As we ease towards the long weekend, just a note that there will be light posting, as after skipping going somewhere for my 50th Birthday last October, as well as for my 25th Anniversary right before the election in November, I’m taking a long overdue weekend with my wife.
We’re slipping away to a city my wife enjoys, San Diego. And I’m also excited because we’re going to do a whale/dolphin watching cruise around the harbor. And we’re going during the height of the season.
Way back when I originally entered college (as a bio major), I was doing so for the purpose of going into marine biology, until I found my calling in political science the following year.
I’m still fascinated by the oceans that cover our planet, so this harkens back to those days of wonder, and represents one of those things you don’t typically get to do in South Dakota. I’ll see what I can get for pictures, and share when I have a chance to upload.
I’ve got another trip scheduled for April, which will be more of a working trip in Washington DC where my intent is to try to meet up with our elected officials. But for this weekend, it’s going to be rest, relaxation, and whales on the horizon!
Rounds Pays Tribute to Clint Roberts on Senate Floor
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today delivered a floor speech to honor the life and legacy of his friend, former U.S. Rep. Clint Roberts, who passed away on Feb. 13th at the age of 82. In addition to serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Roberts served in the South Dakota State Senate and as South Dakota’s Secretary of Agriculture.
“Clint was a mentor and a hero to me and many others and – I’m proud to say – lifelong friend to me and Jean,” said Rounds on the senate floor. “He had a tremendously positive impact on the many thousands of people he met and touched with his kindness, selflessness and generosity. South Dakota is a better state and we are a better people because of his hard work and dedication.”
From the Argus/Associated Press, one of the pipeline executives at the Dakota Access pipeline claimed that of some of the actions done by protesters were done by foreign nationals, you could call the actions terrorism. I couldn’t disagree more:
A top executive at the company building the controversial Dakota Access pipeline is comparing pipeline opponents to terrorists.
Joey Mahmoud, executive vice president of Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners, says protesters have “assaulted numerous pipeline personnel,” destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of construction equipment and even fired a pistol at law enforcement during months of demonstrations against the 1,200-mile pipeline, which will carry North Dakota oil to an Illinois terminal.
Mahmoud tells Congress that the protest movement “induced individuals to break into and shut down pump stations on four operational pipelines. Had these actions been undertaken by foreign nationals, they could only be described as acts of terrorism.”
I disagree with the executive. If Americans did it, you can still call it terrorism. Except it would be considered domestic terrorism. And it should be treated as such, and our Government should respond with the full force of law.
The House State Affairs Committee heard testimony on the permitless concealed carry legislation, House Bill 1072. Sponsored by Representative Lynne DiSanto in the house and Brock Greenfield in the Senate, the bill would remove the requirement to obtain a permit in order to lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense.
While opposed by the Governor and law enforcement, this legislation is supported strongly by many conservatives in the legislature, as well as gun groups such as the National Rifle Association, citing it as “a big step in allowing South Dakotans to be better able to defend themselves and their loved ones without having to obtain a government issued permit.”
South Dakota is one of the states in which it is already legal to carry a firearm openly, as long as the individual is not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. However, under current law, if a firearm becomes covered by a coat or if a woman prefers to carry a firearm for self-protection in her purse, a concealed weapons permit is required.
The legislation gives South Dakotans the freedom to choose the best method of carrying a gun and would also keep in place the current permitting system to facilitate reciprocity agreements that South Dakota has with other states.
The measure passed on a 7-6 vote in House State Affairs Committee, and now goes to the House Floor.
After the vote, Lars Dalseide, Public Affairs Media Liaison for the NRA noted “It’s encouraging to see members of the House State Affairs Committee stand up for the rights of their constituents. Hopefully we’ll witness a similar recognition of rights when the full House votes on this vital piece of legislation.”
Clint Roberts, 82 of Ft. Pierre, died Monday, February 13 at Aver St. Mary’s Hospital. Visitation will be 5-7pm, Thursday, February 16 at Isburg Funeral Chapel with a prayer service at 7:00pm. Memorial Service will be at 11:00am, Friday, February 17 at First United Methodist Church with inurnment at Presho City Cemetery.
