September 2010

Hildy tells the truth about Dems

(Photo, Elisha Page)

Interesting interview (H/T – C & L) (I especially like his foraging dog).

JONATHAN KARL: So, Steve, how bad is it going to be for the Democrats in these mid-terms?

STEVE HILDEBRAND: I don’t think it has to be bad. I think if our Democratic candidates would actually be proud of to stand for their votes that they’ve taken, not all of them, but some. People who have supported health care shouldn’t run from it. They should be as proud of that vote as any vote they’ve taken in their lives. This is actually going to help people in a pretty serious way. It’s not going to hurt people.

JONATHAN KARL: And is that what you see people doing though because they’re afraid this vote is going to be used against them. In fact it’s already being used against them by Republicans they’re running away from it, running away from the President.

STEVE HILDEBRAND: Yeah, and the fact that they’re cowards in such a serious way. I mean, is this about their reelection or is this about helping people? What are they in politics for? What are they in government for, if they’re not in government to help people? They should simply get out. They shouldn’t run for reelection. And we should put people in there who are strong leaders, who want to do something to help people. That health care bill is going to help young people, old people, poor people, middle-income people. It’s vitally important to this country and any one of them that walks away from it, isn’t proud of that vote, is a coward.

JONATHAN KARL: If the current trajectory remains the way it is for the next two months, and the kind of Democratic strategy remains the way it is, do the democrats lose the House?

STEVE HILDEBRAND: The Democratic strategy right now is to run from the president, run from important proposals that help this country. If we’re not going to do something about health care, if we’re not going to do something about climate change, if we’re not going to do something about the economy, about the deficit, about the war, Washington is going to get punished. The Democrats might get punished more because they’re in power, but Washington in general is going to get punished. And you’ve seen it in Republican primaries across the country. You’ve seen it in Democratic primaries across the country. And you’re going to see it with a lot of just pure incumbents from both parties in November. They’re getting punished because they’re not dealing with the issues. They’re not dealing with the real problems that we face as a country. And they should be punished. Stand up and lead or get out of the way. And you might be replaced with someone worse, but you know, those are the options that are sometimes given to people.

Hey, Steve, do what I did when Dems voted for the Iraq War, become an Indy. The two party system is a joke.

Munson’s Golden Parachute? SE Tech?

Dave! Say it ain’t sooooooo!

Rumor has it he is working for the trustees or something at SE Tech. Anybody have info? Would love to know.

UPDATE: Josh @ the AL sent me this (it was page 5 news);

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ex-mayor to head tech school foundation

Dave Munson is going back to school.

The 68-year-old former mayor was hired Monday to serve as interim director of the Southeast Technical Institute Foundation through the end of the year.

With about $750,000 in net assets, the foundation primarily pays for student scholarships and short-term loans. It will be Munson’s job to raise money from corporate and individual donors.

“I’m a strong advocate of Southeast Tech Institute,” Munson said. “What I want to do is build corporate awareness of what the value of STI is to Sioux Falls.”

Munson said Sioux Falls School District Superintendent Pam Homan first approached him about the job about the time he left office. He toured STI’s facilities and liked what he saw.

He starts Sept. 1 and will make $33,400 for four months of work. Munson and STI President Jeff Holcomb agree that it’s a temporary arrangement.

The position has been open since May, but Holcomb has found it difficult to find experienced fundraisers during a recession. Munson will help maintain continuity in STI’s fundraising efforts while Holcomb continues to search for a permanent director.

“I didn’t want to rush that process,” Holcomb said. “I want to get as good a pool (of applicants) as possible.”

In the meantime, he expects that Munson will be a good fit. Holcomb said Munson knows the community and the businesses and individuals to contact to “keep those connections moving.”

“He truly is an engaged member of the Sioux Falls community,” Holcomb said of the former mayor. “This was truly an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

For Munson, it’s a chance for the former teacher to get back into the education field and get out of the house. He said he has spent the past few months cleaning out things that he has accumulated during 32 years of elected office.

“I really spent a lot of time boxing things, throwing things away that aren’t relevant anymore,” he said.

Reach reporter Josh Verges at 331-2335.

The Pat Powers Conspiracy Theory (Guest Post)

Pat Powers has recently attacked the integrity of Yes on 13 because a substantial portion of the campaign budget at the mid-term report came from a non-profit organization that was formed well over a year ago. Powers is avoiding the real debate but I will gladly clarify for him where the $4k+ donation money from SDCompassion came from. The money amounts to a collection of genuine donations of $10 and $20 amounts to the non-profit organization going back to early 2009. Hundreds of patients suffering from a variety of ailments started providing small donations at all points through out the petition drive. The non-profit group, dedicated in its mission to provide relief to sick and dying patients, donated a substantial portion of that money to the Yes on 13 ballot committee, which was formed to represent everyone supporting Initiated Measure 13 in 2010.

South Dakota is positioned stronger than ever before to pass protection for our fellow citizens who are suffering from terrible, debilitating illnesses. The Coalition is very proud of our accomplishments, and the only way we got this far on a few thousand dollars is because of the impressive commitment and unwavering passion from so many volunteers and supporters.

Pat Powers should pose a credible debate if he opposes the measure, meanwhile he should stop degrading our truly compassionate, grassroots cause. It happens to be that a lot of the honest good people of South Dakota who are going to the polls this November to vote yes on measure 13 also happen to be very poor, but they can and they will stand up for what they believe in.

This is a very emotional issue for the patients and their families. Its not a surprise that so many people are standing up for a compassionate measure on this year’s ballot.

Emmett Reistroffer
Campaign Director
Vote Yes for Compassion, Yes on 13!

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

“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.