Author: conglomerNation

I know we’re a small state, but I want others to know about this. Rapid City doctor Kevin Weiland is gathering petition signatures so he can challenge Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in a primary.
I am thrilled about this.

He announced this yesterday and is going to make a bigger statement to the press today. I’ve already seen Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC ads online for him today.

I started gathering signatures this morning and have been met with enthusiastic support so far. He needs 1,200 signatures by March 30th.

So many South Dakotans are upset with Herseth Sandlin – and not just because of her vote on health care. She’s been voting on the wrong side of almost everything for many years. Can Weiland beat her? I don’t know, but I’m thrilled he’s going to try.

So, if you know anyone in South Dakota, spread the word!

I don’t know how many of you have heard of Tony Dean – he’s a conservationist (in the South Dakota sense of the word), columnist, radio show host and a proud Democrat and Obama supporter. He died yesterday from complications suffered after an appendectomy last month.
Dean was always a proud Democrat, in a state where it’s not always welcomed. He was recording several ads for Obama right before he fell ill.

From the Argus Leader:

Dean earned a reputation for standing up for conservation, no matter the financial consequences. He was criticized for supporting Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and then again for backing Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

DeChandt said her husband’s final work before he fell ill last month was recording commercials for Obama’s campaign. If Obama were to win, she said, Dean was going to be on his transition team.

“He was absolutely thrilled. He felt strongly that Obama was the one with enough insight and was young enough” to appreciate land conservation, DeChandt said.

I listened to him on the radio every morning on my way in to work – our local station played small vignettes from his radio show every morning, and as a SoDak transplant, I learned much about the conservation culture in this state (unfamiliar to me because I am not a hunter, nor do I believe in hunting for sport). In any case, I appreciated his work and was glad to know he worked hard for Democratic and conservationist causes.

I am sad to hear of his untimely passing.

I received an odd phone call here in South Dakota from the Clinton campaign tonight. And I think I, like so many of us, have such campaign fatigue I’m not sure if I’m angry or just sad about it.  A Clinton volunteer called my home at 8 p.m. The caller identified himself and told me he was calling on behalf of Hillary Clinton. He asked if he could count on my support in the primary next week. I was very polite (stress is just not good for me these days) and said I was sorry, but I already voted and did not vote for Senator Clinton, but for Barack Obama. That should have been the end of the phone call. I told him I already voted.
Instead, the volunteer was armed with considerable information (bad information) and proceeded to interrogate me about why I voted for Obama and, more interestingly, why I didn’t vote for Hillary. The volunteer asked me what I thought about the states Clinton won that Barack didn’t. I told him it depends on what states he was talking about and that I wasn’t worried about how Obama would do in many of those states in the fall. He berated me and I mentioned states in which Obama was polling ahead of Clinton and was beating McCain. He told me I was wrong had old polling information from Ohio and Pennsylvania to back up his claims. I suggested those were old numbers and mentioned again that I didn’t think it would be a problem in the fall.

The caller got particularly exercised when he asked me why I voted “against” Senator Clinton. I noted the Rovian tactics of the campaign and refusal to work for the betterment of the party’s chances in the fall. At that, the caller became even more upset and ended the call after I said, “this phone call is indicative of the problems with the Clinton campaign and some of its supporters.”

Again, I already voted, so what’s done is done and this guy wasn’t going to change my mind. But don’t you think any normal campaign would want voters to leave a conversation such as this one with a positive or at least neutral feeling toward the volunteer and the campaign – even if they support the other candidate? I mean, after I mentioned I voted for Obama ALREADY, he could have simply said, “Well, thank you.” or “Thanks for being a/voting democrat.” or “I’m sorry to hear you won’t be voting for Clinton in the primary, but I hope you will consider voting for Sen. Clinton if she is the nominee…” – SOMETHING positive, right?

Doesn’t this seem like a poor way to cultivate future support, should Hillary need it?

I suspect that a lot of South Dakotans are receiving similar, pushy phone calls from the Clinton campaign. And it probably only signifies that Hillary’s supporters have fully bought into her victimhood to the point where they’ll browbeat fellow Democrats who simply don’t support the senator’s campaign. It’s sad, really.