Clinton Ronald Roberts was born on January 30, 1935, in Presho, SD. He was adopted by his maternal grandparents, Clint and Grace Roberts and attended grade school and high school in Presho. He graduated from Presho High School in 1952 and attended Black Hills University.
On December 7, 1952, Clint married Beverly Dittman in Presho, and they celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in 2016. They had four children, Debra, Schelle, Clayton and Kristi. Clint and Bev’s youngest daughter Kristi died in 1999. There are six grandchildren in the family and eight great-grandchildren. Family was always a priority for Clint, along with community service and civic pride.
Clint farmed and ranched in Lyman County for most of his lifetime and also taught country school briefly. In the early 1970’s, he was known as “the Marlboro Man” in the SD Senate for the commercial shoots for Marlboro, as he was featured in such ads. He also appeared in several Schlitz commercials, a rugged cowboy with horsemanship skills. Clint was an actor in the movies, “Orphan Train” and “duchess and Dirtwater Fox” in the 1970’s. He produced and narrated the movie “Love or the Land”, a documentary film about agriculture in South Dakota.
One of Clint’s passions was community service, and he served as a state representative and senator for many years. Following that service, he was elected as one of SD’s US Representatives in 1980. It was during that term that he developed the idea of having a conservation reserve enhancement program. He aspired to become Governor, but was defeated in the Republican primaries in 1978 and 1986. He served as the Director of Energy Policy and SD Secretary of Agriculture. He also worked as a consultant for the International Trade Administration. Clint was the Director for the SD Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, retiring in 2003. His retirement years were spent enjoying family life in Fort Pierre, SD, living on the river.
Clint’s unselfish contributions in the political arena, most notably his design of the CREP, improved South Dakota’s economy and indirectly brought international recognition to our state because of the renewed emphasis on pheasant hunting. His film career also gave South Dakota national publicity. Clint’s innovative inception of CREP gave South Dakota’s agriculture economy significant support, and for all his civic contributions, was inducted into the SD Hall of Fame in 2007.
Clint is survived by his wife Beverly; children Debra Brakke (Verne), Schelle Wenner, and Clayton Roberts (Pamela), and grandchildren Nathan Brakke (Michelle), Matthew Brakke (Kimberly), Tessa Wenner, Clint Hunter Roberts (Stephanie), Chelsey Roberts Renemans (Nick), and Tiffany Menke (Nick). Clint also leaves behind eight adoring great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be directed to Countryside Hospice in Pierre or Ruby’s Remedy; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in lieu of flowers.
On my way back from picking up a vehicle from an oil change yesterday, I had a call from a political operative. The subject of their call was that they were not happy over the tone of the comments that “their side” had been receiving on the web site.
They thought that some of the attacks being fostered were untrue, got overly personal, and were a bit unfair. And that if they didn’t stop, they were going to have trouble holding their people back from responding in kind, and then people would be going at it constantly under my comment section.
It was one of those situations where I was left with the thought – “Well, what am I supposed to do with that?”
Yes, it’s in the comment section, but you’re seeing it in general society as well. Just turn on the news, or even worse, just look at Facebook. If I could guarantee civility, I’d do it on my Facebook first, so the worst I’d have to look at are funny cat videos, and not have to wade through some of the other crap.
It used to be mainly a back and forth between political parties, but the occasional sniping that broke out at political primary time seems to be expanding to all year with Republicans in general, and from people you might not expect.
I offered to my caller that if someone was posting things that were blatantly false and people were out-and-out lying, (i.e. Candidate Bob was arrested for an unnatural act with a horse) to let me know immediately, and I would be happy to remove the comments. That’s been long standing policy, as I certainly have no time for nor any interest in being subpoenaed when someone wants to sue a commenter.
