Wow. I guess KELO-TV just went and flat out said it;

5) In addition to the requirements of Sections 1-4 inclusive, a candidate for a state or federal office must have reported, on official forms filed with the appropriate election authority, accepting at least $50,000 in monetary, as opposed to in-kind, campaign contributions, at least 25 percent of which must be raised from in-state constituents.  For local offices, a candidate must have reported, on official forms filed with the appropriate election authority, having accepted at least $15,000 in campaign contributions.

This is the reason why 3rd party candidates NEVER stand a chance, because the media essentially shuts them out because they don’t spend ad dollars with them. Call that a conspiracy theory all you want, but there is a little truth in it, a least a few years ago. A TV media salesperson told me a few years ago, “It’s NO secret we charge the political candidates more during the last throws of the campaign than we do our regular clients, because we give them the best rotation.”

As a person who works in direct mail and has worked on MANY winning local races the place I work for charges the normal rate. The only thing we require out of the candidates is that we treat them with normal turnaround times like our other clients and that they pay COD.

What is frustrating is that candidates like George Hendrickson has a lot to say. I had a very engaging conversation with George at the PRIDE festival. He is extremely sharp and is just as much qualified as the major party candidates. He would have been great in the debate as well as Mr. Wieczorek and he probably would have not worn faded tan socks at the debate like Bjorkman did 🙁

No surprise coming from Stormland TV’s GM, Jay Huizenga, who was personal friends with our former mayor, and would invite him to the station’s Christmas party and would go with him to Packer’s games in private box seats. I guess George and Ron need to give up some NFL tickets to be able to participate in the debates.

We will NEVER see a change in DC as long as we have a complicit local media that censors certain candidates.

Listen HERE.

George’s top issues

  1. Citizen legislators: Our founders intended citizens , not political pros, lawyers, lobbyists, or people with gobs of money, to represent the people.
  2. Consolidation and reform of bureaucracies: Must simplify IRS 74,000 pages of code and a socialized medical program that had 2,000+ pages and was passed without members being able to read it first
  3. Continuity of governance: Require all government employees – including elected officials – to be subject to the laws they pass (including health care and retirement/pension provisions)
  4. Constitutional integrity: Return power to the states where citizens have access to their representatives who live with them

 

An independent conservative is now running for House;

George Hendrickson hopes he can accomplish a goal that has eluded independent statewide candidates in South Dakota: winning.

The 46-year-old former police officer and medical cannabis advocate from Sioux Falls is set to announce Sunday that he will run for U.S. House. And he’s hopeful that his conservative platform and promise not to accept money from political action committees will set him apart.

“South Dakota Republicans are always afraid of voting for the independent because it could help elect the Democrat,” he told Argus Leader Media. “But that could be different in this election because every single person I’ve talked to, they are so mad at the establishment, Democrat and Republican alike, that they are dying for a real choice.”

I’ve only met George on one occasion, and I hardly remember what we talked about, but I am well aware of his stances. I applaud his efforts for medical  cannabis to help children, but I keep telling those folks to go whole hog. I still believe if medical and recreational cannabis both get on the ballot that Rec will pass and medical may not. There are more people who want to use the drug for recreation than for medical reasons, and I think people who want it for pain relief don’t want to fiddle with a prescription, they just want to buy it openly and be done with it.

I still think Rec will garner over 52% of the vote. But I also think the AG and Legislature will try to erase the measure if it passes due to Federal regulations.

Cameraman Bruce sent me an interesting article about the ‘Marijuana Treatment’ racket;

Yet, well publicized data from the US Centers for Disease Control, Monitoring the Future, and others reports that daily, monthly, and yearly marijuana use by young people declined sharply during much of this same period. Perhaps even more importantly, studies further report that rates of problematic marijuana – so-called “cannabis use disorder” (CUD) – also fell significantly. For example, data published last week by investigators at the US National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finds that the prevalence of past year CUD in young people fell 25 percent in the years between 2002 and 2014. Their findings mimicked those of a 2016 NIDA-funded study which similarly reported a 24 percent decline in problematic pot use by young people.

So, if fewer young people are using pot – and even fewer are doing so problematically – why are more teens than ever before winding up in substance abuse treatment programs? The answer lies with the criminal justice system.

And I believe Jackley and Republican Legislators will try to use the system to kill legalization in our state.