Chris Lien for Congress

Go west young van...

If you asked me which five hour drive I enjoy making the most, I would, without hesitation, reply that I love going from Sioux Falls to Rapid City whenever the opportunity arises. Fortunately for me and the rest of the Lien Machine crew, that opportunity arose, and we had the option of making that exciting five hour journey. So what did we do? We grabbed a box of donuts, piled into the Lien Machine, and headed west on I-90 toward the scenic Black Hills. And stopped at a few fun places along the way.

First up on our trek was the ever-unique, nationally-renowned Corn Palace of Mitchell, South Dakota. For some of us (myself), this was a first-time visit to the Taj Majal of maize. For others (everyone else on the trip), it was a chance to remember various basketball games, field trips, and general enjoyable experiences in the steadily-blossoming town of Mitchell. After our fair share of oohs and ahhs (mostly mine), it was time to pile back into the Lien Machine and visit the next of South Dakota’s numerous treasures.

Upon reaching the Missouri River crossing in Chamberlain, we opted to take the bridge rather than trying to caulk the Lien Machine and float it (Oregon Trail style), which worked to our benefit. After taking a few shots of the van in action, we moved along on our quest to Rapid City. Did I mention it was absolutely gorgeous the entire day? Because it definitely was.

My personal favorite stop of the journey came in Wall. For those of you who don’t know, there’s a drugstore in Wall called Wall Drug. And it’s big and awesome. While some of us shopped for cowboy hats and boots, others searched for posters and decorations for our Lien Machine campaign offices. Of course, we couldn’t stay all day (no matter how fun the water fountains and Jackalope might be), and we piled back in and moved along. It was Rapid City or bust from that point on, and after a five hour drive turned into eight hours, we reached our destination.

A quick break at the Chris Lien for Congress office in Rapid City to see Lynn, a stop at the hotel to drop off our bags, and a wonderful evening of dinner in the Lien family household led us to a night of much-deserved rest – we’ve got a busy night ahead of us for the Lincoln Day Dinner and we’re looking forward to it. We may only be in Rapid City for two nights, but we plan on making the most of it. If you’re around, we’ll see you at the dinner tonight. Otherwise, check in for an update tomorrow on how everything went. Until then, I’m going to go enjoy the mountainous landscape and clean air of Rapid City. Try not to get too jealous.

Not new to us, but she's new to you...

Time to introduce you to yet another Lien Machiner, and while you may be meeting campaign Scheduler and Constituent Communications Director Lynn Kendall here for the first time, she’s been just about as active in this campaign as Chris has been himself throughout the recent months.

To say Lynn is an intense person would pretty much be the definition of an understatement. Lynn just got out of the Air Force in October after a ten year stint in the service. While she originally started her military career building bombs...yep…building bombs, Lynn spent the last few years serving in Korea, Japan, and Rapid City as a protocol director for the Air Force and taking on the tough organizational tasks of preparing the base for distinguished visitors (think generals and elected officials). When you spend a substantial portion of your career making sure the AIR FORCE is staying organized, you must be good at paying attention to detail and keeping things on schedule.

Lynn has also been married for eight years and she has a four year old son named Logan. Unfortunately for the family, Lynn has been insanely busy (possibly another understatement, even with the “insanely”) for the last few months working on our campaign. She’s more or less managing the West River end of the spectrum with Chris, so she’s not exactly on vacation every day. However, don’t feel too badly for the Kendall’s, as our new campaign crew members (including myself) are finally relieving her of some of her myriad duties. As she put it, “I’m excited to have more people on board who are ready to help Chris get elected.” As I put it, I’m excited to know how much easier you are making all of our lives, Lynn. Keep up the good work, keep holding it down in Rapid City, and let’s keep this machine running smoothly!

-Campaign Mike

A Busy Day for Chris

For those of you not on Twitter, here are a few of Chris’s  recent tweets. By a few, I mean a bunch, and by recent, I mean today. It  was a very busy Wednesday.

-“Cup  of coffee to start the day at the Bakery and Coffee Bar in Flandreau. Great  conversation and good coffee.” – around 10:15 am.

-“Quick  stop in Colman. Great conversation at Tim's Repair. Topic of the Day: Fishing.”  – around 11:15 am.

