From Twitter:
Polarization in our country is at an all-time high. Tech platforms (Google/Facebook/etc) filter online content so Americans see info that echoes & reinforces their own opinions. The result is that many can’t even fathom that reasonable people may have a different point of view. pic.twitter.com/yEdRQf4OZE
— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) September 24, 2020
After previously wanting to cancel the presidents from Mt Rushmore, District 14 State Representative & Democrat Erin Healy is on facebook this AM writing off half of her electorate:
So this Liberal Democrat Legislator who wants to erase our nation’s history is writing off half of her constituents, and claiming they don’t believe in Democracy?
I’m sure that’s going to go well for her.
It’s election season, but it seems that House Speaker Steve Haugaard’s focus seems less about his re-election campaign in District 10 and more about the concept of a days-long special session in the middle of October.
Earlier this week, Governor Kristi Noem announced plans for a brief special legislative session on October 5 to approve the use of federal COVID funds. Basically, one and done.
But talking to a few legislators, the chatter is that Speaker Haugaard seems to have some has different ideas. The word is that he’s pitching a special COVID-related session that begins on October 5, but returns on October 12, with committee hearings, and even more discussion on how to spend COVID funds, which could go on for days. The foundation for this overly-broad special COVID session seem to have been laid down earlier and were discussed in August.. and they’ve never really gone away.
Who on earth is asking for the legislature to come back into special session for another week or two in the middle of the fall campaign season, costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars? That would be no one.
The special session coming now is because there may be deadlines that won’t be extended to access COVID related federal dollars. As noted in the calling of a special session, Governor Kristi Noem pointed out it was for “the purpose of considering legislation related to the use of federal stimulus relief funds, including the $1.25 billion allocated to South Dakota in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF),” as there are deadlines on the funds which come before the next session.
Which is fine. Let’s get it accomplished. Give the authority to administer the funds. Involve the Joint Appropriations committee in the continued interim if needed. In & out, and let people go back to their lives, jobs, and the fall harvest. Because is there a hue and cry for talking it to death in a special session/group encounter? NO. People are seeking action. Not committee meetings.
If a person with a pulpit on the House side is asking for a long special session, one reason might be politics.
Haugaard, whose time as speaker is near an end, is in a campaign not just for State House, but an intra-caucus battle to be the next House Majority Leader. That race has been taking place behind the scenes and isn’t going away. We’ll see that come to a head in November about the time of the Governor’s budget address. (Haugaard and Kent Peterson are the major players in that contest.)
An extended special session would put Haugaard at the podium, and give him a captive audience to make his case to his colleagues as to why he should be the next majority leader. And … There’s also that rumor that just won’t go away. Because I continue hearing about something I’ve alluded to about in the past – that there is continued chatter that Haugaard could be considering challenging Governor Noem in the 2022 gubernatorial primary.
Needless to say, not many of Haugaard’s legislative colleagues are too excited about spending more than a day on a special session, less than a month before election day. Especially when Governor Noem is already doing much of what needs to be done. Even if they can strong-arm enough House members to get 2/3 of that body for a renewed special session, I’m told the Senate is a fairly solid NO.
And with Governor Noem as a national hero among Republicans for her freedom-based leadership during COVID, I don’t think it is an effective idea that a long special session helps Steve be majority leader or that more legislature somehow translates into him finding any oxygen to support a gubernatorial campaign to challenge Kristi.
While Steve is a nice enough person… If he’s actually thinking about running in a primary against Noem, I don’t think he’s seriously considered what would go into such a contest.
Coming off of a term as House Majority Leader gives him a slight profile above the average legislator to take on a Governor who has chastised him in the past. But you can’t ignore the public relations disasters Haugaard has had over the past couple of years: Losing a federal lawsuit for punishing a female lobbyist for stating an opinion, attempting to impose a puritanical dress code on female legislators, and the fact he seems to repeatedly butt heads with our first female Governor.
I have the feeling that the concept of Haugaard challenging Noem would literally be the most lopsided mis-match since ex-legislator Lora Hubbel challenged sitting Governor Dennis Daugaard. It wasn’t even an actual campaign, as much as a months-long complaint by Lora that no one took her seriously, and no one would help her.
By all means, let’s get the special session done, and get the federal COVID dollars allocated. But let’s not drag this on ad nauseum.
And it definitely should not be used except for any other purpose than to get the job done.
From Facebook, apparently Democrats are trying to capture the tiktok generation in this years’s election.
From Facebook:
Thune: Democrats Throw Tantrum While Republicans Remain Focused on Constitutional Duty
“One of the principal reasons that many GOP senators – myself included – ran for office was to confirm principled judges to our courts.”
Click here or on the picture above to watch Thune’s speech.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today responded to various threats and accusations from Democrats regarding the Senate’s expected consideration of the president’s upcoming Supreme Court nominee. While Democrats threaten Republicans, and the American people, for that matter, with actions like court-packing and the elimination of the Senate filibuster, Republicans maintain their focus on the American people and continuing to uphold their elected responsibilities.
From the South Dakota group on reddit:
That doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence.
Governor Noem Announces Special Legislative Session
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will be calling a special session of the state legislature. The legislature will meet on Monday, October 5, 2020, with the purpose of considering legislation related to the use of federal stimulus relief funds, including the $1.25 billion allocated to South Dakota in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF).
“South Dakota has used our federal CRF funds as intended to cover many costs related to COVID-19,” said Governor Noem. “We’re in tremendous shape in our fight against this virus. My team and I have spent many hours talking with numerous legislators, especially leadership, as well as the general public. I look forward to hearing from the entire legislature in its official capacity.”
Barring an extension, South Dakota has until December 30, 2020, to spend all CRF dollars. Some of the funds have already been allocated including $200 million for city and county government operations, more than $100 million for the Re-employment Insurance Fund, nearly $100 million for state public safety and public health officials, $75 million for K-12 schools, and more than $20 million for universities and technical colleges. Governor Noem also has proposed up to $400 million in small business grants and up to $100 million in grants to community-based healthcare providers.
To learn more about South Dakota’s fight against COVID-19, visit COVID.sd.gov.
In a press conference this afternoon, Governor Noem and the South Dakota Highway Patrol announced that last night, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was involved in a fatality accident on Highway 14, just west of Highmore.
The Attorney General’s office issued this statement immediately following the press conference:
A STATEMENT FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL JASON RAVNSBORG REGARDING THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2020
“I am shocked and filled with sorrow following the events of last night. As Governor Noem stated, I am fully cooperating with the investigation and I fully intend to continue do so moving forward. At this time I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to the family.”
Without knowing any facts at this time, I can say that knowing Jason, he’s as straightlaced as they come, so I’m guessing this is a horrible and unfortunate accident.
Please keep everyone involved in your prayers as the matter is investigated.
Never Forget
By Sen. John Thune
I was in Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. I remember stepping out of the congressional office buildings and looking west down the National Mall toward the Pentagon. Black smoke was billowing from the horizon. Members and staff were fleeing from the Capitol building. A deep and heavy sense of fear blanketed the city. That’s when everything we had seen unfolding on television suddenly became real. America was under attack.
As we all tried to process what was happening in real time, I recall wondering, was the Capitol next? What about the White House? We didn’t know it at the time, but, as America would later learn, thanks to the heroic action of the everyday heroes on United Flight 93, both locations, and likely targets, were spared.
At one point in the day, I spoke to my youngest daughter, Larissa. She, like most Americans, had two seemingly simple, yet pointed questions: Are we safe? And are we going to get the bad guys? I was serving in the U.S. House of Representatives at the time, but in that moment, I knew I was answering her questions as a dad and as an American citizen: Yes, we’re safe. And yes, we’re definitely going to get the bad guys.
In the days and weeks that followed, America was united. We were united in our grief. We were united in our anger. And we were united in what it meant to be an American.
In one of the more symbolic moments in the wake of these attacks, I recall when former President George W. Bush threw the first pitch at Yankee Stadium ahead of game three of the World Series. He took to the mound, bullet-proof vest under his jacket, to chants of “USA! USA! USA!” He looked around the stadium, wound up, and threw a perfect strike, right down the middle of home plate.
As the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City since noted, “This moment preceded one of the most extraordinary and needed wins in the Yankees’ history. Although they would lose the series, winning each of the three contests at Yankee Stadium signaled to the city and to the world that life would go on.”
As America began to rebuild, there were many signals that life would go on – signals that America would never forget.
The world will never exist quite like it did on September 10, 2001. But if there’s a lesson we can carry with us about September 12, 2001, and beyond, it’s that there is far more that unites us than what divides us. We’re Americans. We celebrate the diversity that makes us unique. We don’t let adversity get the best of us. We learn, listen, and grow. We know that while we may disagree from time to time, we’re always stronger together than when we’re apart.
While nearly two decades have passed since the 9/11 attacks, we still have not forgotten. We never will. Let’s continue to honor the legacy set by the brave Americans who died that day and those who rose to the occasion when their nation needed them the most.
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