Category: Uncategorized

Thune Statement on Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade

“This decision to overturn Roe is long overdue, and it’s a historic day in the pro-life movement.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturns Roe v. Wade:

“This decision to overturn Roe is long overdue, and it’s a historic day in the pro-life movement,” said Thune. “Our country is dedicated to the defense of human rights, and I hope that we can further live up to that promise with the question of abortion now rightfully returned to the states, the democratic process, and to elected officials who can be held accountable to the American people for their decisions.”

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Great event at convention tonight at Joy Ranch with GOP National Chairperson Ronna McDaniel and Governor Kristi Noem.  I have a pile of pictures to sift through, but I wanted to share a couple of these.

 

(Obviously, Mike Derby is the photo-bomber for the night.)

Brock Greenfield is taking a moment to speak to a convention delegate before tonight’s meal at Joy Ranch

A number of years back, I asked an old political hand if he was attending the state Republican convention that year.

His reply was that “in his experience, the state convention is where you go to see old enemies, and make new ones.”

As I look around at the people here at convention so far, I am reminded of that adage.

(Just kidding. Everyone here loves me. I’m sure of it.)

BARNETT OPPOSES ONLINE VOTING

WATERTOWN – South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett today reiterated his opposition to allowing online voting in public elections.

“I unequivocally oppose online voting in any form,” said Barnett. “The sanctity of our elections is too precious to allow online security threats to undermine the will of the voters. As Secretary of State, I will continue to protect South Dakota laws requiring paper ballots and oppose all attempts to move voting online.”

Barnett was recently misquoted by the Volga Tribune in an article following a speech to high school students. Once the incorrect statement was discovered, Barnett requested a correction be printed by the newspaper.

South Dakota has some of the strongest election laws in the United States and is an example for other states on best practices. South Dakota Codified Law 12-16-2 requires ballots for South Dakota elections to be paper.

“South Dakota has secure and honest elections with dependable results. We can be confident in our election results because in South Dakota, we do the right thing to safeguard our democracy with election security,” said Barnett.

Barnett is seeking a second term as Secretary of State and is asking Republican Delegates for the party’s nomination at this week’s State GOP Convention. Prior to his 2018 election as Secretary of State, Barnett served as the State Auditor for eight years.

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Rolled into Watertown a short time ago, and picked up my credentials.. and it sounds like I missed some of the fireworks, which took place in the convention’s adoption of the rule committee’s work.

First off was a debate to make convention free. Not kidding. The “freeloader motion” would have literally bankrupted the convention, and probably put the GOP on thin ice financially.

Thankfully, the freeloaders lost. Then there was the Saturday surprise motion.

How it was related to me was that Taffy Howard & crew was pushing to remove any deadline for candidates to declare their intentions. I heard the committee did resist a move from 3:30 for registration deadline and the committee balked at removing the deadline altogether.

Sounds like the former congressional candidate was hoping to remove the requirement to register an intent to run before the election… and I don’t know why, because it doesn’t make any sense.

It’s not like the Republican Party is the Democrat party, and we have to scour the taverns for candidates. If Taffy doesn’t know if she’s running, or doesn’t have a candidate to run until Saturday morning, they’ve got a lot bigger problems been worrying about the deadline for a protest candidate.

Attempting to bankrupt the party & turn candidate races into a circus? The Republican party in South Dakota has dominated state politics for decades because it is a well organized volunteer organization. It seems that a few want to turn it into the the kind of sideshow that Democrats have had for years.

It might be a long weekend.

I had to run up to the GOP Convention site tonight to drop off a load of materials, and snapped a couple shots of the preparations in the few hours before things kick off.

I believe that’s nearly 1000 swag bags that they’ve prepared for handing out this weekend for registrants.

I’ve had a couple of people send me facebook posts of those trying to make a mountain over an anthill and work themselves up into a kerfuffle because they don’t understand the fee structure for the State Republican Convention.  So, just by way of explanation, here’s some information to help alleviate the confusion.

The convention is taking place across three days, June 23 (Thursday), June 24th (Friday) and June 25th (Saturday).

For those wishing to participate in convention Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th, there is a $150 Delegate fee for convention, as well as a couple of the less formal meals. This covers delegate access to the convention on Thursday and Friday, as well as the Thursday night BBQ w/ Governor Noem & Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and the Saturday Grab and Go Boxed Lunch at Convention.

Originally, the fee was necessary for the Friday Night Hospitality Suites Access, but as I understand, the exec board decided to revisit that decision, and they won’t be kicking people out if they haven’t paid the $150 fee.

Why is there a $150 fee? This should not come as a shock, unless someone has amnesia or Alzheimers, as this is no different than was done in 2018. (They might have skipped the fee for the 2020 COVID virtual convention). This years’ convention expenses are in excess of $50,000, and literally all other states as well as the national GOP have a convention fee.  So, for those who are participating in Thursday and Friday meetings and activities, yes, the fee is part of that.

Is the fee necessary to attend on Saturday only when they nominate and elect candidates? No.  There is a $1 fee to register early for Saturday floor access, which is mainly to keep out the people who were trying to spam the registration system.  Are you going to get turned away if you are a delegate and you don’t pre-register and you just show up on Saturday?  No. Is there a good chance you’ll be standing in line while they look you up, and verify you as a delegate? Yes.

Do you have to be a delegate to attend? Actually no. You can register and attend as a guest of a delegate.  Say, you’re a legislator or a legislative candidate, and you just want to watch the show?  Just get ahold of someone who is a delegate, and ask to be a guest, and pay the fees.

If you haven’t done so yet, and you are eligible to attend as a delegate, You can register here.  If you’re going to take part, I would encourage you to support the party.  They’ve put a tremendous amount of effort into it, and the funds raised from it go into supporting Republican Candidates and GOP activities which benefit all Republicans.

Any questions, put them in the comment section, and I’ll try to answer them as I have an opportunity.

South Dakota Republican Women are looking for donations during the Republican Convention to support Veterans at Christmastime through the Ft. Meade Shop for Veterans. Check out the flyer from the SDFRW, and bring your items to the SDFRW table at Convention!