Democrats Can’t Win In South Dakota

“Democrats won’t win any meaningful election (in South Dakota) for ten or twenty years.”

That is an assertion made to me by one of my friends from the left.  I think he could be wrong on several counts.

While the Republicans won the Senate, all they really accomplished was moving the gridlock in Washington from the Senate chamber to the Oval office.  Granted, they may influence some Presidential appointments, but of late, Republicans have not shown the courage to stand firm on conservative principles.  The President is veto-proof, and knows it. 

McConnell has already folded his tent on fiscal responsibility.  His announcement that Republicans “will not shut down the government” is as irresponsible as the President proclaiming there will be no “boots on the ground”.  It gives away valuable negotiating power and concedes the battle before it has even begun. 

During the next two years, the Republicans will show their lack of courage to deal with the hard choices.  The nation’s debt will grow.  Compromise on social issues will continue.  To the degree the Republicans attempt to move the nation to the right, Democrats will be successful in “blaming” them for the worsening conditions in America.  Then, in 2016, when Republicans have to win 24 Senate seats to the Democrats 10, and the White House is at stake, the Democrats will have the upper hand.  This because Republicans to not have enough conservative leaders to effectively win the battles with Democrats (both in and out of the Republican Party).  America is weary of the “leadership” in the Republican and Democrat parties.  While they were desperate enough to give the Senate back to the Republicans, it was a fear-based vote, not a vote of confidence. 

To my friend’s point, we will continue to elect Democrats.  In South Dakota, we just call them Republicans.

But what is the real solution for Democrats?  How can they win again in South Dakota?

The answer, in my view is they need to “out-Republican” Republicans.  They need to return to the Democrat Party of JFK and Ronald Reagan.  It really is time for America to become more interested in PRINCIPLE than PARTY.

It’s time for reasonable people who have deep disagreement to have civil conversation about real solutions.  While that isn’t likely to happen in Washington DC, it could happen in South Dakota.  It requires leadership that has the ability to engage the “other side” to search for paths to reach common objectives.