Passing Along Freedom
By: Gov. Kristi Noem  
October 25, 2024  

Next year, we will celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – America’s 250^th birthday! When our Founding Fathers wrote that incredible document, they were in a war for their Freedom against Great Britain, the strongest military in the world at the time. They didn’t know that they would win – in fact, they knew that they might lose. So at the end of the document, they pledged “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” to support the principles that the Declaration stood for.

At that signing, Benjamin Franklin famously said, “we must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.” Our Founding Fathers knew how far they were willing to go to establish a constitutional republic built on Freedom and independence.

Every November, we as Americans have the opportunity to vote as part of this constitutional republic. We vote for local, state, and federal officials – we often vote on ballot measures that impact our lives and the lives of those around us. As the Declaration of Independence says, these votes provide the “consent of the governed” on which our entire government is built.

I think our South Dakota motto says it best: “Under God, the People Rule.”

And that system is only possible if we vote. We cannot take it for granted that those around us will vote for us. We have been blessed with Freedom, and the flip side of that coin is personal responsibility to participate in our government.

Election Day is coming up on November 5, and early voting has been open for a couple weeks already. I am asking all of you to get out, do your part, and vote.

As President Reagan famously said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

We all have an opportunity to pass down Freedom to our kids and grandkids – but only if we participate and vote. We aren’t being asked to pledge “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,” but we should be willing to do our part to defend this great nation that we are so blessed to live in.

Get out and VOTE!

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Speaking of Dusty Johnson, I went to the Dusty Johnson fundraiser in Brookings a few days ago where they were handing out Dusty Johnson for Congress signs.  And there’s something different about the newest batch.

Comparing the new signs to the ones from last election, notice anything different?

The newest signs don’t have an office on them.

Maybe so thrifty South Dakotans can use them in the next election and they’re keeping options open at the moment?

Stay tuned.

We are the Republican Main Street Caucus.

Watch 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/2vJJjHe9OT

— Republican Main Street Caucus (@CaucusMain) October 25, 2024

The Amendment H – SD Open Primaries group has a new ad up, tagging off of Saturday’s SDSU Game where that team from Vermillion is going to make an appearance:

From Facebook:

The Campaign Finance Filing for Toby Doeden’s Political Action Committee , Dakota First Action PAC, has been posted at the Secretary of State’s website.  In case you were wondering who paid money to support the biggest debacle of a political event in South Dakota history – the Mark Robinson Rally – here’s exhibit #1.

Since the primary election, it appears that the largest donor to the political action committee is not Doeden, who gave his PAC another loan for 5k, but  State Representative Brandei Schaefbauer is the committee’s largest donor, having given not just $750 out of her pocket for Doeden PAC, but she shifted $4000 out of her own campaign coffers to Toby Doeden for his use.

Dakota First Pac Campaign Finance Disclosure by Pat Powers on Scribd

So, of the $7800 in donations from individuals and PAC’s she reported since the primary,.. she tithed 60% of it directly back to Toby’s Political Action Committee, so he could try to bring Mark Robinson to South Dakota. 

And there are a lot of other names on the list you’ll recognize, in case you were curious who wanted a seat at the Mark Robinson Rally:

Besides Brandei being all in, Brown County Commissioner Drew Dennert was a $250 donor. Dave “move to Wakanda” Roetman is on the list. The crackpot who lost for D7 Senate in 2022, Julie Erickson sent in her $250. D4 House Candidate Dylan Jordan is on the list. Senate Candidate”California” John Carley paid $500.

Taffy Howard was there with her $250 check in hand. (Try not to be shocked).  Conference room gun-slinger & State Rep Julie Auch was in $250. Free-dumb caucus member and State Rep. Tina Mulally came with a big $1250 check, as did former District 24 House Hopeful Mary Weinheimer. Minnehaha County Commission Candidate Cole Heisey made sure he was there. Julie Frye Mueller’s buddy Anthony Mirzayants paid his toll, as did State Rep. Karla Lems.  D14 Candidate Tony Kayser thought it was a good idea to send a $500 check as well, as did the South Dakota Young Republicans.  (SDYR’s sent $500 for this shady crap? Ugh. Don’t send them any more money if that’s the way they’re going to spend it.)  Also disappointed to see Joni Tschetter shifting campaign funds over to this, but Brandei for House is the real shocker, as Schaefbauer put more into it than anyone.

A few takeaways.. I’m sure not all of these attended. But even so, it’s not a long list for a group touting themselves as some sort of conservative answer to the Republican party. We can be thankful for that, because the event itself hurt the Republican cause. Does anyone think this attracted new voters to the Republican Party? No. Did it cause fewer people to look at the GOP and say – “I like the way they think?”  Of course it did.

Because this was a complete sh*t-show and attracted no one to become a Republican, unless there were some people wearing pointy bedsheets who were registered independents.

By encouraging and fanning the flames of the worst in the GOP, this is the way Republicans are going to lose elections in South Dakota.

After the pile of postcards and invoices I needed to be reimbursed for were spilling off my desk today, I cleaned up and submitted, and dug out.. and I came across my certificate of election for Precinct Committeeman from the June Primary:

Apparently the Brookings County Auditor laminated it. I mean, it’s a nice gesture, but it’s heavy duty lamination, like a 3 year old’s place mat. This thing will outlast my future grandchildren.

So, I can use it to prove my claim to the office, and to help keep my desk clean when I’m eating lunch at my computer.

Next election, I’m wondering if I can get my certificate of election with the solar system on the other side?

 

 

If I ever needed a reason to avoid work, my daughter and her husband showing up with a pile of campaign ribbons I bought last week was one of the best excuses I’ve had. Especially considering there’s not a single one I already have.

The Auction house who sold them was closer to her in Vermillion where she’s in her last semester of law school than me in Brookings, and she was nice enough to run them up after class for me.  And there’s some great stuff.

6 GOP State Convention ribbons, a previously undiscovered Pierre for Capital Ribbon, 3 campaign ribbons from 1906, a national creamery buttermaker’s convention ribbon from 1899, an 1899 Corn Belt exposition ribbon, and just a pile of neat stuff.

Emrick did run for Congress in 1906, but lost at convention to Col. Parker, according to news stories at the time:

Interestingly, this story is similar to others in South Dakota politics.

There are 2 great ribbons for the man who was our State’s 6th State Treasurer, C. H. Cassill, noting how he’s “Lincoln County’s Choice,” invoking the image of Abe Lincoln:

Lots of great stuff in there.

Half of them are definitely going into my personal collection, and maybe I might be able to make back what I spent on the auction off of the rest. (maybe)

Spotted on the road in Sioux Falls today.

Whoa! This one slipped under the radar.  While no one was looking, District 3 House Democrat Candidate Erin Rudner came in and ran the boards with fundraising, bringing in more than her Republican opponents combined.

Erin Rudner D3 Candidate by Pat Powers on Scribd

 

In D3, Novstrup brought in $12k, after a $3700 loan to himself, and Schaefbauer raised $21,325 after giving herself a $10,000 loan.

But with income of over $46,000 (inc a $5k loan), it should get some notice that Rudner has some serious capital to work with in her District 3 State House race.  And for her, she doesn’t have to win. Just come in second place and knocking out whomever is the low hanging fruit.

It might be a tall order, but with the interest and energy (and cash dump) coming into that contest, they could turn that into a sleeper upset.