commodity prices for farmers and worker rights you will be abandoned by the working class. Guess what happened?
Don’t get me wrong, queer rights and diversity should ALWAYS be a ladder wrung on the progressive agenda, but not at top. Sorry, childcare, affordable food and housing, living wages, a good education, healthcare, and the list goes on, WHY DID WE STOP TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS!!!!!!!
The GOP has been busy across the nation filling school boards, county commissions, judgeships, city councils and dog catcher positions. I have even contributed to this by helping 4 Republicans get elected to the city council (My Bad) and then they were too ‘social’ for the local Repugs so they got booted. This has created a system of one party rule which never benefits the public. I suppose I could write a very scathing post about how ignorant and selfish the American electorate is, but we all knew this coming into the election. Nothing changed on Wednesday it just was an answer to what we already knew; poor white people are mad and they need to blame someone, so they blame colored folks. Things are expensive and people vote with their pocket books.
I really don’t want to make this about Republicans and Trump, this is about something even more troubling. If you watch the playbook played by the GOP over the past 20 years they want a total shutdown of government transparency. Not that we have had much in South Dakota anyway, and Sioux Falls city hall is darker then an opium den, but, a drunk, drugged up reporter can’t even get the state to turn over hair and nail salon receipts. As if knowing what the gov paid for an asshole bleaching is of importance 🙁 While transparency in government is something that doesn’t exist on a state or local level anyway, the fight to get this information out there has just gotten 10 times harder.
I expect the National GOP will have a directive going all the way down to Dogcatcher candidates that open government is a thing of the past and give up NO information.
Now with extremists, they know they only have a small window to wreck sh!t and be on their way, this is why it is more important then ever to shine a light on these TRAITORS . . . NOW! Anybody who would wipe their ass with the Constitution in order to gain power has NO interest in telling you the truth.
Real Patriots use loud speakers, cowards use lies and violence. Now more then ever we need to ask our government to be open, because if they are not, they are just screwing us.
Ben Franks, the greatest founding Father, said it best;
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
He also warned his future countrymen;
“A republic, if you can keep it”
If Ben was alive today, I think he would be extremely nervous, and probably headed for France.
Tell me about it. I went to a Democratic picnic this past summer, and an elected leader from the South Dakota Democratic Party spent her entire speech to the crowd talking about how she got a law passed that made it easier for the homeless to get IDs so they could apply for assistance and housing. Well, I’m all for that, but that issue doesn’t win elections for the greater good of the Party. Now, I realize she was just throwing red meat out to the chorus as the preacher, but what’s the Democrats’ position in this state on rising property taxes and homeowner’s insurance? Now, those are issues that the Democrats could win on…. AND, the SDDP needs to learn what GOTV actually is. It ain’t calling or texting a bunch of people at the last minute hoping they will vote blue. Rather, an effective GOTV reaches out to those they are confident will vote blue and not just maybe….. AND, while the GOP continues to work to protect the wealth class while offering crocodile tears about working-class issues, too many Democratic leaders in this state and nation spent way too much time Googling the following question: “Do I need to capitalize the pronouns that I place after my name when posting my name?”…. In conclusion, the Democratic Party is a consortium of single issues constituencies and as long as the leaders of these constituencies do not recognize the need to be full serivce Democrats as leaders in terms of votes and message, then the other side will continue to effectively marginalize and define the leaders of these constituencies by their single interest concerns, but at the detriment of the overall political needs of the Democratic Party to be successful both at the local, state, and national level.
I would also like to note, the SDDP’s efforts at re-districting in 2021 is already beginning to fall apart. They thought they created two and not one Democratic-leaning district in Sioux Falls, but after last Tuesday’s results the Dems lost a House seat and bearly kept one in the other district by nine votes (And, this was a presidential year, it will be worse in ’26)…. I guess they should have gone with the pickle guys plan, which would have created eight districts in Sioux Falls and five potentially competitive districts in the City instead of two “guaranteed” ones, because if the pickle guy had his way the Democrats would have succeed with a Tet Offensive approach that would have energized the Party locally, but instead the SDDP took the Alamo approach and I think we all know how that one went in history. #TheyShouldHaveNeverReplacedBiden! #StupidestIdeaSinceChamberlainsAppeasement
( and Woodstock adds: “The ‘pickle guy’?”…… ( ….. “Oh, yah”…… 🙂 …. ))
Frankly, I’m shocked that those camouflage hats didn’t get the job done for the Dems….. AND, does anyone know if Cabela’s in Mitchell was selling them?
In 2020, the Democrats knew that a gay mayor, a socialist, a woman, nor a person of color could beat Trump. So, they ran a white guy, who beat Trump, even though that white guy took 5th in the Iowa Caucuses that year.
