Category: Uncategorized

Classified: Careless
By Rep. Kristi Noem

Some degree of confidential communications has existed in America since George Washington’s time as general in the Revolutionary War. But as the global landscape became increasingly complex and the stakes of a single information leak rose, the system used to protect that information evolved from a gentlemen’s agreement to a formal national security classification system.

The modern version we operate under today dates back to World War II when – at the urging of Albert Einstein and other scientists – it became necessary to ensure information related to the atomic bomb remained secure. Just as during World War II, what earns a classification today must remain undisclosed for the continued safety and security of the United States. No exceptions can be made.

In January 2009, just days before assuming the role of Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton set up an unauthorized email server in an unsecured location over which both personal and official emails would be transmitted. Few in the general public knew of the set up before a House investigation into the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, uncovered it in 2015.

In the months since, we have learned that tens of thousands of State Department emails were sent through that server, including more than 100 that contained classified information at the time they were sent. Eight of those email chains included Top Secret information, which under federal rules means the information would cause “exceptionally grave damage to the national security.”

Despite the sensitivity of the information, the email server was left physically and virtually unprotected. Getting a Gmail account would have been more secure, according to FBI Director James Comey.

The consequences are real. Comey explained hostile actors may have gained access to the information. In fact, the FBI was able to confirm hostile actors did gain access to the private email accounts of individuals Clinton was in regular contact with.

Despite all this, no indictment of Clinton or her staff was made, a decision the FBI says was because Clinton didn’t mean to put our national security at risk with the careless behavior. Regardless of intentions, carelessly mishandling classified information breaks the public’s trust and jeopardizes our national security and the safety of our troops and diplomats abroad.

With so many serious questions remaining, I am actively fighting to keep America’s classified information – and in turn, the American people – secure.

Following the Democratic National Convention at the end of this month, Clinton is expected to begin receiving classified intelligence briefings. Without the public’s overt permission in November, this level of access should not be given to someone who has historically acted carelessly with our national security.

Shortly after Comey’s announcement, I joined Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul and others in supporting the TRUST Act, which would revoke Clinton’s security clearance as well as the security clearances of her colleagues at the State Department who were also careless in their handling of classified information. Additionally, the legislation would express Congress’s desire to keep classified information out of Clinton’s hands until she earns the legal right to such access.

I have also reached out directly to Comey with questions about the process he used to make a recommendation against indictment as well as the precedent this decision will set. It is imperative we have clarity and accountability on this.

I firmly believe there is a great responsibility that comes with access to classified information. Only those who will treat it with the extreme care it merits should have access. No one should get an exception to that rule.

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Another AAA and Budget Surplus
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:

Throughout my time serving as governor, good stewardship of taxpayer dollars has been my goal. Two pieces of recent news can encourage South Dakotans that their state government is handling their money responsibly.

On July 11, Moody’s announced that it was giving South Dakota a AAA public issuer rating. In their announcement, Moody’s attributed the rating to South Dakota’s “high levels of reserves, low fixed costs, stable revenues and an economy that has historically been more stable than the rest of the nation.” The rating is South Dakota’s third AAA rating. Fitch awarded their highest rating to South Dakota last month, following Standard & Poors’ similar ranking of our state last year.

The good news from Moody’s was followed by the announcement of South Dakota’s fifth consecutive budget surplus. We closed the books on our budget year that ended June 30, 2016, and announced a $14.1 million surplus which will be transferred to our budget reserve fund.

Attaining a surplus this year certainly wasn’t inevitable. Just a few months ago revenue was trending below projections adopted in March. With the slowing of the agriculture sector, the state’s revenues were weaker in April and May. April revenue was lower than was received in April of 2015.  May 2016 was better than May 2015, but still weaker than projected. Fortunately, June’s revenue came in higher than projected, leaving the state with $3.6 million more revenue than projected for the full fiscal year.

In large part our surplus is result of the fiscal restraint demonstrated by state agencies. Every agency reverted funds this year. Instead of spending every dollar appropriated to them, state agencies left nearly $10.5 million unspent, which also contributed to our surplus.

When I took office in 2011, balancing the budget was my number one priority. It’s not a flashy endeavor. Nor is it an easy task. I would not choose to relive the 2011 session when we had to make cuts, and saying no to funding requests isn’t pleasant. Still, managing the budget is among the most important tasks of any elected official.

