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There was an interesting comment in another post from State Representative Lee Schoenbeck, which could be a preview of one of the big legislative battles coming up next month in the State Legislative Session:

Lee Schoenbeck – December 23, 2015 at 3:53 pm

good discussion – I am concerned about what this Medicaid/Obamacare expansion will mean for both our state, and our party. If expanding the welfare rolls by adding 10% of our state’s population passes in an overwhelmingly GOP dominated legislature, there will be a lot of us asking: what’s the difference? And that will be a future challenge for the GOP in organizing and recruiting. 

I would really be surprised if it didn’t affect the enthusiasm of the people we ask to go out and organize and sell tickets to our large network of Lincoln Day Dinners.

Read that here.

Lee seems to think the Medicaid expansion represents a line in the sand for the soul of the GOP.  And let’s not forget about possible tax increases for education and county wants. 

Could the 2016 session be a battle royale on the GOP side of the aisle?

Butte County States Atty Heather Plunkett was kind enough to offer the following statement to dakotawarcollege.com this evening regarding her arrest, and today’s court proceedings:

Today I took responsibility for my actions in court but feel that I also owe the people of Butte County a formal apology as well as an expression of gratitude for the patience they have shown me in the last couple of weeks.  At a later date, I will issue a more in depth statement detailing my intentions concerning my position as State’s Attorney.  Additionally, I will be sentenced on February 5, 2015 at 1:30 pm and encourage the public to attend.

As noted in the immediately preceding post, Heather entered a plea of guilty today to possession of marijuana, less than 2 ounces, possession of drug paraphernalia, and ingesting substance other than alcohol. All were misdemeanor charges.

Belle Fourche Resident Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges

PIERRE, S.D.- Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that Heather Plunkett, 31, Belle Fourche entered a plea of guilty today to one count each of the following: possession of marijuana, less than 2 ounces, class 1 misdemeanor, possession of drug paraphernalia, class one misdemeanor and ingesting substance other than alcohol, class one misdemeanor.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 5, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. (MST) at the Butte County Courthouse.

(Note: Original release from the AG’s office had both persons pleading guilty today. Ryan Plunkett did not plead today. He had previously pled to the possession of marijuana charge and received a suspended jail sentence.)

Learning Something from Yesterday
By Rep. Kristi Noem
December 23, 2015

It has been an honor to serve you again this year. As we prepare to start 2016, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a year it has been.

I started 2015 with an appointment to the historic House Ways and Means Committee, which handles all tax, trade and economic growth policies. As the first South Dakotan to serve on this committee, it’s been a tremendous opportunity to make sure our priorities and values are reflected in the nation’s largest debates.

Just days into the new year, the House passed the Keystone XL Pipeline Act with bipartisan support. This bill would have allowed work to begin. While Republicans and Democrats in the Senate also agreed to the legislation, the President vetoed it. In doing so, he deprived South Dakota of good jobs, millions of dollars in revenue for cash-strapped counties, and congestion relief for the roads and rails.

This was one of the first of more than 300 bills the House would pass throughout 2015. We also voted on a permanent repeal of the death tax, a bill to hold sanctuary cities accountable, and measures to rein in federal regulators. Although none of these items on our conservative agenda received the President’s signature, there were a handful of areas where we found common ground with members from both parties.

Over the last few years, I’ve advocated for legislation to combat human trafficking. On May 29, we earned a major victory when the President signed our bipartisan Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which included provisions I wrote with the needs of South Dakota and our children in mind.

We also passed a bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority bill, which put tools in place to hold the Obama administration accountable for meeting the trade objectives set by Congress. This legislation is already making an impact. Because of it, the public has full access to the pending Trans Pacific Partnership before Congress can act on it. That gives everyone time to review it and make sure it’s a good deal for America.

After more than 13 years under No Child Left Behind, Congress also overhauled our federal education policy, finally getting us away from the federal government micromanaging local classrooms. In the bill, we gave states more flexibility, empowered parents, modernized the Impact Aid program, and stopped the federal government from pressuring schools into adopting specific academic standards, like Common Core.

Additionally, I helped drive forward the first long-term highway bill in a decade to make sure South Dakota farmers, businesses and families would continue to have access to a safe and reliable infrastructure. With 80,000 miles of roadway, 6,000 bridges, and thousands of miles of railways in South Dakota, it was critical that we give state and local governments more certainty, control and flexibility when addressing infrastructure problems. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act accomplished that.

Finally, we passed legislation to protect hardworking South Dakotans from pending tax hikes. In the package, we made improvements to 529 college savings plans, offered a permanent deduction for certain classroom expenses teachers take on, and permanently extended Section 179, which is important to many farmers and ranchers. The package also included an extension of the biodiesel tax credit through 2016 and stopped Obamacare’s medical device tax from taking effect until at least 2017.