Then speed forward to 2024, and the Democrats replaced this white guy with a woman of color, while Trump was strong in the polls…. So, my question is: When did the Democrats become stupid? #ItsRacismStupid #ItAintTheEconomyAnymore
The rise of social media and the death of traditional news has created the divide we now have in our country. The vast majority of the population now just surround themselves with online “news” sources that mirror their own opinions, and any politician/news source/blogger that challenges their view is a biased liar. So we have a weird percentage of people who truly do believe that schools have kitty litter in the bathrooms, or that kids do come home with a sudden sex change. A co-worker’s best friend’s cousin’s ex-husband is considered a more trustworthy source than a journalist with 50 years experience if they’re saying what they want to hear. (Don’t get me wrong. The other side has their share of ridiculous tall tales they also believe.) Sadly, I see this problem getting worse as time goes on as the TV networks go broke and what’s left of the newspaper business disappears.
Exactly!! The once host of the once ‘Man Show’ has a podcast that has now become as credible as ’60 Minutes’, and how?
And how do you get news on Facebook? I’m seriously asking. I have never found a news link on there so when I hear people say, ‘I saw it on FB.’ I’m like WHERE!? Nobody can answer me. I haven’t had cable tv in over 10 years, I watch everything streaming and I visit about 10 different national and international sites. I have NEVER gotten a story link on social media that is credible. I intentionally don’t have FB on my phone and never will. Facebook does supply SOME local news, mostly entertainment events, but other then that it is a political cesspool. My readership has gone down, this probably has to do with people spending more time on Turdbook. Also, when I started moderating ALL comments people stopped commenting. People like to rant even if they have no idea what they are talking about. I had an older relative call me a week before the election and they told me they are voting against the food tax decrease because we will get an income tax. Even after 10 minutes of trying to explain to them that was total BS, they still were voting it down. Social media is powerful and it convinces people to do stupid things, like vote for a Nazi.
“Say, is it too late to buy into Khaki futures?”…..
Oh, but I have had fellow Democrats chide me because I’m not on Bookface. They claim that all you need to have happen is to have someone with 10,000 followers like or start following you, and then you are in as far as winning an election….. I also like the way some Dems organize just based on Bookface, when actually they should also be using other tools, too, like postcards, emails, and texting if they really want to be inclusive in the organizing of the Party….. But, honestly, I think they do that for a reason…. #Ageist
As far as the collapse of network news, well, I knew we were in trouble when, a couple of years ago, CBS had Gayle King as one of the panelists for play-by-play coverage on election night. Seriously, just how in-depth is her knowledge of American history and politics? I’m sorry, but she’s no Bob Schieffer. She’s really only where she is because she’s Oprah’s friend. AND, I think we all know Oprah, she’s the one who was for Bush43 in 2000, then an early supporter of Obama in 2007 (How does that happen?), and then in 2024, she helped to get Harris “elected.” OH, and she also created Dr. Phil, who once tried to fiat his own son into being a diet expert, and lately, Dr. Phil has been entertaining the political punditry with the baseless manipulative qualities of a MyPillow guy. #AllTheBillionairesNeedToShutUp #ThatIncludesYouTooMusk
Trump won with nearly the identical number of votes that he received in 2020 and Harris received over 11 million votes less than Biden did in 2020. But what scares the Hell out of me is that Mrs. Noem could become Interior Secretary.
I don’t think Trump really likes Noem anymore. He appears to use her the way he used to use Palin. I’m of the understanding, that Burgum has the inside track to be the next Interior Secretary.
Mrs. Noem at the Bureau of Land Management would be every bit as catastrophic.
Does she know the difference between the BLM and a BLT?
Oh, and I found this interesting:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/11/politics/video/mark-zaid-advises-clients-leave-country-trump-revenge-digvid
#BananaRepublic #FascismInAmerica #80YearsAfterNormandy #InPutinsPocket
Actually, as a fellow Precinct Committee member of the Republican party, I can present evidence that the S.D Republican party is well organized (more than democrats). It all begins at the local levels. Having served in the party for one term (2022-2024) and now a second term (2024-2026), I can tell you, we hold county meetings 3-4 times a year. This is what you want from a “County Party” – our job is represent those voters in the precincts, helping to provide them a voice within the party itself. Our main job is to organize voters, register new voters, and help educate them on initiatives, resolutions, and candidates every two years. The Republican Party is split 60-40 now – Minnehaha, Butte, Lawrence, Hand, Lincoln, Yankton to name a few are very much true “Grassroots” coalitions bound to the Freedom, Patriot, America First movement. The “party” operates from the ground upwards. The Democrat party does not, they lead from the top -> down. We were able to go out and lobby for our candidates this past year, by not spending a ton of money on them, but we spent most of our campaign funds on the Ballot Initiatives and Amendments to help educate and inform the voter.
Most importantly, the this “America First Movement” really began as Scott stated, nearly 20 years ago (2006), in between the Republican passing the Patriot Act and the Democrats passing the ACA. First, we adopted a Declaration, Articles of Freedom 2009), next, we rallied the troops using the precinct strategy to get new faces elected into the party between 2010-2014, third, we implemented the plan by initializing those policies, turning them into works of art, with a mission to slow down, disrupt the progressive, socialist movement in the U.S House. Fourth, we got Donald Trump elected in 2016, which paved the way to implement those America First policies into law, whereas now, we are moving ‘fast’ to change the National Government by means of a classic rebuild, reorganization, and restructuring, putting new faces within the Federal Government, removing long term career Federal Officers, Agents, Workers, replacing them with “patriots” from the 50 States, mainly the 30 Red States.