As Calvin Coolidge once said, “There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means.” Judging by Coolidge’s actions as president, I’d say he meant this applies to government as well as individuals. South Dakotans do their best to live within their means, and their government should do likewise.

In a time when many other states are adopting rosy projections and employing budget gimmicks to justify overspending, South Dakota is acting responsibly. We don’t spend money we don’t have, we keep our budget structurally balanced and we seize opportunities to spend in the short-term where it can lead to savings. These practices reflect the responsible values of South Dakota citizens.

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Greetings from the dark side, as I’ve been suffering under the steep learning curve of going from PC to MAC, and reorienting myself to finding where in the heck my files are.  Moving 100 gb of photos and several years of political print work is also proving to be quite entertaining.

Although, while I was working on that, I drafted my son into scanning 500 or so photographic sides from the 1960’s, which was a project that had been long lingering around my desk that I wanted done badly while some of the subjects were still on this earth.

My Aunt Addie, who is 83 but looks 65 (I kid you not – must be the farm living.) was tremendously excited to see the photos of her kids from 50 years ago, as well as pictures of my mom, as well as their Mother and stepfather who have departed from this mortal plane in recent years.

There were lots of pictures of my parents strolling through the 1964 Worlds Fair in Queens, NY, such as the picture to the left of my mom in front of the Lowenbrau Gardens at the fair, and many many others that I’m sure my dad forced people to sit through a couple of times at get togethers when people would watch slideshows (pre-power point).

But, I digress.. This is a post about politics, not misty-eyed memories of a time long past..  Getting back to the Republican platform, here’s what Sioux Falls Republican Michael Wyland had to say about the 2016 GOP platform in his analysis of what Republicans are preparing to send forth as their message for governance:

Three themes permeate the draft. First, the platform frequently contrasts its policy positions with those of the Obama administration. If it happened since 2008 and the federal government did it, it was probably dangerous and harmful, according to the platform. Second, the platform consistently refers to the individual and the traditional as the fundamental basis of the nation, with relatively few references to interest groups (exceptions include veterans, Native Americans, and people with disabilities). In its references to family, the platform explicitly advocates for marriage to be defined as between one man and one woman. It also extols the benefits of children living in a home with both a mother and a father. Third, the draft platform reaffirms the GOP’s decades-long assertion that government power is best exercised sparingly and at the state and local level. There are frequent references to federal regulatory overreach in several areas of domestic policy, with the need to limit or end federal intervention.

There are at least a couple of libertarian areas in the platform where factions of both Republicans and Democrats might find common ground. A call for the end to crony capitalism is one such area, though examples of the practice each party cites would likely be very different. Another area is a nod to Ron and Rand Paul supporters, who have long advocated that Congress increase oversight of the Federal Reserve and “audit the Fed.”

Unlike the Democratic platform, the GOP draft makes explicit reference to charity and philanthropy. Intriguingly, it uses its section on “Fundamental Tax Principles” to do so, addressing an issue familiar to NPQ readers: whether charitable donations should remain tax-exempt.

Read it all here.

 

 

Paula Hawks can take heart that her campaign isn’t nearly as bad as Jay Williams’ is. But, her “burn rate” has her spending it nearly as fast as it’s coming in.

Paula Hawks 2016 2 Q FEC

In order to compare apples to apples, I combined the pre-primary and the 2q report, which has Hawks running about a third (117k) to what Noem was able to raise ($310k), and spending 81K to Noem’s $215k.

That places Hawk’s burn rate at about the same as Noem’s for the quarter for money that’s come in.

But, while Hawks was messing around last spring through December, much like the fable about the grasshopper and the ant, Kristi was preparing for the race. This is why when Democrats are mewling that there’s no reason for a Democrat to campaign until election year, they need to be ignored.

As candidates move into the summer and the fall, and burn rates will greatly increase in the contest, Noem has about 1.7 Million in the bank, while Hawks only has 152K.

You might think, “that’s not bad.”  But you’d be mistaken. Think of it this way –  a statewide mailing runs about $75k, with postage. I’m not thinking that 150K is going to carry her very far.

If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, the talk last year about Hawks needing to get engaged in the race is akin to Eddard Stark warning everyone “Winter is coming.”

Unfortunately for Paula Hawks, Winter is about here.

I’m waiting for the full FEC Report, but initial reports of Senator Thune’s cash on hand indicate he’s done quite well for the quarter:

Sen. John Thune’s re-election campaign will report that the senator has nearly $12.5 million in cash on hand in his second quarter filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Thune raised $818,384.88 in the second quarter, leaving him with almost $12.5 million as he heads into a match for a third term. It’s an uptick of what he raised in the first quarter, $588,360.

