Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Congressman Dusty Johnson’s Weekly Column: Voting is a Sacred Right

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Voting is a Sacred Right
by Congressman Dusty Johnson
January 14, 2022

Sunday night, New York City passed a law that will allow noncitizens (green card holders and DACA recipients) the right to vote in municipal elections. More than 800,000 noncitizens will now be eligible to vote. This is a serious mistake. 

Nor is this an isolated incident. San Francisco passed a similar measure back in 2018 to allow noncitizens, including those without legal status, to vote in school board elections.  Additionally, College Park, Maryland; Montpelier and Winooski, both in Vermont, have allowed noncitizens to vote in municipal elections as well. 

Voting is a sacred honor, and we should vehemently protect the voting rights of legal citizens. But allowing non-citizens to vote waters down the value of citizenship. If we allow everyone to vote, we diminish the hard work of those who spent years becoming a naturalized citizen. Why should we give citizens of other countries power in setting the policies of American governments?

Free, fair, and accountable elections are vital to the survival of our democracy, and lawful American citizens should never be denied the right to vote. I believe in protecting election integrity, and laws and policies like that of New York City, threaten that objective. Simply put, only Americans should vote in American elections. 

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Governor Kristi Noem’s Weekly Column: Fairness in Girls’ Sports Matters 

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Fairness in Girls’ Sports Matters
By Governor Kristi Noem
January 14, 2022

This week, the 2022 legislative session kicked off, and I presented my State of the State address to the people of South Dakota. I described how South Dakota is stronger than it has ever been in its 133-year history. This did not happen because of what government did. It happened because of what government did NOT do. To preserve what we have and grow even stronger, we need to remember why government exists in the first place – to protect the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  

One way a young girl exercises her liberty is on the fields and in the gyms of South Dakota: playing basketball, swimming competitively, and running track, just to name a few popular sports here in the Mount Rushmore state. It is in playing sports that a young girl can learn how to achieve and how to succeed. But some in our society want to take those opportunities to succeed away from our young women.  Some schools and organizations across the country have sought to take away their freedom to achieve by changing the rules of the games.  

When our children participate in sports and activities, they learn valuable lessons like teamwork, perseverance, and hustle. For many activities, the playing field is level for boys and girls: debate, theater, and academic competitions, to name a few. But for other activities, the playing field is not equal between boys and girls because of basic, common-sense biology.   

Allyson Felix is an American track and field star. She has won 25 Olympic and World Championship medals, including 17 gold medals, the most of any track and field athlete ever – male or female. She specialized in the 400-meter race, with a lifetime best of forty-nine-point-two-six seconds. Yet HUNDREDS of high school aged boys have run faster times than that. Common sense tells us why. Boys’ and girls’ bodies are biologically different.  

In South Dakota, only girls can play in girls’ sports according to the executive orders I signed almost a year ago. To advance that action even further, earlier this month I asked the Legislature to introduce my bill ensuring fairness in girls’ sports. 

Congress passed Title IX years ago to guarantee that girls have a level playing field on which they can succeed — to ensure their liberty to achieve. They can win high school championships, maybe earn scholarships, maybe even go on to play professional sports. We need to protect the freedom of our young girls to go out there and do it.   

How do we achieve this through the legislature? 

We will establish a framework that will allow parents to challenge schools that allow students who are born male at birth to compete in girls’ sports. The legislation I am proposing includes the ability for a parent to hold schools accountable in court. Parents will be able to sue to play, not to pay. This is not about creating financial windfalls — it is about ensuring parents have the tools to fight for their daughter’s ability to compete on a level playing field.  

This issue matters to me for many reasons. I participated in high school sports. I wasn’t as good as my two daughters, Kassidy and Kennedy, who both played college sports. If my girls had competed against men, their ability to compete would have been dramatically limited. Participating in college sports teaches teamwork, leadership, work ethic, and grit. It develops talent and skills. I would not have wanted my daughters to miss out on such an opportunity. 

 I have led the charge on this issue for years. When the USDA tried to force boys and girls to compete against each other in 4-H Rodeo, I led the fight to protect fairness for girls.  And we won in 2018 because we approached the fight in a smart way.  

Now we will make sure we have the strongest law in the country. 

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Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former Supreme Court Justice Richard Sabers

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Flags at Half-Staff at State Capitol in Honor of Former Supreme Court Justice Richard Sabers

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol from sunrise until sunset on Monday, January 17 in honor of former State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sabers.

A funeral mass for Richard will take place at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Sioux Falls at 11 am on Monday, January 17.

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Sanford Health COVID update – a few more hospitalized, and a troubling trend.

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I missed it earlier this week, but here’s the Sanford Health update on those who have been hospitalized for COVID 19.  Big thing I notice in comparison to last week,  The number of people who have been vaccinated as a percentage of those being hospitalized seems to be going up.

Which leads to some concern of whether the base vaccination is as effective against variants. The stats don’t mention the booster, but, that would be good to know.

If you don’t have the vaccination, the statistics show you’re at a far greater risk to get quite ill. Won’t happen to everyone, but it is happening, and you might end up in the hospital.   Or you could try to self treat with sheep dewormer, and have people suggest you drink urine. (Seriously, I’m not kidding. That’s the nutty treatment du jour).

