GP goes off about the AL’s Ellis’ views on Gantless

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Hmmmmm…

Ellis: Mission attained? Not likely

Departing Secretary of State’s term fraught with liability

Buried by the controversies are the good things Gant did. He brought more transparency to the state’s campaign finance and corporate filing system with a new website. While glitchy, the website at least began to get the state into the modern age.

At what point does a 2×4 with a long nail hitting them in the head make them realize they have been hit with a golden story of the man hit in head by thug wielding a 2×4 embedded with long nail? They never seem to get the impact of the story or even try to help the public understand the significance. Is the AL more concerned with dwindling ad dollars to care about the truth? Ellis’ phony Libertarian politics supporting the phony conservative Krebs? You be the judge.

Why doesn’t any of the articles since Gant’s announcement of no re-election bid (not retirement or resignation as AL reported) stress that in your face fact: he had to get the respected Sue Roust to take over the office, just to conduct the last statewide election?

Gant was taking his orders from his ALEC backers. The SOS’ and State Treasurer’s offices have taken the computerization of their office records to a level of show but no go. No one can accurately search for the data as promised. The SOS election reports are a mess of misinformation and subterfuge.  The ALEC Treasurer’s website does not give any information needed to actually follow the state’s spending.

The no-bid contracts given by the current office holders are hidden within incomplete or cumbersome search engines. Reports are not filed by state offices, at what penalty? None.

The Legislators and Democrats are worthless or powerless to demand anything from the Constitutional officers, why? People like Jason Gant have been in the hallways doling out ALEC checks to the very legislators who are supposed to oversee their actions.

So as to not publicly clean up this mess, cozy relationships are cultivated with the major press for advertising dollars and access to inside information to put into their articles or segments.

Gant hasn’t done anything good since he has been in office. He has allowed lazy reporting and research. As I began to use SOS data several years ago, trying to understand what is happening in SD politics, it showed Gant was putting pretty curtains on ugly windows. Nothing fixed, just covered up.

Gant’s decision to not seek a 2nd term smells a little fishy to me

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While I would agree with Cory, that Gant should resign right now (don’t trust what he will do in the last year of office) I don’t agree with some of the theories coming from the blogsphere;

This announcement comes after a clear vote of no confidence from his own party as Senator Shantel Krebs (R-10/Renner) declared Gant had violated the integrity of the office and began lobbying SDGOP delegates to support her in a convention challenge to Gant’s renomination

Don’t be so sure Cory. I found it a little strange that Krebs had not made a formal announcement even though she had a nice little logo made up and a letter sent to conventioneers. If she lacked so much confidence in the job that Jason was doing, why was she being so quiet about her challenge? The conspiracy theorist in me thinks Shantel knew in advance that Jason was not going to seek a second term, and put herself out there quietly before he made the announcement. Why do I think this? Shantel is a card carrying ALEC member with good standing in the SD GOP. She really isn’t much different then Jason when it comes to her political philosophies. And as a SF conventioneer said to me, there is no way they were voting for her in the convention because of her political views mirroring Jasons’.

May I also note when we were circulating the snowgate petition, Krebs refused to sign, and went so far to tell the petitioner that she doesn’t believe in petitions because making legislation was the job of elected officials. She seemed offended that citizens would want to present their own legislation. Just the kind of SOS I look forward to 🙁

Gant’s former cheeseburger eating buddy, Pitty Patt Powwers even throws out more evidence that this was in the works for awhile;

But with the seat now wide open.. others are also expressing an interest in becoming the custodian of official records for the state and chief elections officer.

I’m hearing at least two others are expressing strong interest in entering the contest. I’m also hearing rumors that Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dan Lederman may be renewing the past interest he’d expressed in running for SOS prior to 2010.

Mr. SD ALEC himself is even considering the run. I may be a little thick at times, but if you think all of this excitement about running for Jason’s seat started after his announcement today, you are smoking some pretty good stuff.

And how are the Democrats reacting?

AL’s editorial on GANT; Too Little, Too Late (H/T – Helga)

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It only took the AL’s ED board about a year and a half to figure out what kind of scoundrel Jason Gant is, then they decide to give him a free pass;

Under the circumstances, it might be tempting to ask for his resignation. But the reality is, with little more than a year left on his term, the ramifications of pushing such an agenda would be nastier than our state can tolerate.

Our recommendation: Grit our teeth until his term expires while urging him to not seek re-election, and watch him like a hawk.

Why fire a guy who has screwed up numerous times, just give him another year to do more damage, it is only the whole state who suffers under his stupidity. The last sentence boggles the mind;

It is hard to know how such people ever get in office in the first place.

It’s the AL who endorses these clowns in the first place, then when they F’ck up, they trash them in an editorial, then tell the public we just have to put up with them for another year or so. Enough already. All the editorial boards in the state need to call for Gant’s resignation.

Hey, Sue Roust, looking for another part-time gig until next November?

Gant continues to get caught with his underwear on his head

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I have often wondered how much more bungling & bumbling, lying & cheating our unethical Secretary of State will have to commit before the citizens of this state finally say bye-bye?

How many times do you have to get caught with your underwear on your head before we cut you loose?

Heck even the Argue Endorser is running rough-shot over you, caught you at blatant lies, or just blatant stupidity (that one is hard to differentiate between with Jason).

Remember though, Gantless is chief money raiser for the SD GOP and an ALEC soldier (voter suppression agenda). He does have support from the ‘elites’ in the SD GOP, but the ‘baggers’ are not big fans.

I’m thinking at this point, Lora Hubbel could probably even beat him in the convention 🙂

Is Gant positioning himself to be an unbeatable incumbent?

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I wonder if Gant can serve either position if he is not re-elected?

KELO – South Dakota Secretary of State Jason Gant has been named treasurer to The National Association of Secretaries of State.

As treasurer of NASS, Gant will be a member of the executive committee and serve as President of the organization in 2015.

The organization is the oldest nonpartisan organization of public officials in the United States. The association focuses on elections and voting, state business services and digital archiving, and international relations and state securities regulation.

That last paragraph should worry us the most. Remember, Gant is a prestigious member of ALEC, and part of ALEC’s agenda is voter suppression. As treasurer and then possibly chair, he will have the opportunity to spread the ALEC agenda nationally.

Hopefully State Republicans, who are sick of Jason’s bungling, will put up other candidates. I know of at least three now that are considering a run against Jason in the convention. Will Jason use these positions to convince convention delegates that they can’t replace him?

I actually think these appointments will hurt him. Jason will be pulled away from his duties as our SOS performing his national duties (propaganda). That guy has trouble running his own office, let alone handling a national piggy bank. As a high ranking State government employee told me recently,

 “There’s always some kind of problem or mess going on in that office. I just try to avoid hearing about it as much as possible.”

Besides the fact that Jason has no ethics, is an ALEC defender and will pretty much take money from the devil to help state candidates, he does a crappy job as a SOS. He had to hire Sue Roust to bail his ass out, and she didn’t come cheap, after him and Whopper Jr. got caught playing internet games. Unfortunately, AG Jackboots investigated them for something he knew they would be innocent of, stealing (financially) from the state. Everyone knows the only thing Jason is good at stealing is our voter freedoms. But who cares about ethics in Pierre?