As mentioned yesterday, State Representative Brandei Schaefbauer announced that we won’t have her to kick around in the State House next year. (Nothing to do with the 4-way primary in her District generated in part by her awful service in Pierre I’m sure..).
During the past two years especially, I watched closely and with growing disappointment as those very principles were bent, twisted and broken by people I thought were my friends, in service of predetermined priorities and unelected stakeholders, some of whom are allowed to enrich themselves and their organizations by influencing the voting decisions of your elected leadership.I found this unconscionable, disillusioning and heartbreaking.
There are specific moments and instances that I could tell you about and describe, but I will keep those details to myself for now.
My reasons for running for this office were to protect the people of South Dakota from the influences I saw pouring into our state from places that do not share our values and are only interested in the expansion of power in service of an un-American agenda. I naively believed that my concerns would be shared and championed by people already in elected office and that we work together to resist those influences and defend our great state of South Dakota.
What I experienced instead was a system of coercion, preordained voting instructions and a stifling of honest debate on the critical issues facing both our state and nation.
People calling themselves “true conservatives” have engaged in back-room dealings and dishonest strategies meant to deceive South Dakota citizens about their true objectives and the values they hold.
During the past two years, an increasingly divisive and unpleasant atmosphere and leadership culture were allowed to take hold, fracturing a previously unified conservative base into splintered factions incapable of consensus and enforced by personal mistreatment, reputational distortion, and ostracism.
… why don’t I think she wrote this overly long rant, flaming her colleagues on the way out? (There are a number of big words in here.)
If at some time in the future, you’re ever feeling nostalgic for Brandei-isms, just remember: if Brandei had her way, we’d be more than 6 months into her civil war by now:
Interesting dog whistle calling out Hansen though
Now she can spend more time with her lover Shad.
Worst thing that ever happened to her.
While I’m glad to see another idealogue leave Pierre, some of what she says in her rant rings true.Those claiming to be “true conservatives” turning out to be nothing more than manipulators and grifters wasn’t news to most of us, but I applaud her for finally understanding it. Past two years of divisive leadership? Fact. Splintered factions? Fact. Again, I’m glad she’s leaving, but she isn’t necessarily wrong in her summation.
Thank you Brandei for finally doing something for D3 by getting out of the legislature. Hopefully D3 can get rid of Carl and Al as well.
Please take a hard look at our skyrocketing national debt under the management of Thune, Rounds, Johnson and the Republican controlled rubber-stamp Congress that dutifully spends money we don’t have on new wars and everything else that Trump demands. Then take a hard look at Brandei and all the rest of our South Dakota Trump-inspired conspiracy loving crazy caucus members — and tell us again that Democrats are the problem!
Look at all the fraud under Democratic governors, all the money spent getting the illegal aliens out of our country that a Democratic president let in and tell me about how the Democrats haven’t added to our national debt.
Wow, not even close. There isn’t a democrat sin in the country to match the law-unto-himself lawlessness of Trump and the fecklessness of the do-nothing Republican shadow-Congress. Everything you can measure under Trump is falling like a rock, except his bank account.
“During the past two years, an increasingly divisive and unpleasant atmosphere and leadership culture were allowed to take hold, fracturing a previously unified conservative base into splintered factions incapable of consensus and enforced by personal mistreatment, reputational distortion, and ostracism.”
Finally…, something the soon-to-be-former representative from District 3 and I agree on…
One thing I would say to her though: I’ve been watching your votes and you’ve been on the side of the “divisiveness and unpleasant atmosphere, splintered factions incapable of consensus”, etc.
What makes me say that? When an individual, or significant group of individuals in this case, show up as elected legislators and have no interest in learning the whole issue; no interest in understanding, not necessarily agreeing to, but at least understanding that there are two sides to an issue; being absolutely unwilling to acknowledge anyone or any issue that is different than what you think, or have been told to think, and then have the audacity to say it’s everyone else’s fault?
There have been more ‘labels’ thrown around in Pierre the past couple years than I can ever remember. Labels create division, not understanding or, heaven forbid, possible consensus or compromise…
Think about this long and hard, voters, before you make your next choices in June.
She sees an opening now that Kristi has fallen, she just needs some filler and Botox time to get there. There is a place for her seated at the right hand of Toby.
Guess I will say a prayer for her. Such a disappointing exit. Can anyone tell me where she went crazy?
Not the only one who ever came down with “legislator-itis.” A disease where after serving in the legislature, sometimes there are those who believe they have been delivered by God to lead the masses, and every word out of their mouth should be considered divine insight.
Thankfully, they are balanced by those whose heads have not gotten too big for their hats.
Truth!
“Russia-gate?” “killing Dr Fauci??” As they used to say after blowing stuff up on Mythbusters, “well THERE’S your problem!!” True nut case in the house.
Thank the Lord Brandei Schaefbauer will be gone! She was a very costly legislator for District 3!
Is Mr./Mrs Kayleb Weis trying to replace Rep Fosness or Rep. Manhart in District 2?
Fosness and Manhart are out of District 1.
Correction: D1 Thank you!
Kayleb is running in 3
Great! We can look forward to the Weis family one by one stepping up to ask Kayleb questions at the candidate forum.
Weis is just as bad or worse than the others.
There have been many stupid legislators. There are a number of stupid legislators in the current body. But Brandei is perhaps the dumbest of the dumb in the history of the South Dakota Legislature.
This is how I felt whenever she finished speaking. This is from Billy Madison. “Rep. Schaefbauer, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought.”
This session it was a contest between BranDEI, Rice, Ismay and Jordan on who would give the dumbest speech when they stood up on the floor.
Haha. I was thinking the same thing. Rice couldn’t form coherent sentences or thoughts. I believe she truly has dyslexia. I believe she was just trying to regurgitate thoughts and talking points that her beta husband was providing her, bless her heart. Ismay always wanted to “bring it down to the cowboy level.” Trav, my in-laws are cowboys and they don’t sound 1/2 as dumb as you. Thats not cowboy talk, thats dopey talk and offensive to “real” cowboys. Probably stop. When Phil J didn’t provide Dylan with a script, which was read at a 3rd grade level, Dylan’s comments were “it’s a good bill, I agree with it, vote green.” And Phil, if you and Dylan find your selves back in the Legislature, please pass Dylan notes with only one or 2 syllable words. As entertaining as it is to hear Dylan try to pontificate, it’s is also very time consuming.
Do us all a favor (mainly your own dignity) and go quietly into the night, Brandei. Haven’t you done enough?
This could be an anecdotal case study of Ivermectin-correlated dementia.
It would be interesting to see how common this is.
Will never forget the last legislative coffee where Brandie Schaefbauer had women across the room laughing at her during one of her many ignorant and infamous self righteous tirades. She stopped and barked at one attendee yet the laughing continued. What a sad embarrassment for Brown County.
Goodbye, good riddance, and please take the rest of the tinfoil hat-wearing Free (to be) Dumb Caucus members with you.
“During the past two years especially, I watched closely and with growing disappointment as those very principles were bent, twisted and broken by people I thought were my friends, in service of predetermined priorities and unelected stakeholders, some of whom are allowed to enrich themselves and their organizations by influencing the voting decisions of your elected leadership.I found this unconscionable, disillusioning and heartbreaking.
There are specific moments and instances that I could tell you about and describe, but I will keep those details to myself for now.”
If you know someone is doing something illegal, than talk. Shouldn’t that be part of your duties?