The choice is yours.

Rave Announces Candidacy for District 25 State Senate

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RAVE ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR DISTRICT 25 STATE SENATE

Baltic, SD – Lisa Rave announced her candidacy for the South Dakota District 25 State Senate for the upcoming 2022 election cycle.

“With over 30 years of experience as a pharmacist, I believe my perspective and unique background in both healthcare and business will have a positive impact on resolving the challenges faced by the citizens of our state,” said Rave.

Rave earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from South Dakota State University and Master’s in Business from the University of Sioux Falls. She works as a pharmacist in information technology at Avera with a background in retail and home delivery pharmacy. She served on the South Dakota Board of Pharmacy from 2010 until 2019 and is currently serving as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Heartland Consumers Power District.

Rave plans to focus on constituent issues and continuing the limited government, pro-business policies that attract people and businesses to South Dakota. “As a life-long resident, I believe South Dakota is an ideal place to raise a family, start and grow a business, and retire. Now, more than ever, we need legislators with strong leadership skills to invest in the state and preserve the way of life we love.”

A Republican, Lisa and her husband Tim live outside Baltic, near the family farm where she grew up. They’re blessed to have their daughter, son-in-law, and son reside in the area along with much of their extended family.

“It would be an honor to be elected to represent the voters of District 25 and I would appreciate their support in the upcoming election cycle,” added Rave.

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Dems announce D10 Slate of Legislative Candidates

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Democrats have announced some of their first candidates for the state legislature, with a full slate for District 10.

Interestingly, State Democrats are reserving their one current office holder in the District and keeping State Rep. Erin Healy in the House, preferring to offer up Liz Larson who lost to Jack Kolbeck in 2020 in the State Senate race.

Larson will likely be facing Republican State Senator Maggie Sutton, who will be campaigning to retain the seat.

Democrat candidate for US Senate only changed from indy to run for office. But keeps emphasizing his indy-ness.

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While Brian Bengs is running as a Democrat for US Senate, it sounds as of he’s doing so very, very begrudgingly, according to this story on KELOland news today:

He announced his campaign for U.S. Senate on Veterans Day in November and said he’s running as a Democrat because state law requires a candidate to be a registered member of the same party. Independent is not a political party in South Dakota.

Bengs pointed out South Dakota’s Republican Party doesn’t allow independents to vote in their primary elections and that’s why he reached out to the South Dakota Democratic Party to seek the party’s nomination while remaining an independent.

“I was an independent up until October of last year for my entire life,” Bengs said.

Read it here.

…. Um…. has anyone told him that he can actually run as an independent in South Dakota, if it’s such a big deal to him?  In fact, the Secretary of State has a whole page on it.

Sounds to me that he is more looking for organizational support from a political party than being independent, since he’s spending so much of his media time trying to disavow it.

**UPDATE **  I missed this ‘WTF’ comment in the story…

Facing an uphill battle with money, Bengs said he also expects to receive death threats while running for office. 

Read that here.

Wait, what?

I’d say that comment was coming out of left field, but that’s a given.  Hi, I’m running for US Senate. People are going to threaten me.

I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a candidate intro like that, which makes me think that the democrats are going to keep candidate shopping if they can.

Johnson Statement on SCOTUS Vaccine Mandate Ruling

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Johnson Statement on SCOTUS Vaccine Mandate Ruling

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) issued a statement following the U.S. Supreme Court decision to block President Biden’s vaccine mandate for large employers in the United States.

“Today’s decision is a win for federalism and individual freedoms,” said Johnson. “I believe in this vaccine, but I don’t believe in sweeping federal mandates – the Supreme Court made the right call. With more than 95% of Americans over the age of 65 at least partially vaccinated, our nation cannot handle the fallout that would come from overreaching actions of the federal government.”

Johnson cosponsored H.J. Res. 65 which nullifies the OSHA rule to require employers with more than 100 employees to receive a vaccine. Additionally, Johnson urged Speaker Pelosi to bring S.J. Res. 29 up for a vote following Senate passage. In December, Johnson hosted a roundtable with South Dakota businesses, highlighting concerns regarding workforce participation following vaccination mandates.

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Thune Applauds Supreme Court’s Decision to Halt Vaccine Mandate on Private Sector Employers

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Thune Applauds Supreme Court’s Decision to Halt Vaccine Mandate on Private Sector Employers

“Today’s ruling sends a loud and clear message to the Biden administration: In this country, the unlawful use of the heavy hand of the federal government will not be tolerated.” 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to halt the Biden administration’s unconstitutional vaccine mandate on large private sector employers.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to halt the Biden administration’s unconstitutional vaccine mandate on large private sector employers is a win for South Dakota, our workforce, and our personal freedoms,” said Thune. “I’ve made it clear from the beginning that any type of vaccine mandate would have a countereffect on our country’s already stretched and strapped workforce, as well as set an alarming precedent. The federal government should not have the authority to force private citizens to get the vaccine. Today’s ruling sends a loud and clear message to the Biden administration: In this country, the unlawful use of the heavy hand of the federal government will not be tolerated.”

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