Among last evening’s speakers was US Senate candidate Mark Mowry. While he probably won’t get on the ballot, he is out hitting a few of the Republican dinners, claiming that “South Dakotans overwhelmingly question the veracity of the 2020 general election.”
With her second Lincoln Day Dinner in as many days, my daughter Sydney talked me into taking over driving duties to Yankton yesterday, and so I joined her and Congressman Johnson and attended the Yankton County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner last night. And I’m glad I did. I got to see a number of friends, and it was a very well done event. So, I thought I’d share a few highlights from last evening:
Host Chris Nelson is interviewed by WNAX, as is School & Lands candidate Brock Greenfield:
Congressman Dusty Johnson talks with a few attendees during the social hour, and snaps a picture for a young man interested in politics along with Lt. Governor Rhoden & Chris Nelson:
Chris Nelson auctions some fundraising items, Marty Jackley addresses the crowd, and Dusty Johnson rallies the group:
And Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden thanks former Lt. Governor Matt Michels for his leadership and mentorship, and presents him with a challenge coin in appreciation:
And SDGOP Chair Dan Lederman wanted to ax Dusty about something after the event…
Hang on.. I have more coming..
Traded for some great items to add to my SDGOP Ribbon and State Capital fight ribbons today, including a ribbon badge from the Montrose Herald newspaper supporting Pierre in it’s efforts to be declared the permanent State Capitol, with a “Stand Pat for Pierre” pin also attached. It might be one of the best items I’ve managed to come across as cities across the state waged a battle to be the seat of our state’s government.
Also picked up Mitchell and Chamberlain for Capital ribbons which I did not have, a couple of 1896 GOP convention ribbons, and a very challenging South Dakota for Ike button.
(If anyone ever comes across ribbons of this nature and want to part with them, don’t hesitate to drop me a note!)
From a petition sent out today by Legislative Leaders:
SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION ON IMPEACHMENT
Pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Article III, § 31 of the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, I hereby petition the presiding officers of both houses of the Legislature to convene a special session of the Legislature for the purposes of investigating and evaluating whether the conduct of Jason Ravnsborg, Attorney General of the State of South Dakota, surrounding the death of Joe Boever, involved impeachable offenses, pursuant to S.D. Const., Art. XVI, § 3, and if so, to conduct further impeachment proceedings thereon and legislate on matters involving the attorney general’s office.
The South Dakota Legislature is being asked to convene in special session to investigate the South Dakota Attorney General in connection with the September 2020 accident involving the AG and Joe Boever which resulted in Boever’s death.
There is also an article in the Argus Leader this afternoon.
A responsibility to be smart with taxpayer dollars
By Governor Kristi Noem
September 17, 2021
Do you find yourself wondering where your tax dollars go? In South Dakota, the simple answer is to education, health care, public safety, and other state government operations. But if you really want to talk dollars and cents, I can break it down for you using the change you find in your couch cushions.
Of course, we’ve got to start with the rules. In this case, Article 12 of the state Constitution says I must sign a balanced budget and cannot plan to spend more than we earn each year. That’s good because it means lawmakers, who negotiate the budget during each legislative session, are Constitutionally bound to pass a responsible budget.
When times are tight, we cut spending. When our economy goes from 83% performance rating on January 1st up to a peak of 116% just last month, you end up with a surplus of more than $80 million at the end of the fiscal year.
Before we look ahead, let’s first break down how the state chose to spend its funds before our economy hit turbo drive.
Remember what I said about that change in your couch? Here’s the breakdown of how much of your state tax dollar goes into specific areas of the budget:
That funding breakdown includes continuing operations and making smart investments in the future of our state. Last session, we saw major victories in growing the state’s commitment to broadband connectivity from border to border — the total state investment was $75 million.
We also appropriated a combined $72 million toward scholarships and bond payoffs for technical colleges. This is a significant boost to serving South Dakotans with higher education. The Health Care Trust Fund received $50 million, with additional funding to expand the availability of doctors and nurses across the state.
Other investments in our future include:
All of these investments are strengthening our state’s ability to compete, without over-burdening taxpayers. All of these investments were made well before our economic engine started picking up speed.
Now our economy is booming compared to where we were at the start of the pandemic. We continue to lead the nation in Moody’s “Back to Normal Index,” with our economy performing at 106% compared to March 2020.
We are also among the top in the nation, according to U.S. News, when it comes to fiscal responsibility – both in the short-term and long-term management. Not to mention, South Dakota is consistently listed among states with the lowest tax burden in the nation.
Taxpayers should be encouraged by that as we look ahead at responsibly managing nearly $1 billion in anticipated federal assistance over a five-year period. We also will be carefully considering smart one-time investments with surplus funds; investments that will keep our economy running strong while being good stewards of the taxpayer dollar.
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From Facebook, Congressman Dusty Johnson is coming out against proposed IRS regs to report any transaction over $600.
Considering how long it took them to process my taxes this year, I don’t think they can handle the load of adding every transaction over $600. Nevermind it’s a massive intrusion of privacy.
Noticing that I posted the re-election announcement for Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, the other candidate in the race David Zokaites wanted to reach out and make sure people knew he is running too. And has been for a while.
From my e-mail box:
On Reddit I found one of your articles about Paul TenHaken campaigning for mayor. I’m also campaigning for mayor although I haven’t held a rally to officially announce. On the other hand, I’ve been driving around in a van with a license plate of “MAYOR” for about 3 years.
I think you’ll enjoy the softcopy flyer booklet which I have attached to this email My booklet is composed of two documents, both of which are attached.
Enjoy life,
David
And in case you wanted to read his booklet…
DAVIDZ Platform 1 by Pat Powers on Scribd
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, September 16, 2021
ATTORNEY GENERAL RAVNSBORG JOINS 24 STATE COALITION DEMANDING PRESIDENT BIDEN DROP VACCINE MANDATE OR RISK LEGAL ACTION
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has joined with 23 other state attorneys general to send a letter to President Joe Biden today, warning that litigation will follow the implementation of the proposed mandate on private sector employees to either get a COVID-19 shot, submit to weekly testing, or be fired. The coalition of AGs outlined their legal and policy concerns with the mandate, which will be carried out through an Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) emergency temporary standard.
“The policies of this administration will hurt the American people and business,” said Ravnsborg. “This President seeks more government control over the lives and choices of all Americans.”
History has shown that the judicial branch is highly skeptical of the use of OSHA emergency temporary standards because of concerns about federalism and the separation of powers. Further, the AGs raise concerns about the expansion of a federal regulatory agency and public perception of the order’s constitutionality.
The coalition of AGs goes beyond legal arguments to address practical policy considerations of such a sweeping order. Most concerning is the potential to drive individuals out of the workforce, particularly healthcare workers, who are most needed right now to fight the pandemic. Additionally, this mandate ignores the tens of millions of Americans with natural immunity and will drive further skepticism of vaccines.
Last, and perhaps most importantly, the AGs note there are alternatives to a broad, nationwide order. The letter states, “The risks of COVID-19 spread also vary widely depending on the nature of the business in question, many of which can have their employees, for example, work remotely. The one-size-fits-almost-all approach you have decreed makes clear that you intend to use the OSHA statute as a pretext to impose an unprecedented, controversial public health measure on a nationwide basis that only incidentally concerns the workplace.”
South Dakota was joined on the letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
You can read the letter here: AGs letter to President Biden on Vaccine Mandate
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I have a new long-form post up at South Dakota Political News tonight which you can preview..
20 years ago, we were more geographically diverse in who served in elected office. Now, we seem to be coalescing to certain areas. I think that trend will continue will more concentration to our population centers as we cruise towards the next decade.
While it had already been broken at the Federal level, Kristi Noem shattered the glass ceiling for who we consider for leadership. And looking at the current makeup of the legislature, many of the more dynamic potential candidates moving up through the ranks look a lot different than they did a decade ago.
Absent a drastic change in political landscape, I think we’re going to remain fairly red.. but we may start to see a bit more purple shading in Sioux Falls. And I’ll just stop there, as this post will get far too long and too far afield if I don’t. As opposed to talking about 2030’s environment – let’s talk about who to watch.
With that, let’s consider and predict what the SDGOP’s “Generation Next” – the future class of elected leaders – is going to look like.
