Thune Deserves A Challenger
In 2010, John Thune will face his first re-election campaign since unseating Tom Daschle in 2004. His seat is considered one of the safest of all incumbent Republicans. This is helped along by the fact that he has no challenger in sight.
The most competitive Democrat in South Dakota, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, has decided to run for re-election to the At-Large House seat. State Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem is another well-known Democrat (who ran for the House of Representatives as a Republican in 1986), but with Rep. Herseth Sandlin's pass on the 2010 Governor's race, he is a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination there. And forget about any resurrection of Tom Daschle.
That leaves us without a clear challenger for Senator Thune. There is hope(TM): a rising South Dakota Democrat named Ben Nesselhuf from Vermillion. At only 34, Ben Nesselhuf is already serving a third term in the State Senate (after having served twice in the state House of Representatives) and is the Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman. He recently led the fights that defeated a bill that would have let guns onto state college campuses and another that would have changed the South Dakota constitution to prevent any language other than English to be used by the state or any local governments (South Dakota has the third highest proportion of American Indians in the country). You can check him out on Facebook here.
Another prospective challenger for Senator Thune is Nancy Turbak Berry. Turbak Berry is serving her second term in the South Dakota State Senate, where she is one of only seven female Senators. She graduated cum laude from Harvard and has her law degree from Berkeley. Like myself, she is one of six kids and shares one of the most valuable lessons of that kind of upbringing, "In a big family, you learn that everyone can get along, even if they don’t all share the same opinion." She is also on Facebook.
It is important we get a progressive to challenge Senator Thune. He is moving up fast in the national GOP, having just succeeded mama's boy John Ensign as chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee making him the fourth-ranking Republican in the Senate. He is quickly becoming one of the top contenders for the GOP nomination for President in 2012. He was recently feted with a $500-a-head fundraiser by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky. Every 2 out of every 3 dollars he has raised has been from out of state. Senator Thune is also celebrating more than a decade in Washington, arriving there as a Representative back in the 1990s and working as a lobbyist from 2003-2004.
Thune is in a strong position, he has a 57% favorability rating and he already has $4 million in cash on hand. However, Republican voter registration dropped two points in South Dakota from 2006-2008 to 45% and Thune polls worst among young people, which could work against him if the youthful State Senator Ben Nesselhuf challenges him. Furthermore, statewide races tend to be close in South Dakota: the margin between Thune and Sen. Tim Johnson in 2002 was only 500 votes, Thune beat Daschle by less than 5,000 votes, and Rep. Herseth Sandlin got elected with about 3,000 votes.
The Senate race in South Dakota won't be easy. However, if we want to win more competitive races in places like Ohio and New Hampshire, we need to keep the GOP fighting in places like this. No matter what, John Thune deserves a challenger.
- kkrahel's blog
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That all depends on Thune's voting record, by summer 2010
Thune or any other party of "NO" candidate are so, "outta there". The 18 and above voters are sick of worrying about parents that made sure they had healthcare throughout their childhood, only to have the status Quo tell parents of them "PHUCK U". They have lost grandparents parents and siblings to a corporate greedy healthcare insurance industry and after having to "scramble" and sacrifice food and rent money to see a doctor and when they do they are denied critical thinking and common sense in diagnosis.
NO MORE PAY OR DIE FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR KIDS AND GRANDCHILDREN.
On my show, they say they would rather pay an extra 2% of taxes for guaranteed coverage and treatment of ALL AILMENTS, than to watch their family members die.
If Dems don't understand how they feel, they will be on the "voter Sh8 list" and will be removed. Not to mention that their employers over the last decades have had to cut coverage to keep the whole company covered or send them to the "welfare" for medical because they only pay minimum wage because of health cost.
Nobody's damn aspirin or tylenol should be $8 to 12 dollars, because it comes off the med cart. When family members say they have tylenol at home could they bring it in, they are told NO.
BS, like I said, this generation of NIKE JUST DO IT, will DO IT THIS YEAR, or else risk the "wrath of mourners" who are fed up with paying for unneccessary wars, and no money to save their family.
Boy are they in for a "RUDE AWAKENING IN 2010"
This is a "severe warning to the Reps from the voters, "how much of a percentage (72% of Americans for it) do these clowns need, to know WE THE PEOPLE WANT SINGLE PAYER AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE, not health insurance, (we already know with the CO2 levels) we are gonna get sick and need check ups. Do they think us fools to deny us what they have. 100% (including teeth) healthcare.
If they don't see when the "Independents and Green" party seats start flowing in 2010. It's not threat to Dems, only Harry, Baucus, and a few Blue Dogs are gonna be replaced. We are in dire straights at least for two years. The cleaning of DC doesn't ONLY begin with President Obama. We the people have been screaming at deaf ears for 30 years. Dems saying We don't have the votes, well NO EXCUSES!
WE HAVE THE VOTES AND KUCINICH IS ON POINT.
BUCK THE MURDERERS BEHIND THE DEST AT THE INSURANCE FOR PROFIT CORPORATION. IF I DO A GREAT JOB, DO I GET A BONUS, HELL KNOW, THEY JUST PUT IT IN THE CEO'S POCKET.
It's cheaper to pay 3 or 4 of them, then to give the crews, and employees who actually built the company, some loot. No more.
Honest days work, for an honest day's pay.
Combine the Medicaid and Medicare program, trim the fat and remove the greedy cancers, and WE THE PEOPLE WILL SAVE THE SAME AMOUNT THEY RECIEVE IN BONUSES, FOR SCREWING UP.
Get rid of the "middle Neocorp Men"
AMERICA DOESN'T DO THREESOMES.
mommapanther