Comments on: Johnson Camp possibly preparing to skip Dakotafest, based on Johnson’s ability

By: Springer

Springer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:47:56 +0000

#26. I’m not saying Dakotafest is a benchmark. It is one of several venues across the state that attracts a lot of South Dakotans who would like to see and hear the candidates in order to make more informed decisions on which to vote for. Candidates should see it as their responsibility to make themselves available to as many of their “employers” as possible in order to increase their chances of getting the job. This is a big state and not every voter can make it a variety of different venues to see their candidates. The candidates should welcome any opportunity to meet their constituents.

By: Need working senator

Need working senator — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:02:52 +0000

I disagree poster 26. DF has had some intense questions asked and rightly so.

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:03:47 +0000

#24 I’m just saying DF shouldn’t be the benchmark by which we hold all candidates capable of serving in Congress. If you are wanting Tim to debate, why is DF a make or break in terms of his ability to discuss issues? That’s all I’m saying. And I’ve been at the DF “debates” many times and very little serious issue discussion takes place, it truly is a campaign rally and I’d say that if Tim were participating or not. It is what it is.

By: Need working senator

Need working senator — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:33:43 +0000

Detroit Lewis — on your post # 6.

If a US senator needs replaced there is not a special election, the states Governor sits the replacement, only is the US House of Reps does the state hold a special election.

By: Springer

Springer — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:15:11 +0000

Sorry anon above, there is nothing wrong with Dakotafest and its venue. People get to see the candidates up close and personal. Maybe it isn’t your type of setting, but it works just fine for those who attend. But hey, attack the venue as the reason it just won’t work for Johnson. Same old, same old. But the people aren’t buying your reasoning anymore.

By: Trailblazer

Trailblazer — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:13:38 +0000

Tim is doing just fine on his own. Some people are just afraid of capable people who are just a little different. Only the very partison are baiting for a debate and will attempt to play the spin on low information voters.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:30:06 +0000

He will if you give him a chance. DakotaFest, for all the hype, is a horrible venue for any kind of serious policy or issue debate. The tent is full of each candidates operatives and regardless of what is said, they all cheer for their candidate and it really accomplishes nothing. I believe Tim can debate and he will, but you people all have written the next 6-8 weeks and it hasn’t even happened yet! Give the guy a chance. If he chooses to pass on DF because of the ridiculous venue, I don’t think that’s the end of the world … we will see Tim debating the issues throughout this campaign.

By: Springer

Springer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:22:59 +0000

To answer #20, if this is the case, then Johnson should jump at the chance to show the rest of us what you saw. But the question is, why isn’t he???

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:00:24 +0000

Hey #17 Have you had a personal conversation with Tim lately to determine that he can’t answer a scripted question? You people are all jumping to these conclusions before he’s even had a chance to speak? I saw Tim in April and had a personal conversation with him, he knew my kids’ names, he asked about my job (and knew details about what has been going on at my place of employment), he asked about my daughter’s soccer team … ALL UNSCRIPTED and it was an entirely normal conversation with NO staff and no notes. I was never more confident in Tim’s ability to think and speak for himself and isn’t that what we expect?

By: anonymous

anonymous — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:52:42 +0000

16. Huh?
Debates are one way for Dykstra to “prove” himself.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Steve Jarding is going to FAIL! I would say TIm Johnson is going to fail but I don’t ever see anything from Johnson it looks to be Jarding vs Dyktra with Dykstra being the WINNER!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:57:40 +0000

TIM JOHNSON doesn’t have the ability to serve as our US Senator PERIOD! I don’t mean this to be rude but the man can’t even answer an uscripted question with a full sentence answer. Yes his mind may be sharp, but a US Senator has duties to debate and Johnson shys away from debates durig committee meetings.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:56:03 +0000

Perhaps if Dykstra were a more viable candidate, Johnson would feel more pressure to debate him. The story here should really be that Dykstra still needs to prove himself as a candidate that should be taken seriously.

By: Anon

Anon — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:16:54 +0000

August isn’t even here yet and you are criticizing Tim for something he has or hasn’t even done yet? Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt that he will campaign in South Dakota during recess and will offer himself up at debates during the campaign season. If I were Tim, I’d pass on Dakota fest anyway. In past elections, the campaigns load up the tent with their supporters and the supporters hoot and hollar no matter what their candidate says and it does very little to address real issues in this campaign. Rather, I’d like to see Tim agree to doing televised forums or even live televised debates, rather than offer himself up to be blasted with canned questions by political operatives in sweltering heat. Don’t get me wrong, both sides do exactly the same thing and it’s a worthless venue for real policy discussion.

The other thing is, Tim will win in spite of his campaign staff. He will win because of his dedication to the people of South Dakota and his influence in Washington where he is known for his hard work and sensible approach to legislating. The less we see and hear of Jarding, really, the better.

