Author: Pat Powers

Several days back, I had made note of the Libertarian convention taking place last weekend, to which Libertarian Party Chairman Gideon Oakes made note “We’ll be sure to send you a release with the full slate.”

Fast forward to several days later.. and it’s unclear exactly who will be running for office under the Libertarian banner. No press releases. No media coverage. No mention from the Libertarian party. Zilch. Not to mention nothing has been filed with the Secretary of State, which technically means that no one is yet a candidate, no matter what they might proclaim in facebook posts.

Since there is no actual release or list out there.. here’s what I have been able to glean.

Statewide:

There was a report a month ago that perennial Senate candidate Kurt Evans was going to run, but there’s been no mention of the nomination taking place. Evans has run and dropped out of that race more times than 99.9% of anyone else in the US population, so there’s that.

It appears they nominated the Libertarian party’s “communications director” Devin Saxon for the Public Utilities Commission. Given the level of communication on who the Libertarian Party’s candidates actually are.. we see where this candidacy will be going.

Legislative:

District 4 Senate – Daryl Root is declaring on Facebook that he’s saddling up for another defeat as a Libertarian, this time against John Wiik, after receiving 2.5% of the vote in a 5 way House race last election.

District 5 Senate – Adam Jewell of Watertown is claiming he was nominated at the Libertarian convention. This would be against Republican Senator Lee Schoenbeck, one of the most indefatigable political campaigners over the last few decades of the GOP.

District 13 Senate – Cullen Mack is declaring he was a nominee. I believe he was a former track & field athlete for SDSU. He’s running against Jack Kolbeck. I’m sure he’ll figure it out and switch parties at some point after how he sees it will go in November.

District 17 Senate – Greg Baldwin is also saying he’s in. He’s another one who spent time running last election in D17 House. He spent a lot of time on facebook last election claiming Libertarians were going to do well. This time, he is also making a likely ill-fated attempt for the Senate after finishing 4th in a 4-way House race with 6.3% of the vote in 2018.

District 20 Senate – Alexander Martin filed the traditional way, with signatures, several weeks ago on 3/4/20.

District 23 Senate – CJ Abernathey who Libertarians ejected as their nominee for Governor last election claims to have been nominated. We’ve written about him several times, so no need to rehash the fact he’s an awful person. I’m not sure this will get beyond the facebook rant stage, much less an actual campaign.

District 29 Senate – Kent Wilsey, originally from Brandon is the District 29 Candidate.

District 30 Senate – Gideon Oakes had already claimed he’s running so we’ll assume the state chair is in. In 2018 Gideon Oakes fared the best of any Libertarian in the state, getting 18.2% of the vote in a 3 way primary.. and even closing within 10% of the Democrat in the race (who had 25.1%).

And that’s what I‘ve been able to pick up to date.

This slate might represent one of the deeper efforts of the Libertarians to give the façade of being a real political party, if they’ve managed to fill that many State Senate positions. We’ll just skip over the part where it seems to be a bunch of white males between 18-40, and has the diversity of a LAN Party.

They’re approaching Democrat numbers in filing for office for at least the State Senate. Not sure if that’s a positive statement for them, or a really sad statement for Democrats. Or both.

Again, unless and until this is all filed with the Secretary of State’s office, it’s a moot point.

It appears that South Dakota Right to Life is taking aim at certain candidates this primary election, as evidenced by the card that peppered the legislative district today, via vistaprint:

(Should I mention that the VistaPrint/Cimpress CEO, Robert Keane is a big Dem Supporter, i.e. Hillary, DSCC, SDDP, etc?)

Anyway, the South Dakota Right to Life PAC dropped a postcard to point out their differences against Larry Tidemann who is coming back to run for State House, and supporting State Rep. Doug Post here in District 7 in an effort to keep voters with Post.

If I’ve discovered anything over the years I’ve lived here, it’s that Brookings proper tends to be very Pleasantville in it’s approach (as in they like things pleasant) and it’s challenging to use issue based campaign to move voters.  Believe me, I’ve learned that over a number of years. I can safely say that the harder edge I might take has, at times, caused me to be a little on the outside. But that’s just the way politics as a whole tends to be in this town.

Now, don’t get me wrong, in some aspects, it’s a really conservative town at times.  But in other aspects, such as the political, elbows just aren’t sharp, and it tends to take a full court press in voter ID rather than a targeted issue based campaign to move voters.

And that brings me to the House race. Honestly, I’ve got to say that all the candidates in the race are gentlemen, and I’ve agreed with them at times, and disagreed with them at times.. but they’re all pretty decent people. I like Larry. I like Doug, and I like the other person in the race, Tim Reed.

