The Argus has a story up this AM about Republican State Representative Isaac Latterell drawing attention to himself during the voting at the Republican National Convention by gesturing while the delegation was casting their ballot in the roll of states:

In a face palm of protest, one South Dakota Republican said with his body language what many GOP members wanted to Tuesday night.

Amid cheers from South Dakota delegates announcing that the state’s 29 delegates would support Republican nominee Donald Trump, state Rep. Isaac Latterell, R-Tea, rolled his eyes and clamped his hand over his face.

Read it here.

Latterell then went on in the article to call the RNC “corrupt” without defining why, other than to mention he voted for another candidate. Really?

There was another option for Latterell, other than to participate in this allegedly “corrupt” process. Just not go. 

There was no one holding him hostage, forcing him to go to Cleveland. No one demanded he go be wined, dined, entertained and hosted at the big show of the Republican convention.

In fact the rules of delegates being bound to the candidate winning the state were known many, many months in advance, and they were set by the State Republican Party, not the RNC. They were set that way because of the lateness of our primary, and the earlier convention. 

If Latterell didn’t want to be a bound candidate, he should have not signed up to be one. It’s a multitiered process you have to run for.  If he doesn’t like the rules, he should have registered a complaint when they were being made by the South Dakota Republican State Central Committee. 

Making faces on national television seems to be the kind of thing that should be beneath a state legislator, especially one who signed up for his ticket to ride in full knowledge of what that meant. 

And as he basks in his newfound notoriety for his protest of the “corrupt” RNC…   He will have to seek some measure of refuge from all the corruption in the free parties and events he is forced to take part of.

I’m sure in the aftermath, this mighty social justice warrior will return from Cleveland clutching his bag of free swag handed to him upon his arrival, with the delegate badge and toy guitar.

Such are the burdens of a modern-day protester.

As he continues to be noticed as one of the top two or three candidates for the office of Governor, State Representative, and anticipated Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson has launched a new website for his District 13 House Race, albeit one he is handily expected to win as he and fellow Republican Steve Westra face token opposition from the Democrats for District 13 State House, James Eckhoff & Ellee Spawn.

I suspect it’s not going to garner much statewide attention at this point. But just wait 6 – 8 months until the players for the 2018 Gubernatorial contest fire their machines up, and put things in gear. I suspect we’ll see a lot more activity.

Go check it out here.

Did You Know? Public Funding Laws Enabled Corruption

Governments with public funding laws saw rampant misuse of taxpayer dollars and illegal schemes to obtain funds

Sioux Falls, S.D. – Defeat22.com, a coalition of South Dakota charities, businesses, and policy organizations opposed to Initiated Measure 22, drew attention today to research showing how candidates in Arizona, Maine, and New York City misused the state’s public funding law. Public records show how candidates used taxpayer funds for parties and to pay their campaigns, and filed false information to obtain the free taxpayer money. 

Click here to see multiple documented examples of public funding laws enabling corruption.

“It’s no surprise that giving away taxpayer money to political candidates enables the lowest types to take advantage of the system and enrich themselves at the expense of the public,” explained Ben Lee, Chairman and spokesman for Defeat22.com. “Measure 22 would set up a public funding law, pouring taxpayer money into political campaigns and enabling corrupt candidates to take advantage of taxpayers. Fixing political corruption is an important issue, but it won’t be solved by dumping tax dollars into the system.”

Last week Defeat22.com announced the initial coalition partners. Earlier this month they announced a new radio ad, mailer, and grassroots door knocking effort. The coalition plans to continue heavy grassroots advocacy and paid media over the next four months.

Apparently, when you can only raise $24,000, you’re out fishing for likes instead of votes.

(Seriously, I laughed out loud when i read the headline.)

Do you ever wonder if there’s political candidates out there who are simply so obtuse, they just don’t “get it?”

In watching the hapless campaign of Congressional hopeful Paula Hawks, it just seems as if the  depth of knowledge she has about Congress is lacking, and she simply does not understand the mechanisms by which it operates.

Case in point is her latest fundraising/campaign ploy where she is trying to make hay over Congresswoman Noem accepting a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee. As she stated in a recent story in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

Hawks said she’d like to ask Noem about her silence on South Dakota’s conversation about expanding Medicaid and on her leaving the House Committee on Agriculture. The Democrat told dozens of supporters at a town hall meeting Thursday that she’d make sure she and Noem get to have a public dialogue.

Read that here.

