Populism is a political approach that promotes the common people, anti-elitism, and binary moral appeals. It splits society into two groups: the pure people and the corrupt elite.
Were people getting tired of being too angry for too long? Because based on the outcome of the runoff election, it sure seemed that way. It came down to a choice for or against the same wave of anger which has rolled through through through the Republican Party like a mud flow over the past few years, washing out good dedicated legislators in favor of legions of the angry.
But this year was different. While he came in third in the primary, Congressman Dusty Johnson backed an effort which replaced over a dozen of the bad legislators who listened less to their constituents than facebook. And once we moved into the runoff elections, Republican voters held in there, as opposed to deserting in droves to the forces of apathy in a primary election that already seemed far too long.
It seemed that voters once again sided with normalcy, and in most cases declared that they wanted to “stop the madness.”
For those who did not side with Larry Rhoden at first, while maybe it wasn’t their guy in the 4-way primary anymore, and maybe they were not going to get all the idealism they were hoping for, the voters were committed to see that South Dakota nice prevailed. And the tenor of the conversation changed from the politics of anger and opposition to voters seeking more deliberate thought.
It may not be perfect for everyone. But now there is hope that the system and processes that South Dakota built over decades of thoughtful, gradual movement, compromise and conservative leadership will not be up-ended in stunt casting for the state’s highest office.
Nicely said and summarized. Good leadership is about listening, consensus building, and positive vision. Leaders who simply want power often resort to finding an enemy…making the opposition something to be feared, rather than an opportunity to actually learn and reflect on your own values. South Dakota has not prospered because of anger… it prodoers when community comes above self and when decency guides our interactions.
The wealthy business tycoon with the “crypto mine” data center and the carefully crafted angry outsider persona (i.e., the man who most closely and most loudly and proudly mimics and parrots Donald Trump) lost, and he lost “bigly”. Thank God.