Senator Stace Nelson attacking Governor & Lt. Governor. Was this past election not about him?

Pat Powers

If you’ve like me, you might have caught comments on facebook on several occasions in recent weeks where Republican State Senator Stace Nelson has started some axe grinding against Governor-Elect Kristi Noem.

What’s his beef with Kristi? Apparently one of the reasons is that he doesn’t like the fact that Larry Rhoden keeps beating him in elections. First in the US Senate primary in 2014 and in this past summer’s race for Lt. Governor at the State GOP Convention.

Today on Facebook, there’s been a back and forth between Nelson and FHA Director of political operations Ed Randazzo, because Randazzo had a nice comment about our incoming Governor, and Nelson decided he needed to pick a fight because he hates Lt. Governor-Elect Larry Rhoden, Noem supports Constitutional Carry, and…

And then Senator Nelson took only a moment to move into name-calling mode.

I could post more, but you see the direction Nelson’s attacks against the Governor-Elect and Lt. Governor-Elect are going.

Considering that the Lt. Governor will be presiding over the State Senate this coming January, and the Governor has the power of the veto, I’m wondering how exactly the name-calling and attacks are going to benefit Senator Nelson’s legislative success?

Nelson notes that his constituents elected him “to serve in the branch of government that is supposed to act as a checks (sic) and balance on the executive and judiciary.”  Which is very true.  But, by that same token, I don’t know that they elected him to be “Senator antagonist” or “Senator name-caller.”

But that would assume that the election a few weeks back was not about him.

Governor-Elect Kristi Noem is entering office as literally one of, if not THE most conservative Governor in modern history. For Nelson to attack her as an “establishment moderate” is more than laughable. It’s downright odd. Nelson attacking Noem before one bill has been filed or one appointment made seems as if he’s just kind of flailing about without purpose.

It’s almost as if he’s intentionally trying to make Governor-Elect Noem his enemy, because if he lacks someone to cluelessly bluster against and pick a fight with, there’s no reason for him to go to Pierre.

Because God-forbid, then it might be about doing his job and serving his constituents for their betterment.

And not about himself.

74 thoughts on “Senator Stace Nelson attacking Governor & Lt. Governor. Was this past election not about him?”

  2. Young Mr. Nelson is insaner than most. Even Mr. Randazzo, a fellow who sycophants himself with Mr. Howie, one of the insanest of them all, thinks so.

    1. Mr. Grudznick, While I realize this is off the subject of this thread, I must respond to your gratuitous comment mentioning yours truly. While I was once an employee of Life & Liberty and worked with Mr. Gordon Howie, I resent your characterization of me as a sycophant. While I still count Mr. Howie as a friend, we do not share opinions on some issues, but do on others. I would appreciate your respect of my opinions, whether in concert with yours or not, to be my own.

      2. Can you explain why they are not getting their monies worth?
        Ed, seriously you are catering to fake people……weak.

    1. It is grudznick’s standard policy to politely refer to all by Mr. or Ms. depending on their gender. Mr. Nelson, outside of the legislatures, is just like any other citizen who simply wears fatter pants and glowers more than most.

  4. Stace hadn’t yet figured out he needs people to vote on his bills in order to be successful. Each year he burns more bridges. Apparently, he believes he can bully, threaten, intimidate or name-call others into supporting his legislation. It doesn’t seem to me there are too many people left that will give him the time of day.

            1. I don’t think it’s a dumb statement, neither men worry about what people think. Polically correct is not in their vocabulary.

        1. Republicans: Yes
          Democrats: No
          Nelson: No

          See, he votes with the Democrats.
          Now stop catering to fake people.

  8. So let me get this straight. Stace calls many other Republicans names like RINO, yet he suports a Democrat for Governor? Stace is the RINO!

      1. How can you call Stace Nelson a Democrat when he has the most conservative voting record among the Rpublicans..
        …please show me.

        1. show me he is the most conservative without using the cherry picked CFL scorecard…you start with a false premise

        2. Tara he voted for public funding of political campaigns to the tune of $12 million.
          At the time we had a plank in the party platform expressing opposition to the public funding of political campaigns, but so many republicans, including Stace, supported IM 22 we took it out this year,

          1. I thing Stace was supporting the will of the people. The Legislature thinks they are the Supreme Court.

        3. Tara, when a legislator writes the “conservative scorecard” himself, he sure as heck should be able to make himself LOOK conservative. You are choosing the wrong hero here.

