Mrs. Stork. NO, that is her name, not her look (she should have laid off the Chardonnay before her intro).
If I was attending the Chamber’s Dinner tonight, and I was a member, I would have got under my table and crawled for the nearest exit. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. And I hope Jeremy Hegg got paid a bundle to butcher a Leonard Cohen song. Choo-Choo all the way to the bank.
There must be some pretty damning evidence in the NPR story if the governor is on the defensive before the story is even being released;
From: Venhuizen, Tony
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 4:22 PM
Subject: Upcoming NPR story
Please forward this email to legislators. Â Thanks! Â Tony Venhuizen
Over the past several months, an investigative reporter from NPR has been working a story about the Indian Child Welfare Act in South Dakota.
Through her questions, it appears likely to us that NPR will be raising questions about services that Children’s Home Society of South Dakota provided, under contracts with the Department of Social Services, while Governor Daugaard was lieutenant governor.
Everyone who interacted with the NPR reporter commented that she came into her interviews with a clear bias and predetermined outcome, and she was not interested in contrary facts.
I HAVE ATTACHED A FACT SHEET THAT ADDRESSES THESE QUESTIONS.
The Governor believes strongly in openness and transparency, and that the best way to address questions is to be forthcoming with the facts – even before NPR runs their story:
- Children’s Home has a relationship with the state dating to 1978, long before Governor Daugaard was associated with Children’s Home.
- Children’s Home has gone through Request for Proposal processes for two key contracts, and have always been treated in exactly the same way as other non-profits providing services in South Dakota.
- All of the relevant facts have been publicly available and widely-known. Â Dennis Daugaard was a part-time lieutenant governor whose full-time role as CEO of Children’s Home Society was very public.
- Likewise, the state’s contracts with Children’s Home were open to public inspection, and Children’s Home was widely-known to be a major provider of services to children.
The governor wants EVERYONE in South Dakota to know the FACTS – not just the NPR version of the story.
The diversion:Setting the Record Straight
Haven’t we been down this road once already? It was only 3 years ago that Rounds got busted doing this, and now his buddy DooGard is doing it also with the SAME ad agency! (From the TheAntidote);
lucrative state tourism contract as well as a tidy little contract to promote the University of South Dakota in a variety of forms of advertising including billboard advertising.
That all sounds a bit fishy. An advertising firm works for Republican candidates and those candidates, turned elected officials, reward the advertising firm with millions of dollars in state taxpayer funded contracts.
Now throw in this new and even more disturbing wrinkle.
The Daugaard’s political campaign ads, who are now making taxpayer funded ads because of lucrative state contracts including advertising for the University of South Dakota, are now putting Daugaard into their advertising plan to promote the University – free exposure for Daugaard at taxpayer expense from a contract Daugaard’s campaign advertising team got from the state after Daugaard was elected.
A Perfect Example of What Is Wrong With One Party Government.
Lawrence and Schiller is an advertising firm based in Sioux Falls.
Lawrence and Schiller makes political ads for Republican candidates for office – including Dennis Daugaard’s campaign for governor of South Dakota in 2010.
That fishy smell just got downright putrid.
The University of South Dakota has a reported $1.5 million three year contract with Lawrence and Schiller to promote the University. As part of their work for the University, Lawrence and Schiller has designed billboard copy with Daugaard’s smiling face, identified as “Governor Dennis Daugaard BS – 75†and the slogan, “We will serve the people†along with the tag word, “Onward†and a new USD logo – a rather pedestrian, plain and nondescript one designed by Lawrence and Schiller.
What’s wrong with that picture? Everything.
The arrogance of it is offensive. It is as if Daugaard is saying to South Dakotans, “I won. So, I can now reward my campaign buddies with taxpayer funded state contracts, but cynically, those same taxpayer contracts can promote me as well. It’s great being governor of a one party state.â€
The practice should be banned and Democrats in the legislature ought to sponsor legislation in the upcoming session to do just that.
But what is perhaps as offensive with this new billboard campaign is that Daugaard is no friend of the University of South Dakota. His first budget as Governor slashed funding to the University while it raised tuition on every student that attends the U.
So how did Lawrence and Schiller take care of that little public relations problem: spend taxpayer dollars on billboards suggesting Daugaard is a friend of the University of South Dakota. That is just plain wrong.
Pay to play is bullshit, but it is still legal in SD. And apparently the same offenders continue to rear their heads. What is more troubling is that we are paying a private company that much money to promote a public university.
1) What is wrong with their own marketing department that is already receiving taxpayer money?
2) Where did this money come from since the state is broke and cannot spend any money on education?
Maybe we could hire L & S to come up with a focus group to research the topic.
More misleading information by the proponents of the new Events Center. They use Nicki Ellerbroek and her family to mislead you into believing that small business owners support a new Events Center.
Before I get into that hypocrisy, I first want to point out to Stormland TV that if their newbie reporters have trouble catching this stuff, at least the editors should . . .
Back to the story . . . Nicki owns McNally’s Pub, something her father, Bob Correa started. I like McNally’s, and anytime I find myself lost on that side of town, I stop in for a Guinness and some lamb. But what most people don’t know is that her father is the owner of Music Service, which was instrumental in the Video Lottery machine industry in SD. Nicki may be a small business owner – but her papa is not.
I like Bob though, he used to be one of my freelance clients, and he is a straight shooter. That is why this whole marketing campaign of misconception bothers me.
Can’t we sell this honestly? I guess that would be like asking people to sell a sub-prime credit card with 19% interest honestly.
No takers?!
Madville posted this last week, but I thought I would bring attention to this also. I hope to see the DOC soon.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvmzk-goUWs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
l3wis