Beyond legislative initiatives, I’m proud of the personal impact our office has made in the lives of many South Dakotans. We’ve assisted more than 600 constituents who faced problems when trying to adopt a child, pay their taxes, receive veterans or Medicare benefits, and more. We’ve also been able to show more than 130 South Dakota groups around the U.S. Capitol and made more than 170,000 calls to constituents to make sure you knew what I was doing.

There is much more to be done, but as John Wayne said, “Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday.”

Thank you for the opportunity to serve South Dakota. Have a happy New Year!

from KELO:

The state Public Utilities Commission denied requests Tuesday to throw out the pipeline project. Opponents argued that President Barack Obama killed the pipeline in November.

William Taylor is an attorney for TransCanada Corp. He says TransCanada remains committed to the project, which could be revived under the next president.

Read it here.

Just like CBS’ Survivor – outwit-outplay – outlast. The Keystone pipeline might just yet prevail against difficult odds, no matter how much Obama has stacked the deck against it.

United State Senator Mike Rounds’ Christmas Card hit mailboxes yesterday, in case you wanted to see….

The word out of Pierre recently is that Jason Glodt, whose Marsy’s Law Ballot Measure just made the ballot, is a busy man. However, as of January 1, it’s my understanding that he’s taking a step back from one of his current duties, as interim Director of the SDGOP, to concentrate on that same Marsy’s Law campaign.

And while that may seem to leave the state GOP running a little skinny as we go into 2016, unlike the Dems, it’s not cause to fret.

Much of the groundwork for next year is already laid, with overwhelming numbers of Republican legislators ready to roll. It’s not as if we’re still scrambling to to find people to run for US Senate or anything. (Ann did promise there would be one, so Dems can consider that done, I’m sure. Really, I’m sure.)

The biggest challenge in making the choice for a new GOP ED, the important thing will be to find the right fit for the party.

As I think I’ve mentioned from time to time, and as noted in Governing magazine recently,  state political parties are trying to find their way post Citizens-united. They’re not exactly the sugar daddies that they used to be, with PAC’s and outside groups able to step in and dole out cash.

In my first run with the GOP as a young pup back in 1988, I was in a meeting with Rep. Don Ham representing the House Caucus, and the GOP ED, and we determined who received  $250 donations, $500 donations, and the big one – $1000 donations. (There were two Republicans who trafficked and voted mainly with Democrats who received a token $50.)  And this was a big deal – these were some of the biggest donations these candidates received.

Nowadays, not so much. There’s our advertiser the Rushmore PAC, there’s Mike Rounds’ Peter Norbeck PAC, and many others that are based strictly on ideology who make those party donations back in 1988 seem paltry.

But the GOP Party apparatus still has roles that others can’t fulfill. There’s the organizational structure they provide, as well as a cadre of activists. There’s the historic data the party wields in terms of decades’ worth of voter data. There’s the bully pulpit of speaking for a tremendous number of Republicans in South Dakota, as well as interfacing with the national GOP.

The right person can do all of those things, and far more as they do their best in trying to herd the cats, and keep the peace among various factions of the party.

Right now, there’s such an abundance of Republican officeholders that shaking loose someone with the experience, as well as the administration, communication, and fundraising skills to do the job might take a while.  In other words, many of the good ones are taken. But there are still good ones out there.

And whoever that is, and however long it takes, the important thing is that we have the right person for the job.

From the Argus Leader, apparently Democrat Mayor Mike Huether isn’t getting everything he wants for Christmas, as a handpicked committee is still saying no to giving him permission to raise tourism coffers for pet projects:

Almost immediately the fund was targeted as an opportunity to fund other projects, though. Cindy Huether, the mayor’s wife, inquired about the possibility of using the money to build the Huether Family Match Pointe tennis center. Members of the Convention and Visitors Bureau-Business Improvement District board, which oversees the fund, said the project wasn’t an eligible use for the money.

Huether declined to comment Monday on the review committee’s recommendations, saying he needed more time to review them.

Steve Westra, chief operating officer for hotel owner Hegg Companies and a vocal critic who has questioned the need for the review, said the review committee was an unsuccessful “money grab” by the mayor. He said he appreciates that the committee isn’t recommending capital spending as a legitimate use for the fund.

“(The mayor) has taken several runs with trying to use dollars outside of what it’s intended for,” Westra said. “We get the sense that the mayor sees it as a road block.”

Read it here.

More on the Hawks story from Kelo/AP:

Recently, a conservative blog has commented on the lack of activity from Hawks’ campaign. Hawks says she intends to “do what it takes to be a competitive candidate in this race.”

Read that here.

What’s this “a conservative blog” stuff, Associated Press? It should properly be noted as “THE conservative blog, dakotawarcollege.com.”

Hmph. No love from the Mainstream media for a fellow journalist.