Author: @SoDakCampaigns

Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP Welcomes New Associate Attorney Jason A. Glodt

Current South Dakota Lobbyist set to join law firm in January 2021

Pierre, South Dakota: The law firm of Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson, & Ashmore LLP is pleased to announce that Jason Glodt has joined the firm as an associate attorney.  Glodt has over 20 years of legal experience.  He served as an Assistant Attorney General for Attorneys General Mark Barnett and Larry Long. He also served as a Senior Advisor and lawyer for Governors Rounds and Daugaard and Attorney General Marty Jackley.

“Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP is an exceptional law firm with some of the brightest legal minds in the state,” said Glodt, “I am honored to be part of their team and I look forward to getting back into the court room to help people.”

Glodt will work in the Pierre, South Dakota branch of the firm where he will focus his practice on Business Law, Estate Planning, Governmental Law, Environmental Law, Litigation, Lobbying and Issue Advocacy.

Jason grew up in Webster and Wessington Springs before moving to Spearfish where he graduated high school. He went on to earn a B.S. degree in Political Science from Black Hills State University before earning his Juris Doctorate degree in Law from The University of South Dakota School of Law.

Glodt has lived in Pierre for 20 years where he served six years as a Pierre City Commissioner and has been active in numerous community organizations, including the Exchange Club, Boy Scouts and the Masonic Lodge.  Glodt has served as on the City Library Board, the Discovery Center Board and as the City Police Commissioner.  He has also renovated numerous historic buildings on upper Pierre Street and lives in the Grand Opera House with his wife, Michelle, and their two children.

Marty Jackley, current partner at the law firm stated, “Our clients are very fortunate to have the talent and experience Jason brings to our team to assist them through their legal challenges.  The reason so many South Dakota Governors and Attorney Generals have sought and relied upon Jason’s advice is his ability to listen, understand complex issues, and deliver results.”

With over 45 years of providing a full range of legal services, Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP is one of South Dakota’s largest law firms in a multi-state region. Located in the historic Hyde Building in Pierre and the historic Elks Building in Rapid City, South Dakota, the firm has lawyers providing service in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. More information about the Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP may be found on www.gpna.com

My Oath
By Sen. John Thune

January 6 was a horrifying day. Violent protesters stormed the Capitol, attacking law enforcement and endangering everyone working inside, from senators’ staffers to maintenance workers. Peaceful protest is a hallmark of our country. The right of assembly is a sacred American right. What happened at the Capitol was not a peaceful protest. It was violent, unlawful, and fundamentally un-American.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of Capitol Police officers, who put their lives on the line to protect us, and thanks to law enforcement officers from across the Capitol region, the Capitol was secured. Undeterred, members and staff returned to the building to carry out the business of the day. We followed the law, counted the votes, and certified the election.

The oath I swear as senator for South Dakota is not to any one person, but to the U.S. Constitution:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment make clear that the Senate’s role in presidential elections is limited to counting the electoral ballots certified by the states. The applicable federal law, enacted in 1887, further clarifies the limited role of Congress. It provides that Congress must accept all electoral ballots that are lawfully certified by the submitting state so long as there are not competing submissions. Otherwise, Congress has no authority to overturn the results of this or any other presidential election.

As is the case with any election, Americans should not tolerate a single fraudulent vote. I believe any credible accusation, now or in the future, should be investigated, and those who have violated our nation’s trust should be held to account, period. I will also support relevant efforts to examine and strengthen the integrity of our federal elections.

As a senator, my guideposts are the Constitution and the rule of law, and I have striven to perform the duties they require of me. Under our constitutional system, in which I have tremendous faith, the results of this election could not be undone by Congress.

I will continue to fight every day for conservative principles. During my time in Congress, I have worked with multiple presidential administrations. There have been areas where I have agreed and areas where I have disagreed with presidents of both parties. No matter what, you can be sure that whatever the circumstance, I will strive to uphold my oath of office and I will always stand up for South Dakotans.

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Governor Kristi Noem has an op-ed on the Federalist website in which she lays out her vision on what the Republican Party needs to do moving forward:

Republicans got our butts kicked in Georgia on Tuesday. A 33-year-old with no accomplishments and a smooth-talking preacher wiped the floor with us. The idea that Georgia, of all places, could elect two communists to the United States Senate was ridiculous.

