Author: @SoDakCampaigns

From the Argus Leader, Senator John Thune believes that an impeachment trial would “further divide the country when we can least afford it.”

“In my view, using a constitutional tool designed to remove the president from office after he has already left could further divide our country when we can least afford it,” he said. “If the Democrat-led Senate proceeds with an impeachment trial after inauguration, I will uphold my oath, listen to the evidence presented and perform my constitutional duty as I have sworn to do.”

Read the entire story here.

Governor Noem Signs Executive Order on DANR Merger

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed Executive Order 2021-03 to merge the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, forming a new Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR).

“With this merger, we are fostering sustainable agriculture and conservation that we can pass on to our kids and grandkids,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “This merger will simplify life for South Dakota’s agriculture producers by creating a one-stop shop in state government. It will also save taxpayers money by streamlining the state’s regulatory bodies,eliminating redundancies, and creating a better customer service experience for all.”

Hunter Roberts, current Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources andacting-Secretary of Agriculture, will serve as the cabinet secretary for DANR.

“Governor Noem has a tremendous vision for the next generation of agriculture, and we’re excited to see it through,” said Secretary Hunter Roberts. “I’m excited for the synergies that this merger will create.”

Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden, who previously served as interim-Secretary of Agriculture, will continue serving in his current role of Agriculture Ambassador.

“Governor Noem and I are the only farmer/rancher duo in the country to be serving as Governor and Lieutenant Governor,” said Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden. “We are excited for the potential that this merger has to unleash the next generation of agriculture for our state. I look forward to continue working as an ambassador to the agriculture industry.”

In addition to other groups, the proposed merger has the support of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. Based on a vote of their convention delegates, representing county farm bureaus throughout the state.

“We believe this merger will make government work better for farmers and ranchers and will strengthen the future of agriculture,” said Scott VanderWal, President of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. “The agriculture industry is continually evolving, and thanks to Governor Noem’s leadership, South Dakota continues to be on the leading edge of that evolution. There is no better time than now to solidify agriculture’s role in protecting our environment and natural resources while ensuring our industry in South Dakota remains economically viable and growing.”

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From Dakota News Now:

The South Dakota Farmers Union opposes the proposed merger by Governor Kristi Noem of the state Agriculture Department with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

President Doug Sombke told WNAX in Yankton, the organization is now working with lawmakers to write a bill that would put the State Agriculture Secretary position on the ballot rather than Governor Noem appointing the position.

Read that here.

Pointing out the last time that was proposed:

Senate Bill 194

Title: provide for the election of the secretary of agriculture.
Sponsors: Senators Kloucek, Hoerth, Jerstad, Katus, Maher, and Schmidt and Representatives Ahlers, Bradford, Elliott, Feinstein, Halverson, Miles, Street, and Van Norman

and..

02/01/2007 Agriculture and Natural Resources Deferred to 41st legislative day, Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 1. S.J. 349

Read that here.

That idea was a dumb one in 2007. And it’s still a dumb idea in 2021.

Ag producers aren’t looking for a politician in that office, which is what they’ll get if it becomes an elected position. They want a thoughtful steward of the office, and they have the opportunity to vet them when those officials are confirmed by the Senate.

Enough said.

 

Rounds, Colleagues: Stop Illegal PPP Loans to Planned Parenthood

PIERRE—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and a group of senators in a letter urging U.S. Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza to prevent Planned Parenthood affiliates from receiving illegal loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as they did last year.

“Planned Parenthood affiliates are well aware that they are ineligible to receive PPP loans, on the basis of SBA’s letters and the frank admission of their political-action committee,”wrote the senators. “Their attempts to apply for PPP loans are naked attempts to defraud the United States government.”

In addition to Rounds and Cotton, the letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Full text of the letter:

The Honorable Jovita Carranza
Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd St, SW
Washington DC 20416

Dear Administrator Carranza,

We write to urge you to take precautions so that affiliates of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest and most notorious abortion provider, do not receive loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as they did earlier this year in defiance of the law.

