South Dakota Political Scene

Typically I do not post political content but this was just to goofy to pass up. 

Real quick let me say, I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. In my humble opinion both have their good and bad qualities, they are after all human. On some issues I am conservative while on others I am more liberal so I prefer to remain independent.

This weekend while traveling across South Dakota it occurred to me that the cattle gave a good representation of the political environment in our state.

The day was beautiful, not overly hot or humid, the blue skies painted with thin wisps of white clouds.

Yet, ranch after ranch the cattle were all huddling as if they were bracing for an impending storm.

Then it happened, I saw a very large group of cattle all tightly bunched together with just one guy standing off to the side grazing as calm as could be. I began to laugh and pointed to the lone steer and told Mrs. G "Hey, it's a Democrat". She of course thought I was nuts and asked why he was a Democrat, to which I replied. "Well, it is clear that one yelled 'Storm' and all the rest went into a panic and bunched up, so they must be Republican. The lone guy obviously doesn't easily follow others, so he must be a democrat."

These guys must be Democrats.

While most of the cattle we saw were bracing for a storm, a few cattle here and there did not prescribe to the hysteria. Thus we saw an occasional group that gathered more loosely. 

Definitely an independent.

Even less frequently we saw a truly independent soul who wandered far  from the organized mania.

The Democrat Running for office in the heartland!

This poor guy was all alone and running his heart out, and I couldn't help but think he must feel much like a democrat running for office in the heartland.

After crossing to the eastern side of the state we came across this large herd  scattered across the landscape. To which I informed Mrs. G it must be the democratic convention. For it occurs to me that the eastern side of the state is probably home to the majority of the less organized democratic voters while the western side definitely feels republican.

With 46% of registered voters registering as Republicans and only 34% registering as Democrats it is clear that South Dakota leans more toward the republican mindset. (source) However, it is the tiny 16 percent who register independent who swing the state either Republican or Democratic. One could say we add the balance. Or that we upset the applecart, either way we do not agree with any one party just because it is our party but when we agree it is because we agree with a particular idea. 

I hope you have enjoyed our political cattle and whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or an Independent voter just remember, to use a well worn cliche, every vote counts.