Our country has changed. We have failed to educate generations of our children about what makes America unique. Few, if any of them, have been taught the history of our decades-long fight to defeat communism. Meanwhile, the left’s indoctrination takes place every day with kids all across America from the time they walk into a school at age 5 to the time they graduate college at 22.

Read it all here.

Governor Noem Signs Executive Order

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem signed an executive order pertaining to the Amendment A litigation.

Executive Order 2021-02 ratifies the ongoing litigation regarding Amendment A, brought by plaintiffs Colonel Rick Miller, Superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and Kevin Thom, Pennington County Sherriff.

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2021-02 executive order from Gov Kristi Noem by Pat Powers on Scribd

Several lawmakers were identified as participating in the protests at the US Capitol, with at least one breaching the building:

From Facebook:

What’s your opinion?

A Lambasting by Liberals
by Thomas E. Simmons

Released in November, The Reagans is a four-part documentary produced by Showtime. It is comprised of film clips of President Reagan and others close to him along with an assortment of journalists, activists, biographers, and former Reagan aides. The President’s son Ron Reagan Jr., journalist Lesley Stahl, and attorney Maya Wiley get the most screen time. They heap blistering and often unfair criticism upon President Reagan. Other interviewees, such as George Will, James Baker, and Robert McFarland receive less screen time, but also contribute their perspectives.

The younger followers of Dakota War College (by which I mean the under-40 crowd) who do not recognize names like Don Regan, Robert McFarlane, Ed Rollins, and George Shultz (all Reagan appointees or advisors) will be enriched by studying this film. It’s a slick production, accessible, and addictively binge-worthy, clocking in at under four hours in total running time.

Make no mistake. This is a thoroughly biased production which sets out to paint a very unflattering portrait of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. A number of the film’s jabs do land solid punches on the deficiencies of Reagan’s legacy. One would be surprised if any human being who served two terms as Governor and two as President didn’t commit a few blunders. Some of them serious.

Within the first three minutes of the first episode (“The Hollywood Myth Machine”), we hear three different interview subjects proclaiming (1) that Reagan acknowledged that “if you cannot be a good actor, you cannot be a good president,” (2) that Reagan “was kind of a strange fellow to be President of the United States,” and (3) that his own cabinet had to “protect him from himself.” The last of those three quotes comes from General Colin Powell. So, do not expect a nuanced assessment of Reagan’s accomplishments. At least the film broadcasts its intentions right from the start.

Still, I recommend this film – even to those who hold Reagan in high regard. It’s instructive to see where the liberal attacks can score a few points and where they’re simply clawing at air. There is, for example, an unsupported assertion ribboning through the quartet of episodes that the claim that “government is part of the problem and not part of the solution” is not only a falsehood in whatever context it might appear within, but a fantastic myth – an unadulterated lie. There is another dishonest assertion that every time a conservative makes reference to local empowerment or state’s rights, it is simply code for diluting civil rights protections (i.e., “dog whistle politics”).

The film’s structure also contains a dishonesty of its own. In the first half or so, it portrays Nancy Reagan as shrewd and caring, an essential and positive component of Reagan’s political achievements – indeed, of Reagan himself. In the second half or so, the supplied narrative turns on her. It viciously vilifies her for relative trivialities like her loaned designer dresses and her selection of expensive White House place settings. The allegations of governance by astrology horoscopes, however, are more serious. If you’re unfamiliar with these allegations, then this documentary is a decent starting point.

Although the film is upsetting in several respects, it’s refreshing to see the kind of serious emphasis that was once placed on fiscal conservatism. It’s inspiring to see Reagan speaking honestly about the proper role of government. But ultimately, the film’s agenda renders its narrative incomplete and misleading.

Still, for the documentary viewer with his or her thinking cap firmly in place, The Reagans presents an opportunity to consider, in a condensed format, a summary of Reagan’s alleged shortcomings. Even within a framework which lambasts Ronald Reagan, the man’s warmth, empathy, and genuine love for his country are infectious. It’s a productive enterprise to reflect on what he accomplished for the United States.

