The Governor’s Communications Director Ian Fury pointed out an interesting piece about the coverage the Associated Press is giving Governor Kristi Noem:
The story does serve as a counterpoint to Groves’ sources on a number of issues.
Groves going to Painter is troubling because he deceptively fails to mention that the professor is anything other than a partisan opponent of former President Donald J. Trump and his allies…
It is out-and-out fraudulent that Groves fails to mention that Painter ran for U.S. Senate in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (MDFLP). The MDFLP functions as the local brand of the Democratic Party, and here he is telling voters that Trump is a Russian agent…
Had a lot of chatter and tips this week that seems to circle back to an organization I’ve recently written about, the Patriot Ripple Effect Group/Political Action Committee based out of Sioux Falls. The group is chaired by Adam Broin, with former Minnehaha GOP Chair Dave Roetman serving as treasurer and main contact for the committee.
I’m told that new Sioux Falls at-large city council candidate Bobbi Andera is a very politically conservative recruit of this group in one of their first forays into finding candidates. She is running to take on incumbent Janet Brekke for one of the at-large Sioux Falls City Council spots. (City Council race watchers should also be aware that word is also that a not-so-hard-right candidate with broad based support will also be getting in the race.)
But even more interesting, I’m also being told that this race was NOT Andera’s first choice. I was told last night that she was originally recruited to run in a primary election against State Representatives Sue Peterson and Richard Thomason in whatever ends up as the reconfigured District 13 legislative district. And that information was in the wild as much as 2-3 months ago, and the switch to City Council is only a very recent development.
The word is that the intent was to try to take out Thomason because there are those who view him as not being one of the hard right members of the Sioux Falls legislative delegation. And the group has eyes on replacing several incumbents they see as not following their dogma.
Now that brings me up to this afternoon. In conjunction with tracking down some calls being made by one of the leaders of this group in the race for AG, I’m told that the Patriot Ripple Effect group is ALSO recruiting for Republican Party precinct positions in hopes of influencing candidate selection.
While legislative races are selected in primaries among Republicans in the population at large, this push for precinct people is a very big deal for Constitutional office candidates; those offices from Lt. Governor down through Public Utilities Commission, as those delegates are the ones who directly select those offices at the State Republican Convention which will be in Watertown next June.
In recruiting for precinct slots, with enough people they could hold sway over who wins the contested races at the next Republican Convention. Which at the moment are currently Attorney General & Commissioner of School & Public Lands. But, there could be more in this environment of political conflict.
The number of precinct people I was given was that they may be hoping to recruit was around 250 precinct people statewide to help forward their agenda.
With precinct people, that group can also further influence races, as party committee precinct people are the ones who make the replacement selections if legislative candidates drop out of running during the election cycles. Of course, wielding that influence also continues in races in late 2022/early 2023 for county party officials.
It’s hard to guess whether the group is going to gain any traction or influence.
So after the story in the Argus today where the State House and Senate are at odds over redistricting, reporter Joe Sneve posted the following on twitter as evidence provided him by House members that State Senator Lee Schoenbeck is out to get them:
House members counter by pointing to the last line of this post the senator made on a @SoDakCampaigns as an example of evidence he’s manipulating the process from behind the scenes in hopes of a predetermined outcome. https://t.co/unRopDIiPfpic.twitter.com/Ck4b7NckZr
What’s that cliche’ about when you assume things? Because apparently there are House members who are pulling a comment (made by someone commenting as Lee) pretty far out of context. Because the comment didn’t come in connection with redistricting.
It came under a post where GOP Chair Dan Lederman was taking Citizens for Liberty Lobbyist Tonchi Weaver to task for her column in the Rapid City Journal attacking Governor Kristi Noem:
In a recent column, Citizens for Liberty lobbyist Tonchi Weaver spent a good number of column inches attacking Governor Kristi Noem for allowing people to exercise self-determination. Weaver tried to claim some great conspiracy of the Governor’s when the COVID epidemic first hit when Kristi suggested in an executive order that the sick and elderly take COVID seriously and stay home for three weeks to help flatten the curve of death and severe illness. In that same executive order, Kristi also suggested people wash their hands and eat well-balanced meals.
I feel compelled to tell people that despite Weaver’s alarmist column, no one who failed to wash their hands or who ate an extra dessert when COVID first hit was unjustly persecuted by the state.
