South Dakotans

Our fight for Open Local Government just got harder

It was no surprise to me that DJT won the presidential election. If you looked at the math, Harris had no clear path since she announced, the numbers got progressively worse as it got closer to the election. On top of that, let’s pretend for a moment she did win the popular vote and it was a tied electoral college, DJT had a majority of the US state houses on his side, he had Congress and the Supreme Court. Even if a tie came to fruition, DJT would have won. All the liberal tears aside, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.

When the DNC gave a parting gift to Howard Dean as chair of the Democratic Party, Dean proposed this age old idea;

Howard Dean pursued an explicit “fifty-state strategy” as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, putting resources into building a Democratic Party presence even where Democrats had been thought unlikely to win federal positions, in hopes that getting Democrats elected to local and state positions, and increasing awareness of Democrats in previously conceded areas, would result in growing successes in future elections. Democrats who supported the strategy have said that abandoning “red states” as lost causes only allowed the Republican Party to grow even stronger in areas where it was unchallenged, resulting in lopsided losses for Democrats in even more races.

Ironically, the Republicans have had this strategy for decades and it finally paid off on Tuesday night. I have been warning the state Dems that if you keep hanging your hat on where people can go to the bathroom and who can wear a dress instead of better commodity prices for farmers and worker rights you will be abandoned by the working class. Guess what happened?

Don’t get me wrong, queer rights and diversity should ALWAYS be a ladder wrung on the progressive agenda, but not at top. Sorry, childcare, affordable food and housing, living wages, a good education, healthcare, and the list goes on, WHY DID WE STOP TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS!!!!!!!

The GOP has been busy across the nation filling school boards, county commissions, judgeships, city councils and dog catcher positions. I have even contributed to this by helping 4 Republicans get elected to the city council (My Bad) and then they were too ‘social’ for the local Repugs so they got booted. This has created a system of one party rule which never benefits the public. I suppose I could write a very scathing post about how ignorant and selfish the American electorate is, but we all knew this coming into the election. Nothing changed on Wednesday it just was an answer to what we already knew; poor white people are mad and they need to blame someone, so they blame colored folks. Things are expensive and people vote with their pocket books.

I really don’t want to make this about Republicans and Trump, this is about something even more troubling. If you watch the playbook played by the GOP over the past 20 years they want a total shutdown of government transparency. Not that we have had much in South Dakota anyway, and Sioux Falls city hall is darker then an opium den, but, a drunk, drugged up reporter can’t even get the state to turn over hair and nail salon receipts. As if knowing what the gov paid for an asshole bleaching is of importance 🙁 While transparency in government is something that doesn’t exist on a state or local level anyway, the fight to get this information out there has just gotten 10 times harder.

I expect the National GOP will have a directive going all the way down to Dogcatcher candidates that open government is a thing of the past and give up NO information.

Now with extremists, they know they only have a small window to wreck sh!t and be on their way, this is why it is more important then ever to shine a light on these TRAITORS . . . NOW! Anybody who would wipe their ass with the Constitution in order to gain power has NO interest in telling you the truth.

Real Patriots use loud speakers, cowards use lies and violence. Now more then ever we need to ask our government to be open, because if they are not, they are just screwing us.

Ben Franks, the greatest founding Father, said it best;

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” 

He also warned his future countrymen;

“A republic, if you can keep it”

If Ben was alive today, I think he would be extremely nervous, and probably headed for France.

South Dakota Election Predictions

I can’t predict the presidential race, but I can very much guarantee Harris will win the popular vote by over 10 million. Unfortunately we act like this is 1910 and we use an old out dated electoral system based on pony express, so yes, MAGAts, your guy has a chance.

I think the Dems will take the house and the Repugs take the Senate.

As for the local referendums, initiatives, referrals and amendments, let’s go!

• CON AMEND E, this has to do with changing gender in our Constitution to include women. While I believe this will pass by 80% of the vote, don’t be surprised to see a ton of undervotes. I had a prominent Democrat woman tell me she voted NO. She said, I served many years, and the state constitution didn’t prevent me from serving.

• CON AMEND F, this has to do with changing Medicaid to have a work requirement. We have a 2.1% unemployment rate in SD, anybody who isn’t working CAN’T. I think this will fail by 55%. People in this state have a problem with the legislature messing with our initiatives.

• REF LAW 21, this will also go down in flames with the landowners winning. I think it will fail by 70% of the vote or more, same as above, screw our legislature and how out of touch they are with our issues.

• IM29, Legalizing Rec MJ, unfortunately polling has been erratic, but the pot folks haven’t seen a positive yet and I think they are losing ground, unfortunately, this will probably fail by 52%. I guess peeps will just have to keep smoking diet weed. Hopefully when pot gets ready for retail sales in Minnesota they will have bus tours to Luverne. I still think if Harris makes it in the WH, we will get Federal legalization within 5 years, and many peeps minor pot felonies will be erased from their records.

• IM 28, eliminating food tax. I have been enjoying all the Republican lawmakers in the state trying to pour cold water on this, it is an immoral tax, most know that and it will easily pass by 70% of the vote. I think in the 2026 legislative session our unimaginative leg will pass a retail tax increase on all other goods actually hurting low income people even more. I call the food tax a boomerang effect, and why I almost voted against it.

• CON AMEND H, Open primaries will also pass by 70% or more. Half of registered voters in this state are Indies and we are fed up with the minority parties (that’s really what they are) controlling our elections.

• CON AMEND G, Abortion legalization, this will pass by 55% of the vote or more, but our idiots in Pierre will take this to the SDSC and have it overturned. Sorry Sodak ladies, you have to go to Minnesota for MJ, abortion and a decent pork chop on a stick.

*On a separate note I believe Dean Karsky will be booted from the Minnehaha County Commission, and if that happens I may just send him a ‘pleasant’ note about all of his years of service after getting APPOINTED and not actually elected into public service 🙁

It’s time to send Sue ‘Holy Water’ Peterson packing

I could go on and on about how awesome Ali Rae is, but most people already know that. I am here to plead with you to vote for Ali Rae and NOT Sue Peterson in District 13. Sue has consistently supported legislation that moves our state backwards but no surprise from person who has to pour holy water on state taxpayer owned property before having a meeting. Talk to any lobbyist in Pierre and they will tell you Sue Peterson is the most disliked legislator in Pierre because of her RADICAL NEO-CON policies and beliefs and her unwillingness to be Bi-Partisan in solving our state’s challenges. District 13 used to be a good district for Dems but it was gerrymandered into Lincoln county so we all know the battle to win this seat by a Democrat is a stretch and with so many Trump supporters in South Dakota it’s hard road to win as a Democrat. So I encourage people who support Ali Rae to give her money, volunteer for her, make calls for her, anything to send Sue packing.