Quit acting like liberals, and grow up.
Posted on 06/09/2004 4:38:03 PM PDT by Kuksool
RAPID CITY, S.D. - The Republican Party in South Dakota has strayed from its core, and disapproving conservative voters are staying home on election day, a conservative West River group says.
Members of the South Dakota Conservative Political Action Committee decided to speak up after Republican Larry Diedrich lost the special U.S. House election a week ago, said state Sen. Bill Napoli, R-Rapid City.
"Some Republicans stayed home because they are tired of the party," Napoli said. "Without trying to appeal to conservatives to come back to the party, we will just keep losing these races."
Voter turnout in Pennington County and other West River counties was below the statewide average of 57 percent.
Both Pennington County GOP chairman Qusi Al-Haj and state GOP chairman Randy Frederick said they receive an even number of complaints about the party veering too far right or veering too far left.
Al-Haj said the voter turnout for Pennington County Republicans was 61 percent, compared to 52.8 percent turnout for the county overall.
Napoli said the political action committee is made of state lawmakers, local elected officials and rank-and-file Republicans.
"When the bill to strengthen the gay marriage ban failed and the bill to stop abortions failed, with many Republicans voting against it, we met," state Sen. Bill Napoli, R-Rapid City, said. "We were very concerned about the direction our party was going."
In addition to the political action committee, Napoli said conservatives will speak out when they believe other Republicans are straying from issues such as low taxes, limited government, gun rights and opposition to abortion and gay rights.
He said a conservative caucus will be active during the state's two-month legislative session in Pierre.
"The 11th commandment - thou shalt not say anything derogatory about another Republican official - that has gone by the wayside," Napoli said. "We will no longer remain silent. We're going to start speaking out."
Another member of the conservative group, Sen. Jerry Apa, R-Lead, said that doesn't mean a group of conservative lawmakers will take on the governor in a public feud.
"We'll always work with the governor. We've had a difference of opinion. That does not mean you don't respect somebody or dislike them," Apa said.
Napoli lists state House majority leader Bill Peterson, R-Sioux Falls, and Gov. Mike Rounds as two Republicans who don't fit the conservative mold. Rounds declined to comment.
Peterson said that as majority leader, he kept spin-off caucuses from forming and that it will be up to the next leader to set policies. Peterson was barred by term limits from seeking re-election in 2004.
"My rule was, you can belong to any caucus you want, but you only get to belong to one. And there's only one Republican caucus," Peterson said. "I opposed a Sioux Falls caucus. I would oppose a 'conservative' caucus."
Peterson said a better approach to winning elections is to seek support from lots of segments of society.
"Bill Janklow got himself and more Republicans elected than Bill Napoli ever will. He did that by drawing from a very broad cross-section of people, Democrats and independents included," Peterson said. "If Republicans want to look for election success, they should look to Bill Janklow's example."
Frederick said he has no problem with members of the conservative group speaking out, but he insists the Republican Party is the big-tent party and that there is room for divergent opinions.
"As long as it's handled on a professional level, it can be a very, very healthy part of the process," Frederick said. "It always takes a group of people to make a majority."
If true, then they get exactly what they deserve: a government of higher taxes, subservience to the French, and infanticide-on-demand. What an idiotic move.
Do they maybe think Bill Janklow is part of the problem? His BS on the killing of the motorcyclist ranks right up ther with Ted "the swimmer". Everybodys fault but his.
Quit acting like liberals, and grow up.
Do we have a website or email where we can set these people straight!!
Maybe a little FReep is in order .. Hehehehe!
Fine. I thank this group for helping re-elect Daschle. F***ing idiots...
Sounds like there might be too few playgrounds in SD.
The old ploy of taking the ball & bat home when you do not get your own way teaches children a valuable life lesson, the first time the child goes back to the playground, expecting everyone to welcome them back & discovering the other kids playing something else.
Some so called conservatives are just plain unappeaseable. They demand a "my way or the highway" approach to politics. It is not limited to SD. They are found everywhere. For example when Jesse Helms retired in 2002, there were many posters here who decried Liddy Dole as unworthy to fill Jesse's shoes.
Maybe they don't like Al-Haj.
If Daschle wins, real SD conservatives should send these childish cretins a thank you note signed with Daschle's name.
Fine. And dislike of al-Haj is grounds for helping re-elect Daschle because...?
There. That fixed it.
Contrary to popular myth, I can't help but believe that the current focus on the Reagan era is going to amplify these concerns.
I am from North Carolina, and while I admit that Mrs. Dole will never be the conservative Sen Helms was, she made no claim that she was going to try, and by and large conservatives voted for her in Novemeber and in the primary when a candidate ran to her right, Jim Synder he got some votes from that crowd, but it did not effect the general election.
Republicans that Janklow helped "elect."
Tom Daschle, U.S. Senate, 1986, 1992, 1998
Tim Johnson, U.S. Senate, 1996, 2002
Stephanie Herseth, U.S. House, June 2004
Thanks, Bill J., and keep up the good work ! -- Your friends at the DNC
'Liberals by an other name....'
Both Janklow and Napoli are useful idiots for the RATS. I really got pissed when Janklow decided to run for the House seat just for the sole purpose of denying Larry Pressler another chance at public office. When Janklow won the GOP primary in 2002, he became disengaged after acheiving his goal of sticking it to Pressler. His listless campaign gave Herseth a good boost in the polls.
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