South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

State Legislature

South Dakotans State Legislature Taxes

A Sales Tax increase? Get out the pitchforks and torches.

l3wis 11Comments

I guess these two clowns love to make enemies;

Sen. Stan Adelstein and Rep. Don Kopp come from opposite sides of Rapid City’s Republican community, but the two lawmakers might have a common cause on one controversial issue this legislative session: a temporary sales tax increase.

For Adelstein, preventing sharp cuts to education by raising tax revenue is at the top of his agenda in Pierre.

“I don’t think people have realized how popular this is compared to the cuts,” Adelstein said of his proposal to raise the sales tax from 3 percent to 4 percent during the summer months for a three-year period.

Give me a break, taxes never go away. In 3 years you will be asking to keep it. I have a better idea;

MAKE CUTS TO THE BLOATED ADMINISTRATIVE STATE GOVERNMENT THAT ROUNDS CREATED!

And if that doesn’t work, I suggest plan ‘B’ An income tax on South Dakotans making over $150,000 a year. It’s time the rich ponied up in this state instead forcing the poor and middle class to carry all the water.

But this shouldn’t surprise anyone, these are the same goons who believe Mexicans are over taking our state;

Kopp believes illegal immigration is a problem for South Dakota, and he wants to go after what he sees as the cause: businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

Under Kopp’s legislation, if a business “knowingly hires an illegal” immigrant, it would face a $500 fine for the first offense and a $1,000 fine for the second.

Oooooh. Such a tough penalty. It should be six months to a year in the Penn for hiring illegals. This is just overkill anyway, because their are already Federal laws preventing employers from hiring illegals.

But for some reason South Dakota legislators know better then the rest of the country. I mean, Who else is to thank for being ranked 49-50th on everything, year after year, after year . . .

South Dakotans State Legislature

Is the SD Democratic party obsolete? Not so fast. Take a little advice from Papa Detroit

l3wis 5Comments

I detected a little snarkinest in this editorial by the Argus Endorser’s political reporter Ellis, and rightfully so;

I had the pleasure of talking about the election with a group of Democrats last week. No, seriously. It was a pleasure. Even when I was getting yelled at.

I knew, going into it, that it was going to be a tough crowd. Who can blame them for being upset, right? I tried to break the ice with a little quip, saying that if everything goes bad in Pierre during the next two years, at least they won’t be the ones to blame.

It didn’t go over well, but it’s true. For the next two years, they’re renting six of 35 seats in the Senate and 19 of 70 in the House. That’s less than 25 percent of the Legislature.

Really? Why be upset about that? If I was a Democrat in Pierre, it would be party time! I know many people have been hard on Representative Frank Kloucek in the past for proposing everything but the kitchen sink. But why not? You are the SUPER-MINORITY party. You should constantly be a thorn in the side of the neo-con idiots who run our state. What do you have to lose? Not a GODDAM THING!

Am I being harsh? Nope. Let’s look at the facts;

• Republicans have been in charge for almost 30 years in SD

What has it yielded?

• Underfunding of education

• A regressive retail tax on goods and food

• A boondoggle called video lottery which has made a few rich and has costed taxpayer’s socially

• Little worker rights and low wages

• A gigantic gap between the rich and poor (South Dakota has one of the highest number of millionaires per capita in the nation)

• (faux) Theocratic beliefs overlapping Democratic beliefs.

• Some of the most restrictive reproductive rights in the nation

I could probably go on forever. But what I want to know is how are SD voters hoodwinked, over and over again? I ate kraut and sausage with the best of them, it didn’t make me thick (just in the wasteline). I encourage all South Dakota voters to look in the mirror, and ask the simple question; Are you better off then you were 10 years ago? 20 years ago? or 30 years ago? I think we know the answer to that question.

Then why do you keep voting Republican? You are not going to loosen a bolt by continuing to turn it right. You are only going to strip it or break it, and that is what the SD GOP has done to us, stripped us, then broke us, yet we still lick their boots. Disgusting.

Republicans South Dakotans State Legislature Tea Party

South Dakota ‘D-Bagger / T-bagger’ of the Week; Tim Rave

l3wis 9Comments

“Hi, I’m Tim Rave, please believe my BS! Pulhleeeeeeeze!”

Who doesn’t love the jobs, jobs, jobs, BS spewed by Republican state politicians?

Speaker of the House Rave is also critical of the Democrats call for no more no-bid contracts and doing away with tax breaks for projects like the TransCanada pipeline.

“Interesting they bring up TransCanada, the company that’s going to bring multiple jobs and money into our state by running a pipeline through the state,” Rave said.

What jobs are you talking about Tim? Environmental cleanup? Once the line is buried, done deal. No jobs. Good thing you live in Baltic, every town needs a village idiot.

District 9 Rob Wilson South Dakotans State Legislature

Candidate Spotlight • Rob Wilson • District 9 State Senate

l3wis 3Comments

I live in northeast Sioux Falls and am seeking the District 9 Senate seat currently held by Tom Dempster. To my knowledge, at 23 years old, I am the youngest candidate for public office in South Dakota.

In regard to my legislative priorities, I will fight to fully fund education in South Dakota, develop clean energy to make us a national leader, and provide greater accountability in Pierre through greater transparency. However, my agenda is much broader.

As the youngest candidate in the state, I want to bring more young people into the process, and show them how they can affect change themselves. I want them to understand the importance of voting and to realize that with indifference comes serious consequences. We are the ones who are inheriting this state and the problems that come with it – and although I intend to represent the interests of all of my constituents, I feel that those under 25 are especially underrepresented and need a strong voice in Pierre.

I believe that my generation has a different perspective than most public servants in Pierre – and in order for our state to thrive we need to embrace and incorporate the contributions and ideas that our young people have to offer. We need to start fostering the development of our future leaders and provide them with the opportunities to gain meaningful experiences.

I was fortunate enough to be elected (at 18 years old) to the Hurley City Council. I was then featured as ABC World News‘ “Person of the Week” – as one of the youngest people in the nation to get elected; highlighting the problems facing rural farming communities. A year later I was elected Mayor. That was one of the most challenging, difficult, and fulfilling experiences of my life. I learned so much – and it has given me the confidence to run for Senate today.

There’s a big difference between this election and my last: this time I have about 42 times more registered voters to reach. My predecessor raised around $52,000 for this seat – and we are expecting my opponent to far outspend us as well. Our plan is to outwork rather than outspend the opposition to earn the vote.

We contend that one can’t buy an election in South Dakota.

For this race, involving the young people of South Dakota is not just a goal but a necessity. We plan to reach all the voters of the district and to do that we need help. We don’t have the deep campaign coffers like others – but we have the will. We have a tremendous team, and we are working hard the earn victory in November.

I am out to prove that you don’t have to be rich to get elected – and that the underdog can win when willing to work hard for it.

For more information, check us out at http://robwilsonforsenate.com/ and visit us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rob-Wilson-for-SD-State-Senate/124257670952582?ref=ts

Respectfully,

Rob Wilson

605-214-2677

Angie Buhl State Legislature

Blogger for State Legislature? Haven’t we been down this road already?

l3wis 29Comments

Dakota Woman, Angie Buhl wants your vote

I actually agree with many of Angie’s campaign stances, I just find it a bit ironic that she actually believes she has a chance of winning. We have been down this road before. Epp and Powers have both ran for office and got beat – handily.

I have been encouraged to run for office in the past and turned it down for the obvious reasons, I’m a big mouth blogger, there is no way in Hell I could win, and I know it, especially with my entire political mantra only a google away.

When are bloggers going to realize they better serve the public in their pajamas then in the public square?

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