But when it comes to expressions of opinion (i.e. I don’t think Candidate Bob is a straight shooter because he did A, he employs B, or whatever C ), then you’re getting into different territory. It’s a little tougher being the arbiter of feelings, as in making a determination as to what’s hurtful, and what is not. It’s not a college ‘safe space’ for goodness sake. Feelings aren’t going to change because a comment appears or doesn’t.
What my caller was wishing for was more civility. Not an unreasonable wish, but probably an impossible demand. And you know, if I could guarantee that, I’d bottle it, and be a millionaire. Especially in recent times. People are crabby.
While I can’t guarantee it, I think what I can do is to make a nice ask of our fellow Republicans for more civility towards each other, especially when we’re so far out from the primary season. It’s probably a Pollyanish wish, but we are fighting for largely the same things.
Debate? Discuss, Disagree? Absolutely! But save your ire for the Democrats, not each other.
The Republican Party is starting off the year with a theme of renewal and a renaissance of the GOP grassroots. What we should be focusing on is helping the new chairman build the party in preparation for having the strongest organization possible in preparation for the 2018 elections, where we’ll be picking a lot of new officeholders, including a new Governor and a new Congressperson.
We need to be working together to defeat the opposition. And that starts with making a commitment to focus on the GOP first & cheer for your candidate second. Sign up to help. You can drop the new chairman a note here, and let him know that you’re ready to go to work.
“The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor.” – Ronald Reagan
So the bill having received an affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of the members-elect, the President declared the bill passed and the title was agreed to.
Sens. Nelson and Russell announced their intention to file a letter of dissent and protest pursuant to Joint Rule 1-10.
DISSENT AND PROTEST TO PASSAGE OF HB 1069
Pursuant to Joint Rule 1-10, we, the undersigned Senators, do hereby respectfully dissent from, and protest against, the rulings of the President of the Senate, Lt. Gov. Matthew Michels, in ruling against Senator Nelson’s point of orders that 17 Senate members be excused from voting due to their personal conflict of interest in the legislation to overturn IM22 due to their admitted public record of personal pecuniary interest in a lawsuit to overturn IM22, violating Joint Rule 12-1 and Section 521 (2)(3) & Section 522 (1) of Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure (enacted as SD Legislative Joint rules via Joint Rule 11-3). Lt. Gov. Michels’ ruling, in the face of such conflict of interests, promotes a practice that undermines the very foundation of our State Constitution, weakens the rule of law, and besmirches the reputation of the South Dakota Senate. Furthermore, we, the undersigned Senators, do hereby respectfully dissent from, and protest the passage of House Bill 1069 in that it clearly violates Article III, Section 21 of the South Dakota Constitution (which 17 Senators acknowledge in section 10 of their lawsuit contesting the mirror image of HB1069, IM22 was unconstitutional for violating this constitutional provision) states: “No law shall embrace more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.” Members voted to pass House Bill 1069 knowing that provisions of it contained sections which require citizens to declare their names, address, etc., on campaign material, which the Supreme Court of the United States of America has ruled explicitly violates persons’ 1st Amendment rights (see McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n, 514 U.S. 334 (1995)). We therefore believe that the passage of House Bill 1069 is in contravention of both the United States Constitution, South Dakota’s Constitution, and is therefore null and void. We thus dissent from, and protest against, the erroneous rulings, the unconstitutional aspects of House Bill 1069, and the appearances of improprieties used to pass House Bill 1069. We respectfully request that this dissent and protest be printed in the Senate Journal as required by Joint Rule 1-10.
Respectfully submitted, Respectfully submitted,
Senator Stace Nelson Senator Lance Russell
Sens. Sutton and Heinert announced their intention to file a letter of dissent and protest pursuant to Joint Rule 1-10.
After attacking his colleagues in the Journal, from there, Senator Nelson clucked around like a rooster, and penned a self-serving and fairly ego-inflated editorial about how he was right, and others were corrupt.
Coming around the following week, on Monday, some of his fellow legislators decided they didn’t exactly agree with his dissenting opinion in the matter. And they sent it back for a correction:
From the Legislative Journal for yesterday’s proceedings:
And you can listen to the non-debatable motion, which was supported by a majority of members of the State Senate, and quickly disposed of.