The coronavirus relief package Congress passed on December 21 authorizes a second round of PPP loans for certain small businesses and non-profits that received and fully spent a PPP loan earlier this year. Eligibility requirements for these “second-draw” loans are similar to the requirements for initial loans authorized under the CARES Act. Generally speaking, applicants for the initial waves of PPP loans had to employ no more than 500 employees across all of their affiliates in order to be eligible for a loan; applicants for a second-draw loan must have no more than 300 employees across all of their affiliates. As before, applicants for a second-draw loan must self-certify that they are eligible to receive such a loan; the Small Business Administration has written that “incorrect or false eligibility certifications by borrowers are subject to severe penalties.”

Planned Parenthood employs about 16,000 people nationwide. The group’s national organization, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, jealously exercises control over local affiliates, subjecting them to uniform bylaws, accreditation, frequent reviews, and mandates about what services they must provide to remain part of the Federation, such as on-site abortion. Planned Parenthood affiliates thus are ineligible to receive PPP loans, as part of an affiliated group that employs far more people than the number allowed for an initial or second-draw PPP loan. This fact was admitted by none other than Planned Parenthood’s political-action committee, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which wrote that the CARES Act “gives the Small Business Administration broad discretion to exclude Planned Parenthood affiliates and other non-profits serving people with low incomes and deny them benefits under the new small business loan program.”

Nonetheless, at least 37 Planned Parenthood affiliates illegally obtained more than $80 million in taxpayer funds during the initial rounds of PPP by self-certifying their eligibility for the program. In response, the SBA determined that these affiliates were ineligible to receive PPP loans and issued letters informing them of the consequences of false certifications of eligibility, including repayment of loans, loss of loan forgiveness, and other civil and criminal penalties. Members of this body previously have urged you to investigate these false certifications of eligibility, recover the more than $80 million in funds, and seek appropriate penalties against Planned Parenthood affiliates that broke the law.

An equally urgent task is to ensure Planned Parenthood affiliates do not receive additional PPP loans intended for struggling small businesses and non-profits. We therefore urge you to inform participating lenders that Planned Parenthood affiliates are ineligible to receive second-draw PPP loans, and encourage them to immediately notify SBA if a Planned Parenthood affiliate applies for such a loan through their institution. Furthermore, we urge you to refer any Planned Parenthood affiliate that applies for such a loan to the Department of Justice for prosecution. Planned Parenthood affiliates are well aware that they are ineligible to receive PPP loans, on the basis of SBA’s letters and the frank admission of their political-action committee. Their attempts to apply for PPP loans are naked attempts to defraud the United States government.

Thank you for your tireless efforts to help small businesses and non-profits survive the Covid-19 pandemic. With appropriate precautions, we can ensure that additional relief funds go to those that need it, in accordance with the law, rather than to unscrupulous organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Sincerely,

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According to KELOland, US Senator John Thune isn’t indicating how he’s going to vote one way or the other on impeachment.  But, he’s also not sure how you impeach a former President:

“I think the fact that the president for so long continued to try and convince people in this country that the election was stolen from him was a disservice to people, and it got people to believe something that wasn’t true, and I think that, you could argue I suppose, was partly the, at least at the beginning, the origin of a lot of this,” Thune said.

The senator is also looking into what will happen with Trump’s second impeachment.

“I think there are some very serious constitutional questions that we’re looking into on whether you can impeach a former president,” Thune said.

Read it all here.

From the Argus Leader, US Senator Mike Rounds would rather do things that have a real outcome, than impeach a President who has left office:

Rounds called a vote to convict Trump “hypothetical,” saying he would rather see the Senate focus on confirming members of Biden’s cabinet.

“I think if the question is moot, I don’t see a reason to convict,” he said.

Read it all here.

While some people don’t want to let it he Presidential race go, Senator Mike Rounds assures them on Dakota News Now tonight that it’s done:

“My message is I know it’s hard. I know you truly wanted to win it, but please. 60 different court cases, the attorney general himself Bill Barr, members of the United States House, and members of the United States Senate have looked at, and we truly believe that the election, while there were abnormalities, would not have changed the outcome of the election. Joe Biden is the legitimate president-elect of the United States.”

