In my years of involvement with the South Dakota GOP, I’ve been to a LOT of Lincoln Day dinners, and I’ve even been part of putting a few on. The purpose of a Lincoln Day Dinner is to serve as an annual celebration of the Republican Party, as well as a fundraising event for the GOP and Republican Party affiliated organizations at the county level, such as Teenage Republicans, Republican Women, Young Republicans, etc.
Sometimes the events can be as dry as hotel chicken, other times they can be raucous and lively affairs, where everyone leaves pumping their fists.
I bring this up, as I just caught that the Yankton County Republican Party just held their dinner this last weekend. And I did an absolute double-take when I caught wind of the program for their event.
Someone thought it would be a great way to thank volunteers and raise money for the Republican Party by force-feeding them a fully 45-minute power-point presentation on election conspiracies, complete with slide after slide of paranoia from the SD Canvassing Group. Which is definitely NOT a Republican organization.
Oh. My. God.
I’d ask whether they understand that the goal of a political party organization is to get their candidates elected. But, I think I can answer my own question myself.
Because it seems their goals are more aligned with doing everything but winning elections. As evidenced by what the Yankton County GOP is spending their money on.
For example, remember the complaints that the incoming Yankton County Republican group had where the outgoing Yankton GOP leadership group had about $12,000 they used to form an independent Political Action Committee to support candidates? Considering that the new group’s idea of getting people elected is pillow-guy paranoia, I tend to think the outgoing group was very prescient in moving to make sure the funds are going to be used to support candidates, because it looks like the new group is busy spending money on a fool’s errand:
On Dec. 7, Butch Becker, the outgoing treasurer, used these assets to write a check for $12,000 to the District 18 Republican Political Action Committee, an organization formed one week earlier by three now-former members of the Yankton County GOP’s executive board: Becker, Vice Chair Roger Meyer and State Committeeman Greg Adamson.
and..
Meyer further added that the legally defined scope of the PAC is to support Republican candidates, meaning the money will not be used to “go on vacation” or other superfluous activities.
And as I dig into the story.. it gets a little goofier.
YanktonGOP1_1 by Pat Powers on Scribd
Here is the initial small claims filing for the lawsuit, where they attempted to represent themselves in their demand for the $12k spent by the previous board. Where they go into a LOT of whining about holding an improper meeting, and found themselves unrecognized at the Central Committee after they held an improper meeting. And then they complained about the previous board’s expenditure.
Best part was Roger Meyer’s reply: “Please submit future threats to the former Yankton County GOP executive committee as a group. Thank you.”
But it gets better. After they attempted to move the action forward in small claims court, the former Yankton County GOP executive committee threw a curveball back at them.
The defendants hired Joel Arends, and petitioned for the matter to be moved to Circuit Court. So now this former small claims action that they spent $56.28 on filing was set to get much more expensive.
However, they tried to keep costs down at first, by just handling things themselves, things like scheduling hearings, and demanding a judge’s recusal. Which didn’t get by the defendants, as they filed another motion in the matter.
YanktonGOP1_2 by Pat Powers on Scribd
A “Motion to require plaintiff to obtain counsel or in the alternative to prohibit members of the organization from representing plaintiff in these proseedings and brief in support of said motion” was filed. Which laid out that Laura Kotiliak of the new Yankton County GOP group was apparently being accused of representing the group in court. That was filed at the end of August.
Since then, it appears that the Yankton County GOP group has gone out and hired an attorney. Daniel Glinert. … er, no, I hadn’t heard of him either, certainly not when it comes to South Dakota campaign finance and election law. According to Glinert’s website, his practice areas are focused on “Estate Planning, Florida Probate Law, & Tax Planning and Compliance.”
In the most recent filing in this case, which comes from Glinert..
YanktonGOP1_3 by Pat Powers on Scribd
The response to the prior filing notes that they want to change their name in the suit. Yes, they now have an attorney. And they want to add more people to the lawsuit, whether those people are known or not, as they want to add “John Doe” and “Jane Doe.”
The next status hearing in this case is set for a week from Friday on October 6th at 01:00 PM.
So, the Yankton County GOP group (the new one, not the old one), so far has hired an attorney with no visible experience in South Dakota election/campaign finance law who in all likelihood is charging them by the hour to fight a battle which most political observers who have been around a while believe is going nowhere, since political parties in South Dakota forming a PAC and funding it is not uncommon, nor illegal.
Just because the new group didn’t like it, until they held the reins of the party, it wasn’t their call. But as it sits now, it looks like they’re ready to spend quite a bit to prove their point.
We’ll see how much they spend on winning elections in comparison.