The full text of the rule reads:
1-10. Dissent against an act or resolution. Any two members of a house may dissent or protest in respectful language against any act or resolution which they think injurious to the public or to any individual and have the reason for their dissent or protest entered upon the journal. However, if an objection is made that the language of the dissent or protest is not respectful, a majority of the house may refer the dissent or protest back to the dissenting or protesting members for emendation.
So, because the language in the dissent was not considered respectful, the dissent has now been sent back to the dissenting members for “emendation,” or as President of the Senate Matt Michels noted, it’s a fancy word for amendment.
And as related to me, using the rule that Nelson invoked to file the dissent in the first place, the referral back to the dissenting members sent Nelson for quite the loop. So much so, that he had even voted for the omnibus water bill.. one of those omnibus bills that he regularly rejects as not being constitutional.
And after session, there were reports of Nelson chewing on the President of the Senate, Senate Secretaries, and even the Executive Director of LRC trying to figure out what happened.
So yesterday’s new word of the day is “emendation.” A new word that Senator Nelson is not going to forget anytime soon.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today announced he introduced legislation to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by eliminating its funding stream from the Federal Reserve.
“A product of the ill-advised Dodd-Frank Reform Act, the CFPB is an unaccountable regulatory agency ran by unelected bureaucrats with no oversight from Congress,” said Rounds. “No unchecked federal agency should have the power to dramatically alter the financial choices of consumers through the rules it promulgates. Dismantling the CFPB is but one step we can take to ease the regulatory burdens of Dodd-Frank, the cost of which continues to be handed down to American families. I look forward to working with my colleagues to roll back the CFPB’s power and prevent the agency from imposing any further harmful regulations.”
Rounds’ legislation amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to bar the transfer of funds from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the CFPB. The bill also requires the CFPB to turn over all penalty funding and other money it has received to the Treasury of the United States. Text of the bill can be found HERE.
As you all know, I like to use famous quotes as titles. At first, I thought I’d use a Reagan quote because Congressman Clint Roberts was the prototypical Reaganite but then I ran across the above quote and I laughed. Do you think Clint ever watched a chick flick?
I have cried twice in my life because my preferred candidate lost an election. Most who know me would correctly guess Senator Abdnor’s 1986 re-election loss. But, only the few who were there would know the other election night bawl was when Clint Roberts lost the 1978 GOP nomination for Governor. Clint’s gubernatorial campaign was really my first campaign. That Spring I went down to the campaign headquarters after track was over and volunteered until they were closing the office. Before long, I was taking mailers to school and recruiting friends to stuff fold them during study hall.
I was raised by a single mom and am the oldest of four children. As you might guess, I was able to go under my mom’s radar but fortunately some in our community kept a pretty good watch, for all of whom I’m most grateful. Well, because of that spring helping on the Roberts campaign, Clint and Bev Roberts became one more guardian angel for this kid living on the edge. Bev of course was the more angelic in how she talked to me while Clint was just as you would expect- stern and firm.
I’ve had the opportunity to observe up close four politicians who couldn’t be more different as people- Jim Abdnor, Bill Janklow, George Mickelson and Clint Roberts. Contrary to perceptions, in substance their political views were actually very close despite their different public personas, styles, and personalities.
As a politician, I found Roberts unique. Abdnor loved working a room and crowd. Janklow loved giving speeches and firing people up. Mickelson loved hearing ideas and sharing his. Put these three in these situations and you could see their energy go up. Roberts didn’t seem to like or dislike any of these things. He just did them with the same level of energy he probably moved cattle on his ranch- steadily and methodically. To this day, I’ve never seen a politician like him in this regard.
