It took long enough— and let’s hope it isn’t too little/too late— but Harry Reid and Guy Cecil finally responded to the growing anger, primarily from Democratic senators and donors, and have let the DSCC get to work in South Dakota. Above is their first ad against one of the three Republicans, Mike Rounds (the GOP Establishment favorite), being going up against Rick Weiland. DSCC polling shows its a winnable race. We’ve been subtly nudging them in that direction since the beginning of the year.South Dakotans know how corrupt Mike Rounds is— which is why the former governor can’t get traction in the polls beyond partisan Republican voters— some of whom he has to share with teabagger Gordon Howie and former U.S. Senator Larry Pressler. Pressler, a bit of a nut job, is trying— desperately— to present himself as a Greg Orman-type independent. Pressler, though, has a record in government, a long and sordid one. He’s tap-dancing all over, from his home in DC— where he ran a ridiculous, short-lived campaign for mayor— to the trips he takes out to South Dakota, claiming first he’s a “friend of Obama” and then explaining he only meant that he won’t necessarily vote with his fellow Republicans to impeach the president after the midterms.latest pollingHe’s also trying to do something Rounds can’t— reach independent-minded women. Yesterday he was on MSNBC with Steve Kornacki claiming he does not want to overturn Roe v Wade. Pure opportunism— flying right in the face of his ugly career in Congress. He was no friend of women when he was in the House or in the Senate— part of the reason South Dakota voters turned him out of office in the first place. This is the Larry Pressler record on issues specifically important to women— going back 35 years:
• Voted For Strict Restrictions allowing federally-funded abortions only to save the mother’s life... not in cases of rape or incest, a position to the right of Ronald Reagan’s. (Schweiker Motion. 9/24/1979)• Voted to Prohibit federal funds in life-threatening situations or for victims of rape or incest. (Weicker Amendment. 10/3/1984)• Voted For Denying Women in the District of Columbia from funds for abortions, except to save the life of the mother, something that made his subsquent run for mayor of DC totally untenable. (Simpson Motion. 11/7/1985)• Voted Against raising the income ceiling for food stamp eligibility. (Stafford Amendment. 11/12/1985)• Voted to Maintain restrictions on funds for the District of Columbia for the payment of abortions except to save the life of the mother. (9/16/1986)• Voted against allowing women in the District of Columbia funding for abortions except when the mother’s life is in danger. (Harkin Motion. 9/30/1987)• Voted to continue debate preventing a vote to provide unpaid, job-protected leave to parents of newborn children. (Byrd Motion. 10/7/1988)• Voted to oppose the dependent care tax credit and to make it refundable. (Mitchell Substitute Amendment. 6/22/1989)• Voted to support persons convicted of or charged with a sexual offense involving a minor from coaching, teaching or serving as a role model to minors within the District of Columbia. (Armstrong Motion. 3/1/1990)• Voted to support the exclusion of private, non-profit organizations performing abortions from receiving direct federal funding under Title X of the Public Health Service Act of 1970, a state block grant program. (Hatch Amendment. 9/25/90)• Voted to confirm Clarence Thomas as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. (10/15/1991)• Voted to support President Bush’s override of a bill forcing employers to give workers up to 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for newborns or ill family members. (9/24/1992)• Voted to oppose an override of President Bush’s veto of a bill allowing taxpayer-funded family planning clinics to advocate abortion as a family planning method. (10/1/1992)• Voted to oppose Family Medical Leave Act. (2/4/1993)• Voted to oppose states and local governments from providing general welfare assistance to able-bodied individuals unless they are participating in workfare programs. (6/22/1993)• Voted to support an amendment to prohibit the promotion or distribution of condoms without parental consent. (2/8/94)• Voted to oppose making peaceful obstruction as well as violent intimidation outside abortion clinics a federal crime subject to civil damage awards. (5/12/1994)• Voted to oppose expansion of government-mandated and government-defined “standard benefits package” included in the Clinton Health Security Act to include coverage of various specific preventive services for pregnant women and their babies. (8/16/1994)
The AARP warns voters that if Pressler wins the Senate seat he will vote to increase the retirement age for Social Security and vote to decrease the cost-of-living allowance. He may be trying to present himself as a moderate today but his record is the record of an extremist and a right-wing loon, opposing the minimum wage, opposing parental leave, opposing campaign finance limits, and opposing greater disclosure for his lobbyist pals. He was one of the few senators to oppose honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. with a holiday and he had a consistentkly homophobic, hate-filled voting records when it came to equality for the LGBT community. HRC rated him a ZERO. So the National Education Association and so did NARAL. The video below shows him contradicting his claims on Kornacki’s show yesterday by claiming he would vote to repeal Roe v Wade if he gets back into the Senate.The DSCC is attacking Rounds— a good first step— but ignoring Pressler. If you’d like to help Rick Weiland get out the word on Pressler, you can do that here.