Senate Majority Leader John Thune Vows to Prioritize American Energy Security

““One of the best things that we can do for our national security is to ensure that we have a stable, reliable, and affordable domestic energy supply.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

From Facebook, Senator Mike Rounds continues to meet with cabinet nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for the Director of National Intelligence:

You ever watch a car that’s out of control? One where you internally cringe a little, because you see the post it’s careening towards, and you know it is absolutely going to crash?   That’s the situation with House Bill 1009, as being promoted and supported by Young Americans for Liberty/American Action Fund lobbyist Anthony Mirzayants.

Mirzayants is for the HB1009 school voucher being fronted by new House member Heather Baxter. HB1020 is the school voucher bill being fronted by House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach.  For some reason, Mirayants thinks his lobbying effort for his school voucher bill is going to be productive by swinging at the House Majority Leader’s wife on facebook over his bill, as demonstrated in this facebook exchange..

Does anyone think this is going to end well for the lobbyist and his legislation?

US Senator Mike Rounds spoke with Fox & Friends this AM to discuss Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, noting that ”We think he’s the right guy for the job”

From twitter:

Last night, I had dinner with President-elect @realDonaldTrump. We spent our time strategizing the best way to deliver wins on the issues that Americans care about most: securing our border, pushing back against the CCP, and growing our economy. pic.twitter.com/9QzRXbieTX

— Dusty Johnson (@DustyJohnson) January 13, 2025

Well, that’s a new one.  One of the leaders of the “Coalition of Confederate GOP Counties,” as I term them has supposedly authored and is circulating a document talking about his group’s goals which has intentions of taking a much more militant view of the South Dakota Republican Party, including dogma/Republican Party platform enforcement enforcement, and that they intend to install someone in Pierre to tell legislative leadership what to do.

In the manifesto authored by Stu Cvrk, according to the document properties as noted…

… as one of the leaders of this faction of the Republican party, Stu writes that the Democrat Party has apparently had an active program to infiltrate the SDGOP and take over that way, and that all leadership billets are filled by those so-called Democrat infiltrators.

….With Republicans in total control of the state, the Democrats have figured out how to infiltrate and destroy the state GOP from within by registering people interested in a political career and running them as Republicans. Part of the reason for the “disconnect” between so-called moderates and grassroots conservatives is that those moderates vote like Democrats, for all practical purposes. And that has alienated rank-and-file Republicans over time because all of the leadership billets in the state legislature are filled by moderates, creating apathy and outrage at some of the antics in Pierre in recent years….

On behalf of his group, Stu expresses the belief that the Republican party – in a manner not unlike the communist party – should be the one providing the policy directives and speaking on issues, as opposed to people elected by voters that we call elected officials.  And points out they need to lead, because the national GOP is silent on issues..?

We also believe that the state Party should be making political statements that address the national issues of our time since we represent one of the reddest states of the nation. That means actually leading on some of those statements/resolutions since the national GOP is silent on key issues. We can’t preserve our state if the country is lost in the process.

Towards these goals, this faction of the Republican party intends to have a member of their group in Pierre during the session, for purposes of dogma enforcement with legislative leadership.

…and advocating for/against legislation pending this session consistent with the above vision and goals. Regarding the latter, we hope to have a coalition rep present in Pierre for liaison purposes with the legislative leadership during the 100^th session that convenes on 14 January.

And if people aren’t following the Republican platform as they see it, it’s their way or the highway..

We are interested in electing Republicans, of course, but not those who masquerade as Republicans and then vote like Democrats. That’s a continuing recipe for disaster. Accountability to the people, the platform, and bedrock Republican principles is in order..

You can read it all here.

This is a continuing WTF?!? moment, and should be a wake-up call for good people to get involved in government. Because, if you don’t, this is what is going to remain to run the South Dakota Republican Party.

 State Rep-Elect Otten Announces Resignation, Gov. Noem Seeks Public Input on Replacement

 
PIERRE, SD – On Friday, Representative-elect Herman Otten announced that he will resign his seat in the State House of Representatives. Upon Representative-elect Otten’s resignation, Governor Kristi Noem requested public input on filling the District 6 vacancy. 

Otten represented District 6 in the State House from 2013-2020 and in the State Senate from 2021-2024. He was elected to the State House of Representatives this past November and declined to serve the term for which he was elected.

Those wishing to be considered for the vacancy in the House of Representatives, or to offer nominations, should email ryan.brunner@state.sd.us. Nominations should include the candidate’s name, current physical address, resume, cover letter, and letters of recommendation. All nomination materials must be submitted by January 24.

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Attorney General Jackley Joins Legal Brief in Support Of Ten Commandments Display in Public Schools

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley joins 17 other Attorneys General in supporting the state of Louisiana law that requires all K-12 schools and state-funded universities to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

“The Ten Commandments already are displayed in the U.S. Supreme Court and other public buildings,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The Ten Commandments have influenced the creation of our nation and our rule of law.”

Louisiana’s State Legislature in 2024 passed, and the Governor signed, a bill requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms at all public K-12 schools and universities. A federal district court has blocked the law from taking effect.

The coalition of Attorneys General filed an amicus brief in late December supporting Louisiana’s appeal of the federal court’s decision. Other Attorney Generals who have signed the brief are from: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

The brief can be found here:

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Does Representative Sjaarda like his picante sauce made in New York City? Because it looks like he gets his legislation from there.  I was just writing this AM on his proposed ban on cashless businesses, and a reader pointed out that this is not an original idea.

In fact, it’s straight out of San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York City:

 New York City’s council has voted to ban cashless businesses, in what politicians said was an effort to rein in “the excesses of the digital economy” and stop discrimination against low-income residents.

The city council on Thursday almost unanimously passed legislation, which will fine retail outlets, including stores and restaurants, if they refuse to accept cash payment.

and..

If the bill is approved by the mayor, Bill De Blasio, New York City would become the latest place to ban businesses from only accepting payment by debit or credit. New Jersey, Philadelphia and San Francisco brought in their own bans on cashless businesses in 2019.

Read the entire story there.

Sjaarda is taking Democratic New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s hard liberal lead?  Looks like they like his legislation in California as well:

In a statement, Councilwoman Heather Hutt, who introduced the motion, said “Cashless businesses create an economy in our city that is not inclusive and accessible for all people. There are many unbanked groups, including BIPOC and low-income communities, that rely on cash to pay for goods and services. As a city that has promised to be a safe and fair place for all, we must be proactive in ensuring that all our systems create fairness and equity for each and every individual.”

Read it all here.

This is going to be a weird year in the South Dakota legislature. When you call yourself so far right that you end up being left.

But that’s what happens when you crib legislation and your picante sauce from New York City.

You can tell this is legislative session with a lot of religious interests this year, as just like Lazarus, they’re trying to bring things back to life that were most surely dead. This time the South Dakota Legislature is proposing to resurrect a measure that voters put down in 2022.  In case you had forgotten from back in 2022:

Constitutional Amendment C
Title – Proposing and submitting to the voters at the next primary election a new section to Article XI of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, relating to a three-fifths vote requirement for certain initiated or Legislature-proposed constitutional amendments and initiated or Legislature-referred measures.