-“Talked  to Hef at Hef's Barber and Shoe in Chester. Also talked to several folks at the  Old Farmhouse Cafe.” – around 11:45 am.

-“Taking  photos in front of the Prostrollo white buffalo in Madison.” – around 12:30 pm.

-“Just  leaving Madison after meeting with some great people at the DQ. Had a nice chat  with Russ Olson as well.” – around 1:30 pm.

-“Heading west after stopping through Winfred and Howard.  It's great to see everyone out in the fields on a sunny day!” – around 2:15 pm.

-“Met some  nice folks in Fedora and Artesian. It was great to see the American flag flying  next to the Artesian sign!” – around 2:40 pm.

-“In Woonsocket and got to  see the 100 year old courthouse while talking with the Mayor on 6th Street.” –  around 3:30 pm.

-“Just had the chance to  introduce myself and visit with the crew at the Wheat Growers Coop in Cavour.”  – about 4:30 pm.

-“Had a fun time walking  up and down Main Street in De Smet. I met some very nice and interesting  people.” – around 5:15 pm.

-“Just  finished making our way through Lake Preston and Arlington. Now it's on to  Sioux Falls and catch up with the crew.” – around 5:20 pm.

I say any day that includes two good coffee shops, a  combined barber and shoe shop, a  gigantic white buffalo, and a stop at Dairy Queen is my kind of day. I’ve  really gotta spend more time on the road with these guys.

Chris’s  campaign manager Hugh also got in on the Twittering action at about 10:30 this  morning:
  -“Chris stopped the van  in Egan to talk to some guys doing concrete work. We may be spending the day.  –Hugh”

Fortunately,  Hugh managed to avert a potential delay in the Listening  Tour because if anyone can hold an engaging conversation about concrete,  Chris can. Good thing the guys were able to keep things on track and didn’t end  up “spending the day” in Egan. While that wouldn’t have been a bad thing, Chris  has plenty more stops left on the Lien  Machine Listening Tour. Visiting twenty towns in eight hours is tough work,  but at least it’s fun work. Way to be on the grind guys.

-Campaign  Mike

Two new crew members too...

Ok, now that you’ve had a chance to get to know me a little bit better (if you haven’t, that link should fill you in pretty quickly), it’s time to meet the rest of the awesome crew here at Chris Lien for Congress. I wish I could say that I’m bragging, but it’s not bragging when it’s true. The crew is awesome, and here’s why.

First up is Drew Peterson. Drew will be (and is) serving Chris Lien for Congress as our Campaign Fundraising Director. Hailing from Salem, South Dakota, Drew will be heading up our efforts to raise the money that will help Chris get to Congress and give South Dakota back the voice it deserves. Drew served the Mike Rounds for Governor Campaign in 2006 as a sort of Renaissance Man, acting at various times as an event coordinator, strategic sign setter-upper, political researcher, college campus liaison, and traveling wingman for Rounds during his tenure with the campaign. While he may not be asked to excel in quite so many areas for this campaign, we will certainly be counting on him to raise funds like a champion. We’re looking forward to the results. Some of our livelihoods depend on it...

Courtney Heitkamp is our next contestant, so come on down Courtney! She will be coordinating volunteer activities in South Dakota’s political arena. Courtney’s duties include ensuring that towns and cities are prepared for the whirlwind that is the Lien Machine (a task not lightly undertaken) and making sure the voices Chris is anxious to hear in those towns will be ready for his arrival. Fortunately, for this campaign, Courtney will be able to help in various other ways as the Lien Machine wheels keep on rollin’(whether she likes it or not). We’re assuming she’ll enjoy it though. Two summers of working for Senator John Thune (one in Sioux Falls, one in Washington, DC) surely won’t hurt this campaign in any way, so we are excited to have access to Courtney’s experience and knowledge as we put the finishing touches on the Chris Lien for Congress campaign crew.

So there you go. Just an introduction to a few more of the cogs that keep the Lien Machine running smoothly. We’ll be keeping you up to date on various crew members throughout the campaign, so familiarize yourself with them now and get ready to hear about the great things they’ll be doing in the upcoming months.

Introducing...Campaign Mike!

Here’s some earth-shattering news: right now, the nation is abuzz with talk of politics. Questions about issues like gas prices, energy policies, and immigration flood newsrooms, press conferences, and political blogs around the world. But one of the most important questions in this year’s political races presented itself yesterday morning, when a blog story about the “Lien Machine Listening Tour” found itself posted on Chris Lien’s website: who is this Campaign Mike character that captivated me with his wit, wisdom, and writing charm?

Well, as you can surmise, my name is Mike (first name not Campaign) and I’ll be serving the Chris Lien for Congress campaign as its New Media Director. The bottom line? You’ll have plenty of opportunities to read my various writings and ramblings as I focus on getting the inside scoop about the campaign out to you, the people of South Dakota (and the rest of the world) on all of our communication fronts.

Of course, nobody likes the guy at the party who doesn’t know when to shut his mouth, so I’ll be doing plenty of listening too. I’ll be searching the blogs, forums, and news streams to find out what it is the people of South Dakota are saying. So please, comment as much as you want, like, and can. The more I hear from you, the better I’ll be at my job. To be honest, I’m fairly new to the political scene, so any input I can get from you wily veterans patrolling the political blogosphere would be greatly appreciated. I’m no stranger to criticism, constructive or not, so hit me with your best shot.

Hopefully this has satiated your burning desire to find out more about this mysterious newcomer, “Campaign Mike.” If you have any other questions or comments for me (Campaign Mike), feel free to e-mail me at mike@chrislienforcongress.com. I’d love to hear from you, whether it’s an understandable (and preferred) e-mail of praise or a complaint about the incredibly talkative maniac behind the steering wheel of this speed machine we call a blog. We’ve got a long road ahead of us, but this is one driver who is cut out for the long run and is looking forward to the journey. The more people who want to come along for the ride, the better.

 

Lien Machine Listening Tour

    Chris is jumping behind the wheel of the Lien Machine to kick off his listening tour throughout the state of South Dakota. The goal? To find out what the people he wants to serve   have to say and want to know. And while a listening tour may not be the newest concept in the world, the Lien Machine Listening Tour will be unique because Chris is actually putting the listen back into “listening tour.” This is a chance for Chris to hear from and meet with the people whose voices he is excited to represent, and with the Lien Machine blazing a trail through as many towns as possible, Chris will be hearing some great input from every part of the state.

The Lien Machine at the South Dakota - Wyoming border. 

    Although phenomenal photo opportunities are sure to present themselves along the way, they will be kept to a politically uncharacteristic minimum. It’s not a photo op tour. It’s a listening tour. Of course, the blog would be a little dull without a photo here or there, so shots of Chris standing by “Welcome to…” signs and notable landmarks will dominate the camerawork this time around. Keep in mind, this isn’t a chance for Chris to smile with a resident and move to the next city. This is an opportunity for him to genuinely soak in what it is that the people of South Dakota truly need and want from their U.S. Representative.

    So be on the lookout for the Lien Machine to come rolling into your town. And when that blue van pulls up to your local coffee shop or city park, take a minute or two to talk to Chris and share with him what’s on your mind. Don’t worry about being a victim of the political greet and flee – Chris is on a mission beyond piling on the mileage and flashing some smiles. He’s coming through to learn what it is that will give South Dakota back the voice it deserves, and that voice belongs to you. And on this listening tour, your strong, South Dakota voices are exactly what Chris wants to hear.

Response to Ed from Newell

When I was in Newell last week, I met a group of coffee-drinking ranchers at the Blue Line Cafe that asked some pretty direct questions.  The one that stuck out was from Ed, who asked "How does the voice of rural America get heard?"

For the rural voice of South Dakota to be heard, simply put, I think it takes education and initiative.  I think that what we need is a representative that will bring their colleagues from larger urban areas to the small towns of South Dakota so they can see and hear the concerns of our state face-to-face.  This needs to happen as often as possible, not just in an election year.

I think it takes initiative and leadership from all levels of the community, from local citizens to the congressional delegation. Stopping by every couple years and making promises or telling a good
story isn't going to solve the problems we have.  We need people stepping forward that are willing to do the hard work to make things happen.