Which.. well, yes, that’s a very “Brookings” thing to say.

The tough thing is that there’s three decent people and only two seats to go around.  And people are going to make that choice in three weeks. Postcards or not.

I just had this sent over to me from a legislative candidate who quipped “Do they really think people will fill this out?”

A legislative survey coming from the twin hydra of long-time Dem operative Drey Samuelson, and pot advocate Melissa Mentele went to legislative candidates on Saturday demanding their response to a pro-pot survey, and noting that their answers will be published on their websites to tell voters in their districts their positions on legalizing pot (which still remains illegal at the federal level, btw):

Our ballot question committees would like to know your positions on these issues. We will publish the answers on our websites to educate voters in your district where you stand on cannabis reform. If you do not return the survey we will mark it as a “non-response.”

Do you support legalizing marijuana?

I’ll just bet that there will be a line of legislative candidates waiting to send that loaded gun of a survey back.

From January:

Though city ordinance allows for municipal office holders to contribute financially to candidates for other seats in the same government, Brekke and others say the optics of it can be problematic.

“I think it crosses the line,” she said. “By doing that, the mayor is actually helping pick the council.”

Read that here.

This weekend…

So, should we hold our breath until Councilor Janet Brekke files a complaint?

This popped up in my Facebook feed yesterday, as Minnehaha County had an election for Minnehaha County Vice Chair, and selected their slate of National Convention Delegates:

Interestingly this morning, I had a nice note from one of the Central Committee members who had some concerns that the meeting notice.. might not have had the distribution list that some may have thought:

Happy Sunday, Pat.

I saw that the Minnehaha County GOP held an election yesterday. As a precinct committeeman I found this to be surprising as I had not received notice of the election unofficial or official. Not sure if you’re hearing similar stories from people, but it maybe that the election was invalid.

Ok.. that could be problematic.  Is there trouble brewing in the big city?

In their defense, I do see that the Minnehaha County GOP did post a notice about it on facebook:

But there could still be concerns, as was noted to me in follow-up from my correspondent.

The central committee is over 100 members and I’ve heard that some people were elected with less than 30 votes. Also the meeting wasn’t held in the county seat (which i think is a requirement).

Working to see if others have also not been notified.

In looking at the State Party bylaws… well….there could be some ambiguity here:

6. Vacancies:

A. Events Causing Vacancy: The following events shall cause an officer of the County Central Committee or a precinct committeeman and committeewoman to forfeit his or her office and the office declared vacant: death, resignation, failure of an officer to reside in the county, failure of a precinct committeeman and committeewoman to reside in the precinct, failure to be a registered Republican voter, filing any document with the Secretary of State or a county auditor to be an independent candidate in a general or special election in a race for a partisan public office in which a Republican has been nominated or has filed a petition for the Republican nomination, or conviction of a felony.
B. County Chairman: The county vice chairman shall automatically become county chairman whenever a vacancy shall occur in that office and shall serve the remainder of the term.
C. Other Officers and Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen: Any vacancy occurring in the offices of county vice chairman, county secretary, county treasurer, state committeeman, state committeewoman, precinct committeeman or precinct committeewoman shall be filled by an election held at the next regular or special meeting of the County Central Committee. A majority vote of the County Central Committee members present and voting shall constitute an election, which shall be certified in the same manner as an election at the biennial organizational meeting.

and..

7. Meetings:

A. Regular and Special Meetings: The County Central Committee shall meet at least twice each year on call of the county chairman. The county chairman may call a special meeting at any time. One-fifth of the members of the County Central Committee or two officers may call a meeting in writing.
B. Notice: Five-days notice must be given for any meeting, excluding weekends and holidays. Notices may be sent by mail or email.
C. Quorum: A quorum shall consist of one-fifth of the members of the County Central Committee (not including vacancies), including at least two officers. For the purposes of determining the number of members needed to have a quorum, Republican state legislators and county elected officials shall not be considered as members of the County Central Committee; however, when present they shall be counted when determining whether a quorum is present. This provision shall not affect the rights of said members to participate and vote at meetings.

Read that here.

Well…  it sounds like they had a quorum (1/5). And I’m not sure about the county seat requirement for regular or special meetings (elsewhere in the bylaws). But the notice requirement could be an issue if enough people grouse about it, pointing out they didn’t get one.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see if anything comes of it… and whether they hold a do-over.

America Doesn’t Give Up
By Sen. John Thune

During times of crisis, Congress is an essential industry for the American people. That’s why I’m glad the Senate recently returned to Washington to continue doing the people’s business in a safe and responsible way. While walking the halls of the Capitol isn’t quite like it used to be, the Office of the Attending Physician and the Senate Rules Committee should be applauded for developing a plan so senators and staff can do our jobs while also complying with the appropriate coronavirus guidelines.

