Former House Speaker Pro Tempore Chris Madsen over at Blogmore

Former GOP Legislator and Speaker Pro Tempore of the House has been doing some commenting on the elections over at Mt. Blogmore recently. Here's what he's had to say about this fall's elections:
So far, Democrats do not have a great reason to flock to the polls in November. There are really no good top of the ticket races for them. Whoever thought a retired surgeon from Sioux Falls is going to be elected governor is a bit deluded. I realize that Mike Rounds has his critics, but all of them are worth about 100 votes for Billion. I’m sure Jack is a great guy, but I don’t back him and the “perfect storm” guaranteeing him any sort of a shot against MMR is not a brewing. I appreciate Bruce Whalen stepping forward to make a run, but for a lot of the same reasons MMR is safe, so is Stephanie regardless of her choice of hairstyle. The Democrats were all full of vim and vigor when session ended and they slated more legislative candidates than they have for quite a while. However, it looks like the momentum is out of that. I can’t wait for their convention to see if they can field candidates for the constitutional offices. Ergo, there are just not going to be the sorts of candidates out there to motivate the casual voter to get out there and vote the Democrat ticket.
Read it all here at Mt. Blogmore.

Comments

Anonymous said…
What rock has Chris been living under? If abortion isn't enough to get someone to the polls there are plenty of other issues (JAIL, STOP, maybe even cell phone tax) Don't read too much into primary results.
Anonymous said…
I'm not under a rock. I've been right here in Sioux Falls.

Go read the rest of the posting on Blogmore. But, if I was not clear enough in the posting, let me state my point here. The legislature's enactment of HB 1215 was supposed to be the battle cry of Democrats, who with the help of their unwitting accomplices, the so-called Mainstream Republicans, were going to wrest control of the state from the likes of all those Republican right wing nuts. Notwithstanding how the electorate may vote on the referendum, it does not appear that the revolution is afoot.
Anonymous said…
I love it when Republicans like Chris claim to know what motivates Democrats, reasonable Republicans, and independents. This is pure, unadulterated spin. But nice try.

Todd Epp
Anonymous said…
We'll see who's spinning after the convention of the South Dakota Democratic Party this summer, Todd.

Maybe you can tell us who is vying for the nomination for the following constitutional offices:

Attorney General
Secretary of State
Auditor
Treasurer

Assuming for the sake of argument that I have no clue what motivates voters (which is quite an assumption considering that I have successfully run for public office) you still need candidates to vote on.

Care to make a friendly wager on the number of seats in the legislature that change from R to D? I would like to hear your prediction.
Anonymous said…
Wow, running and winning as a Republican in the Black Hills is SO tough. You've been in Sioux Falls a while now, if you have such a pulse for the electorate why haven't you ran and won in Sioux Falls?
Anonymous said…
Chris:

I don't get to completely pick the candidates for constitutional offices, the delegates to the state Democratic convention do. But I'm flattered that you think I have so much influence. As a Lincoln County delegate, I'll have just one vote like everyone else.

After the convention, I'll take you up on your wager re Rs and Ds in the legislature in January '07. Can you assure me that AG Larry Long won't have me arrested for illegal betting? (grin)

Best regards,

Todd Epp
Press Secretary
Billion for Governor
http://billionforgovernor.com
Anonymous said…
1:04 For all the reasons I stated when I announced that I would not seek re-election. My life is much busier now with my job and family here versus the way things were when we lived out West. I'd like to think I could win if I ran, but maybe I wouldn't. As it turns out, it really doesn't matter because the bottom line is that I don't have time for the part-time job of a legislator because my full-time gig takes up a lot of time.

Todd, in all seriousness, I'd love to know who is talking about running for what constitutional office because I haven't heard anything. Even Ron Volesky hasn't stated an interest in any of the constitutional offices. At least not yet, anyway.

After the conventions we'll have to compare predictions on the makeup of the legislature.
Anonymous said…
Mr. Epp, I read that Madsen asked you who is vying for the nominations, not who you were picking. So I'll ask it again; Who are the Democrats that are running for the various constitutional offices?

You had put a nice spin on it, evidently trying to avoid the question, but who are they?

If you don't have top of the ticket candidates to provide races against the opposition, your voters do not turn out. Herseth is all but guaranteed a win. So is Rounds. So next come the constitutional officers. If there is no big races, the Republicans will win just because of their numbers.

Will the ballot init. and ref. bring out the voters? I really don't think so. Look at the primaries, lot of pro-life versus pro-abortion, but only Elli/Stan drew out large numbers, about 4100, and probably over $150,000 was spent to do that.

Madsen is right, unless you have constitutional candidates the Dems will not gain. So, who are they?
Anonymous said…
Mad Dog is right on, the wind is out of the pro-abort sails when right down the line, in all parts of the state, both R ad D, the pro-lifers beat the pro-aborts. It's pretty obvious what motivates the dems amd libs, "what will you do for ME ME ME?!"
Anonymous said…
Chris:

Why the personal attack on Jack Billion? Your comment implies that physicians, retrees, and people from Sioux Falls are unfit to serve as governor. That's just crazy talk and beneath someone of your stature as a former elected official.

What would you say if I wrote that pilots, insurance salesmen, and residents of Pierre have no business being elected and any one who votes for them is "deluded"? It would be equally goofy.

There are plenty of issues to talk about. So, let's get a cup of coffee and and talk about South Dakota.

Best regards,

Todd Epp
Press Secretary
Billion for Governor
http://billionforgovernor.com
Anonymous said…
Notla:

We'll all know soon enough. Why ruin the news before the convention?

Todd Epp
Press Secretary
Billion for Governor
http://billionforgovernor.com
Anonymous said…
Sorry, I can't spell this morning. "Retirees" not "retrees."

Todd Epp
Anonymous said…
Chris Madsen is right about a lot of stuff. I believe he's making his comments to help the Democrats. After all, when you're sitting in the audience you want to watch a good show.

Chris, we Democrats promise you a show that you won't soon forget. No advance tip-off on what you're going to see. Wait for it...
Anonymous said…
I bet Chris is right. It's too bad we don't have more quality people like Chris in Pierre. Too many times the real good business people don't have the time to be in the legislature. And it is even worse for the school boards, the only qualification is you had to have flunked math. One more note to Todd, if you are so confident in Mr. Billion, why has your side already given up hope. The only thing I hear Dems saying is Mr. Rounds are you going to stay in office your whole term? If you believe you are going to win that is not even a valid question.
Anonymous said…
to the naive among us - i.e. feasant - if you follow politics for awhile you will discover that questions will be asked whenever one side believes that there is some advantage to be gained from either the answer or the refusal to answer. By Rounds refusing to commit to serving a full term, some voters may very well determine they would rather vote for someone committed to doing the job rather than warming a chair until the next job comes along.
Anonymous said…
I have been around politics long enough to be able to read between the lines what liberals say and what they mean.

It is a desperation move by liberals to wine about will Rounds stay the whole term or not. In fact it means we give up hope on Billion and hope the new hair will lead her to Pierre in 2010.

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