I wait breathlessly at my mailbox

for my next copy of The Economist, which tells it like it is about the current sorry state of the American right going into 2008.

This quote is an atypically brutal observation from the normally right-leaning Economist:

The issues that people care about are also tipping the Democrats' way. A Pew Research poll in March discovered growing worry about income inequality combined with growing support for the social safety net.

Question is: what does this mean to South Dakota? Can the voters in South Dakota get out of the pattern of playing the role of abused spouse (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LINK) with the Republicans (and Dems) that vote against their interests year after year? Will finally stop sending the likes of "women are like cattle" Gordon Howie to Pierre, and allow mealy mouthed folks like Gov. Rounds and Julie Bartling continue to sit in office while not standing for anything?

Only time will tell.