News Growl follows up on Deb Peters

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Oh the web the SD GOP likes to weave;

What is more, the closing date for applications was November 9th – just three days after Peters won her election.

For her account of events to make sense Peters must therefore have three highly eventful days between November 6th-9th: Over a 72 hour period she must have discovered a well-publicized job she was unaware of, made a sudden decision to not take the seat she had just won an election for, and then rushed an application for a position she lacked some of the qualifications for as listed in the ad (such as a degree in marketing, communications, or similar field).

Meanwhile, the people of District 9 are preparing for two years of representation in the State House by a politician they did not elect. Or as Scott L. Ehrisman wrote in his South Dacola blog: “Once again a fake incumbent will be appointed by a Republican elect governor.”

Seems like a busy 3 days, even for a savvy Gipper like Peters.

Deb Peters bails on Legislator right after being elected

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I had found out last week that Deb Peters had taken a position with SD Association of Healthcare Organizations from a friend in healthcare, but all week I kept checking the staff site and didn’t see anything. If it was true it seems they took a week of silence to do some back room deals to make sure the announcement went smooth. You wonder what kind of horse trading was going on last week?

I did know that they have been looking for someone to fill the position (VP of Communications/Member services) for awhile.

When I first found out, I asked myself, ‘How can she lobby when she is a legislator?’ One of my other lobbyist friends who also was privy to it suggested that she may resign from the legislature. So now once again a fake incumbent will be appointed by a Republican elect governor. Hopefully it won’t be Michael Clark who just got ousted by Saba. We have enough bigots in Pierre, we certainly don’t need more.

One has to speculate on a couple of things;

• How long has Peters known she would get the job? Did she know before the election and just kept quiet? That’s a little shady. While she wouldn’t be able to pull her name from the ballot, she could have at least told people she had no intention of taking the oath.

• Also, aren’t there rules from just leaving the legislature than becoming a lobbyist? I’m sure there will be some fancy foot work on that.

This is what happens when we don’t have ethics rules, or at least ones with clout. It also makes you wonder if they were waiting to see how Amendment W went down?

Why do we continue to elect people who work against our best interest? It’s mind boggling.

Senator Deb Peters objects to commemoration of Kennecke

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It seems Peters is still in denial that Gear Up was one of the biggest scandals to hit our state in decades (oh, I forgot about EB-5);

As feuds in the Legislature go, there might be none deeper these days than between Sen. Deb Peters and Sen. Stace Nelson over the GEAR UP scandal.

Their dispute reached a strange low last Monday.

Peters invoked a legislative joint rule to stop, specifically, SC 28: Nelson’s commemoration recognizing investigative work of KELO television reporter Angela Kennecke.

I guess if I was Angela, I would be like ‘Oh Well’ just doing my job. I guess I have never been big on handing out awards to journalists who were simply doing what they should be doing, investigating. But it was pretty crappy of Peters to do what she did. She has become quite a piece of work over the years.

STATE of Denial . . . Literally

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I like to keep things professional in Pierre. I never tell my male counterparts when I am going to the bathroom.

Grandpa Cheapskate Denny still stands by his assertion that South Dakota voters are too stupid to pass laws but somehow seem to be smart enough to continue to elect ignorant Republicans that pass stupid laws we must amend and appeal through the initiated process. Someone is certainly stupid here, we just don’t know who it is;

22 was repealed by the legislature with the governor’s blessing. I asked him, over a year later, if he still believes repealing a vote that was the will of the people was the right thing to do and he says…..yes. “It’s really hard for a voter to look at a 30 page bill….30 page initiated measure and draw a conclusion about whether it’s good or bad.”

The governor says changes for transparency should be the result of the legislative process working….not the result of an initiated measure which the governor says doesn’t allow much room for change or modification. “That doesn’t exist in an initiated measure. All you’ve got is a yes or a no. You can’t amend it. You can’t shorten it. You can’t add to it. It’s yes or no.”

First off, when it comes to anti-corruption rules in Pierre, we certainly can’t wait around for the Republican controlled legislature in both houses to act, that is why the voters came up with IM 22. And secondly, the legislature didn’t amend IM22, they annihilated it. It’s easy for Denny to talk so openly about how stupid South Dakota voters are, he doesn’t have to worry about re-election. Oh, and speaking of transparency Denny, are you going to ever tell the public why you terminated Jason Dilges? Better not, it might smear the clean and wholesome view you and Michaels have of your fine city.

Speaking of being clean and wholesome, Deb Peters backs up Lt. Gov. Michaels assertion that Pierre is Mayberry on steroids;

The woman credited with facilitating an upcoming sexual-harassment training session for legislators, state Sen. Deb Peters, told the Journal that recent sexual misconduct scandals in state government are isolated incidents and are not indicative of a cultural problem.

“It’s not acceptable behavior and never should be acceptable behavior,” said Peters, a Republican from Hartford. “But do I think it’s systematic of the system? No, absolutely not. It’s an anomaly.”

Then this married woman with children admits she doesn’t hang out at the bars or hear stories about the incidents. First off, if you are not present when these incidents are taking place, how can you call it an anomaly? Secondly, how many male lawmakers are going to tell you about all the sexual harassing they were doing the night ? Peters really lives in some kind of bubble.

This line made me laugh the most;

Peters said Wollmann was “sent out to the wolves.”

I wonder if the wolves took him in?