Yes, we had a plan, we stuck to the plan, and we completely changed the political landscape not only in the National Government, but in State Legislatures, County Commissions, City Councils, to Precinct Committees.
The Democrats are going to have to figure this out eventually, or they to , will be left in the dust long term.
Mike,
The Republicans are only relevant on a national basis because their fascist leader is a brand name, which Harris was not. Branding matters. Trump won because of racism and misogyny, and the fact that Democrats didn’t get out the vote.
In South Dakota? Well, Republicans have always mattered here, right or not.
AND, how can you say that you believe in states’ rights when you only want leadership from 30 of the states making all of the federal decisions in the future?
AND, don’t forget the Koch brothers, because without them you wouldn’t have made many of the gains at the local level that your 18th-century organization or organizations have made in the past 20 years.
( and Woodstock adds: “‘….”‘ 18th-century organization or organizations’?”….. ( ….. “Is that why Alito used a 13th-century treatise to justify his Dobbs opinion?”….. ( ….. “AND, I wonder if Mike gets his Khaki from the GAP or J. Crew?”…. ( …. “Oh, my bad, probably Walmart”….. 🙂 ….. ))))
I guess I was wrong about Palin, I mean Noem:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-picks-kristi-noem-lead-063438737.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Now, she’ll have a real reason to keep going down to Texas…. 🙂
Governor Rhoden: So, how does that reality mess up Dusty and Paul’s plans for ’26? Or, will Rounds step down, with Dusty running for the Senate and Paul running for the House?
Illegals: The new Cricket….. ( “Illegals. We’re on it?” )
Under Trump47, this is what border security is going to look like with the new HSS, Noem:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3AUjtLwEwG4
I’m confused. First, Trump/Vance claimed that illegal immigrants were killing the pets, but now Trump wants a dog killer to run Homeland Security…. #RunSpotRun! #GravelPitGovernor #LetsSendThemToTheGravelPit
Trump’s going to appoint an online graduate from SDSU as the new Homeland Security Secretary, is that right?….. But then again, let’s not forget that SDSU jingle from about 15 years ago…. “SDSU: You Can Go Anywhere From Here”…. 🙂 #ItOnlyTakesAnACTSecoreOf18ToGoToSDSU #USD? #22 #GoYotes!
( and Woodstock adds: “But what’s Rhoden’s position on fireworks at Mt. Rushmore?”….. )
“I guess now Noem is going to have to build a Fox Vanity Studio at the Homeland Security headquarters, huh?”
V.S.G
Wow, Democrats claim Trump won cause the democrats did not get out to vote, and the Trump is a racist, and all these other bad names. Not true at all. Funny, Biden got 81 million votes in 2020, Trump got 74 million. In 2024, Trump got 74 million, and Harris got 71 million. We had more voter participating this year than in 2020, so what happened to the 10,000,000 votes that Biden got? Well, I think we know what happened, they did not exist. Democrats cheated, completly schemed their way, in a coup defeat to get Trump out of the Whitehouse. They caused a large PANIC, that was then used to send out twice as many mail ballots to people who were NOT voters. They harvested ballots, and now the facts and the evidence is coming out. Trump was correct the entire time. We Know how the democrats cheated, and we are closing all the loop holes in the years ahead.
Voter I.D, U.S Ctitizenship, and Massive Deportation of Undocumented (illegals) Persons.
The data has been done Mike. 10 million people who voted for Biden in 2020 didn’t show up for Harris. Nothing else to see here. I suspect Trump to concoct some BS docket from the DOJ claiming Biden stole the election. Oh, and if you don’t think Trump is racist, you may be one. The Racist badge is NOT something you want to wear proudly.
Mike, Mike, Mike, now, don’t you think that if the Democrats could “rig another election” they would have?
Why would they stop now?
And then there’s the theory about Musk and his APP, Starlink, and rigging the election, too, because he apparently called the election for Trump four hours before it was apparent Trump won, but I won’t go there.
(Although, during the Kennedy assassination, a New Zealand newspaper printed that Oswald had been arrested and had shot the President before Oswald had actually been arrested and alleged facts about his involvement in the death of JFK had become known…. #SometimesHistoryRhymes 😉 )
https://www.yahoo.com/news/left-wing-conspiracy-theorists-claim-172647650.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Mike, I am going to be fair here. How many minority friends or relatives do you have? I’m not trying to be condescending, I am just asking. I have Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans in my family, blood relation, I would assume most Americans do, we are the melting pot, and that is not some cute phrase, it is real. Diversity is what makes America GREAT! The innovation from immigrants is insurmountable and we are going to go decades in the past.