These conspiracy enthusiasts are taking over local GOP party units all not only in South Dakota but in other states too. Between Kristi Noem’s taxpayer paid self promotion campaign to lure more of these types to move to SD and non conspiracy centrists doing their best to reclaim party units encouraging these nuts to move to SD it will get worse in here.
The self-promotion complaint is the same grousing we hear from people every governor, and it rings as hollow then as it does now. It’s THIER JOB to promote South Dakota’s growth and economic well being.
Trump/Noem signs kinda undermine claims against her grandstanding. Do you expect us to ignore what we see and hear?
This is the single worst video recording of all time. Frame your shot people, it makes you seem even more crazy with your face hidden behind a laptop and a lectern blocking the screen. Just atrocious.
And PP, this governor is way more on the self promotion than anyone since Janklow.
Morons of the world, unite! You dont know what to do when you get the power, but who cares? Just disrupt everything and get tossed out for another disrupter – denier moron.
The conspiracy buffs are killing the republican party, everywhere, but hey, they got a great role model, right?
I believe the county party’s spouse is an attorney. Maybe she helped draft the small claims document.
should read the county party’s chairman is an attorney.
I believe the county party’s spouse is an attorney. Maybe she helped draft the small claims document.
It was noticeable at the last convention that the Yankton GOP was taken over by the lunatics. On that note, when is the Legislature going to move AG and SOS and maybe other races to the Primary? Letting these races be decided by the crazy crews who take over parties like in Yankton and Sioux Falls is a big mistake. We will continue to elect the fringe and unqualified if we continue to operate this way.
Don’t forget Pennington and half of Brown!
What happened to Brown County? Was it in the water from the failed testing at the Aberdeen Water Filtration plant that brought caused this or made it worse?
The Party which is dominating at the ballot box and whose opponents are ineffective and dead broke, is now shattering into many fragments. It makes absolutely no rational sense. Party members with traditional loyalties to the Party must stand up and call this what it is…Crazy.
The last month was drafted by somebody who’s never been in a courtroom. Asking the judge for advice? The judge is the referee, the judge doesn’t give you advice on how to do your job (amongst other oddities in the motion).
Joel, at our office we say that you don’t get to count it as a win if there’s nobody swinging back 😎.
“We’ll see how much they spend on winning elections in comparison.”
Who wins elections doesn’t change a thing. Death by a thousand lashes or death by guillotine is a distinction without a difference.
You don’t get it, do you? Winning elections is the ONLY thing.
Otherwise you’re just barking in the wind.
well said. i argue with third party people, who bend their vote away from having any impact one way or another, by some goofy notion of “voting their conscience” by the waste of their vote on a third party choice. if a thing is happening, i decide whether to help it or stop it, and my conscience is how i make that decision. the conscience never says ‘stay out of it’.
Regardless of who wins, nobody is dealing with the real existential threats:
*Discretionary spending, entitlement reform, and the national debt where in three years interest will be the 2nd largest budget category after Social Security. In his first term, Biden is unlikely to add as much to the deficit as Trump.
*Forever wars: Last night we heard the reason we are in the Ukraine is to degrade the Russian military. WTF
*Trump turned over our national economic policy and fiscal health to a quack at the CDC and raining down on the poor, children and those with mental health challenges in ways they will never be the same. And, last night the cowards on the stage said we need to deal with these issue but didn’t say why we have these problems because they all were conspirators in the destructive policies, led ironically by Trump.
It makes no difference who we elect accept to the manner and speed of death (guillotine or thousands of lashes).
for better or worse, this nation as a group, both major parties, fumbled in the dark for a year figuring out what covid was and how to bolster the general population. you obviously have heard all the fox theories about the deep state evil plot. is that really what happened? it’s like blaming janklow for the tornadoes that happened while he was in office. AND further, the deep state CDC evil plot narrative helps trump, so bringing it up like the gop candidates fail by ignoring the fox narrative, is sadly typical. many of us continue to disagree with your viewpoint here.
So, the fumbled? Yet they said they had science behind them? Everything the said was backed by science they knew was a lie when they said it. That is not a fumble. It is intentional deception. And, their motive is irrelevant to me. A lie is a lie and liars are liars. And, I don’t wonder why you continue to defend these liars and their lies and those who like sheep followed them as you are in one way (running the guillotine) or the other (being a lasher) part of the problem.
Trump was the leader during the largest theft of wealth from the poor to the rich in our nation’s history. He deserves to be held accountable.
Biden succeeded and he furthered this theft until the people stood up to the lies. He too deserves to be held accountable.
You people who continue to ascribe any criticism of you as a “fox narrative” or “deep state conspiracy” only reinforce you are part of the problem.
i HOPE i am a constant problem, in the eyes of someone who believes what hannity and tucker carlson pump out. as long as you buy their b-s the rest of us will seem corrupt and deceitful. figure out where you stand.