During the weeks I was working from home, I was able to stay connected with South Dakotans and my congressional colleagues. I learned more about Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Live than I ever imagined would be necessary. I’m glad I had those opportunities, but there are certain parts of my job that simply cannot be replicated when I’m not in Washington. Members of Congress have an obligation to rise to the occasion when the country needs them to show up and lead, and now is one of those times.

We have important work to do, especially when it comes to monitoring the ongoing congressional response to the pandemic, but keeping people safe is our top priority. We all have a responsibility to do our part to help slow the spread. That’s why while I returned to Washington to vote, participate in committee hearings, and meet with colleagues, I asked a vast majority of my staff to continue to telework. They have proven that despite the obstacles this virus has presented, they can still represent the people of South Dakota as effectively as ever, even while working remotely. I’m thankful for the long hours they’ve put in on behalf of our state and nation, and I’m proud, as always, of their desire to serve.

In the Capitol, senators, members of the press, police officers, and other support staff have been wearing masks and doing their part to stay physically separated. We extended votes to avoid having members congregate in the Senate chamber, and we did simple things like open all of the chamber doors so senators weren’t forced to unnecessarily touch common surfaces. In committee hearings, the daises were extended so there was a full six feet between each senator, we drastically reduced the number of people who were in the room, and senators could appear by video instead of in person.

I’ve been proud to support multiple coronavirus relief measures that are helping American businesses, workers, and farm and ranch families. For example, we created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that’s designed to keep as many people as possible employed throughout this crisis. In South Dakota alone, more than 18,000 small businesses have received more than $1.5 billion in PPP loans. I wish so many small businesses, including farmers and ranchers, didn’t need to rely on this lifeline, but with this kind of demand, it’s proven its value.

As this pandemic continues, Congress will do whatever it can to support the American people, but there’s a limit to how much Washington can spend. We owe it to taxpayers – the people whose money we’re spending – and to the generations of Americans whose futures we’re mortgaging to get this right. That’s why before we consider new spending or creating new programs, I believe it’s essential to ensure the money we’ve already spent and the programs we’ve already created are working as intended.

Perseverance is the American way – a patriotic-like stubbornness that for generations has prevented any situation, no matter how difficult, from getting the best of our nation. That’s why when I say we will rise from this challenge, stronger and better prepared for what lies ahead, I mean it.

America doesn’t give up. We lead. We inspire. We succeed. We always have, and we always will.

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China Must be Held Accountable for Spread of COVID-19
By U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.)

As our entire lives continue to be disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, many South Dakotans are increasingly frustrated by the impact it’s having on our businesses, our jobs, our children and our social lives. While we continue to do our part to flatten the curve and deal with the immediate health crisis, many are also asking how the COVID-19 virus spread in the first place and whether it could have been prevented.

To answer this, we first look to the origin of the virus.  Overwhelming evidence suggests the COVID-19 virus was released from a lab in China’s Wuhan province. In late 2019, reports began to surface that COVID-19 cases were popping up in Wuhan. While there is no evidence to suggest the virus was manmade at this time, federal officials are continuing to investigate the details of its spread. The virus may have leaked out of the lab accidentally. However, China’s cover-up that took place afterward was purposeful.

Rather than containing the spread of COVID-19, the Chinese government was more concerned about suppressing information to the public and running a public relations campaign to save face and protect its economy. According to a study by the University of Southampton in England, worldwide COVID-19 cases could have been reduced by 95 percent had China responded to the outbreak three weeks earlier.

Instead, China’s government waited weeks before even alerting the world to the seriousness of the pandemic. They did this by kicking journalists out of the country to prevent bad press, lying about the fact that COVID-19 could be spread by human-to-human transfer, lying about the number of COVID-19 cases within their borders, and banning travel within China but still allowing Chinese citizens to travel abroad, thereby spreading the virus to other countries.

Even more concerning, the Chinese Communist Party also persuaded the World Health Organization (WHO) to be complicit in the false facts and data China was providing to the world. Part of the WHO’s core mission is to “publish and disseminate scientifically rigorous public health information” and to “improve health” across the globe. Yet, they failed to verify the information coming out of China that could have saved lives and prevented the spread, despite China’s long history of lying and deceiving the world for its own gain. President Trump recently made the decision to halt funding to the WHO until an assessment is completed on the role the WHO played in covering up and mismanaging the crisis. I agree with the president.

While China’s nefarious activity on the world stage is not new, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the seriousness of their destabilizing behavior. We will explore ways in which we must begin to limit China’s ability to impact us in a future column.

