This is hot off the press from a confidential source – I’m being told that this is the resignation letter sent to the South Dakota Democrat Party’s executive board announcing the resignation of their chairwoman Paula Hawks, and their Executive Director Stacey Burnette:
“It has also certainly been difficult to move an organization such as this forward when the governing body is still looking to the past to guide decisions.”
“Frankly our skills and services aren’t required for an organization whose sole focus can only be on fundraising to rectify past mistakes.”
Ouch.
I’m being told by my source that they believe Stacey found she was dealt an incredibly bad hand in taking this job, tried to make the best of it, and realized it was an insurmountable task given past mismanagement & debt.
I can’t disagree with that, given the mess that she walked into. I can’t imagine it was fun finding out the building was on fire, and the water hose stopped working the second she walked in the door.
What do you think?
The SD Democratic Party has devolved into little more than a glorified PAC for the Clinton machine, spinning old-timer tales of how things used to be 20 years ago. The Libertarian Party of South Dakota welcomes disenchanted Democrats and Republicans alike into our folds. If you are committed to fiscal responsibility and social tolerance alike, you have a home with us.
Decent point. SD folks passionate about drug legalization should look to the libertarians. Less corrupt than dems. Some wild ideas and outré candidates, but at least libertarians seem to grasp that Chairman Mao & Joe Stalin & Castro = not glorious heroes and that socialist Venezuela isn’t the best role model. Mises > Marx
A hush fell over the room as a half million souls sat silently weeping tears of joy that someone outside their ranks was familiar enough to evoke the name of von Mises. 😉
But yes, you are mostly right, though we do stand for a lot more than drug legalization — we stand for personal autonomy in every situation. If your actions do not create a victim out of others, government has no business making your decisions for you.
But… mostly pot
Pondering: Funny enough, I’m the chairman of the state party and I’ve personally never used THC in any form. It would be a pretty boring job for me if that were our only issue.
Here’s the thing — unlike the other two parties, Libertarians fight for personal freedoms even for things to which we may not ourselves subscribe, and in some cases may even personally disagree with. In a free society, one must take the bitter along with the sweet because someday your sweet may be your neighbor’s bitter, and you sure wouldn’t want them outlawing it. That’s called freedom.
History has shown time and time again that the worst instances of human depravity have always occurred when government was used as a tool to restrict society down to a single point of view (think Hitler, Stalin, the Khmer Rouge, the Taliban… the list goes on).
Anon1: Did you happen to notice that Pondering and AFOE brought up the topic, not me?
I don’t mean to imply that libertarians (or Mr. Oakes) lack opinions on other subjects, but disagreements over the legalization of hemp, cbd, thc, etc. have come the fore lately.
Yeah but is the only thing libertarians talking about…pot
Agreed. That is all I hear and read about from Libertarians is their love of drugs and not wanting to be held accountable for their actions especially when they negatively affect others.
Guess the old adage is true: You can’t control what people hear, only what you say.
I would love to find a time to sit down for coffee and discuss the non-aggression principle with you (and why the latter half of your statement is completely false), but I suspect you’re quite comfortable hiding behind the veil of anonymity.
During the lead-up to the repeal of alcohol prohibition, the people of the country were fixated on that .. the reason for de-prohibition.
The subsequent prohibition of Cannabis was a miscarriage of justice greater in scale and offense (in my opinion) than the prohibition of alcohol.
It’s stunning that Cannabis is illegal.
Even more stunning that Noem wouldn’t sign a bill to legalize the raw material upon which The US Constitution is written!
The stunning nature, not Libertarian sentiments, is why this issue is at the forefront.
48 states have now taken significant measures toward the de-prohibition of Cannabis.
I am not in favor of legalizing illegal drugs. Cannabis, in my mind, like water or kale, does not live-up to the label of “drug”, and therefore should be legal.
Even meth can be prescribed by a doctor (it is schedule II).
deflection…..to cowardly to state your name…sad.
now that Mentele has used the SDDP she can go where she belongs.
Then stop talking about pot! Until then totally irrelevant
I can see where gaining a dozen or so more member would be a big gain and cause for celebration for the Libertarians
Mr. Gideon,
I have an inquiry to ask, what do you think of the people who identify as Libertarian but who register as one of the two main parties? I am registering to vote for the first time and would like to vote in the primaries for some people know and support.
Thanks!
Thanks for the question! Glad to hear you identify with libertarian ideals. If and when you’re ready to join the party officially, we’ll welcome you with open arms. 🙂 To your question, there are an awful lot of people — including several sitting legislators — who have told me, “You know, Gideon, I’d be a Libertarian if they could win elections.” So many so, that if they all would make the switch, we would be winning said elections. The question is, who has the courage to be the first to step up and light the brush fire to make it happen?
“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”
— Edmond Burke
HS Senior:
If you really want your vote to count, register as a Republican. To do otherwise is to throw away your vote.
Look at any race involving a Libertarian.
Good example is District 4.
The libertarian garnered 457 votes.
Democrat 1 garnered 2674 votes
Democrat 2 garnered 4002 votes
Republican 1 garnered 5285 votes
Republican 2 garnered 5934 votes
Even the lowest ranking Democrat beat the Libertarian by a factor of 5+. And both Republican beat the Libertarian by a factor of 10+.
The vast majority of South Dakotans have Republican values and vote for Republican candidates.
Ah yes, the ol’ “wasted vote” fallacy… because your vote only matters if it’s for the winner, right? I suppose all 4,002 people who voted for the Democrat were just as stupid as the 457 who voted for the Libertarian. Just think, the Republican could have had over 10,000 votes if the other people wouldn’t have wasted their votes!!!
No. The only wasted vote is an unprincipled, “lesser of two evils” vote. Your vote is your vote… Don’t let some anonymous internet troll try and tell you otherwise.
Exactly! Libertarians always have and will be a fringe party and out of touch with reality. It’s just not how the world works. In heaven perhaps but not in the real world.
SDDP swept into the dust bin of history. Every elected democrat should change their registrations to unaffiliated and no longer associate themselves with this dumpster fire of an organization.
Not at all the case. There are local and regional organizations still operating and doing good things to advance progressive candidates and causes. Take ownership of your own life and don’t rely on a fundraising organization to hold the torch for your community. SDDP will come back from this. South Dakota needs opposition to the staunch “head in the sand” conservatism that this state routinely elects to both state and federal office.
Speaking as a nonprofit sector consulting professional, this is not unusual. When an organization is in crisis, it’s common for some board members tor resign because: 1) organizations in crisis require more work by board members than do more stable organizations; or 2) the work required in crisis isn’t the work that engages these board members. It sounds like condition 2) is the case here.
I will take the challenge .. please reach out to me and let’s get the ball rolling.
Curious, what does it pay?
😀
I don’t think I’d depend on pay at this point.
Wow – the party leadership literally gave up on the party. Astounding.
Also, Mitt Romney is the best!
actual lol
ROFLOL
Word is Kathy Tyler is primed to save the party.
PP, have any of those old Jesus postcards on file?
Who, me? 🙂
Mr. Kloucek will do it for free. He might even pay to do it.
Once again the College of War in the Southern Dakota beats my friend Mr. H to the latest news scoop. We liberals have to do better.
So Billie, Stephanie, Tim and Tom can’t get together and raise $50 grand to get things squared away? Seriously?
My goodness I would think these folks could each write a $10k check and resolve this today.
You would think, wouldn’t you? Stephanie did give the party $1000 in September, which was her first 2019 contribution to the SDDP. Tom use to give $250 per month, but that fell off after this past June most likely due to a debt card expiration date issue, but you would think that party leaders would be right on that, wouldn’t you?
According to Seiler… “The South Dakota Democratic Party is bigger than two individuals. The party represents thousands and thousands of dedicated and hardworking South Dakotans who are committed to the principles of South Dakota and the party. We’re going to make sure the party continues to move forward.”
Where are these thousands of supporters? Couldn’t they help with donations, why put the responsibility on the Democrat elitists?
Seiler was out of touch last year ….and apparently this year also!
More accurately: the SDDP represents dozens of South Dakotans.
Even the most inexperienced money launderers keep enough of the take to keep the boat afloat. Or not. Call Hillary, explain that her scam plooked the SDDP and make it right. Have her reach into the Clinton Foundation, grab a hand full and pass it on to the SDDP. Or better yet, keep it home grown, Tim Johnson is sitting on a pile campaign funds just collecting dust. Someone call Tim.
Very interesting. Either Senators Johnson or Daschle could fix the fiscal problem with no effort. This is the group that made them. If they don’t care, this becomes a very irrelevant cause
All this talk aboutthe demise of the Democrat Party.
All this talk about Democrat candidates going sub-rosa,infultrating the Republican Party, telling voters they believe in Republican principles but in realty, not.
All this talk about Scyllar Borglum running for Senate.
The SDDP will have plenty of money if its grassroots are successful in getting a medical marijuana monopoly/oligopoly. I think SDDP is “all in” at the grassroots on the MMJ thing .. but what they might not realize is that Soros and his people will not let them keep the spoils of the labor and risk taken by SDDP. Soros’ people are hovering above the SD legalization effort right now and picking winners (themselves) and losers (everyone else).
If SD legalizes it in the legislature on January in a way that ensures a free and fair market and home grow (as per CC4L), will it be the death knell of the SDDP and Soros influence in SD?
“The SDDP will have plenty of money if its grassroots are successful in getting a medical marijuana monopoly/oligopoly.”
Who will be part of the oligopoly? Money from where?
The locations, participants, and beneficiaries of as yet unknown-but-large sums of marijuana money can be reverse engineered from the locations of petitions inasmuch as they were hosted by businesses. If it survives the 2021 legislative session (big if), these businesses have already laid the ground work for approval of dispensary licensure, and have supply chain advantages over newcomers to the space. As I understand it, the people who have this first line-of-sight (Soros) will have made the field, defined the rules, and selected the state level refs (regulators), and the game will be rigged against Conservatives (oligopoly) through the very architecture of the movement. SD Marijuana was an investment, not by the SDDP, but those who would normally have donated to the party have invested in this movement in terms of gas for travel, time off work, mileage on cars, ink, paper, and time. They were compensated via the out of state organization that was paying circulators for the “rec petition” (designed to take-out, substitute, and marginalize our CC4L proposal, a clear and present threat to Soros’ interests), which allowed the SDDP adjunct, ad-hoc “investors” to recoup costs. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the SDDP is blowing in the wind.
This is why it was so important to have CC4L’s proposal (my architecture for a free and fair, open access market) on the table early, so we know what to do when the time comes, because if millions of dollars of marijuana money start flowing disproportionately to the SDDP, you can expect the gay/trans agenda, anti-Christian agenda, assisted suicide, and abortion “rights” will all become codified into SD law on the heels of a regular, steady influx of cash from conservatives, libertarians, and liberals who will all gladly push money into the movement via marijuana purchases.
South Dakota could lead the nation by legalizing home cultivation and use of Cannabis this coming January. At the same time, it would completely neutralize the outcome of a SDDP/State sponsored oligopoly while providing patients access to medicine, and recreational users an alternative to alcohol and drugs.
.. and let’s not forget our amazing, tough as nails, hard working SD farmers and ranchers who could benefit from growing hemp for feed, textiles, polymers, fiber, and other.
Legalizing home cultivation and use creates an un-taxable personalized economy wherein conservatives in SD could grow and consume their own cannabis without having to ask permission, pay unnecessary taxes and fees, and without having to create and maintain another database of people and dispositions to be exploited, stolen, taxed, and lost.