          1. Tara is a democrat. Of course she is defending Stacey. They both do the same thing, lie about who they are, give lots of concerned advice to Republicans, try to start drama, but are not fooling most people.

              1. Tara, you have made us all dumber by reading your posts. Just please stop and let the grownups speak.

  9. He has fooled a great number of folks.
    He sets an example no one should follow, I feel sorry for his constituents that most likely voted straight ticket but are not getting their money’s worth.

    1. Do not feel sorry for his constituents. They get exactly what they deserve. They are the same folks who voted in Kloucek for years. They went from one ineffective representative to another.

        1. NO his district lost population and had to be redrawn to keep the same size as other districts

        2. Tara. NO. That is a lie you Democrat’s keep telling. They would have to have Gerrymandered in order to create a district with a majority of democrats in order to keep him in office.

  10. Oddly the whole thread started over the issue of crafting a Constitutional Carry bill that she will sign. As a matter of principle, we shouldn’t need the state’s permission to exercise a right. But given how easy it is to obtain a concealed carry permit, this doesn’t seem a hill worth dying on. It’s hard to imagine how the discussion could lead to such outrage on Nelson’s part.
    Most of us don’t mind getting the permits. It’s an excuse to visit the nice people in the county sheriff’s office. Sure, we shouldn’t have to go, but we make it a social occasion. And the Sheriff, being an elected official, probably likes the opportunity to meet the voters.

    But as far as a bill goes, if Nelson sponsors it, nobody else will support it. It won’t matter what it says, if his name is on it, it’s dead, and he knows it. So rather than accept the fact that he’s the problem, he’s getting out ahead of the issue and calling people names.

  12. When you have a rock solid policy of any friend of my enemy is my enemy and everyone must do exactly what I tell them to do or they are my enemy you end up with a lot of enemies.

  13. It is the height of arrogance for Stace to view himself as the standard-bearer for the Republican Party or the conservative cause.

  14. 10:07 pm is right. To those of us that have served with Mr. Nelson, we recognize that any meaningful bill he sponsors is dead. He is proud of his nosh bill, but look at meaningful work and his name is absent from sponsorship. Why? To pass legislation you have to have the ability to get along with people. For whatever commendable personality traits Mr. Nelson may possess, his downfall is he has not learned to control his bluster and arrogance. He employs a variety of defensive techniques to save face but that does little to repair bridges with other legislators that are needed to be effective.

    1. “To pass legislation you have to have the ability to get along with people.”

      Thanks for admitting we have a severe case of crony capitalism in Pierre, where those in power are not afraid to retaliate against those who disagree with them.

      1. Steve, Stace retaliates against everyone who disagrees with him. Eventually everybody disagrees with him about something (I am waiting for a blow-out over which way to hang the toilet paper) and they become the targets of negative postcards and social media posts.
        What you call crony capitalism
        Is more like self-preservation. Avoiding Stace is the best way to get along with others.

  16. South Dakota is suffering from suicide, seasonal affective disorder, meth and opioid epidemics but actively resists death with dignity. Why not legalize automatic weapons, end restrictions on the sale and possession of rocket propelled grenade launchers, let the carnage begin and get it over with? What could go wrong?

  17. Reading the comments, did Stace just compare himself to Jesus?! “The good lord Jesus overturned tables and whipped people in righteous anger. If you are looking for some whiny mealymouthed establishment RINO who will patronize you look to the object of my rightful disgust.” -Stace Nelson.

    The self grandeur of this man is astounding. Also does Stace have multiple word of the day calendars he utilizes for his rants, or does he use the thesaurus feature in Microsoft word.. Asking for a friend.

  18. Blake, not sure when Jesus whipped anyone but maybe a small detail when talking about the Good Lord. Anyway, one night I can’t sleep so I’m watching a religious channel when the minister says, “Yes Jesus overturned the tables. He is God. He told us to turn the other cheek.” Its a lesson I try to remember and live up to as best as I can.

    1. Well you misunderstood, Troy. When the offense is against yourself, you turn the other cheek. When the offense is against God, you go postal.

  19. For those of you impersonating people, and using a proxy server to post slanderous statements, please don’t, as your comments will be removed.