Given the fact that the lobbyist for Citizens for Liberty was attacking Governor Kristi Noem, and the State GOP Chair was responding.. not to mention the groups’ track history for attacking Republicans.. it wasn’t unlike a number of comments under that post.
But apparently there are some paranoid House members who believe that defending Governor Noem and wanting to be rid of the Citizens for Liberty goofballs is tantamount to trying to take them out. And they’re monitoring the comment section for those they think might be criticizing them?
Governor Noem Appoints First Members to Freedom Scholarship Board
PIERRE, S.D. — Governor Kristi Noem today announced the appointment of five board members for the Freedom Scholarship endowment. The appointments set the stage for the state to begin delivering awards for its first-ever needs based-scholarship program. Dana Dykhouse, Miles Beacom, Phyllis Heineman, Diana Vanderwoude, and Chris Houwman will serve as the inaugural board members for the Freedom Scholarship endowment.
“I am grateful to these five South Dakotans for volunteering their experience and talents to help us launch the Freedom Scholarship. This endowment will allow us to tap into a network of students who are eager to excel in their studies and professional pursuits,” Governor Noem said. “This scholarship will ensure that South Dakota is securing some of the top talents in our colleges and universities. As more and more companies move to our state, we need today’s workforce ready to take on tomorrow’s jobs.”
Dana Dykhouse is the CEO of First PREMIER Bank and currently serves on the board of the Build Dakota Scholarship Fund. Miles Beacom is the CEO of PREMIER Bankcard and has a strong record of community service, including as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business. Phyllis Heineman is a former educator, South Dakota State University alum, and has previously served on numerous boards, including the South Dakota Partners in Education. Diana VanderWoude has 40 years of experience in healthcare administration and education and is currently the Vice President of Learning, Education, and development for Sanford Health. Chris Houwman is CEO and President of Malloy and currently serves on the South Dakota Workforce Development Council.
The Freedom Scholarship endowment was created in the 2021 legislative session. Senate Bill 171 initially authorized $50 million to be allocated to the Freedom Scholarship endowment. In partnership with First Premier Bank, T. Denny Sanford, and other private donors, the fund is now at more than $175 million in commitments.
From the Argus Leader, State Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck is mincing few words on redistricting as he believes House members are trying to draw lines to protect themselves after saving their proposals for very late in process, and trying to keep a district that was drawn 10 years ago to protect incumbents:
Sen. Schoenbeck
“Ten years ago, a conurbation district didn’t exactly give us a great proposal for District 25. It’s oddly shaped,” Crabtree said last week. “I don’t think we should go back and make the same mistake we did 10 years ago.”
Schoenbeck told the Argus Leader on Friday the House’s map, drafted by Dennert, is “gerrymandered” and looks like “they gave a monkey a switchblade and said carve up South Dakota.” He accused House members of inserting self interests into the process.
“The Speaker put people on the committee who’s goal is to draw lines to protect Legislators who have, let’s say, unique worldviews,” Schoenbeck said. “It’s the House committee taking care of a few of their friends.”
(possibly Drew Dennert) from imagur
and..
Gosch pointed to a proposed district map Schoenbeck published on a conservative blog this summer and its similarity to the map the Senate Redistricting Committee is recommending.
US Senate Hopeful Bruce Whalen posted a bizarro campaign video to Social Media Site ‘Rumble’ this week from the front steps of the State Capitol where among several things, he says he sent Senator Daschle packing, and mixes a talk about what he would do in the US Senate with rambling about the end times:
“He (possibly referring to Senator Thune) should not be calling us conspiracy people… because we know the election was stolen …from President Trump.”
And
“This is really a spiritual battle. And… I intend to win this. How far down the road are we going to get? Revelation is coming. What’s been prophecized in Daniel and other books of the bible … it’s going to come. We’re going to come across hard times. What I’d like to see is some people saved out of this period now so they don’t get into them hard times. But it’s coming and so.. I’m not looking to bring a better life to people and say ‘hey look,’ guess what. It’s coming anyway because (unintelligible) But I want to say I want to see stand up and say God we are with you. We’re with you when you.. when Jesus comes for the rapture we expect to be going with you. Because tribulation is going to hit, it’s going to hit hard. So.. that’s how I feel about it. Let’s get in and let’s turn things much as around as we can. I’m not looking for a second term. I think I can get things what I want done in the first term….”