By: Troy Jones

Troy Jones — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:32:32 +0000

#12, you may not think that Dykstra is serious. I don’t think Hillary considered Obama as serious either. However, the facts remains:

1) Tim Johnson and you don’t get to determine who is “serious”. The opposition party gets to make that determination. And Dykstra’s landslide in the victory says that alot of Republicans deem him serious.

2) Congress will be essentially in recess pretty much from now until the election. Why? So candidates can present themselves to their consituents. They will not be working to any measurable degree on the issues you outline. Is it too much to ask that Senator Johnson spend at least these three months with his constituents like everyone else in Congress?

By: Guy Smylie

Guy Smylie — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:32:21 +0000

Johnson does an awful lot, without trying!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:19:07 +0000

Dykstra’s not a serious candidate, why should Johnson waste his time when it can be better spent delivering $30 million for Lewis and Clark, doubling the RFS standard, fully funding veterans’ health care for the first time in decades, etc., etc.?

By: Lee Schoenbeck

Lee Schoenbeck — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:10:42 +0000

Next year somebody will be advocating an agenda in the US Senate office currently held by Senator Johnson. If Sen Johnson were to win, the people fighting for their agenda would be the collection of staff from various places with various agendas. Even the supporters of Sen Johnson, above, that are expressing concern about his ability to advocate or speak in large groups – make the point. Everybody I have heard from is regretful about Tim’s health condition. He has served South Dakota well. I always viewed him as having his priorities in check, and assumed he would not run this time because life is too short and he has too many good things going for him at home. Again this weekend, and several times in the past few weeks, I have listened to well-meaning South Dakotans recount this same perspective. NOBODY wishes the Senator any ill-will, but everybody that is even close to neutral in perspective that has had the opportunity to be with him, has the reaction that he can’t do the job any more.
If we re-elect Sen Johnson, we are voting for Steve Jarding and a collection of other individuals that will run the office and make the decisions and do the advocacy. South Dakota did that with Sen Mundt, which by all accounts (from non-staffers) was a mistake – we should learn from history and not repeat the mistake. There are too many important issues affecting our families and our communities to do otherwise.

By: Troy Jones

Troy Jones — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:52:46 +0000

Tim Johnson and his campaign have said they would debate and run a rigorous campaign. They say that he is up to the job. This campaign will determine if Johnson meant what he said and if the voters agree he is the best man for the job. I take Sen. Johnson at his word. I’m sure he will not be so presumptious as to think he deserves reelection without campaigning.

Why is the heighth of stupidity to send someone to the Senate of the Minority party? It must have been stupid to replace Abdnor with Daschle and Pressler with Johnson. It infers that we don’t care if they vote for things that sacrifice national security, raise or lower taxes, promote bad government policies, etc. so long as they bring home pork.

By: anon

anon — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:54:23 +0000

Comparing campaign debates to Senate debate is a fallacy. Campaign “debates” aren’t even close to real debates, they’re just candidates offering answers to questions posed by moderators. They’re a format in which the person who delivers talking points best generally wins–long on show, short on substance and a poor indicator of how effective a person might be when actually holding office.

The assertion that debate is an important part of a Senator’s job is overblown. It’s somewhat important if you’re the one who goes to the floor to deliver your coalition’s position on an issue. But even then, the main purpose is to present arguments to the public, not to change to outcome of a pending vote. Which is to say, the more important skill is building the coalition that gets legislation passed.

That’s some “lefty spin” which also happens to be the truth.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:25:56 +0000

Everyone who has talked with Tim says that while he may have minor difficulty with being able to speak, he is as sharp, alert and analytical as always.

The full article quotes his specialist as saying that appearing in large groups may aggravate the minor problem he has.

I think SD voters will vote based on who can best represent the state and that is Tim Johnson, given his position on the Appropriations Committee. In addition, it would be foolish for South Dakotans to elect a Republican when Democrats will increase their majorities in both the House and Senate.

Sending someone to Washington from SD to be in the minority would be the heighth of stupidity.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:14:10 +0000

6 – Why would he (or anybody) do that?

By: Detroit Lewis

Detroit Lewis — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:50:41 +0000

I’m getting the feeling more and more that Johnson knows he is a shoe in, so he will just skirt his way in, resign after a year and have a special election to replace him. Sneaky.

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:28:59 +0000

If he can’t debate in an campaign, how can he debate the issues on the Senate floor? Debate skills are a key requirement of the job of a US Senator.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:07:18 +0000

Dykstra should just say “Dakotafest hosts debates for House, Senate, and Governor. It’s a big deal and they’ve done it for a while. I’ll be there to talk to the voters. I hope that Tim Johnson is able to attend as well.”

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:37:57 +0000

..if they have the guts to address it at all.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:37:23 +0000

And I can’t WAIT to see how the Dem/lefty blogs spin this.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:36:45 +0000

Dykstra has every right to push for a debate at Dakotafest, but he will be portrayed as mean if he does. This is a lose-lose for Dykstra, and it simply isn’t fair. Jarding and Co. know that. Great strategy for them, unfair to Dykstra. I hope South Dakotans will see through this, and tell the Senator, with great affection, that he needs to either debate or withdraw.