Read that here.

Defeat 22 Coalition Announces Growing List of Coalition Members
Initial members include leading charitable, business, and policy organizations

Sioux Falls, S.D. – Defeat22, the coalition urging voters to reject Initiated Measure 22 on the November ballot, today announced the initial list of coalition partners. The coalition opposes Measure 22 because it will force taxpayers to fund political campaigns via a “public funding” law.

Initial Coalition Members – Defeat22:

• SD Farm Bureau
• SD Retailers Association
• SD Chamber of Commerce
• SD Cooperatives
• Western Dakota Families
• Family Heritage Alliance Action
• Concerned Women for America of South Dakota
• Americans for Prosperity – South Dakota

“We are proud to have so many great South Dakota organizations standing with the Defeat 22 coalition to educate voters about this outrageous proposal,” explained Larry Rhoden, former South Dakota state legislator and spokesman for the Defeat 22 coalition. “Our coalition represents many different perspectives within our state, all of which agree that tax dollars should never pay for politicians and their political campaigns. We welcome other organizations in the state to stand with us and help educate voters about what is at stake. Right or left, up or down state, all South Dakotans should agree that no taxpayers should be paying for attack ads and robocalls.”

Last week the coalition announced a new radio ad, mailer, and grassroots door knocking effort. The coalition plans to continue heavy grassroots advocacy and paid media over the next four months.

Defeat 22 is a coalition opposing Measure 22, which would create taxpayer-funded campaigns and force South Dakotans to be added to a government database. The coalition includes non-profits, concerned citizens, and lawmakers. For more information, visit Defeat22.com.

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Looks like Democrat US Senate Jay Williams is raising good money for a legislative campaign. Too bad, it’s a state legislative one, because this is some of the worst fundraising for a US Senate campaign we’ve seen since… well, ever.

Jay Williams 2016 Q2 FEC Report by Pat Powers on Scribd

Coming off of the Democrat State Convention, you would have thought he should have had a nice bump, raising money from his “people;” the true believers of the State Democrat Party. Instead, it’s as if the heaviest hitters the Democrat party had to offer looked at Jay… looked at their checkbooks…. and decided to give the minimum amount they had to with out looking cheap. And there are far more people on the Democrat’s fundraising rolls who simply did not give at all.

Clearly, Democrats are saving their money for a different candidate, or to place elsewhere, such as State Legislative races. Because they aren’t opening their hearts and wallets for this candidate.

(* Williams raised $19,623 as reported in the pre-primary report, which could be added to this total. Which is still less than Thune earned in Interest)

Kristi Noem for Congress 2016 Q2 FEC

Congresswoman Kristi Noem continues to rack up impressive numbers in the campaign finance arena. As you cn tell from her latest report, filed today, she’s had a good quarter – $205k contributed, 117k spent, and over $1.7 Million dollars in cash on hand.

*Now, given the fact this is a secondary report coming off of the pre-primary, you have to add the pre-primary report in with the one that was just posted to get the full quarter which is 310k raised total for 2q.

We’ll compare it to Paula Hawks’ report after she has her report in. Somehow for Democrats, I suspect it’s going to be a bit depressing.

Apparently there are some interesting things about the Democrat’s PUC candidate Henry Red Cloud coming to light as his campaign for the Public Utilities Commission kicks off.

First, as we learned earlier, we discovered he’s tied in with Leonard Peltier apologists, who think the convicted killer got a raw deal, and advocating for his release.

And now, in the latest, we learn that his campaign has some interesting staff.

Apparently there are no Democrats able to handle the treasurer duties for Red Cloud who actually reside in South Dakota, so he’s outsourced it to Colorado, where Richard Fox of Fort Collins is handling all that for him. And who is Mr. Fox?

Richard Fox is the Executive Director of a Colorado environmental group “Trees, Water and People,” where he’s been associated with Red Cloud employing him for a Colorado based program for Tribal Renewable Energy.

I’m not sure which is worse – The face that there’s apparently no South Dakotans that can serve as the treasurer for the lone State campaign they have to run this year? Or the fact that for an office which makes pretty important decisions on South Dakota pipelines and other aspects of our energy infrastructure, a Colorado environmental activist is hip deep in running the campaign for the Democrat Candidate for that office?