I think I am dumber for having read the latest release from the three or four House members who make up the House Freedumb Caucus. Because it is a rant that has keeps relying on points that have already been rebutted by the Hughes County State’s Attorney, and the Attorney General himself as not holding any sway over the legislature:
Contact: Rep. Tina Mulally
Telephone: 605-415-9796
E-mail: [email protected]Freedom Caucus Issues Statement on Expulsion of Sen. Tom Pischke from Republican Caucus
Pierre, S.D. (March 6, 2023) – Two weeks ago on Friday, February 24, Senator Tom Pischke of Dell Rapids was removed from the Senate Republican Caucus after holding a press conference that Thursday and the next day submitting affidavits to the Hughes County Court to press criminal charges against fellow Senators for preventing Senator Frye-Mueller from meeting, a class 4 felony under SDCL § 2-4-6, and her ability to vote, a class 1 misdemeanor under SDCL § 2-4-7.
Today, in response to these events, the South Dakota Freedom Caucus issued the following statement:
The South Dakota Freedom Caucus denounces the recent efforts by the Senate Republican Caucus to silence and intimidate Republican Senator Pischke by expelling him from the Republican Caucus for exercising his freedom of speech and his right to file criminal charges.
We believe that Senator Pischke has an inherent and explicit right to “freely speak, write and publish on all subjects,” as is stated in our sacred South Dakota Constitution, under Article 6 § 5. The Legislature, and our government as a whole, is here to protect such rights, not to impede the exercise of them, as SD Const. Art. 6 § 1 states, “to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Further, it is not for the Legislature, or any of its members or bodies, to interfere in the judicial process in determining the legal validity or invalidity of such criminal charges, or to make such determinations themselves, as such “judicial power of the state is vested in a unified judicial system,” or our courts, as stated in SD Const. Art. 5 § 1. Any such argument that such judicial power would extend beyond the judgment of the “qualifications of its own members” is a perversion of SD Const. Art. 3 § 9, and would in effect render the legislative branch to be immune from its own laws and the influence of the judicial branch, thereby rendering such checks and balances without meaning or effect.
These principles are embodied in both our national and state Republican Party Platforms, and should be respected and adhered to.
Such interference as is seen is akin to criminals intimidating their victims to stay silent after they’ve been abused and is unbecoming of the esteemed and honored body of the South Dakota Senate.
The decision to pursue criminal prosecution or not is solely within the hands of the judicial branch, and such interference in this process is a clear violation of the separation of powers that our forefathers that founded our great state and country wisely prohibited, in order to prevent the influence popular passions at the time may have over such impartial and unbiased decisions that must be made for the sake of justice to be served.
That is why we, as the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, implore the Senate Republican Caucus to cease and desist in such actions.
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What’s this “we” part when they refer to themselves? Does Tina have a mouse in her pocket? … Er, I probably shouldn’t assume she doesn’t.
And the part where they claim that Sen. Pischke being asked to not have lunch with the people he’s accusing is “akin to criminals intimidating their victims to stay silent after they’ve been abused.” Give me a break, trying to portray Tom Pischke a victim.
Because isn’t “intimidating their victims to stay silent after they’ve been abused” the very thing that the Freedumb Caucus is doing by disputing the Frye-Mueller scandal? Isn’t that trying to intimidate the legislative employee that Frye-Mueller harassed? 33 people in the Senate confirmed the harassment happened and voted to censure the bad lactation mentor, Senator Frye-Mueller. They don’t get to make it evaporated milk because they don’t want to acknowledge it.
One Senator noted to me, caucus is a privilege, not a right. So, if the Freedumb Caucus decided they wanted to expel their own members they could, just like the Republican Senate Caucus has that exact same ability to do so when one of their members acts like an idiot, holds a press conference, and demands that 27 of his colleagues be arrested.
It would be nice if we could get through the final week of the session without hearing any more about JFM or her defender(s). But that would not appear to be the case.
Why would Pischke want to be in the caucus? To spy? He certainly wouldn’t add anything to the discussions they have. It is bad enough they have to tolerate him in the Legislature, let alone the caucus.
Come on Pat! You got to stop with the “bad lactation mentor” and now “evaporated milk”!! Just spit soda all over my keyboard!
This is a saga that will continue next year.
Odenbach needs to become chair of this clown show. He would make them respectable. Oh yeah they killed his bill.
They are idiots. Closet dems.
‘behavior unbecoming’ made me laugh out loud. it did it did.
criminal prosecution is firmly in the hands of ujs and dci. go hire lawyers and bring civil suits, the criminal justice system has said ‘no’ every way that it can be said. a thought: a classic bullying trick employed by raging narcissists is to loudly convince everyone that their victims are the bullies.