Worldwide, nearly four million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, with more than 250,000 deaths. We continue to pray for those we lost and their families. In addition to the human cost, the world economy is at a standstill. In the U.S. alone, more than 33 million have filed unemployment since the pandemic began to spread. Businesses across the state and nation are seeing record losses after closing their doors for weeks on end.

As resilient Americans, I have no doubt we’ll bounce back stronger than ever. But if it weren’t for China’s nefarious activity, it’s unlikely we would be in this position in the first place. The actions taken by China’s government to cover-up the virus and its spread aren’t just negligence – they are criminal in nature. China must be held accountable.

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A Letter to Our 2020 Graduates
By Rep. Dusty Johnson

I’ll say it right off the bat, the Class of 2020 graduation looks different than those of the past – that’s no secret. Graduating amid a pandemic shouldn’t make your day any less special, though. A graduation day is still something to celebrate and all of South Dakota knows our 2020 graduates worked hard to get to where they are.

When I look back on my graduation day from T.F. Riggs High School and the University of South Dakota, I’m ashamed to admit, but if I’m being honest, I don’t remember the commencement speaker or who I was sitting next to. While, I may not remember the minute details, I still carry with me the lessons from my years in college and high school.

The memories of high school and college go beyond just one day. For me, most of my memories were made in the classroom and during extracurricular activities. It’s hard to appreciate your education when you’re in the thick of it – but I promise, when you’re an old man like me, you’ll look back on those days fondly.

Last year, I had the opportunity to go to high school senior Addison Miller’s graduation party – he mailed an invitation to my office and I showed up. I’m disappointed I won’t get to do that for any of you this year.

As a 2020 graduate you’ll have a more interesting story than most of us when it comes to graduation day. The changes and experiences you’ve faced during the last few months will likely shape education and learning for years to come – you are a part of history.

So even if the day itself didn’t go quite how you expected, you should be incredibly proud of your accomplishment, because South Dakota is sure proud of you.

Congrats Grads!
Congressman Dusty Johnson

Dusty Johnson – Senior Year of High School

 

A Message and a Thank You
By Governor Kristi Noem 

I have two things that I’d like to share with you this week: a message about South Dakota tourism, and a personal thanks to a dear friend of mine.

1. National Travel and Tourism Week is a time to recognize the important impact tourism has on our state and our nation. This year’s National Travel and Tourism Week theme centers around the “Spirit of Travel.”

Our friends and neighbors in the tourism industry could use support and encouragement. COVID-19 has hit South Dakota tourism hard. In 2019, 14.5 million visitors came to The Mount Rushmore State. They spent 4.1 billion dollars and supported more than 55,000 jobs. Our economy depends on tourism, but those numbers will likely be down for 2020. I cannot stress enough how critical the tourism industry will be in getting our economy back up and running once people feel safe traveling again.

“Great Faces, Great Places” is South Dakota tourism in a nutshell. People choose to make lifelong memories visiting South Dakota’s iconic landmarks like Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. They also remember the smiling faces of South Dakotans. Let’s take this week to celebrate every great face and great place that makes our state incredible.

Our tourism industry is resilient. If we come together and support each other, the spirit of travel will be back stronger than ever. To all of you who work in the tourism industry, we are praying for you during this difficult time. Thank you for all your work to welcome visitors to South Dakota.

When the time is right to travel again, I encourage South Dakotans to take time to explore your own backyard, travel our great state, make long-lasting memories, and support South Dakota’s tourism industry. Let’s all work to keep the “Spirit of Travel” alive and well.

2. Earlier this week, I accepted Kim Vanneman’s resignation as our State Secretary of Agriculture. I want to thank her for years of service to our state.

Kim has been a longtime friend. She and I have worked on agriculture policy in the state of South Dakota for almost twenty years, and I don’t know of a better advocate for agriculture. She has worked hard to make sure that farmers and ranchers are supported and that we have the ability to pass our operations on to the next generation.

Kim says it’s time to return to her own family’s agriculture operation. While Kim’s title is going to change, she is going to continue to be a valuable adviser to me and an advocate for South Dakota agriculture. I can’t thank her enough for her willingness to come into our administration and lead the Department of Agriculture. She will be missed.

Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden will be filling in as Interim Secretary. He’ll be focused on helping South Dakota agriculture fight this pandemic, particularly by helping livestock producers gain market access and deal with supply chain bottlenecks.

South Dakotans continue to encourage me each and every day. Remember, together, we’ll get through this difficult time.

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From Facebook, Senator Mike Rounds and State Rep. Scyller Borglum are duking it out along the highways and byways of South Dakota: