Some of my fellow Democrats in Blogoland are calling for Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin to turn in her Democrat card because of her vote against health care reform Saturday. Others are calling for someone to run against her in the 2010 Democratic Primary.
And the apologists in the state’s MSM say she’s just being shrewd.
Stephanie is smart, attractive, articulate, polite, pleasant–and calculating. No one does political calculus in our state better than Stephanie. She is careful far beyond her years. It is probably a prescription that will keep her elected in Red State South Dakota. Govtrack puts her smack dab in the middle of the spectrum politically between Republican and Democrat. That will probably work pretty well in South Dakota.
The problem is, she’s not always very reliable on important Democratic issues. She has constantly supported the Iraq War, even as it has become unpopular in South Dakota. She voted against consumer protections for credit card holders, instead trying to protect the credit card industry here in South Dakota. She voted against Cap and Trade. And she voted against “cash for clunkers”.
So how do you handle a problem like Stephanie?
You could write or email her but that’s like yelling into a South Dakota blizzard. Her “people” will simply read them and send a polite but say-nothing letter back to you in return. Save your 44 cents.
And it would be a fool’s errand to run against her in a primary. Running for Congress is not something you do on a lark. To ask someone to give up their job for the better part of a year, try to fund raise against her well oiled money machine, and then lose by 20 or 30 points or more is asking a lot of someone. If you’re out there, more power to you. But I don’t think that is a viable solution.
But what do Stephanie and other politicians understand? First and foremost, money. And secondly, volunteers.
I suggest a far more effective way to get SHS’s attention is for Democrats to not donate a single dime to her in this election cycle. Nothing, nada, bupkis. While Stephanie will still raise tons of corporate money, if here in-state money is low, that will send a message to her and more importantly, her Republican challengers, that she has a South Dakota problem.
And secondly, if you are a Democrat, sit out volunteering for her this cycle. She’s pretty good about not attending things like the 2008 S.D. Democratic Convention. If she can take a powder, why not the rest of us for one election?
Ultimately, these are probably stupid, futile gestures on somebody’s part, but we’re just the people to do them. They likely won’t cost Stephanie her seat in Congress. But I guarandamntee you it will get her attention.
Sorry Stephanie, I think we Democrats will just sit on the sidelines in 2010 and see if you really can get along without us.
Tags: 2010 Election, Democratic Party, Democrats, politics, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
Todd, our Democrats and Republicans running for federal office in South Dakota have so much money that they don’t need to rely on volunteers. They drag in out of state youth who are clueless about SD but know that no matter what they hear from actual South Dakotans, they do what the candidate wants…and wants to ignore.
The money allows them to ignore concerns and ideology of actual Democrats or Republicans. It also means they get more and more separated from South Dakota every election as they represent corporations rather than citizens.
Corporate money in politics is a disease on the tree of liberty.
Todd, I agree with your ideas. We need to get her attention.