Republican State’s Attorney Austin Hoffman drops truth a well-deserved truth bomb on McPherson GOP chairman Mike Klipfel using and abusing his position as County GOP Chair to promote his own personal issues in a lengthy letter to the local newspaper:
This is a response to a “letter to the editor” published on December 12, 2024, on the McPherson County Herald’s Facebook page, written by Mike Klipfel, as Chairman of the McPherson County Republicans. Over the last several years, I have seldom responded to inaccurate statements and accusations leveled by misinformed citizens. When I did, I remained polite. However, the disinformation in that letter requires a less than tepid response. Here are the undisputable facts.
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Over the last several years, Mr. Klipfel and other members of the Executive Board have used those positions to push personal agendas. They have used the McPherson County Republican Executive Board as a vehicle to move forward an anti-CO2 pipeline agenda, an unfounded election integrity agenda, and most recently to push a blatantly false and incorrect narrative that myself, as State’s Attorney, am attempting to push a resolution that would violate First Amendment freedom of speech rights. The first two items I mention are inappropriate. The latter is absurd.
If Mr. Klipfel, or anyone else on the Executive Board, wants to make these arguments as a citizen of McPherson County, they have every right to do that. However, to use their positions on the McPherson County Republican Executive Board to do so, is in direct violation of the Board’s bylaws. It needs to stop. They represent the entirety of the Republican Party in McPherson County. I am positive that many Republicans do not share the same viewpoints as they do. Simply put, they are not policymakers.
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I have no issues with someone disagreeing with me politically or unhappy with the decisions I make as McPherson County State’s Attorney. Everyone has the right to their opinion. But using one’s role as Chairman of the McPherson County Republicans to make incorrect and false accusations, to push personal agendas, or to complain about legal bills they created, is an entirely different story.
Go read the entire letter here.
Everyone should go read this, as it lays out a cogent argument against everything that many people want the South Dakota Republican organization to become. Because either they want to represent Republicans and win elections, or they want the Republican Party to become a giant facebook group where they scold people for not agreeing with them.
Excellent description of what’s happening in South Dakota.
Crazy going to crazy. Good times
Let me be the one to start the slow clap! Nicely done, AG Hoffman – Nicely done!
Pure class, all the way!
The same can be said of a large number of county GOPs, and now we have three SDGOP candidates for Chair who have explicitly said they want to use the SDGOP to “exact [their] values” on elected officials, get involved in primaries, and push their personal agendas, including anti-vax and anti-pipeline agendas.
Does Mr. Hoffman have any ideas for what can be done if ignore his response and refuse to stop this destructive pattern of behavior?
Good for Mr Hoffman!!
Many County GOPs are off the rails radical. They do not represent Republicans they represent a radical ideology. Our state is on a bad course with the newly elected legislature and radical county party members.