Category: Uncategorized

I knew I stopped out to see Rounds and Thune for a reason. They’re likeable!

Pat Powers

Catching the news as I wander through the Chicago airport connecting to my Sioux Falls flight on United Airlines (yes, that United)…

I knew I stopped out to see Senator Rounds and Thune for a reason. They’re currently among the most popular Senators in the United States:

Seriously, according to the latest
rankings from the website “Morning Consult,” Senator Thune comes in as the #7th Most popular US Senator in America, at 66% approval and Senator Mike Rounds at #16 comes in at 61% approval.

(Governor Daugaard beats them both at #5 Governor in the US with 68% approval as of Morning Consult’s latest rankings. 


No word on an April US House ranking yet.)

Read all about it here.

As much as Democrats might complain, a strong majority of South Dakotans like our Republican leaders.

Krebs self-reports 141k raised in Congressional race.

Pat Powers

Bypassing the media and sending out a press release directly to her mailing list, yesterday Secretary of State Shantel Krebs was boasting that she had raised nearly 141 thousand in her bid to be our state’s next Congressperson against former PUC Commissioner Dusty Johnson:

Since announcing her candidacy for U.S. House on March 13th, Shantel Krebs’ first report to the Federal Elections Commission shows an impressive $140,147 in contributions received in the first 18 days of her campaign, with $133,181.15 cash on hand.

 And…

Shantel’s first quarter report shows broad support from across South Dakota, with nearly 40% of all donations from individual donors being $200 or less.

(From the release)

It is unknown if Krebs’ self-reporting includes what was spent on her roll-out, or if those bills are yet to come in.

The FEC forms won’t be filed for several days at best, which may provide a truer reflection of what was raised & what’s on hand for each candidate running in the race.

The weather gods were causing issues, but I did make it to Kristi’s office.

Pat Powers

Unfortunately, my first planned stop in Washington was scuttled by the weather gods, who delayed my flight in 3 hours, so unfortunately I missed Congresswoman Noem who was flying out that afternoon.


However, I did stop in this morning and spent some time talking with her staff, and I’m going to try to catch Kristi in state sometime in the near future to talk about what’s coming up legislatively for our State’s lone representative in Congress.

She works pretty hard for South Dakota, and works hard to spend as much time in state as possible. Including being stuck in an airport for 11 hours as she was coming home for their Easter break.

So stay tuned! In the meantime, it is a beautiful day in Washinton. And I’m going to enjoy it!

A little more on the SDDP’s Congressional Candidate, Chris Martian

Pat Powers

As noted by the FEC filing I posted last night, Democrats have a candidate for Congress in the form of Chris Martian, who is apparently coming out of nowhere to run for federal office. According to his twitter feed…

…. this appears to be the right Chris Martian. But, if we dig a little deeper into his twitter feed to find out who he is, and what he stands for politically, it sort of ends up being a NSFW place where he says the F word a lot, and doesn’t think much of seniors:

I’m not sure what to take from that, other than he apparently thinks retirees should not attend town halls, and the only people who matter live in Rapid City and Sioux Falls. I think Mr. Martian is going to find the election will be a long, long one.

Another quality candidate brought to you by Ann Tornberg’s South Dakota Democrat Party.

Ever have a time when you hope for mutually assured destruction? GOP’s Extreme Right degrades into Facebook slapping fight.

Pat Powers

While I am enjoying myself at a leisurely vacation, in the last hour or so I’ve had four or five people text me and asked me if I’d been watching possible GOP gubernatorial contenders Lora Hubbel and Stace Nelson assault other on Facebook?

Since I’ve been spending my time on more important pursuits, such as….  OK, let’s not kid ourselves, I could be clipping my toenails and it would be more important than these two, but I went and pulled it from Facebook for your reading enjoyment:


Of course, it didn’t end there…


And people wonder why I state with confidence that some people who run as Republicans are incapable of winning elections.

Not sure what more I can add about it…

Aberdeen American News featured at Newseum this Morning

Pat Powers

I’m here at the Newseum this morning, and if you’re ever in the area, it’s worth the price of admission, if just for the view:

Great exhibits on topics such as Media Bias…

Uh oh! Here’s a headline that Gubernatorial Candidiate Lora Hubbel won’t like (from 1955):


And a notation about how news has shifted to citizen journalists, such as moi:

Your ticket gets you in for two days admission, and it was a great place to spend a morning. Check it out next time you’re in DC.

Sunday in the Beltway with the SDWC

Pat Powers

And a good Sunday morning to you from inside the beltway of Washington, DC!  

After having several pre-planned activities yesterday including a White House tour bright and early in the morning….


… followed by the Cherry Blossom parade and the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival, today is far less planned. Unless I can find another Irish Pub with a good reputation for Fish & Chips:


I’m up to three so far this trip: The Dubliner, just off of Union Square; Eammon’s A Dublin Chipper in Alexandria; and Rí Rá Irish Pub in Georgetown.  All of which are well worth your time stopping. 

Arlington National Cemetery is on my schedule either today or tomorrow, and this morning, I’m on my way to the Newseum, which is having a display on Rock, Power & Politics, and we’ll just have to see where it goes from there. 

Still lots to come!

Thune Statement on Confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch

Pat Powers

Thune Statement on Confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch

“Judge Gorsuch is the kind of judge all of us should want on the nation’s highest court, and I wish him the best as he begins this next chapter in his judicial career.”

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) released the following statement after the Republican-led Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to serve as associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court:

“Today the Senate voted to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch, preserving the nearly 230-year tradition of approving Supreme Court nominees by a simple majority vote. While Democrats tried – on a purely partisan basis – to block this nomination, Republicans ensured Judge Gorsuch received an up-or-down vote, and he was ultimately confirmed with the support of a bipartisan majority in the Senate.

“Judge Gorsuch is known for his impartiality and commitment to the rule of law. He is a jurist with a distinguished career who understands that the job of a judge is to apply the law as it is written, even when he disagrees with it. Judge Gorsuch is the kind of judge all of us should want on the nation’s highest court, and I wish him the best as he begins this next chapter in his judicial career.”

###