Read it all here.

Civic Education for the Next Generation
By: Governor Kristi Noem 
January 15, 2020

Across America these last several months, we have witnessed a very troubling situation where violent actors are trying to do an end-run around public discourse. This is done to intimidate and silence voices. These folks want to short-cut public debate through fear. They want to make people scared. This is un-American. And it certainly has no place in South Dakota.

Whether on the left or the right, political violence is not the answer. Our political process, though contentious at times, works because we resolve issues through discussion and rigorous debate. Sometimes, political debate will include peaceful protests. Assembly is a tool, enshrined in the Constitution, to help drive a point home. Every American has a right to protest peacefully. That right ends where violence begins.

We saw a similar situation play out on Capitol Hill a few days ago. We were all appalled by it. Frankly, it was horrible to watch. Today, we have an opportunity to address the root cause of this problem: we must reform young Americans’ civic education.

Students should be taught our nation’s history and all that makes America unique. They should see first-hand the importance of civic engagement. And they should have robust discussions in the classroom so they can develop critical thinking skills.

Our young people need more experience engaging with elected officials and practicing the art of debate. It is also our responsibility to show them how government works.

I have tasked my administration with creating instructional materials and classroom resources on America’s founding, our nation’s history, and the state’s history. We must also do a better job giving teachers preparational materials on these three subjects.

Through all of this, our common mission and key objective needs to be explaining why the United States of America is the most unique nation in the history of the world. With this knowledge as a foundational building block, every South Dakotan can then chart their own path in the future and pursue their own American Dream.

We all know that good education starts in the home. It starts with strong families. We have decades of research to show that families are the most critical influence on a child’s success in the classroom. COVID-19 underscored just how involved parents need to be in their children’s day-to-day education. It’s our duty to find innovative solutions that empower parents to set their children up for success.

Coupled with the tremendous work that South Dakota teachers are doing, I believe we can make immediate and long-lasting change in the lives of young South Dakotans. Together, my administration will work to support them and ensure that they are getting the very best materials to achieve that goal.

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I had good intentions of finishing this list out within a few days of posting the bottom 1/2 of the 10 for 2020..  and we had a bit of a mess between a crazy rally in Sioux Falls followed by what many are calling an insurrection.   Not to mention that I do have an 8-5, and we’re at the first of the year… so this has gotten pushed back a bit.

I didn’t want to leave it unresolved, so getting back to it…

Top Ten South Dakota Political Stories of 2020 continued (Counting down 5-1)

5. President Trump Visits Mt. Rushmore

The 4th of July Presidential visit by President Trump was a huge item in terms of South Dakota politics.  First off, Presidential visits to the Rushmore State are pretty few and far between, but this visit was so much more.

The visit marked the return of fireworks to the national monument, and given the backdrop it was a spectacle of national interest and proportions. According to conservative estimates from experts, there were indications that “the event had an advertising value of at least $22 million, due to global media coverage.” But not just that. The event was an international signal – as Governor Noem has been advocating – that unlike other areas shuttered because of COVID, South Dakota was open for business. And they’ve come far and wide. It also seemed to be the launch of Governor Noem on a higher stage as a popular surrogate for President Trump.

4. Jason Ravnsborg Accident

The absolutely tragic accident in September where Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg struck and killed a pedestrian walking on the highway outside of Highmore after attending a Republican dinner has dominated the political discussion since it occurred.. and it is still yet to be resolved, as reports are that the attorneys reviewing the case have moved from testing to re-testing evidence from the accident in an attempt to determine whether grounds exist to prosecute Ravnsborg for a crime for the accident.

Literally, everyone in the state is an armchair quarterback and has their own opinion on the case, proclaiming guilt and innocence whether they know anything about the evidence or not. And the rumors abound about every aspect of it.  Ultimately, the investigation will be completed… but the court of public opinion is an entirely different matter, not to mention there will likely be a civil lawsuit.

All of it will have an effect on whether Ravnsborg, the chief law enforcement officer and legal advisor for the State of South Dakota, makes the decision whether or not to run for re-election in 2022.  Formerly an election that was all but guaranteed will be cast in doubt, with Ravnsborg likely to face opponents within the GOP as well as from the Minority party.