  20. The saddest part of all of this are the young legislators who have become tainted by their lust for being branded “Ultra Conservatives” when in fact they have been thrown under the bus labeled “Stace Wannabies”. It cost one middle aged guy a shot at becoming Atty General with the help of SDGO.

  21. Tara,

    “Political Leaders” who don’t care what people think aren’t political leaders. The first job of political leaders is to know what people think and change their mind if they think they it is best.

    Plus, not caring what your constituents think is undemocratic.

  22. Well Troy, explain to me why Nelson continues to crush his competition over and over again by over 70% of the vote. I think his constituents like is brash, bold, shoot from the hit kind of behavior. I have had some battles with him too, but I don’t dislike him because of his belief system.

  23. Well Troy, explain to me why Nelson continues to crush his competition over and over again by over 70% of the vote. I think his constituents like is brash, bold, shoot from the hit kind of behavior. I have had some battles with him too, but I don’t dislike him because of his belief system. One should not care what people think of you as long as you are doing the right thing.

    1. Stace is not doing the right thing. Most of the time he doesn’t even seem to know what’s going on. Many of the accusations he levels at people are groundless figments of his own imagination. He frequently references the Republican Party platform in ways that make us think he’s never read it. Then he declares himself the final authority on what a “true conservative” believes as if he were a Biblical prophet.

    2. He lives in the 5th most Republican district in the state. His vote total is roughly equal to Republican % plus independent which puts him in the middle of the pack on vote above base. If he has a weak opponent, nothing to brag about. If he had a tough one, a good performance. I don’t know the answer to that.

      1. Based on the attacks directed at Senator Nelson on this thread, one would think that he would lose hands down to a weak opponent.

        1. Steve the reason he doesn’t lose to a Democrat opponent, weak or otherwise, is the Democrats have no interest in getting rid of him. He can be counted on to attack Republicans and vote with Democrats at every opportunity. He’s a Democrat with an R after his name and they like him.
          As for why his constituents keep voting for him, they must not have any idea what he does in Pierre. They ought to be embarrassed by him.

  24. ‘Only a fool could forget the dishonest comments she made about myself…’. Well Stacey we all must be fools because not a single person, of any certain mental capacity, has any idea what Noem said about you. Why, because no one cares.

    I have never heard of a bully that is such a VICTIM.
    -ran away on floor vote to the bathroom and don’t say you had permission. We all saw the floor footage.
    -has made himself the most ineffective Senator/Representatives in recent history.
    -threatened his equals on the floor.
    -had someone nominate him for Lt. Gov with no second.
    -hijacked legislation
    – greatest accomplishment to date is Nosh Bill.
    Victim, victim Victim.

    Because it is all a big conspiracy against Stacey.

    1. “Because it is all a big conspiracy against Stacey.”

      Versus it being only a conspiracy theory. Thanks for adding to the mountain of evidence proving that the conspiracy is real, and not simply a theory.

      He who has no sin cast the first stone.

      1. steve, you need to hone your lens to see sarcasm. You by asserting it is real just plays right into it and makes the point.

        Stace is a big boy. I’m sure if he swings at the Governor-elect he is not expecting a swing back. The swing back is not a conspiracy. It is called the principle of cause and effect.

        2. Stace anticipates he’ll be removed from the Republican Caucus within a few days after the session opens.

          He’s just setting the stage and creating his narrative beforehand.

  25. William, why would he be removed from the REPUBLICAN Caucus? For supporting Democrats for Governor and Attorney General, and independents and Democrats for the Legislature? For dissing Republican Governors (yes plural), Senators (yes plural), Republican Legislative leadership, and Republican Party Leadership? Seems kinda harsh (sarcasm).

    1. “South Dakota State Senator Stace Nelson, who helped to run primary candidates against incumbent legislators, and set up a caucus to oppose the Republican House and Senate Caucuses.”

      Either Senator Nelson wants to be a member of the Senate Republican Caucus, or he does not.

      Apparently, he does not.

      http://dakotawarcollege.com/senator-stace-nelson-predictably-does-not-like-fact-that-republican-leadership-is-not-going-to-fund-those-running-under-different-caucus-banner/

  27. Pingback: Sen. Nelson attacking Governor Noem for hires, but sang a different tune during the prior transition. – South Dakota War College

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