As a friend, I found Clint also unique. Clint didn’t want to listen to you babble to fill silence and he certainly wasn’t one to fill silence. If nobody had anything to say, it was silent. I remember one night when I must have been running something over from Abdnor’s office to Congressman Roberts’ office and he spontaneously invited me to dinner. We went to Bull Feathers (his favorite spot) on Capital Hill. After I had told him how school and my work was going and he told me how he was adapting to DC, we ordered our meal, had a few drinks, during which there were many periods where nothing was said. When we parted, I thanked him for the meal but wondered if he had regretted wasting his evening with me because he sure didn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Then, a few weeks later, he called and invited me again to dinner. Same type of evening. I wasn’t another member of Congress, a lobbyist, or on his staff. I think Clint was just longing to go for a horseback ride and dinner with me was as close as it got in DC.
I don’t remember how long ago it was that Clint and Bev lost their daughter Christie to cancer. I have some very faint recollections of asking how she was doing when she was sick and I suspect I expressed my condolences but don’t remember for sure. But, probably very close to exactly seven years ago, Clint Roberts called me at my office to talk after I lost my daughter Sydney. To this day, it is one of my most treasured conversations because Clint Roberts was an actual example of a Dad living after losing a daughter. Clint had something to say to me and he did all the talking. I can’t recall what he said. I just remember he called, he talked, I listened, and I cried.
Bev and family, you are in my thoughts and prayers. You were blessed to have loved and been loved by someone as unique as Clint Roberts. It had to have been a heck of a horseback ride. May the soul of Clint Roberts, by the mercy of God, Rest In Peace. Amen.
The Good: The EB-5 Investment Program has contributed to economic development across South Dakota from electric power generation to wind energy to the Dakota Provisions Turkey Plant. These are important jobs that provide income and health care for families across South Dakota.
The Bad: The program has necessitated investigation into misuses of security interests and state grant funds, resulting in a felony conviction. While monies from the charges have all been returned, it was wrong and a crime to have taken them. The sentencing law that required probation tied the hands of prosecutors and the judge in this matter. This law needs to be revisited.
The Ugly: The loss of a father and former S.D. Secretary of Tourism and State Development. In addition, tactics by federal investigators out of D.C. during the prior administration’s investigation reflected poorly on local and state law enforcement that were cooperating in an effective investigation. These federal investigators used overly aggressive tactics like telling witnesses they could not contact an attorney, serving subpoenas on cooperating witnesses at their places of employment, and disclosing information about ongoing investigations that just happened to make its way into political ads. These tactics unnecessarily politicized the issue, as seen in a recent press release by a political party suggesting that state prosecutors should have refused a felony plea and conviction, and the Court should have ignored the law requiring probation. Fortunately, both Democrat and Republican prosecutors in this State do not conduct the people’s business in such a fashion.
The Future: Both Republicans and Democrats in the South Dakota Legislature are working to strengthen public integrity laws. The State Senate unanimously passed a bill sponsored by the Attorney General to counteract criminal self-dealings and conflicts of interest. This important legislation provides whistleblower protections for employees who report crimes, and removes the required probation that has limited the sentencing discretion for both prosecutors and courts in EB-5 and other financial crime cases.
Marty Jackley South Dakota Attorney General (2009-Present)
United States Attorney for South Dakota (2006-2009)
President National Association of Attorneys General (2016)
Way back when I originally entered college (as a bio major), I was doing so for the purpose of going into marine biology, until I found my calling in political science the following year.
From the Argus/Associated Press, one of the pipeline executives at the Dakota Access pipeline claimed that of some of the actions done by protesters were done by foreign nationals, you could call the actions terrorism. I couldn’t disagree more:
The House State Affairs Committee heard testimony on the permitless concealed carry legislation, House Bill 1072. Sponsored by Representative Lynne DiSanto in the house and Brock Greenfield in the Senate, the bill would remove the requirement to obtain a permit in order to lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense. 
Clint Roberts, 82 of Ft. Pierre, died Monday, February 13 at Aver St. Mary’s Hospital. Visitation will be 5-7pm, Thursday, February 16 at Isburg Funeral Chapel with a prayer service at 7:00pm. Memorial Service will be at 11:00am, Friday, February 17 at First United Methodist Church with inurnment at Presho City Cemetery.
Rounds Introduces Legislation to Dismantle CFPB
LETTER TO THE EDITOR