Stan versus Elli - On why Elli won

Senator Stan Adelstein is grousing about why he didn't win in Tuesday's primaries in today's Rapid City Journal. And some of his commentary is very telling:
Schwiesow said she needed an effort like that, along with the $50,000 in cash to stay in the spending war at all with Adelstein. Adelstein contributed more than $100,000 of his own money to the primary two years ago and was expected to easily top that this year.

He bought a savvy and expensive media campaign that looked more like a congressional campaign than a legislative battle, hitting key differences between the candidates aimed at labeling Schwiesow a conservative extremist.

“We could never keep up with what he was doing,” Schwiesow said about Adelstein’s blitz of media and mailings. “I had volunteers who were so committed to this race, because of the issues and their feelings. You just can’t beat that.”

Adelstein found that to be true this year, despite his own staff of paid campaign workers and a group of volunteers. The six-year legislative veteran spoke confidently going into the primary and actually led by a substantial margin as the first and second precinct reports came in. But subsequent precincts turned sharply in Schwiesow’s favor, leaving Adelstein and his supporters stunned late Tuesday evening.

Adelstein said Wednesday that he still wasn’t ready to discuss the loss. Instead, he issued a news release saying he was grateful for the chance to serve in Pierre but disappointed that voters had “validated a brand of social conservatism that I consider to be exclusionary and harmful to the health and well-being of South Dakota women and their families.”
Read it all here. Stan lost one of the most liberal legislative districts in Rapid City. And not only s he still bashing his opponent, he's bashing his voters for rejecting him. Even the Republicans in this affluent, well educated legislative district recognizes the need for conservative fiscal leadership.

Stan thinks its all about abortion and his crusade against HB 1215. No. It's about less government, lower taxes, and a good education for our kids.

Representative Larry Rhoden get it - here's what he had to say about the race:
Adelstein has spoken harshly about the bill and said during a rally against HB1215 in downtown Rapid City that some who supported it should be voted out of office.

House Republican Leader Larry Rhoden of Union Center, an HB1215 supporter who easily survived his primary Tuesday, said Adelstein’s less-than-conservative philosophy and statements eventually caught up with him.“I saw Stan become more and more bold on some of those things during his six years in office,” Rhoden said. “Then, he was calling for us to be voted out of office, and it absolutely blew up in his face.”

and..


And Rhoden said those who lost, including Adelstein and Duniphan, are out of step.
The election is over - and as I've said before, voters want Republicans to act like Republicans. And good Republicans know the battle is over. It's time to come together to move forward to November as a unified team.

Comments

Anonymous said…
You keep talking about less government, lower taxes and better educating children as the core Republican values. Even though the Republican party has been in control of Pierre for years, I have yet to see any of my taxes go down. And how is legislating what two men or two women do in their own bedroom less government? Abstinence only education is supposed to be better education? Good Lord, did you or any of the rest of your Conservatives go to high school in SD?
Anonymous said…
Ahem Anon.

PP, suddenly in the past *three days* your mantra has been of Republican's less government, lower taxes, and better education.

Where was that message before?
Anonymous said…
And better education? Really? Find a school district in this state that says they are empowered to make education better. They are only allowed to modestly improve what they are doing to maintain the status quo - and well over half the districts have had to opt out to do it. Taxes haven't gone down there.

Less government? Really? State government has only grown - at a rate faster than any other governmental agency.

Face it, PP... you are as caught up as the rest. You want power, and you'll stick to your message even if its a distortion.
Anonymous said…
It was Stan's association with Planned Parenthood that caused him to lose the election. When the pundits digest all the post election issues it will become more clear.
He was counting on their support at the polls and it didn't happen. I am happy he lost but he should be a little upset with being used like that.
They are having a good laugh over this at Planned parenthood, I expect, for shame kate.
Max Power said…
You think Planned Parenthood is happy about losing the primary oponent of the abortion ban? Planned Parenthood is laughing about nothing.
Anonymous said…
Standing up for life and opposing abortion does not mean that we want more government. Standing up for life and opposing abortion means we oppose murder! Pro-abortionists just don't get it. It's not that hard to understand. However, I guess pro-abortionists just have a tough time accepting responsibility for their actions. It's just that plain and simple.

Abortion = Murder

Get it?
Got it?
Good!!!
Thomas said…
Let's see if I have this correct: Stan Adelstein lost in a liberal district? Who are the liberals who got a chance to vote for Stan on their ballots? Put up a Democrat in that district and watch a bucket of water fall on Margaret Hamilton...

It's perhaps better for Democrats for a wishy washy Republican to lose as it makes it easier to monitor the wingnuts on the fringe of the party who are more likely to frighten the Adelstein voters into giving up on the Republicans not only for the national party's missteps, corruption, distractions, poor polling, etc.

That Stan lost when battling "extremists" is not a shock since the extremists had more of a stake in the result.