Sorry I asked.
What has been happening nationally with those few states that made this mistake is that an extremely small minority make a lot of money on this addiction for profit scheme and the families, neighbors, business owners, co-workers, communities and especially the taxpayers end up paying the costs. Those costs far exceeded what was generated in tax revenue. With a small state like South Dakota it will make video lottery look like nothing. in terms of negative effects.
I’m glad you asked. It gives an opportunity for truth telling. Reefer madness was ill founded propaganda.
Right now, young people and old people alike who use Cannabis responsibly as high functioning members of society (da da, CHING!) having to purchase their cannabis from the black market. Cannabis sits beside heroine, meth, coke, and other nasty stuff. Legalizing cannabis disassociates access to heavy drugs for peaceful, productive cannabis users.
That is a fantasy. How many times do you self medicate per day? Per week? Do you do it in front of you’re kids?
When we walk to the store on a Saturday or Sunday morning, often times my kids and I see pools of throw-up outside the local bars.
Just the other day, my kids witnessed someone lighting and smoking a cigarette.
Yesterday, I was waiting outside our place for my family to be ready to walk to the store outside, as I was watching as two “ladies” in the front seat of a car were both smoking cigarettes. There was a child strapped into a car seat in the back seat.
I think perhaps your outrage has been misplaced, or a critical section of your mind regarding cannabis has been overridden by reverberations of reefer madness.
In any case, I would prefer my kids to legally use cannabis then read books than to be one of the “lucky and virtuous ones” making those pools of schpook outside the local pubs.
Last Saturday we were heading to the store in the morning and we saw that someone had thrown a beer mug out into the street. It shattered everywhere. Should we assume that was a rowdy cannabis user looking for one of those post-close jets/sharks bar brawls?
Sounds like you may have a serious case of “Reefer Blindness” consumed by a high potency addictive mind altering drug that makes you oblivious to the risk of harm not only to yourself but to others. Child Protective services should be informed.
Awwww .. how very fascist of you. What’s next, you asking me for my papers?
You should send them a certified letter including what I wrote here, and sign your name to it.
High potency, addictive mind altering drug. You mean whiskey? Because cannabis doesn’t do any of this.
Allow me to explain.
Cannabis is not addicting. It can be habit forming, but then so can walking in the morning, so that’s not really saying anything. There are no detoxification symptoms. Alcohol? You can die from the addictive properties of alcohol.
The scientific evidence makes me believe that I’d rather have my children using Cannabis – you know, the stuff upon which the US Constitution was written? What are you, a commie?
Harm to others? This claim defies credulity. There are two scenarios in which I can envision cannabis being harmful.
1 – a large bail of it falls on you
2 – you get arrested and sent to prison with violent offenders
CPS awaits your letter. Remember – you’ll need to SIGN that one.
For the record (again), I do not believe that anyone under the age of 21 should use cannabis. My children do not use cannabis in any form. I do not recommend anyone use alcohol, or if you do, do so sparingly and leave lots of days in between drinking to reduce the risk of the 7 forms of cancer associated with alcohol use.
Didn’t Jupiter/Porter whatever report you already for red flag? Do you have firearms and cannabis? Not good buddy!
I reading back through my comments, it has come to my attention that I did not claim to have cannabis and firearms.
I think what you mean is, “kom doch mit, mein guter herr .. wir haben viele fragen. wo sind deine papieren?”
When SD legalizes cannabis, it will be a conservative’s paradise.
If you think about it, threatening to take rights creates more violence than cannabis.
#legalize
What happens if/when the FEC hands down a big fine and the party is insolvent? Is the SDDP going to file for bankruptcy? Is the SDDP just going to sit out these elections as the holder of unsatisfied debt while the candidates rely solely on their own fundraising operations? I see the collapse in general, but where does this go from here?