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Daugaard
Governor Doobadd Asks For another $1 Million To Defend Anti-Abortion Law In Court (H/T – Helga)
No money for books and healthcare but plenty for frivolous lawsuits. When are these clowns going to figure out a majority of South Dakotans are pro-choice;
This year the GOP-led South Dakota legislature passed a law requiring women seeking abortions to face a three-day waiting period – the nation’s longest – and undergo counseling at pregnancy “help centers†that discourage abortion. Recognizing that the law is an assault on women’s constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade, a federal judge granted an injunction in September to prevent the law from taking effect while it’s being challenged in Court. U.S. District Chief Judge Karen Schreier noted that the law creates an undue burden and would humiliate and degrade women.
Now South Dakota’s Gov. Dennis Daugaard is requesting more than $1 million in additional funds to defend the state’s anti-abortion law:
Next year’s South Dakota budget calls for more than a million dollars in supplemental funding for the state’s legal fund, including small fees for several high-profile cases but the potential for big expenses defending a controversial abortion law.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s budget proposal asks for the Legislature to add $1.043 million to the state’s Extraordinary Litigation Fund, which pays for legal costs above and beyond the ordinary.
Most of the Legislature’s projected costs come from two lawsuits: the 2005 Planned Parenthood vs. Rounds case over the state’s “informed consent†law, and ongoing “diligent enforcement†legal disputes with tobacco coverage. The state Office of Risk Management predicts the Planned Parenthood case to cost South Dakota $750,000 in Fiscal Year 2012, which runs through the end of June 2012.
Additionally, if South Dakota loses the lawsuit, it could be required to pay Planned Parenthood’s legal fees. When South Dakota lost another abortion case against Planned Parenthood several years ago, the state paid around $410,000 in legal fees.
As states are facing their worst budget crunches since the Great Depression, Republican-led governments have insisted on pushing conservative social agendas instead of focusing on pressing economic needs. In fact, they’ve exacerbated state budget deficits by passing anti-abortion laws that can cost millions for the state to defend but are rarely upheld in court. Kansas, for instance, has spent $2,180 of taxpayers money every daydefending its anti-abortion laws.
NPR’s three part series on foster care in SD
You can either read or listen to the stories here. This is the series that DooGard was up in arms over.
Governor DooGard’s office reacting to a NPR story that hasn’t even been released (H/T – Helga)
There must be some pretty damning evidence in the NPR story if the governor is on the defensive before the story is even being released;
From: Venhuizen, Tony
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 4:22 PM
Subject: Upcoming NPR story
Please forward this email to legislators. Â Thanks! Â Tony Venhuizen
Over the past several months, an investigative reporter from NPR has been working a story about the Indian Child Welfare Act in South Dakota.
Through her questions, it appears likely to us that NPR will be raising questions about services that Children’s Home Society of South Dakota provided, under contracts with the Department of Social Services, while Governor Daugaard was lieutenant governor.
Everyone who interacted with the NPR reporter commented that she came into her interviews with a clear bias and predetermined outcome, and she was not interested in contrary facts.
I HAVE ATTACHED A FACT SHEET THAT ADDRESSES THESE QUESTIONS.
The Governor believes strongly in openness and transparency, and that the best way to address questions is to be forthcoming with the facts – even before NPR runs their story:
- Children’s Home has a relationship with the state dating to 1978, long before Governor Daugaard was associated with Children’s Home.
- Children’s Home has gone through Request for Proposal processes for two key contracts, and have always been treated in exactly the same way as other non-profits providing services in South Dakota.
- All of the relevant facts have been publicly available and widely-known. Â Dennis Daugaard was a part-time lieutenant governor whose full-time role as CEO of Children’s Home Society was very public.
- Likewise, the state’s contracts with Children’s Home were open to public inspection, and Children’s Home was widely-known to be a major provider of services to children.
The governor wants EVERYONE in South Dakota to know the FACTS – not just the NPR version of the story.
The diversion:Setting the Record Straight
Local Ad Agency gets rewarded with pay to play AGAIN
Haven’t we been down this road once already? It was only 3 years ago that Rounds got busted doing this, and now his buddy DooGard is doing it also with the SAME ad agency! (From the TheAntidote);
lucrative state tourism contract as well as a tidy little contract to promote the University of South Dakota in a variety of forms of advertising including billboard advertising.
That all sounds a bit fishy. An advertising firm works for Republican candidates and those candidates, turned elected officials, reward the advertising firm with millions of dollars in state taxpayer funded contracts.
Now throw in this new and even more disturbing wrinkle.
The Daugaard’s political campaign ads, who are now making taxpayer funded ads because of lucrative state contracts including advertising for the University of South Dakota, are now putting Daugaard into their advertising plan to promote the University – free exposure for Daugaard at taxpayer expense from a contract Daugaard’s campaign advertising team got from the state after Daugaard was elected.
A Perfect Example of What Is Wrong With One Party Government.
Lawrence and Schiller is an advertising firm based in Sioux Falls.
Lawrence and Schiller makes political ads for Republican candidates for office – including Dennis Daugaard’s campaign for governor of South Dakota in 2010.
That fishy smell just got downright putrid.
The University of South Dakota has a reported $1.5 million three year contract with Lawrence and Schiller to promote the University. As part of their work for the University, Lawrence and Schiller has designed billboard copy with Daugaard’s smiling face, identified as “Governor Dennis Daugaard BS – 75†and the slogan, “We will serve the people†along with the tag word, “Onward†and a new USD logo – a rather pedestrian, plain and nondescript one designed by Lawrence and Schiller.
What’s wrong with that picture? Everything.
The arrogance of it is offensive. It is as if Daugaard is saying to South Dakotans, “I won. So, I can now reward my campaign buddies with taxpayer funded state contracts, but cynically, those same taxpayer contracts can promote me as well. It’s great being governor of a one party state.â€
The practice should be banned and Democrats in the legislature ought to sponsor legislation in the upcoming session to do just that.
But what is perhaps as offensive with this new billboard campaign is that Daugaard is no friend of the University of South Dakota. His first budget as Governor slashed funding to the University while it raised tuition on every student that attends the U.
So how did Lawrence and Schiller take care of that little public relations problem: spend taxpayer dollars on billboards suggesting Daugaard is a friend of the University of South Dakota. That is just plain wrong.
Pay to play is bullshit, but it is still legal in SD. And apparently the same offenders continue to rear their heads. What is more troubling is that we are paying a private company that much money to promote a public university.
1) What is wrong with their own marketing department that is already receiving taxpayer money?
2) Where did this money come from since the state is broke and cannot spend any money on education?
Maybe we could hire L & S to come up with a focus group to research the topic.