J-Ro at SD Straight talk wants Napoli to join the herd.
Former State Republican Chairman Joel Rosenthal blogs over at Straight Talk that he thinks Bill Napoli should not be governing.
I guess we know which side of the Napoli/McCoy battle he's going to be sending a check to.
And I'm not sure with which parts of his argument I disagree more with. It's as if at the same time they were both laying a wreath Ronald Reagan's grave, and Joel turns to spit on Bill's because it's not the same as his.
It's a big stretch to assume Napoli hates government. And so what if he's a maverick? Innumerable historians describe Teddy Roosevelt with the same word. And despite angering his peers and his party, he's remembered long after his go-along contemporaries have been relegated to the rubbish heap of history.
What's the matter with questioning "the way it's always been done?" I don't know if Bill is the best politician in the legislature. I'm sure he'd agree he's probably not the smartest. But he's one of the few who isn't afraid to ask unpopular questions. And sometimes those unpopular questions are the most important ones, because they require politicians to pull their fingers out of the wind and put away weak rationalizations and examine the basic values voters supposedly elected them on. (You know, those principles of leadership and integrity.)
Anyway, I think one of the statements Joel uses in closing says it more than anything:
Ugh. The last I knew, and the last I hoped, the Republican party was not about the herd mentality. That's supposedly a criticism we Republicans have of the Democrats. Republicans are about the power of the individual. I always thought Republicanism was about Government only doing those things for people that they could not do for themselves.
Is Bill a bomb thrower? If rugged individualism and challenging the status-quo is bomb throwing, I'll ask him to hold on while I light the fuse. We need more people like that, not fewer.
If Joel wants his politicians to be just another sheep in the herd, that's his choice. Not mine.
While I agree with Senator Napoli’ proclivities on limited government, government can be and is necessary and useful. The problem is that Napoli just hates government. Consequently he should not be governing. While that is my opinion, he is duly elected and that is the decision his electorate makes not me.
I guess we know which side of the Napoli/McCoy battle he's going to be sending a check to.
And I'm not sure with which parts of his argument I disagree more with. It's as if at the same time they were both laying a wreath Ronald Reagan's grave, and Joel turns to spit on Bill's because it's not the same as his.
It's a big stretch to assume Napoli hates government. And so what if he's a maverick? Innumerable historians describe Teddy Roosevelt with the same word. And despite angering his peers and his party, he's remembered long after his go-along contemporaries have been relegated to the rubbish heap of history.
What's the matter with questioning "the way it's always been done?" I don't know if Bill is the best politician in the legislature. I'm sure he'd agree he's probably not the smartest. But he's one of the few who isn't afraid to ask unpopular questions. And sometimes those unpopular questions are the most important ones, because they require politicians to pull their fingers out of the wind and put away weak rationalizations and examine the basic values voters supposedly elected them on. (You know, those principles of leadership and integrity.)
Anyway, I think one of the statements Joel uses in closing says it more than anything:
"Bill should quit throwing the bombs and join the herd."
Ugh. The last I knew, and the last I hoped, the Republican party was not about the herd mentality. That's supposedly a criticism we Republicans have of the Democrats. Republicans are about the power of the individual. I always thought Republicanism was about Government only doing those things for people that they could not do for themselves.
Is Bill a bomb thrower? If rugged individualism and challenging the status-quo is bomb throwing, I'll ask him to hold on while I light the fuse. We need more people like that, not fewer.
If Joel wants his politicians to be just another sheep in the herd, that's his choice. Not mine.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
- Ronald Reagan
"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."
- Ronald Reagan
Comments
HA! Good one. I've heard about some of those legendary caucus meetings during session.
Speaking of "every legislature", it is time for a Unicameral in SD.
Napoli stand for everthing that I am against, but he is perhaps the most colorful politician in the state right now. Frankly, one of the first things I do every morning is open the Rapid City Journal to see what he's saying. He's a maverick, yes, but at least an interesting one.