South Dakota had its first primary runoff in like 100 years. Larry Rhoden, the incumbent governor who replaced Kristi Noem after she went off to kiss Trump’s ass and get the reward she deserved for that, won the runoff easily. It’s interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Rep Dusty Johnson put his hat in the ring and got walloped in the original primary. Second, Toby Doeden, a nutcase from Aberdeen, basically kept the crazy Trump percentage and got beat badly in the runoff. Here are the numbers:
Doeden actually lost votes — the more voters heard about him, the less they liked him. Part of that was some anti-semitic tweets that surfaced. Doeden spent something like $4 million of his own money for his campaign, and he produced a bunch of “I’m just a swell, nice guy” commercials, but people around here know a skunk by its smell.
I’m not here to give Republicans in South Dakota the blog equivalent of a participation trophy. They suck, they’re doing a terrible job running the state, and they should be replaced by Democrats. Still, they at least have an inkling that the people they elect might sometime do something that could be consequential in their lives.
Contrast that with Republicans in Colorado, where Victor Marx, their absolute nutter of a candidate for Governor, is on a grifting and lying tear. Kyle Clark, great journalist at Denver’s Channel 9, is like a dog with a bone with Marx, covering all of his nonsense. Some recent stories:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Republican nominee for governor Victor Marx says he's found a way around Colorado's pesky campaign contribution limits.
Marx is telling donors that they can give without legal restrictions by purchasing campaign merchandise through a newly-created online store, which features Victor For Governor swag packages selling for as much as $1,299. The most expensive package includes an "exclusive private group Zoom with your next Governor, Victor Marx."
The new merchandise store, which links directly through Marx's official campaign website, closely mirrors Marx's previous merchandise site in items sold and their cost, but without the original site's disclaimer that the purchases are political donations subject to Colorado's campaign finance laws.
Under Colorado campaign finance law, campaigns must report as a donation any excess amount received for merchandise beyond the campaign's cost for the item.
Several campaign finance attorneys tell 9NEWS that Marx's plan raises obvious legal questions about whether it complies with the law and whether the money is going to his campaign, to Marx personally, or to another entity.
Kyle also isn’t afraid of asking questions about Marx’ ridiculous religious claims (unlike most national reporters, who won’t touch religious nuttery with a 10-foot pole):
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Victor Marx stood before the congregation of a nondenominational church in the suburbs of Los Angeles in 2013 and told his familiar story of facing Satan in the eyes of a teenage girl.
"I said: Demon, on the authority of Jesus Christ, you come forth," Marx recalled.
"And BOOM! RAWR!" Marx said, imitating a growl. "Black eyes!"
Marx has told the story of that exorcism countless times to countless church groups.
The girl, by Marx's telling, was locked up in a youth correctional facility in Texas where he was visiting to offer a Bible study. Marx says he instructed the guards to put him in the girl's cell with her, alone, where he performed a ritual he calls a retooling prayer.
[…]
The campaign of Victor Marx, ministry leader turned Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado, did not respond to 9NEWS' questions about the teenage girl or Marx's demon deliverance ministry.
A 9NEWS review of more than 100 hours of Marx's sermons, speeches, interviews, and podcasts over the last 15 years indicates that his work casting off demons is at the center of his $7.5 million per year ministry, All Things Possible, and can fairly be described as his life's work.
In my view, the Colorado Republican Party is far closer to the trajectory of the national Republican Party than the South Dakota Republican Party. They want to hear sweet lies from an obvious con man. They want to see someone whose choice is violence, who finds ways around campaign finance laws to line his pockets. Essentially, they want to have a minister in charge. Trump is kind of the head priest of the Republican Party, heathen that he is. He occupies the same corrupt position as the leaders of many Christian churches, he’s been credibly accused of molesting kids, and his followers worship him.
The only way this can be beat is if Democrats do what Kyle Clark does: stop worrying about the whining and crying of the hard core Christian Nationalist Republicans and call these fuckers out. Everything out of their mouths is bad faith. It does not need to be “considered respectfully” or “have valid feelings acknowledged.” It’s nonsense, and can be labeled as such.
