Attacks on Steve Kirby Have Gone Overboard
I have to say I am taken aback at the recent attacks on possible Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Steve Kirby.I’m not thrilled with our capitalist class thinking that they have some inherited right to not only take all our money but also run our lives. I.e., see Chris Lien.
But on the other hand, Steve is not yet even a formal candidate.
While Steve and I don’t agree on the issues, I do know Steve a bit. For a couple season, we coached our daughters’ rec soccer team. He was the coach, I was his assistant.
Steve treated me with respect and good humor. He was excellent with the girls and the parents. The kids all had fun, learned soccer, and were successful.
Steve was no ogre and I enjoyed learning more about soccer from him as his assistant. He also never lorded his wealth over me or the girls. He was just a dad coaching his daughter’s team like lots of other parents I’ve been around.
Before than when Steve was Lt. Governor after Gov. George Mickelson’s death, I covered him when I was a journalist. He was always cordial and accessible.
Like my Republican KELOLAND colleague Prof. Jon Schaff, I am dismayed by the level of attack of Steve by Sen. Tim Johnson’s campaign.
Last summer and fall when the GOP Wolf Pack was attacking Tim on health issues and trying to plant the idea that Tim was unable to serve, I denounced that tactic as dirty politics.
Those attacks on Tim were wrong. So are these attacks on Steve.
Though I am a strong Tim Johnson supporter and hope he wins re-election, I am also disappointed by the personal attacks on Steve Kirby. Like many other Democrats, I have issues with Steve’s views on abortion, the role of government, and his conservative values.
But that does not mean he is a bad person. If the Johnson campaign wants to criticize Steve for his stands on the issues or even legitimate complaints about the businesses he’s helped to fund, then do so.
But to merely attack Steve for being Steve belittles not just Steve Kirby, but Sen. Johnson and the good will he has earned through his works as a Senator and because of his illness.
By taking the gloves off on a person who is not even a candidate yet, the Johnson campaign is playing with a “take no prisoners” approach.
That’s fine.Politics is a rough and tumble game.
But just remember, what goes around comes around. If the Johnson campaign wants people to cut it and Tim slack because of his illness, it is going to be hard to gain such sympathy because of their ferocity of the attacks on non-candidate Steve Kirby.
This is probably not the election cycle to engage in those type of tactics. Sen. Barack Obama and even Sen. John McCain have shown—so far—that the electorate is looking for LEADERS who can bring about CHANGE and have IDEAS. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s rejection has been in large part because of her association with the politics of personal destruction.
It’s all something to think about in the watershed year of 2008, where voters want substance and not the usual b.s. of personal attack.
I’ll be keeping my eyes on both sides on this.
Technorati Tags: Tim Johnson, Barack Obama, Steve Kirby, Hillary Clinton, 2008 election, U.S. Senate Race, South Dakota
Posted on Saturday, March 1, 2008
by
Todd Epp
in Politics, Tim Johnson, 2008 U.S. Senate Race
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9 Comments
Todd Epp
in Politics, Tim Johnson, 2008 U.S. Senate Race
|
9 Comments
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Reader Comments (9)
Todd, the real tragedy in the attack is that it wasn't an attack on "Steve for being Steve" but an attack on a caricature that they wanted to create that is devoid of the truth. You have done a favor to your party to point out that a strategy based on innuendo and untruth is bound for failure. If I were a Republican only concerned with victory, I wouldn't mind if they continued such a focus. But as a South Dakotan first, I want this election to be about issues that matter. I hope your admonishment has an effect.
P.S. Bigger question: Was your soccer team any good?
Troy:
Yes, we had a pretty good team under the Kirby/Epp Administration. I think we won more than we lost. More importantly, the girls had fun.
Todd
Todd, as one who coached my kids in basketball, I too say they had fun. It is code for we weren't very good. However, when I see the other girls on the team, they don't respectfully call me coach. They call me Sydney or McKenzie's dad. At least they don't call me Bozo and thank God they don't know who Les Steckel was. :)
Troy:
We were pretty good and had fun. Steve's daughter and my daughter were a couple of the better players on the team.
My son's team last fall also had fun--and we pretty good. We took second in our U14 boys rec league--and the guys had fun. If the kids don't have fun when I coach, regardless of the record, I view that as a failure.
I'm sometimes called "Coach" but more often Todd or "hey you". If they call me Mr. Epp, I tell them that's my dad.
Todd
Where in the hell is your NCAA basketball contest going to be ? Will you have one on espn or yahoo or somewhere for south dakotans ? Is so, i'd like to enter because i have a good feeling that i might win it all
"I’m not thrilled with our capitalist class thinking that they have some inherited right to not only take all our money but also run our lives"
Todd, could you please explain how the capitalist class "take(s) all our money?"
If you mean that they sell people goods and services in exchange for money, I think you need a better word than "take." If you mean they force you to give you their moeny, I'd encourage you to give some examples.
You say: "I’m not thrilled with our capitalist class thinking that they have some inherited right to not only take all our money but also run our lives." What a ridiculous comment, especially when you say it in the same breath with Chris Lien's name. What the heck is wrong with making a good living? And "inherited right" could just as well apply to Herseth, who had little more than her name when she first ran for office. You libs must be pretty wary of Lien or you wouldn't be writing silly stuff like this.
It's liberals like Obama and Clinton who will take all our money and run our lives, not people who make an honest living. You should try it sometime, Todd.
Worried about Lien? Give me a break, I'll predict he won't touch Stephanie within 15 points. Other than the extreme right in SD, she is widely popular and has done a spectacular job in Congress and everyone knows it. We're not afraid of Lien. I give him credit for being willing to take her on, and he'll gain some name recognition for future races, but he is no match for Stephanie.