And it's not so much a legislative gain for the party as Ellie is the carbon copy of her galpal Concerned Women For America's Liz Kraus.

Stan's ads were correct about one thing, he was the "real Republican" and a "Real Conservative" in the race. Ellie is one of the NeoCons of failed war policy, social engineering, and big government of the Bush administration.

Stan is perhaps more a Libertatian / Bill Maher Republican concerned with fiscal health, state business, and changing the status quo rather than a regressive candidate working to return to an imaginary 1950s that only existed on TV.
Anonymous said…
Stan made a huge, huge mistake by giving 13k to Tom Hennies. The story broke two days before the election and it likely affected the Adelstein/Schwiesow race in the Ward 2 precincts. Many of Adelestein's supporters were also Sam Kooiker supporters, and it cost Stan votes.
Anonymous said…
RAPE
INCEST
RAPE
INCEST

Personal responsibility, huh?
Douglas said…
"It's about less government, lower taxes, and a good education for our kids."

Huh? Where did this BS come from? Is this the latest propaganda frame running from the extremes in preparation for the general election?

At the national level, the Republican "leaders" are saying the general election will be all about local issues since Bush public support has dropped close to whale dung.

At the local level, is the Republican word to run from Leslee Unruh like the rest of the party is running from Bush?

Good luck to GOP candidates running on secret pheasant hunt parties and use of the Gov's plane for private junkets. Looks like some real winners for local issues.
Anonymous said…
Humpty Dumpty had the BIG Fall!....is the real reason poor Stan lost his seat. "All the King's Horses and all the King's Men...." etc. Riding the wall of Republican or a Democrat and trying to use all his BIG money to affect the outcome of similar Rino's elections across this state is the REAL reason. It not only defeated the King, but the Pawns as well!!!
Anonymous said…
To anon 8:29 PM, I presume you're proud of the country's opinion of SD. I bet it's especially fulfilling to see one political cartoonist compare South Dakota's treatment of the rights of women to the Taliban.

http://www.cagle.com/news/AbortionSD/main.asp
Anonymous said…
I'd venture that Elli has a burka.
Anonymous said…
I agree with anon 12:00 pm. Stan did lose this election, in part, due to his behind the scene partnership with Planned Parenthood.
It was to the betterment of the people of South Dakota. The Legislature will never back anything Looby puts her name on and that would make Stan a lame duck.
What was he thinking?
Anonymous said…
Based on comments on Mt Blogmore, the libs new talking points against the abortion bill are that it will lead to government deciding who can have kids, how many, euthanasia, Taliban-like control, etc etc. Since this theme was echoed by many different libs at the same time on this topic, I think we can see where they are headed in the next few months.

As anonymous 8:29 said: "Standing up for life and opposing abortion does not mean that we want more government. Standing up for life and opposing abortion means we oppose murder! Pro-abortionists just don't get it. It's not that hard to understand. However, I guess pro-abortionists just have a tough time accepting responsibility for their actions."

Well said, 8:29!
Anonymous said…
RAPE and INCEST have nothing to do with the PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY of the VICTIM.

How many times does that need to be repeated?
Anonymous said…
GOP Lie #1: Less government. Rounds and his 2/3 GOP majority added 800 state employees in only 3 years. They then passed the abortion bill to strip citizens of federal constitutional rights and transfer citizen decisionmaking to government. Rounds and GOP have fought and succeeded in making government larger and more powerful.

GOP Lie #2: Lower taxes. Rounds and his 2/3 GOP majority in 2003 passed more than $20 million million/year in tax increases. Even while holding hostage over $1 billion in taxpayer money, Rounds and GOP majority opposed Dem attempts to repeal the food tax. Rounds and GOP raise taxes and fight tax cuts. see for yourself on legis.state.sd.us 2003 legislative session.

GOP Lie #3: Good education. Even while holding hostage over $1 billion in taxpayer money, Rounds and 2/3 GOP majority underfunded the school formula forcing 80% of school districts to opt out of property tax limits just to get by yes - that's 80% and yes - that's higher property taxes forced on all of us by the GOP. GOP 2/3 majority has not given us mandatory preschool, and haven't even put in a bill on that - showing they just don't care about early learning. SD teachers remain the lowest paid in the country. Rounds and GOP 2/3 majority have fought all attempts to bring us a good education - even trying in 2006 to strip school districts of the right to offer broad-based sex ed - instead trying to force all schools to teach abstinence only (how many people reading this remained abstinent until marriage?) Rounds and GOP treat education like a redheaded stepchild.
Anonymous said…
Stan's Dist. in RC would have to be an unusually liberal Dist.,especially for west river, for electing him in the first place, and for him beating Ellie 2 years ago. I am VERY proud of the country's view of SD, it greatly improved when we got rid of Daschle , and got even better with the passage of the abortion ban.
Anonymous said…
To Thomas at CCK:

Get over it.

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