The further a person goes down in the layers of burning dumpster with the Dakota First PAC led by Toby Doeden and Doeden’s event that is being headlined by Gubernatorial Candidate Mark Robinson from North Carolina, the deeper the pit in your stomach gets over what the promoters of this event seem to be embracing.

And this comes as the Republicans of North Carolina are bracing themselves for a story that reportedly has Republicans looking to offload their candidate for Governor, as well as Team Trump declaring him persona non grata.

There was a story when Toby Doeden first came on the scene that if you read it, it paints things in a very different light when taken alongside with the controversies brought to South Dakota, as he highlights embattled North Carolina Gubernatorial Candidate Mark Robinson.

In case you have forgotten, the story was in the Dakota Scout this last January that pointed out Doeden’s casual anti-semitism in a tweet as he denied terrifying statistics that 1 in 4 Jewish Americans were the victim of a hate crime, calling it “Fake.”

And he was called out for it by the past chair of the SDGOP:

This guy wants to represent South Dakota in Congress yet disrespects victims of anti-Semitism. No thank you, @TobyforCongress. Here’s a tweet from Toby Doeden’s recently deleted Twitter account: https://t.co/GFIduGbn5a pic.twitter.com/z4hvap3Pdc

— Dan Lederman (@danlederman) January 10, 2024

Of course, Doeden claimed his post “was taken out of context,” despite declaring “THIS IS FAKE” when faced with statistics about Jewish hate crimes. I’m not sure what other context it could be taken in, but as you’ll read, this seems to be a recurrent theme.

Now fast forward 9 months as momentary candidate and now Political Action Committee leader Toby announced he was holding a conservative rally, and bringing a headliner that no one in South Dakota had ever heard of:

Mark Robinson.. Why on earth would Toby Doeden bringing Mark Robinson to South Dakota? Among the first things we found out about Robinson?

In 2018, Robinson shared an anti-gun-control post on Facebook that said, in part: “This foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash.” And last year, speaking at a Charlotte-area church, he said Christians “are called to be led by men,” though he later appeared to backtrack, saying his remarks were meant to encourage men, not imply women couldn’t be leaders.

At a news conference in October, Robinson also downplayed his previous statements about Jews and the Holocaust. “There have been some Facebook posts that were poorly worded on my part,” he said, according to NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh. “There is no antisemitism standing here in front of you.”

Read that here.

Oh. More anti-semitism, with accompanying claims of denial. Where have we heard that before? Of course, Robinson denied that it was anti-semitic holocaust denial, much like Doeden denied his statement.

But, as we’re finding out today, maybe it wasn’t the only time..

According to Business North Carolina, Mark Robinson is expected to go on CNN later today to defend himself against a pending story that supposedly accuses him of referring to himself as a "Black Nazi," smearing MLK and making antisemitic comments.https://t.co/Ebb5RqRNBY pic.twitter.com/GGBwbFr2UQ

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 19, 2024

Right now North Carolina Republicans and Team Trump are holding their collective breath waiting for the CNN story, and how bad it’s going to be, and whether they can push him off the ticket. Forget Robinson’s race at this point, right now he threatens to to sink Trump in that state, and to take the entire slate of Republican party candidates down with him.

Yet, this is the person that Toby Doeden is holding out to headline his “night of inspiration, networking, and entertainment.”

If hate-speech is what this event is trying to inspire, it seems that Toby Doeden is going down that road.

**UPDATE**

The CNN Story is out.

Mark Robinson, the controversial and socially conservative Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina, made a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website’s message board more than a decade ago, in which he referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” and expressed support for reinstating slavery, a CNN KFile investigation found.

Despite a recent history of anti-transgender rhetoric, Robinson said he enjoyed watching transgender pornography, a review of archived messages found in which he also referred to himself as a “perv.”

and..

In the pornographic forums, Robinson revealed his unvarnished thoughts on issues such as race, gender and abortion.

Writing in a forum discussing Black Republicans in October 2010, Robinson stated unprovoked: “I’m a Black Nazi!”

That same month, Robinson wrote in another post that he supported the return of slavery.

“Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few,” he wrote.

In March 2012, Robinson wrote that he preferred the former leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler over the leadership in Washington during the administration of Barack Obama.

“I’d take Hitler over any of the sh*t that’s in Washington right now!” he wrote.

And that, Dakota First Victory Gala attendees, just may be your speaker.

Gov. Noem Joins Governors’ Coalition for Energy Choice

PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem is one of the founding members of the Governor’s Coalition for Energy Choice (Coalition). The Coalition will help state leaders formulate smart energy policies that will benefit working families, businesses, and our communities.

“We believe in an all-of-the-above approach to unleash American energy and drive down costs for families across our great country,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “South Dakota is the number one state in America for production of renewable energy, not because we mandate it, but because we trust our energy producers to create the most energy for South Dakotans at the lowest cost. The entire nation should take that same approach.”

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 77% of South Dakota’s electricity generation comes from renewable sources, primarily wind and hydropower. South Dakota is also an ideal place for emerging energy production such as next-gen nuclear capabilities and other technologies.

Gas prices are up 51.3% since January 2021, and electricity prices are up 30.1% over the same timeframe.

The Coalition will ensure continued energy choice, minimize permitting and other regulatory barriers, limit expensive energy mandates, focus on affordability and reliability of energy infrastructure, and coordinate to positively manage energy resources and the environment.

Governor Noem was joined in launching the coalition by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

You can find Governor Landry’s announcement of the coalition here.

###

HOT off the press regarding Toby Doeden’s keynote Speaker for his Dumpster Fyre-Fest:

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨

NC Republicans pressure Gubernatorial Candidate Mark Robinson to drop out of the race as scandal unfolds#ncga #ncpol

— Carolina Journal (@CarolinaJournal) September 19, 2024

Sources with direct knowledge have spoken with Carolina Journal on the condition of anonymity and said that Robinson is under pressure from staff and members of the Trump campaign to withdraw from the governor’s race due to the nature of the story, which they say involves activity on adult websites in 2000s.

According to sources, Robinson has resisted withdrawing, and privately denies the story.

Thursday evening is the state deadline to withdraw from the race. The deadline to remove Robinson’s name from the ballot already has passed. There are just four weeks to go until early voting, and absentee ballots are due to go in the mail Friday.

Read the entire story here.

Well, that takes the pressure off for campaigning during his trip to South Dakota to appear with Toby Doeden.

From KELOland news, a decision has finally been handed down in the matter of the law license for former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg:

The justices in their decision on Thursday found that Ravnsborg violated Rule 8.4(c) which prohibits a lawyer from “engag[ing] in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation[.]”

Chief Justice Steven Jensen wrote that Ravnsborg wasn’t truthful with investigators about the use of his phones prior to the crash.

“Ravnsborg’s responses demonstrated a concerted effort to avoid criminal liability, through dishonesty and misrepresentations, which violated Rule 8.4(c),” Chief Justice Jensen stated. “Finally, Ravnsborg’s patent dishonesty concerning the use of his phone, as well as the developed forensic evidence, raise genuine questions about the integrity of his statements regarding the night of the accident. This conduct, particularly considering Ravnsborg’s prominent position as attorney general, reflected adversely on the legal profession as a whole and impeded the administration of justice.”

The justices also found that Ravnsborg’s conduct as attorney general violated two other rules governing attorneys.

You can read the story here.

And you can read the full decision here:

Ravnsborg Disciplinary Decision by Pat Powers on Scribd

When I’n not working, or writing my website, in the free time I have left over, I’m a hoarder collector of a few specific things.  Such as South Dakota political pins, SD State Capital fight campaign items, and certain comic books.

And among those items, I’m not ashamed to say that there are items in those categories out there that I consider “holy grail’ items for me. Items that are elusive, or so expensive, that they are not everyday purchases.

For my comic book collection, there are a few that relate back to books I owned when I was a teenager.  X-men #1 (1963), and All Star Comics #7 (1941) are a couple of them that are holy grails for me, and at some point, I will put them back in my collection when I have the right book at the right price. Those are elusive mainly by cost. If I had the money and opened up my checkbook, I could probably have them tomorrow.

For my South Dakota political buttons, it is not cost as much as the rarity of certain items. We are not a large state, and they just didn’t make that many.  That makes some things just a tough find. Or near impossible. And tonight, I was fortunate enough to put a pin in my collection I’ve been hunting for over 35 years.

The first South Dakota Inaugural pin from 1933. I finally got one.

I’ve been close on occasion before. There was one on eBay around 10 years back. I missed the bid as it cruised out of reach at the time for around $400. Darned kids, and braces. And car repairs, and groceries. How dare they stand in the way of my hoarding?

But aside from the cost on the pin, it is such a difficult one to find, that you might stumble across it with blind luck, as some collectors have, or if you’re like me you hunt for it for decades.

My only problem tonight was the fact that it was one pin out of a collection of 450 South Dakota pins that were all being sold as a group.  I literally had to buy every inaugural pin at once, plus a lot of others, just to get one pin. And now I find myself having to commit to sell 449 other SD pins to try to recoup some of my expense.

But I did win. And after 35 years of looking for this, it’s a task I’m not going to complain anymore about taking on.

I always say the fun is less the actual possession of it, and more of the chase for the item. But, damn. It feels darned good to finally put my hands on this piece of South Dakota history.

update..

I don’t even want to tell Lee what it cost me to get this pin as part of the collection. Lol..

Did you all get the text message tonight telling you what a leading South Dakota conservative you were? Quite a few people I know did, including myself.

An earlier claim from huckster Toby Doeden was that he had already sold 300 tickets at $250-$500 a pop to see a candidate who has made comments about the good old days when women couldn’t vote as well as some holocaust denial, along with reports he has had a pornography problem (which he denies, of course.)

Of course, anyone who’s ever put on a political event in South Dakota knows the claim about selling that many tickets at that price is utter silliness. And tonight‘s text blast confirms it.

In case you’re not a influential conservative like I am, here’s the text that went out, spamming many Republicans, begging people to attend:

STOP.. STOP.. STOP.. STOP.. opting out.. STOP.. STOP.. STOP.. I wonder if that will do the trick.. (hopefully I conservatively influenced you to opt out)

One comment made to me about Robinson‘s headlining this event, is why? Why is he leaving his state at a time when he is crashing in the polls and has gone from slightly up on occasion, to where the most recent polling shows him at below 40% in an ever widening spread?

Unless he’s given up at this point. Ot it’s a really big check.

For gosh’s sake, if that interests you, give it another week and any tickets that are out there are likely to be handed out for free to try to fill seats.

If someone hands you a free ticket to go, just keep in mind you too can be treated to keynote comments such as: “North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) scoffs at the idea that young women should have access to birth control and, repeatedly waving his hand near his groin, says they just need to “get this under control.”

The Hill is reporting this afternoon that Iran had hacked documents from President Trump’s campaign, and was attempting to send it to Biden campaign, as well as sending the documents out to the media:

“Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails,” the agency wrote in a joint statement alongside the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

and..

The alert also said that Iran has “continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations.”

The statement does not indicate whether any of that information has surfaced publicly, but called the episode “the latest example of Iran’s multi-pronged approach…to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.”

Read the entire story here.

Maybe we can send them a box of brand new pagers or walkie-talkies… 

WOW! Reports are out there today that Senator John Thune is out raising millions for the Trump campaign, as well as transferring record amounts for US Senate Candidates as states prepare to kick off absentee voting:

Republican Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota has raised over $1.75 million for the Trump campaign and Republican candidates across the U.S. ahead of two Wednesday fundraisers in Washington D.C., the Daily Caller has first learned.

Thune, who is running for Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s leadership position, will be attending two fundraisers and has raised more than $1.75 million for the Trump 47 events on Wednesday, headlined by Ohio Republican Senator and Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance. The events will benefit the Trump campaign and Republican Senate candidates.

The Caller also learned that Thune has raised more than $28 million for Senate candidates and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). Last Tuesday, Thune told his fellow GOP Senators that he will transfer $4 million from his campaign account to the NRSC, which is the largest transfer in history from a Senate Republican, a source said to The Hill. It reportedly beats the previous record of $2 million, which was also set by Thune.

Read the entire story here.

“Broadband Czar” Harris Must Be Held Accountable for Mismanagement of Federal Initiatives

“It appears that your performance as ‘broadband czar’ has mirrored your performance as ‘border czar,’ marked by poor management and a lack of effectiveness despite significant federal broadband investments and your promises to deliver broadband to rural areas.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, today led his colleagues in sending a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris regarding her egregious mismanagement of federal broadband initiatives. In 2021, President Biden specifically tasked the vice president to lead the administration’s effort to expand broadband services to rural, unserved communities. Under Vice President Harris’s tenure as the “broadband czar,” the Biden-Harris administration’s $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program has yet to connect a single person to the internet.

“Instead of focusing on delivering broadband services to unserved areas, your administration has used the BEAD program to add partisan, extralegal requirements that were never envisioned by Congress and have obstructed broadband deployment,” wrote the senators. “By imposing burdensome climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, prioritizing government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states, and seeking to regulate broadband rates, your administration has caused unnecessary delays leaving millions of Americans unconnected.”

The letter was also signed by U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Full letter below:

Dear Vice President Harris:

We are writing to express serious concerns regarding your role as the Biden-Harris administration’s “broadband czar” and the mismanagement of federal broadband initiatives under your leadership. It appears that your performance as “broadband czar” has mirrored your performance as “border czar,” marked by poor management and a lack of effectiveness despite significant federal broadband investments and your promises to deliver broadband to rural areas.

As you are aware, Congress, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provided the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with $42.45 billion for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. These funds are intended to provide broadband access to unserved communities, particularly those in rural areas.

In 2021, you were specifically tasked by President Biden to lead the administration’s efforts to expand broadband services to unserved Americans. And at the time, you stated, “we can bring broadband to rural America today.” Despite your assurances over three years ago, rural and unserved communities continue to wait for the connectivity they were promised. Under your leadership, not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion allocated for the BEAD program. Indeed, Politico recently reported on “the messy, delayed rollout of” this program.

Instead of focusing on delivering broadband services to unserved areas, your administration has used the BEAD program to add partisan, extralegal requirements that were never envisioned by Congress and have obstructed broadband deployment. By imposing burdensome climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, prioritizing government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states, and seeking to regulate broadband rates, your administration has caused unnecessary delays leaving millions of Americans unconnected.

The administration’s lack of focus on truly connecting the unconnected has failed the American people and represents a gross misuse of limited taxpayer dollars. The American public deserves better.

Sincerely,

###

Back in late July/Early August, I was noting that the Secretary of State Monae Johnson, after a very rocky term to date had initially indicated that she was not going to run. But in the run up of the State Fair she switched gears and came out with an updated campaign website, and launched her re-election campaign at the state fair, using the theme of “experience.”

I suppose bad experiences are still experiences, but it’s all in the eye of the beholder and the voting public at large.

Also in that same article, I noted that CIA conspiracist Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson sees herself in the role of Secretary of State, which is logical, considering the base that propelled Johnson into office has now abandoned her, and adopted Anderson as their figurehead. Despite Minnehaha County Commissioner Joe Kippley referring to her as “a walking lawsuit.”

But now I’m hearing strong talk about a door #3, with Aberdeen area native, and Deputy State Treasurer Jason Williams making plans to pursue the office at the next State Republican Convention. Williams had been casually viewed as moving up in the State Treasurer’s office in the next election, but insiders are telling me that Williams is actively planning to run for Secretary of State at the next GOP gathering.

Jason has often served as a confidant to those in higher office, having served as Rounds for Senate Statewide Coalitions Director in 2013, Coalitions Director for Governor Kristi Noem in 2010, and also assisted Steve Barnett for State Auditor as his campaign coordinator that same year.

As Brown County GOP Chair, behind the scenes Williams has often has a hand in working people into (and out of) constitutional offices in Republican circles. He was a supporter of Jason Gant’s in helping him get elected to Secretary of State. And was one of the players who was supporting Shantel Krebs to push Gant out. After his time in the SOS office as Public Information Officer for Krebs, in January of 2018 he made a beeline for the exit as he was also doing double duty on her congressional campaign in his spare time. I was told he was burnt out from the demanding campaign responsibilities being foisted on him. But not so much that he didn’t assist in helping Barnett replace her.

Williams eventually landed back in State Government with Josh Haeder in his highest ranking role to date as Deputy State Treasurer. Williams currently serves as chair of the Hughes County Republicans, and sits as a board member of South Dakota Right to Life.

Getting into the SOS contest, Williams would be viewed as a far more ‘establishment’ option over Leah Anderson to replace Monae Johnson. Anderson’s support would draw almost exclusively from the election conspiracists.. but admittedly, there were a lot of them at the 2022 convention.  And there’s always the question of how many votes Monae might pull with the loss of her base in the race. Would we even get to a round two of voting?

The office of Secretary of State has been a revolving door as of late, where in the last decade we’ve chewed through 4 Secretaries of State; with some passing on another run, and some unable to capture a second term (counting the current SOS in that number.)

Does the office need changes to restore longevity? Probably not. But if a person is interested in running for higher office, I would advise that they should not consider Secretary of State as a stepping stone. Only two have managed to accomplish it.  Clarence Coyne (SOS 1922-1927) managed a stint as Lt. Governor.  Only Gladys Pyle (SOS 1927-1931) actually parlayed her time in the office into the US Senate. And that was after the GOP nomination for Governor was stolen from her at convention.

Speaking of conventions, the 2026 Republican State Convention is scheduled to take place in June 2026 in Rapid City where we’ll get to put all of this wargaming and theory into practice. And the playing board might be yet to be determined.