At 5:05 p.m. CST this evening, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds halted the execution of  Elijah Page.  Rounds said the state execution law was flawed.
Read the Argus Leader story here:

Gov. Rounds halts execution of Elijah Page

This execution was to be the first in SoDak in almost 60 years.

Page was sentenced to death for his role in the murder of a 19-year-old Spearfish man, Chester Allen Poage in March 2000. He and a co-defendant, Briley Piper, pleaded guilty and were sent to death row. A third co-defendant, Darrell Hoadley, was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison instead.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks and months in regard to this case.

I am no fan of Mike Rounds, but I am very happy to hear he stayed this execution – although the reasons are not necessarily the right ones. It was very upsetting to me that the death penalty was going to be enforced in my state. He said he “didn’t want to make a mistake that could not be corrected.” He wants the legislature to review current practices in other states and bring SoDak’s up to current standards…and is concerned about the “appropriate use of chemicals” used in the execution. He’s given the legislature until July 1, 2007.

Of course, the state I lived in before moving to SoDak (Okla.) executed Eric Patton this evening. And the state I lived in before OK (Indiana) executed Timothy McVeigh shortly after I moved there. Yikes.

[ED: I changed the title so folks wouldn’t think this was just a repeat of yesterday’s news]

Well, there’s sort of good news and not-so-good news to report from the state of South Dakota regarding the abortion ban.

First, the bad news because it’s really awful and people need to know about this. This is my first diary, so I hope it up to form.

“Tribal council outlaws abortion President suspended for alleged donations”
I’m sure many of you remember Cecelia Fire Thunder, President of the Oglala Sioux tribe (Pine Ridge). She made news shortly after the ban passed by stating she wanted to build a women’s health clinic on the reservation: “Tribal President Proposes Clinic”. She received thousands of dollars in donations for this clinic – albeit unsolicited.

Just today, the tribal council banned all abortions on the reservation and has suspended Fire Thunder for 20 days, after which they will vote on impeachment:

Fire Thunder, in Iowa for an annual test of the cochlear implants that restored her hearing four years ago, said the people who brought the complaint were the same people who have been opposing her presidency since she was elected in November 2004.

“It got crazy,” Fire Thunder said. “On Friday they were passing around a flyer that said ‘Wilma Mankiller – Cecelia Babykiller.’ “

Mankiller was the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation; Fire Thunder is the first female president of the Oglala Sioux.

I am certainly no expert in tribal politics, but having an all male council vote to suspend and possibly impeach the first women president doesn’t sit right with me. I think this says it all, though:

But “she is a hard gal to look after,” Peters said. “I just believe that she has fallen out of touch with the people she was elected to represent.”

Now, the better news: More than twice the signatures needed to get the issue on the ballot were turned in despite attempts from supporters of the ban to stop it. Rumors were floated about the deadline for turning in signatures in an effort to confuse people and make then turn the petitions in early (thus, ban supporters hoped to force people to turn in the petitions without enough signatures). It didn’t work.

From the Argus Leader: Abortion petitions in: two issues rejected

PIERRE – Opponents of the 2006 Legislature’s ban on abortion in South Dakota delivered to the secretary of state Tuesday about 38,000 signatures on a petition to give voters a chance to veto the proposed law.

If Secretary of State Chris Nelson determines that at least 16,728 of the names are registered voters in the state, voters will decide Nov. 7 whether the Legislature was right or wrong in passing a law that makes it a felony in almost all cases for a doctor to perform an abortion.

The abortion ban is scheduled to take effect July 1, as most laws do in South Dakota. If Nelson certifies the issue to the ballot, the ban will be held in check until after the November election. If voters approve the ban, it takes effect the day after the official canvass, although a court challenge almost certainly would be filed against it in federal court.

I’m glad the issue will be brought to a vote. The ban will be voted down. While many South Dakotans do not support abortion completely, most believe this ban is far too restrictive and that Rounds went too far in signing it. He’s up for a tough fight in November, too, if Billion wins the Dem nomination.