When Will Rick Weiland Start Covering Some Stone Temple Pilots Songs? They Were Huge In South Dakota

There is exactly zero chance the Democrats will take back the House in November. And there is not a single serious, non-senile person who will tell you that there is a chance. A few days ago we looked at some of the underlying reasons here, in an open letter to Nancy Pelosi: extraordinarily bad leadership. The situation in the Senate is not as hopeless, although the leadership at the DSCC this year is not what it was when Patty Murray ran the show in 2012 and swept the field. This cycle an abysmally weak and clueless chairman, Michael Bennet, is beyond worthless and takes orders from Guy Cecil, whose only concern is positioning himself for a top position in the Hillary For President campaign.

Cecil, who wanted defeated Blue Dog chairwoman Setphanie Herseth Sandlin to run for the open South Dakota Senate seat, tools his marbles and went him when prairie populist Rick Weiland scared her out of running in a Democratic primary she knew she would lose. (Her conservative vision is awesome for Beltway centrists like Bennet and Cecil-- but are not relatable for actual Democratic voters). So Cecil, Bennet and Harry Reid have refused to back Weiland and have hampered his fundraising in what should be a very competitive race. So far, Weiland, who has been endorsed by almost every Democratic senator except Reid and Bennet, has only taken in $1,094,098 (as opposed to Republican Mike Rounds' $3,716,986. The two other Republicans in the race-- running as independents-- haven't raised enough to do any real advertising. Former Republican U.S. Senator Larry Pressler has raised $107,797 and Republican former state Senator and Tea Party favorite Gordon Howie has raised $32,074. (Looks like the teabaggers want to waste all their money in Tennessee banging their heads against a wall trying to defeat ¡Lamar! when getting behind Howie actually could stop Mike Rounds for real.)

Last week the Koch brothers' shady politeical operation opened an office in Sioux Falls the same day the RNC started running anti-Weiland robocalls. The DSCC won't help but the Koch brothers and RNC is frightened enough to start spending money in this race. It's a race that could make the difference between the Democrats controlling the Senate or the Ted Cruz agenda being the Senate agenda. Is that what Guy Cecil wants? Is he so Machievellian that he thinks 2 years of gridlock horror between Obama and a GOP-controlled House and Senate will make voters eager ro elect Hillary? It's not worth it. Blue America has endorsed Rick Weiland's campaign and if you'd like to help save the Senate from the grasp of conservatives-- not something the DSCC is concerned with-- you can contribute here.

A few days ago I saw this note on Weiland's Facebook page:

A year ago, I hit the road with my daughter, my guitar and a map of South Dakota. A few well-meaning friends thought I was crazy to promise to visit every incorporated town in the state. Nine months later, we’d accomplished our goal. Now, we are doing it all over again. This campaign won't be won sitting on corporate jets. It will be won at lunch counters and co-ops on the back roads of South Dakota. Real people, real stories and incredible memories as I ask South Dakotans to help me take our country back from Big Money. We had such a good response on our first video; we’ve decided to make a second one. It’s called "Bring On the Road." Please forward this to your friends and family and anyone who will vote in this November’s Senate race.

The video is up top. I suspect the lyrics, based on the beloved Americana classic by Roger Miller, "King of the Road," aren't going to win over the suits in DC. This isn't they kind of message (or delivery) that someone like Michael Bennet or Guy Cecil can relate to (although I bet Weiland supporter Elizabeth Warren would get it without much effort):

They don't want a handout
But they want a fair shake
And they're tired of Big Money sayin'
Let them eat cake

My vote's not for sale or rent
I just won't listen to the one percent
I'm not campaignin' in corporate jets
I'm meetin' voters in luncheonettes

I used to be a country dj at the Rainbow Cattle Company and then the Outpost in San Francisco and back in the '70s I was an editor of Country Music Magazine and I have a sense that the song will go over real well among real people in South Dakota, no matter what Harry Reid thinks of it. Weiland: “I will never make a living singing country songs, but a lot of folks told me they enjoyed the first song and my friends and family enjoy hamming it up a bit. I said from the beginning, I was going to keep this campaign fun and not take myself too seriously."

OK, Rick, how about covering a road song by Scott Weiland next-- this one: