It’s been a few months, so it’s time to update our election infographic on who we can expect is running for what in the 2022 Republican Primary. While it has largely stayed the same, there are a couple of notable updates, including a possible opponent emerging for Congressman Dusty Johnson, and US Senator John Thune’s opposition firming up. If they can get on the ballot, that is.

And with that, it’s time for the Tale of the GOP Tape Summer 2021 edition!

Any updates or new information? Drop me a note!

This week, Sanford Health announced that they are requiring their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 1, in an effort to make sure that their own employees aren’t exposing already sick people to the virus which has already proven deadly in many cases, and seems to be mutating into some stronger versions (i.e. the Delta Variant). According to the Argus Leader:

According to a press release by the healthcare company, more than 90% of clinicians and 70% of nurses are already fully vaccinated. The new requirement also includes employees at all of Sanford’s Good Samaritan Society locations.

“This is the right thing to do for our patients and residents, people and communities,” said Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health. “As more contagious COVID-19 variants continue to spread and threaten our communities, we must do everything we can to protect each other and our loved ones.”

Read the entire story here.

Of course, not every one is going to agree, which is entirely their right.

And since Sanford is a private organization, and we’re a free country, those that disagree have the right to go work elsewhere.

But for those that disagree, long-time anti-vaxxer and gubernatorial candidate Lora Hubbel stands ready to assist them in countermanding this action by telling them to go back at their employers with a stack of complete gobbledygook, encouraging them to make “a citizens arrest”:

She gave this to the Sioux Falls PD? How long do you think it took them to roll their eyes, and put it in the circular file?

If you look at the actual laws she’s citing, it makes even less sense than this crazy-person packet already did, as 34-22-6 says you can’t hold someone down and use physical force to vaccinate them against their will, and 34-22-45 is a law that offers first responders vaccines on a voluntary basis if they’re deployed to areas of bioterrorism attacks.  Neither of which apply to a health care employer saying that their employees need to be vaccinated so they don’t infect and possibly kill the sick and elderly who walk through the door.

So, waving this pile of nonsense will likely have no effect to those who choose to wave it at their employer.

Except maybe to hasten the amount of time until the HR Person asks for security to escort them from their office.

A Spending Spree at South Dakotans’ Expense
By Sen. John Thune

If you’ve noticed the cost of everyday items going up lately, you aren’t imagining it. Inflation, which describes consumers’ purchasing power and the price of goods, grew in June to its highest level in 13 years. As a result, American families are – literally – paying the price. In South Dakota and across the country, families are seeing increases in rent, grocery bills, and gas prices – the list goes on. Unfortunately, this is a direct result of many of the policies coming out of Washington, D.C.

Most students learn the concept of supply and demand early in their education. Perhaps even on the kindergarten playground if the number of kids ever exceeded the number of toys. When demand is high and supply can’t keep up, it causes tension. This is a natural occurrence on any playground, or in any economy. However, the inflation we’re seeing today isn’t a reaction to the natural pendulum of supply and demand.

In the last six months, the economy has been flooded with trillions of federal government dollars. This money is driving demand to a significantly high level – throwing off the balance of our economy and driving prices up for Americans.

So, how did we get here? Senate Democrats’ first order of business after gaining the majority was using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to pass a massive “relief” bill that was filled with unnecessary government handouts. Republicans, and many respected economists, warned that this massive spending plan could overstimulate the economy, but Democrats plowed ahead anyway. Flash forward to today, and it’s no surprise that their flood of unnecessary federal spending is causing problems in the economy.

With inflation on the rise, Democrats are now preparing to double down on that strategy. Despite passing a largely unnecessary nearly $2 trillion bill just four months ago, Democrats now want to spend another $3.5 trillion in reckless spending. One estimate suggests that the Democrats’ new proposal is likely to be closer to $5 trillion or $5.5 trillion. That’s an inconceivably large amount of money. To put that number in perspective, the entire federal budget for 2019 was less than $4.5 trillion. Consider that for a moment. Some members of Congress are just casually tossing out a new spending bill that might very well exceed the ENTIRE federal budget for all of 2019.

South Dakotans are smart, commonsense people. They know that dollars and cents don’t grow on trees and that the grocery store clerk won’t take monopoly money to pay for this week’s food. They know what it means to live within a budget and the consequences of living irresponsibly outside of one. Unfortunately, it seems that many of my colleagues in Washington either don’t know these fundamental truths or they’re simply unwilling to accept them. I’m open to working with Republicans and Democrats to find solutions to today’s problems, but by unnecessarily adding trillions of dollars to our national debt, we’re only creating new challenges for future generations.

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Great Places
By: Governor Kristi Noem
July 23, 2021

In the past when Americans were planning their vacations, their top destinations were always beaches and big cities. For the first time in decades, that’s changing. Now, the American people want to visit the great outdoors. They want to see beautiful parks and small towns that remind them how life used to be. Well, South Dakota has that in spades.

It’s no wonder that South Dakota is No. 1 in America in year-over-year tourism. Our state record for visitations was set in 2019, and we’re on pace to blow that number out of the water. People are looking for freedom and fresh air. And word has gotten around that South Dakota is the place to get it.

Given that tourism is our state’s 2nd largest industry, this is tremendous news for our economy. Visitor spending so far this year is 9% higher than 2019, our record-setting year. And that visitor spending leads to higher tax revenues for our state, helping drive our record surplus announced earlier this month.

What’s really remarkable is how many folks are taking road trips to South Dakota. In fact, even though airport arrivals are down 24% compared to 2019, we’re still on pace to shatter visitation records, meaning that more folks are driving here than ever before. We love to see license plates from all across the country decorating our roads!

As South Dakotans, it can be easy to forget that these beautiful national treasures are right in our own backyard. Don’t forget to take some time and enjoy them with your family. We have beautiful summers here, but the summer is already halfway gone. So take in the fresh air. Catch a baseball game. Visit a state park. Celebrate the great places that make South Dakota special. If you can’t go on a full family vacation, visit some of the natural beauty that’s not too far from home – we have it in every corner of our state. Summer is a fantastic time to make memories together.

I’m sure that many of you have friends and family visiting our state, maybe for the first time. Show them around. Share our state’s breathtaking landscapes with them. Make a day trip to Mount Rushmore. These folks are coming to South Dakota to make memories. I’m glad that they have such wonderful South Dakotans to share those memories with.

Above all, remember to be happy. We woke up this morning in the United States of America. Better yet, we woke up in South Dakota, the freest state in the Land of the Free. As record-breaking visitors continue to roll into our state, remember to greet them with smiling faces. After all, “great faces” isn’t just about Mount Rushmore; it’s about the fantastic people that make our state so special.

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Coming from the “Primary Dusty Johnson” facebook group…

Looks like the anti-incumbent forces may have talked someone into running against Dusty Johnson, and they should soon be schooled how a good campaign is run, as Dusty is one of the toughest campaigners in the state.

First guess is Taffy Howard, especially since she was speaking at an event recently, but we’ll see.

Stay tuned.

This one came out of the blue today, as long, longtime leader of the SD Corn Council Lisa Richardson is gone from the corn council in what appears to be an organizational shake-up:

Lisa Richardson, the longtime executive director of South Dakota Corn and one of the most recognizable names in the state’s agriculture industry, is no longer with the organization.

A press release issued by the organization Friday afternoon said that Richardson had resigned. She had been in the position since 1997.

and..

On the South Dakota Corn website, Richardson and Teddi Mueller, the organization’s legislative director, are no longer listed on the staff page. According to the group’s most recent tax filing, Richardson made $230,805 in base compensation as well as $52,990 in other compensation. Mueller earned $212,336 in base compensation and $48,421 in other compensation.

Read the entire story here.

This evening brings terrible news of former GOP House Majority Leader David Lust passing away of a heart ailment at the age of 53.

Lust served two different terms, from 2007-2014, and from 2016-2018. He was Republican House Majority Whip 2009-2010 and later as Majority Leader from 2011-2014. Lust also had the distinction of being doubly appointed in connection with the passing of Dan Dryden, as he was appointed September 27, 2016, to fill the vacancy of one term, and then appointed on November 18, 2016 to fill the Dryden vacancy after the election.

Lust has been a partner with Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore law firm.

Please keep his family in your prayers, and I will make note of more information as it becomes available.

Remember the big John Thune/Tom Cotton fundraising lunch event held a few weeks back?

I’ll let you in on some inside baseball. Because of Senator’s schedules, sometimes events like that come together fast, and with only a little notice. And the Thune/Cotton event held earlier in July was no exception.

With a lightning fast turnaround, I believe they had about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks lead time, and they had a crowd of 200-300 for a mid-week lunch, with people scrambling to participate in the round table held earlier and driving in from across the state to be there.

Why do I bring it up? Because there was another event that was just held tonight. And that’s an event we’re not hearing anything about.

I’m talking about tonight’s rally that the group of goofy facebook anti-John Thune people had been working on and promoting for over a month. They had Bruce Whalen in his first US Senate Campaign appearance. Also speaking at the event was State Rep Taffy Howard, who seems to be dipping her toe in the water to maybe run for Congress. And it was headlined by self-styled conservative social media person Scott Preseler.

The only photos filtering out of the event I have been able to find so far appears to show maybe 10 to 15 people – in addition to the speakers – under the farmers market picnic shelter.

For an event they had months to prep for, it seems to have been a complete flop.

When Julie Korth, leader of the “Primary John Thune Facebook Group” spent weeks calling for her fellow facebook warriors, q-anon followers, and meme consumers to show up in Sioux Falls at the farmer’s market picnic shelter for a free event with their announced US Senate candidate and an out of state speaker they recruited in a show of force for their political movement.. this is what they ended up with:

Er.. yeah.

They might have been able to muster a larger crowd to watch if they had set a tire on fire in the parking lot.

If they were hoping for an event to demonstrate how strong they claim their movement is.. I guess they showed us all.

Rounds, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation Expanding Market for Biofuels Year-Round

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and a bipartisan group of 10 other senators reintroduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act. The bill would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) volatility waiver to ethanol blends above 10 percent. It would increase market access and continue to allow retailers across the country to sell E15 and other higher-ethanol fuel blends year-round, eliminating confusion at the pump. Higher blends of ethanol burn cleaner, providing a way for more Americans to be part of the climate solution.

“Consumers deserve lower-cost, lower-carbon choices at the pump,” said Rounds. “The D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling ending year-round sales of E15 hurts consumers, corn farmers and ethanol producers. Our bill will strengthen rural economies by allowing these low-carbon fuels to be sold year round.”

“The recent D.C. Circuit Court ruling was a major blow to farmers and ethanol producers, and further highlighted the need to provide them with certainty,” said Fischer. “My legislation will ensure consumers continue to have access to higher ethanol blends at the pump and that E15 can be sold year-round. It will create significant economic opportunities for the hardworking men and women in rural America who are providing the country with a low-carbon solution.”

More information:

In addition to Rounds and Fischer, this bill was also introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.).

In 2019, President Trump took action allowing E15 to be sold year-round. The recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision vacated that action.

South Dakota ranked fourth in the nation in ethanol production capacity in 2020. The state has 16 operating ethanol plants.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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