Thomas E. Simmons
University of South Dakota School of Law
Vermillion, SD

All of the views and opinions Professor Simmons expresses here on are his as an individual and do not reflect the views of the Board of Regents, the University of South Dakota, its School of Law, their employees, faculty or administrators. The foregoing editorial represents only his views as a private citizen.

Have you ever seen something that you have difficulty putting in words a sense of something …being askew? The Stop the Steal rally in Sioux Falls last Saturday was unlike anything I’d ever seen before in politics over the past 30 some years.

As far as I can tell, the organizers of last Saturday’s event in Sioux Falls don’t have any ties to the SDGOP organization. According to the facebook page, there were just a few people who supported Trump and they organized the rally on their own.

This was a group gathered together with the notion that in some states there may have been some issues with balloting. (And, ok, that notion could be possible, but that’s really up to those individual states to police because we shouldn’t federalize our elections).

So here was this rally in Sioux Falls rallying over alleged balloting inconsistencies several states away.. with a paramilitary group speaking and providing security for the speakers at the stage.

I’ve been to a lot of political events in the last 30 years, and I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced one in Pierre, Sioux Falls, Rapid City or elsewhere where they felt the need to have an armed paramilitary force ring the speaker for security reasons for an outside gathering in a park bandshell in January.

It’s one of those things you look at… and go “what the **** is going on?” (insert your favorite declarative expression here)

At the political events I’ve attended, there have been plenty of pro-Second Amendment people. Some with guns, and on occasion, you’ll see a person is open carrying, but no big deal. It’s South Dakota, and fairly common. But never before have I been aware of a local political event where someone felt the need for security like this, as provided by “The Proud Boys,” who have been accused of promoting and engaging in political violence.

It’s not exactly a South Dakota nice image.

I mean, what if someone had shown up and started shouting or being a jerk? Would they have drawn on them? Nevermind that the local police were on the scene, so it’s not as if an official response was remote and untimely if someone was going to be a pain in the rear.

The organizers in the center certainly had no problem affiliating themselves with the Proud Boys, as you will note from the picture above with a few of them flashing a certain hand gesture.  However, while these organizers were ok with it, I don’t think any Republicans want that kind of image affiliated with the party, and I don’t think many local county GOP groups in Huron, Mobridge or Pukwana are interested in having a paramilitary group affiliated with them (as Antifa groups associate with the left) show up and ring the speaker at their dinners.

In the realm of politics, I believe there are 20% who are always with you, 20% who will never support you, making it your job to convince the 60% in the middle that you provide better leadership than the other person or group. So, when there’s a rally with that kind of imagery, it might make it more challenging to convince that 60% that you share their beliefs and gain their trust to lead South Dakota.  You actually have to convince the soccer moms and state workers to vote for you along with the local gun club members.

I have to believe that the need for this kind of thing in a Sioux Falls bandshell is as much an aberration as the attack on the US Capitol was yesterday.

Or at least, we can hope.

Finally! Something of a political nature on Facebook that doesn’t involve a riot at the US Capitol Building.

Congratulations School & Lands Commissioner Ryan Brunner on your new …used car.

So I’m sitting in the Dr’s office today waiting for a regular checkup when I get a text from Gideon Oakes, chair of the Libertarian Party.  In the note, Gideon wants to clarify:

“To be 100% clear, the Libertarian Party is the party of peace, and of principle. To join the national party, one must sign a pledge not to use force to achieve their political or social goals. The non-aggression principle is what binds all Libertarians together, and it is what drives our decisions and policy directives.”

And with that caveat, I question why he’s reaching out, and my thoughts immediately go to their communications director/ former PUC candidate Devin Saxon, or their East River Regional Coordinator/former Senate & momentary Gubernatorial candidate CJ Abernathey.

Because, of course.  Getting back to my desk, I see..

 

 

The Libertarian Party’s recent PUC Candidate Devin Saxon disagreeing with his national party, and agreeing with a nut who thinks there a constitutional right to overthrow the government.  And Libertarian Party’s “East River Regional Coordinator” being equally nutty and claiming that “the government started the violence” and that all of our elected officials should be charged with war crimes.

Brought to you by at least part of the Libertarian Party.