Rep. Conzet goes to summer camp!

Our newly minted Representative has been selected by our Republican Legislature's leadership to go to a legislative training. According to Kristin Conzet's Facebook page, she is on her way and very excited about it!

She breathlessly announced:

I was fortunate to be selected to attend the 2010 Program for Emerging Political Leaders.

Class discussions will examine qualities and characteristics of leadership including: ethical leadership, the art of compromise and coalition building and the philosophical underpinnings of representative democracy.

This program sounds kind of cool, but I would hope someone who has been chosen to serve in the Legislature would have some clue about such things already.

But I digress.

This event is held at the Darden School at the University of Virginia. (No gays need apply I guess.) But okay, it's a neat program and I hope she comes back with lots of great ideas about democracy and stuff.

There are other opinions.... A friend muses:

Anyway, the fact of the matter is I have watched outstanding candidates run against the Republican machine in Dist. 32 who campaign their hearts out, send out literature, door knock, forum, letters to the editor – only to lose to appointees with no experience and who never made an attempt to campaign...

I find it sad that Conzet has to attend a “leadership course”(per her facebook) to gain credibility.

My friend certainly has a point in that Republicans have typically been showing the kind of "leadership" that has really taken this country in the wrong direction: bennies and tax cuts for their friends, with "trickle down" the rule for everyone else. Hopefully Conzet will get a clue to avoid that "ethic" -- though she sure didn't show it with her party-line vote against basic fairness in South Dakota.

What I love is the conservative meme of self-reliance, and the trust that America is a "level playing field" without intervention, when contrasted with the life story of our conservative icons (Bill Kristol, John McCain, Bill Frist, President(s)s Bush, and, yes, our own District's Reps. Conzet and Gosch -- they are where they are because of their family and personal connections put them at the head of the line. Frankly I'm amazed that Conzet STILL refuses to publicly admit that her relationship with Gov Rounds had absolutely nothing to do with her selection, that she was "very qualified" for the position when her main political experience had been fundraising among the moneyed Republicans of South Dakota.

We have other candidates in District 32 that may give Rep Conzet a run for her money -- both registered Republicans BTW... more on that later.