What do we do about HJR 5001?
By Sen. John Wiik, SDGOP Chairman
As I traveled back and forth to Pierre this weekend, my phone was ringing constantly. What do we do about HJR 5001? What are you going to do? What can I do? After an Executive Board meeting and over 50 phone calls about this matter, I felt that three things needed to be said and to be solved before we can move forward on this issue.
- The 2022 convention. Most of this issue stems from the Republican convention of 2022. I understand the frustration with the events of that convention, and I have been looking for solutions. That frustration comes from a disconnect between our voters and our delegates. As a party, we then failed to achieve the primary goal of a convention—to unify the party around our candidates and march together locked arms to victory in November. In some respects we are victims of our own success, having reached over half of SD voter registrations and over 90 percent of state legislative seats. Factions have developed within our midst. The only opponent some can see is the other side of our own party.
- The gradual replacement of the SDGOP with the House and Senate Republican PAC’s. This development has become an incredible convenience for the executive board and Chairman of SDGOP, but having those hands off the wheel have not served the county party organizations well. The county parties see their influence falling away and are perhaps trying to find new ways to stay relevant in this changing political landscape. In the same frame of thought, the Senate and House caucuses are gradually able to be more detached from the county party organizations.
- A tremendous change I have witnessed, perhaps since the 2021 passing of Rush Limbaugh, has been a lack of civility in disagreement. We are a big tent party and there is absolutely no officeholder or even voter that adheres to this platform to the letter. I served on the last two platform committees, one as chairman. The pressure to tighten the platform to fit a certain mindset within the party is real, and only serves to frustrate everyone. Many floor debates are heard quoting the planks of the platform that fit a certain mindset—while another plank is quoted back to the other side of the same issue. There is room for disagreement within our party. Our common goals of small stable government, economic growth and adherence to our Constitution will continue to push us forward in a common direction, but we need to learn that disagreement is ok. We’re operating in the arena of ideas, and we can debate without the fear of retribution for a different idea. The basic ideas of conservative Republican policies are proven to work, and unlike Liberal and Progressive ideologies, the more we debate our ideas, the better they become. It’s up to us to educate our voters and respond to our own party without harsh lecturing. We need to engage each other and maintain civility in all circles.
With those three things in mind, the crisis points that bring us to the annual introduction of bills or resolutions that will effectively change our entire election system in South Dakota stem from a belief that delegates are straying from the voters. When a Party loses a connection with its voters, it has no business being a 51% registration party. We must not create a situation that seven hundred people can overturn an 80/20 primary election. 56% of those 700+ voters ruled the day—but many in the party believed that too many delegates ignored the will of the voters.
Enter this year’s attempt, HJR 5001. Last year’s SB40, with its problems was much cleaner and would have allowed the legislature to tweak things as we go and fix mistakes. A constitutional amendment is forever. I vehemently disagree with HJR 5001 being a Constitutional Amendment. HJR 5001 has flaws that the legislature will not be able to fix and therefore surrenders its sovereignty to the interpretations of courts.
There are some who believe the only interpretation of this HJR 5001 once the clarification lawsuits start will be to open the primaries and no longer allow Republican voters to choose Republican candidates. Independents and some minor party activity is not adequately addressed, and a judge will have to intervene. Is there a way to fix this? Possibly. I don’t believe that it’s necessary, as we have a system that has provided some of the giants in South Dakota political history. From Bill Janklow and Marty Jackley to Chris Nelson, Josh Haeder and beyond, the SDGOP convention has provided greatness for South Dakota, and we should not surrender that connection we’ve built for our voters.
Finally, I look at our SDGOP convention as a system similar toour Electoral College. If we move to a complete primary system, what is the incentive for a candidate to visit places like Mcintosh or Milbank or Martin? If HJR 5001 passes, it would be entirely possible to stay in counties with single digit prefixes on their license plates and rarely stray from an interstate, leaving the possibility of countless small towns once again left out of another vote or another political decision.
I cannot speak for the entire Central Committee—I can’t even speak for our entire Executive Committee. I can only speak for myself as a small county chairman and the SDGOP Chairman. Let’s keep our disagreements out of the Constitution and open the dialog to solve our problems in our own Party. Please send HJR 5001 to the 41st day on Wednesday and start working together better Thursday and beyond.
i’m finding myself having to apply serious meditation on whether rush hudson limbaugh III was a facilitator of civility during his final six months on the planet. the record says otherwise.
This is not a time for civility.
if you say so. let’s see how it goes then.
Something does need to be done. Its not right that a Republican primary voter could vote for a precinct person at the beginning of June when they don’t even know for sure who or what that precinct person might be voting on 3 weeks later because a shadow candidate could decide to run the night before.
For starters maybe Constitutional Candidates should be required to get some petition signatures or file a form to turn in in March like other candidates are required so voters can at least know for certain who their precinct people will have to choose from and have the opportunity to ask them before voting in the primary. This could limit some convention shenanigans and bring a little more transparency to all Republican voters.
Things are run by people who show up.
If you let the Qanon and MAGA people take over they will run the party accordingly. If you don’t like that crowd then show up and quit whining about how things are being run.
It happened the last convention and unfortunately Steve was a casualty but it could have been much worse. A call to service was made and there were quite a few of us who re-engaged to show up and push back. It’s not just votes, it’s hours of discussion with your fellow Republicans talking about the heart and soul of the party. You take away these elections and people just won’t care anymore and the party will be hollowed out much more so than even today. When these pirates come in and call many of us who have worked so hard for this party RINOS when they have never lifted a finger or offered a dime for this party should be enough to motivate you to show up!
MAGA is the majority. Iowa proved that. Get out of the way if you can’t lend a hand.
that was one of the least attended iowa caucus events ever. fortunately you have snow to blame for the low turnout numbers among total republicans.
