My cameraman asked Steve if we could come this morning and film and interview some of the people harassing him, and he didn’t want us to, then he calls a press conference and invites the ‘real’ media;

Hildebrand says for the last two weeks, his business has been visited by large groups of people who’ve disrupted staff and other customers.  Hildebrand believes the missionaries behind movement are connected to the payday loan industry.

Floyd Pickett is the organizer and says he’s here to do homeless outreach.  He says the people he’s bringing in are paying customers who aren’t doing anything wrong.  He has plans to bring in even more people.  On Wednesday, he says he’ll bring in a bus of 150 people.

Hildebrand says he believes Pickett works for the man who owns North American Title Company.

Of course there is ‘obvious’ reasons why this is going on, Pitty Patt Powwers couldn’t resist to spin this being about helping the homeless and elitism;

It seems more than a bit elitist and snobbish to complain that these paying customers are being hauled in by his political opponents who are buying them food there.

So Patt, how many bumper stickers your campaign store business sold to Planned Parenthood and The Freethinkers? You know the business you were ‘unethically’ running while working for the SOS on the taxpayer’s dime. That’s right, you are Republican, you’ll take money from a dead guy as long as the check clears, doesn’t matter if you earned it or not.

This is truly hardball politics that have nothing to do with helping the homeless or missionaries. There is a part of me that feels sorry for Steve, but I also believe in KARMA. Steve’s political sins of the past may finally be catching up with him (you know, like getting Huether elected). BTW, why don’t you give your old meal ticket a call and see if you will help you out, or better yet your pal Barry in the White House.

I also find this ironic on another level, it doesn’t hurt to have a homeless shelter a few blocks away from his establishment for easy access to them, I have always felt that was a bad location for the shelter, and I bet Steve is thinking the same thing now.

At the end of the day, I will admit, this is fun to watch, gutter politics at it’s best.

Just when you thought Pastor DooHickey was becoming more rational, Mr. Irrational rears his head. In light of the latest SC ruling on same-sex federal benefits. Hickey had this to say;

Hickey, who also is a Republican representative for Sioux Falls, says the decision is a blow to religious freedom.

“I’m not surprised,” Hickey said. “We can see where this is going, but people need to think about the end game: Gay rights trump religious rights.”

Hickey is concerned that those who are morally opposed to gay marriage will be labeled as bigots and forced to behave against their conscience. He’s worried that he and other pastors will be forced to perform gay marriages at some point in the future.

He’s even a bit concerned about pastors being jailed for preaching against homosexuality. Something along the lines of this.

He says he won’t perform same sex marriages, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.

“They can put me in jail for that if they want,” Hickey said.

First off, the SC is still allowing states to decide whether they want to allow same sex couples to marry, and in good old South Dakota, that has been illegal since 2006. Secondly, even if it were legal in SD, I don’t think gays will be lining up outside Steve’s church to get married, it would be like going to Steve’s church to get an abortion, just not gonna happen.

As a SD gay rights advocate so eloquently said;

As for how this will affect gay and lesbians in South Dakota, Himmel-Roberts said: “I think we tend to be 25 years behind everyone else. We have a state Legislature that is made up of extremists. Until we can get some middle-of-the-road and good old true South Dakotans with South Dakota values, we’re going to be a testing ground for all these ridiculous laws.”

Extremists? Don’t be so polite.