Government Overreach at Its Worst By Sen. John Thune
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) already knows how much money you make. And now, it wants to know exactly how you spend it. Washington Democrats are attempting to fund part of their reckless tax-and-spending spree through a new proposal that would increase funding to the IRS by $79 billion so they can double – yes, double – the size of the agency. Their proposal would require banks, credit unions, and other financial service providers to report to the IRS when a business or customer makes total deposits or withdrawals that exceed a certain amount – $600 if the president has his way. Essentially, anyone who has a job or has saved a bit of money could be subject to Washington bureaucrats snooping through his or her checking account.
South Dakotans want no part of this big government overreach, and I couldn’t agree more. My office has heard from thousands of concerned South Dakotans who do not want IRS agents prying into their most basic, personal information. They won’t, if I have anything to do about it.
We do not need the government monitoring every purchase law-abiding Americans make from the App Store or how many times they buy a cup of coffee or what they’re getting their kids and grandkids for Christmas. This proposal is a blatant invasion of privacy. And for anyone familiar with the IRS, it’s not at all reasonable to believe the agency has the capability to manage all of this additional information given its troubling record of already failing to protect confidential taxpayer information. Flooding the IRS with more – and I would argue highly unnecessary – data, while at the same time burdening taxpayers, financial institutions, and already overwhelmed IRS service centers with more paperwork lacks common sense.
How would a proposal this far out of the mainstream even be a serious topic of discussion in Washington? Great question. A big reason is that Democrats are looking for new ways to fund part of their multi-trillion dollar tax-and-spending spree. The Democrats’ proposal to double the size of the IRS and track taxpayers’ financial activity should never have even seen the light of day. But these days, there is pretty much no area of life that Democrats think wouldn’t be better run by the federal government. If there was a clearer difference between the two parties, I’m not sure one exists.
Rest assured, I am working hard to stop this nanny-state style monitoring of your bank account. I recently led dozens of my colleagues, including every Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Banking Committee, to stand up to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and push back against this excessive intrusion into Americans’ private lives. I also cosponsored legislation to place necessary guardrails around the IRS and protect taxpayers’ rights. South Dakotans entrusted me to stand up for them against invasive, radical policies, and I will continue to be a tireless fighter on their behalf.
Guest Column: The Meaning of Native American Day from the Perspective of a Lakota Woman By Shawnee Red Bear October 8, 2021
This guest column is written by Shawnee Red Bear, who works in Congressman Johnson’s Washington DC office
This Monday, October 11th, marks the 31st year South Dakota will celebrate “Native American Day”. South Dakota is one of just 14 states that observes Native American Day instead of Columbus Day.
South Dakota is home to the 9 tribes of Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota speaking Natives. As a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Lakota woman, Native American Day is about more than just honoring Native American history and culture.
My entire upbringing revolved around being “Indian”. In fact, I always assumed “Indians” were everywhere. My summers were filled with native traditions like attending powwows, an event filled with dance, song, and socializing; chokecherry picking, a fruit indigenous to much of North America; and hanging out with my Unci (Lakota for grandma). As a child, I paid little attention to life outside the reservation.
As I got older, I began to learn about the dark history that plagued my people. Forced assimilation and western religions attempted to strip our ancestors of their cultural identity.
Outside of states like South Dakota, the stories of the thousands of Native children who were taken from their families against their will and shipped off to boarding schools to be “civilized” are not often told. Hundreds of those children never made it home and tribes are still working to get their remains back.
“Celebrating” Native American Day doesn’t come with flag waving and parades, it is more solemn than that. As a 30-year-old single mother residing on the Pine Indian Reservation, I am only a few generations removed from these atrocities that attempted to eradicate my people and my culture.
But this isn’t the end of our story. Across the country, native people have begun to reclaim our cultural identity, revitalize our native languages, and bring awareness to our tragic history.
I am excited to see Lakota language preservation programs being funded and offered in our communities. I am proud of the work that the Murdered Missing Indigenous Women movement has done to bring justice to families. I am grateful that the remains of Native children who died at Carlisle Indian School are being returned home to Rosebud Sioux Tribe here in South Dakota. These are all steps in the right direction to reconcile the past.
For me, Native American Day means knowing that it is no longer discouraged to be a strong Lakota Winyan (woman). I am proud of how far my people have come.
Shawnee Red Bear is the Fall 2021 Ben Reifel Fellow in Rep. Dusty Johnson’s Office, a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Veteran Service Officer & Director of Veteran Services. She served in the United States Marine Corps from 2009-2013 and currently resides in Pine Ridge.