So, let me understand this; After Ag Committee member Congresswoman Noem had a seat at the table to push through the first farm bill since 2008, and moved a reluctant House GOP Caucus to accept and pass the farm bill, her leadership was recognized and she was given a seat on Ways & Means, the most powerful committee in Congress .

And so, now, Paula Hawks wants to know why she didn’t stay on the Ag committee?  I can’t help but think that Hawks seems a bit thick in the head. 

If you’re not familiar with the Ways and Means Committee:

Because of its wide jurisdiction, Ways and Means has always been one of the most important committees with respect to impact on policy. … it is seen as a valuable post for two reasons. First, since its range is so broad, members with a wide array of policy concerns often seek positions, simply to be able to influence policy decisions. Some recent major issues that have gone through this committee include welfare reform, a Medicare prescription drug benefit, Social Security reform, George W. Bush’s tax cuts, and trade agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Read that here.

I’m guessing either Paula Hawks doesn’t think tax policy, tax cuts, trade agreements, Social Security reform, and Medicare prescription drug benefits are important, or she hasn’t bothered to do one iota of research of what Noem is doing on the committee. Because she’s kvetching about Noem moving up from the committee where she already accomplished her #1 goal – passing a farm bill.

If we’re looking at it in terms of the State legislature – where Hawks’ mind seems to be stuck – it’s like moving up from the state Ag Committee to the State Affairs committee. One is topically important, but the other can deal with whatever it wants to, because it looks at everything. (Noem also sits on the United States House Ways and Means Subcommittees on Select Revenue Measures, and Human Resources.)

You might consider that a key difference between the candidates.

Hawks’ lack of knowledge about the basic processes of our Congress has her focusing on things that aren’t important. It showed in the haphazard way that her campaign rolled out, and continues to dog her in lacking a grasp of the issues that affect the office, as she continues to talk about state issues such as Medicaid expansion, something that’s not part of the Congressional race, no matter how hard she might try to make it part of the conversation.

In other words, you can’t help but wonder if she just doesn’t get it. 

Contrast that with Noem – who took her role in Congress seriously, did the best job she could with her position in delivering a solid win for Agriculture, and was promoted by her peers for her exceptional work.

There’s a clear difference between the candidates for the office of Congress.  And unfortunately, one is choosing to spend her time showing how she isn’t ready for it.

While the most recent Republican president and the last two nominees are taking a pass on attending convention, we apparently get Scott Baio addressing the Republican National Convention instead.

After Scott Baio publicly endorsed Donald Trump earlier this year, it appears as though the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has hand-picked the “Happy Days” actor to speak at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Baio confirmed the news to Jeannie Pirro on Fox News’ “Justice With Judge Jeanine” on Saturday. The actor explained that he was at a Trump fundraiser recently when the politician personally asked him to speak at the convention.

“He had given a speech and he was walking out,” he said. “I looked at him and said, ‘Mr. Trump, Scott Baio,’ and he goes, ‘Oh my God,’ and he said to me, ‘Did you want to speak?’ and I went, ‘Here?’ and he goes, ‘No, no, no, at the convention.’”

Read it here.

I’m not sure what you say to that, other than it’s still better than if Hillary Clinton was president.

I’m listening to US Senator Mike Rounds on KELO AM with Greg Belfrage right now talking about his legislation on helping local community banks get back to the business of offering loans, instead of not being able to under the regulatory burdens of Dodd-Frank, as well as trying to do something about the high rate of veteran suicide.

I believe they archive these, so as soon as it’s available, I’ll post a link.

If you’ve been watching this, I suspect the new Sioux Falls City Administration castle that Democrat prince Mayor Mike Huether is attempting to build is going to continue to unravel the more that people continue to talk about it.

Here’s a facebook post from City Councilor Greg Neitzert that was recently noted by the Minnehaha County GOP:

Add to that what the Argus is saying this morning:

Back in April, after Mayor Mike Huether broke a tie vote to move forward with the new building, council members took it upon themselves to investigate the possibility of converting the 300 Building to a government office building. Following that, the city hired Koch Hazard Architects and construction company Henry Carlson Co. to assess the building’s viability. They determined the cost of turning the 300 Building into the type of facility that the city needs would cost about $21.6 million, about $300,000 less than building new.

Which would be all well and good if Kock Hazard and Henry Carlson were not the same businesses the city has contracted with to design and build the proposed new admin building.

Yep… I think it’s coming undone.