It’s going to be amusing watching you contort your way into goofy rationalizations for Trump’s victories in the coming months.
752,000 registered Republicans
115,000 caucus participants
56000 votes for Trump
Iowa proved you are delusional.
The last 3 caucus winners: Ted Cruz(2016), Rick Santorum(2012), and Mike Huckabee(2008).
Stellar endorsement!
Here’s something we can agree on: DJT will be the Republican nominee for president in the 2024 general election. No amount of media bias, no amount of censorship, no amount of political lawfare will change that outcome.
If you disagree with that you’re stunted to the point of not being capable of rational conversation.
If you agree with that, it’s a simple choice: 1) back him and save the republic (maybe); or 2) back Biden and contribute to its downfall.
I don’t love Trump. I don’t own a MAGA hat. I hate the fact that, of all people, HE is the standard bearer for the movement. But I understand (better than you) the simple choice above, and I understand (better than you) that the stakes literally could not be higher. The fate of the Republic is at stake.
Choose accordingly.
What delusional world are you living in? Accept a dictator who is running on revenge and no policy or take the clown who actually turned this country around economically and is investing in the people? Why would I support a rapist, liar, cheater, and fraudster who should be in jail? He perpetuated a lie for his own personal gain and is willing to tear it all down. Trumpers are a joke.
You just called your boy Joe a clown. Freudian.
Biden voters are able to accept he’s a clown (and way too old) while still knowing that he’s 1000x better than “your” boy.
Joe is a clown. Trump is an insane monster. Nothing slipping about it. Putting trust in a man who screws whores and pays them to be quiet while cheating on all 4 wives really says something about the party of Christian and family values. Magats are cultists.
Except MAGA and Qanon people are not very enjoyable to be around — given the option between spending my Saturday morning fighting their toxicity and being called names or spending time with my family, doing laundry or walking the dog. It’s pretty easy choice. They have pushed people out with their negativity.
Good idea: Vote for someone you support to vote for your values while in Pierre.
Goof idea: Vote for someone you don’t know, to vote for someone you don’t like, to be forced to vote in the general for someone you never wanted, so they can vote for the ‘values’ of the group that manipulated the system, while in Pierre.
All endorsements for all offices should be decided at the convention. It makes for better candidates and discourages challenges to rock solid conservative leaders like Dusty Johnson and John Thune. Republican voters select delegates to do the vetting process of who we should endorse for the general election. Opening it up to all registered Republicans increases the chance that crazy takes over the party. A broader electorate brings about greater chances of chaos. Look to history. No one saw Eric Cantor (‘member him??) loosing. It was a primary election that caused his downfall. A convention system keeps pols closer to the party and more adherent to major planks of the platform.
The Party has already fractured into factions with little in common other than to call themselves Republicans. I prefer to follow the constructive Republicans who have sacrificed their funds, volunteered their time and talent, and exhibited fortitude and civility in moving the Party forward to victory in election after election. They are pragmatic leaders who have, over the years, welded together a political powerhouse. Let the MAGAs and the Q’s go their own way. You know they vicious arguments amognst themselves. Their political efforts will fall apart in recrimination and defeat.
If MAGA loses, and you call yourself a Republican … you lose too.
Good to see the state party chair has the spine of a salamander. It would be nice if Thune/Rounds/Johnson took a less hands-off approach and started steering the party away from the Orange Jesus fanatics.
In what delusional universe was Rush Limbaugh a paragon of civility?
Wiik is clearly in over his head, and if he and his predecessor weren’t so spineless they’d have cut this cancer from the party before it metastasized into the organizational dumpster fire that it is today.
They’re established because they’re EFFECTIVE.
They’re leaders because they LEAD.
I won delegation in a suburban precinct in the most Republican populated area of Rapid City with NO CONTEST, BECAUSE 95% OR MORE PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW, AND DO NOT CARE TO KNOW, WHO THEIR PRECINCT DELEGATES ARE. If you know how long Division works, it’s less than 5% in most precincts.
Why, you ask?
Because until very recently, we used to have something called decorum, responsibility to represent the will of the people, mutual respect among the party DESPITE disagreements. You nincompoops have ruined our system and are ruining our state without a care in the world. Worse than that, you’re showing that Republican values and tactics are no more virtuous than the Liberal opposition, REMEMBER THEM?!?!? YOU HAVE BECOME THEM.
I just wish being a representative involved any form of actual manual labor, that way you soft-handed little cityfolk would be forced to find a new hobby and let the grownups do the real work.
The simplest solution is for the precinct committee people to begin their term of office on July 1, when campaign season goes in to full swing. The very first thing required of them would be to show up for the Independence Day parades.
If the bylaws committee persists in their inertia, if the central committee is unwilling to make the change, a whole lot of us are going to put our time and money elsewhere.
we didnt call them MAGA or Qanon in 2014 when they created a national embarrassment for the state party by voting for a resolution calling for the impeachment of Obama, without cause, we called them idiots.
We didnt call them MAGA or Qanon in 2020 when they voted down a resolution celebrating the Emancipation Declaration and the Republican Party’s origins in the abolitionist movement, we called them racists.
We didnt call them MAGA or Qanon when they attempted to bankrupt the party, and seize the money for themselves, we called them parasites.
And we didn’t call them MAGA or Qanon when they tried to vote down the party’s endorsement of its own candidates, we called them Democrats.
If you are opposed to due process, if you are in favor of slavery, if you want somebody else to pay for your stuff, and you don’t support Republican candidates, you are in the wrong party. Bye-bye!
What the heck happened in Brown County? They really went off the rails up there.
They really did go off the rails in Brown County. We have two parties running up here, the Republican Party and the Want to Change the Republican Party. I like to call them the Crazies, the WCRP.