3. Recreational & Medicinal Marijuana legalization passes and recreational challenged in court.

Are we sure this is still South Dakota that we live in? The legalization of Marijuana on both the medicinal and recreation fronts had been an issue that had little traction in the past, with attempts at legalization attempted over the past few decades from both those affiliated with the Libertarian party and a loose affiliation of poorly organized advocates. If they managed to achieve ballot status, which wasn’t always certain, they would be beaten at the ballot box to varying degrees, with 2006’s IM 4 previously setting the high bar at 47.7%.

Fast forward to 2019.. where nationally, legalization had some momentum, and South Dakota had just finished with a contentions battle over hemp.   Efforts at medical legalization had again started with the same cast of clowns who had been trying to legalize it before.. but a parallel effort was started by national advocates, who had brought in former US Attorney Brendan Johnson, with the national group now supporting both efforts in terms of money and organization.

The national group provided organization and funding to unheretofor levels.. and opponents did not seem as well-funded or enthused.  There was more resistance to the Amendment A, enshrining it in the state constitution than the initiated measure for medical.. which made fighting it more challenging to explain to voters. Both measures passed, with Amendment A (recreational) passing with a vote of 54.18%, and Initiated Measure 26 (medical) passing by just under 70%.

But.. not so fast. One thing that opponents to measures had found in recent years is that it’s far more economical to fight measures in court on their actual legality than to challenge the millions flowing in from out-of-state special interests.  Why try to match millions and fight slick ad campaigns mid-stream, when you can argue the actual law.  So the opponents played the long game.

And a legal challenge was been filed against the constitutional amendment, on the basis of the changes it is attempting to make to the constitution.

We’ll see what happens in 2021 as parts are fought while other parts are implemented.

2.  Kristi Noem brushes off critics, as profile goes national

If you’ve paid attention over the years, Kristi Noem has a unique place among South Dakota politicians. No matter how much “junk” her critics and opponents try to bury her under, she seems to come back stronger every time.  She’s poised, unflappable under pressure, and has resolve that she’s following her values and doing the right thing.  (And boy, do her detractors throw a lot of flak her way.)

This year under the COVID epidemic, Noem has taken a lot of heat for not shuttering the state as some wanted, and many demanded she do. But it also gave her an opportunity to live her values of limited government and freedom.  And if you look at how South Dakota has fared as COVID has hit the nation.. well, love her or hate her, you have to admit that it has worked.  Economically, South Dakota is surviving the outbreak, and economically would appear to be outpacing many states that shut down businesses almost entirely.

South Dakotans seemed to think so, with Noem polling at 89% approval among Republicans in the state.

With those values and that outlook, Noem was noteworthy enough in her home state. But after Trump appeared with her and highlighted South Dakota in July at Mt. Rushmore, the attention towards Noem took off like a rocket with her serving as a popular campaign surrogate and with many saying that she could be a presidential contender in 2024.

While the campaign didn’t turn out so well for Trump, at least at this point, it doesn’t seem to have affected Kristi’s popularity.

1. COVID-19

Many of our society’s rules were re-written this year when the first widespread pandemic of most people’s lifetimes struck a population unused to dealing with anything more than a bad-flu bug. Because this was more than the flu, and could kill you.

We’re all glued to our computers and wondering what comes next as in 2020 we hoped for normalcy in weeks, then months, then in 2020, for it to be pushed back into maybe 2021. It brought all of our lives to a screeching halt, leaving us to find new ways to work and interact in commerce. It has brought some sectors of our economy down, and raised others to new heights.

It has created waves of discontent, as well as waves of people trying to help others.

Politically, it has forced people to come up with new ways to campaign, as well as for those same officials having to try to figure out how to keep economies on life support, so there’s something left when it’s all figured out.

I could go on, but that was the biggest political story of last year. And will possibly be the biggest political story of 2021.

 

That’s what I’ve got – Agree? Disagree? What were your top 10 South Dakota political stories of 2020?

From Facebook: