Well, it wasn’t the only funny answer Ron had. But overall it was a great debate having all four candidates up there.
While Dusty may have the best chance and is a good debater and stays positive, if you actually listen to some of his answers, he is one scary dude. He wants to raise the Social Security age to 70, he wants a work requirement for SNAP, he wants to eliminate minimum wage requirements, medicare and medicade. In other words if you are not a healthy, hard-working slave Republican, Dusty doesn’t want to help you. The fortunate thing about Dusty probably winning is that with only one seat in Congress, he will accomplish very little, just like Noem before him.
Hendrickson had one of the best answers tonight when asked how he is different than his opponents, he basically said the reason Washington never changes is because we keep sending career politicians (Dusty) or lawyers (Tim) there.
5) In addition to the requirements of Sections 1-4 inclusive, a candidate for a state or federal office must have reported, on official forms filed with the appropriate election authority, accepting at least $50,000 in monetary, as opposed to in-kind, campaign contributions, at least 25 percent of which must be raised from in-state constituents. Â For local offices, a candidate must have reported, on official forms filed with the appropriate election authority, having accepted at least $15,000 in campaign contributions.
This is the reason why 3rd party candidates NEVER stand a chance, because the media essentially shuts them out because they don’t spend ad dollars with them. Call that a conspiracy theory all you want, but there is a little truth in it, a least a few years ago. A TV media salesperson told me a few years ago, “It’s NO secret we charge the political candidates more during the last throws of the campaign than we do our regular clients, because we give them the best rotation.”
As a person who works in direct mail and has worked on MANY winning local races the place I work for charges the normal rate. The only thing we require out of the candidates is that we treat them with normal turnaround times like our other clients and that they pay COD.
What is frustrating is that candidates like George Hendrickson has a lot to say. I had a very engaging conversation with George at the PRIDE festival. He is extremely sharp and is just as much qualified as the major party candidates. He would have been great in the debate as well as Mr. Wieczorek and he probably would have not worn faded tan socks at the debate like Bjorkman did 🙁
No surprise coming from Stormland TV’s GM, Jay Huizenga, who was personal friends with our former mayor, and would invite him to the station’s Christmas party and would go with him to Packer’s games in private box seats. I guess George and Ron need to give up some NFL tickets to be able to participate in the debates.
We will NEVER see a change in DC as long as we have a complicit local media that censors certain candidates.
Okay, I will be the first to say that this is an unscientific online poll, but take into account that he is getting nearly 75% of the votes (around 800 votes TOTAL) from a SD newspaper with a high readership per capita of the region. Also take into account that both Tim and his opponent are East River candidates.
Well, I have known for a long time that SOS Shantel Krebs has no clue how to run her office, except she did it better than that last guy and his knuckle-head friend. Yeah, I know, that bar wasn’t real high.
But I would think Shantel and her campaign crew would know it is pointless to leave lit in the door of a registered Independent (over a decade – and never a Republican).
If Tapio or Johnson did this, I wouldn’t have blinked an eye, BUT THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE!
Shantel best find a new source for a clean list besides her front drawer. Hilarious.
Shantel, I know a guy, but he charges a pretty penny.
Tim and Kay campaigned across the state, from Brookings to Custer and many points in between in the past week!
Tim spent most of a day in Lake Andes where he was Tim Whalen’s guest and addressed the Laker Club and also joined them for lunch. He also spent time in the area communities of Dante, Dimock, Ravinia, and Wagner.
Tim and Kay attended a meet and greet at Mama Mia restaurant in Brookings. A large, enthusiastic crowd – including many professors from SDSU and community leaders – came to show support for Tim, listen to him speak, and share their views. It was a great evening! We owe a debt of gratitude to organizers Lee Ann Pierce and Barb Hawley, among others, for all their hard work, and to all the many hosts!
The first day of a western campaign swing, Tim, Kay and second-oldest son John were in White Lake, Kennebec, Kadoka, and Custer.
Thanks to the White Lake Cafe for hosting us!
In Kennebec Tim met with area businessmen who shared with him the current challenge entrepreneurs all across America face as they deal with workforce shortages.
The lack of access for many to affordable healthcare plays a key role in South Dakota’s worker shortage, because so many live with untreated mental illness and addiction that keep them from working. It also contributes to a host of other societal ills: fragile homes, child abuse, and skyrocketing prison populations.
We won’t move forward as a state and nation until we begin to address these underlying problems and learn to treat addiction more like the national epidemic it is than a felony, and until we learn to offer hope to young addicted felons in the form of an education and a job skill rather than a prison sentence.
The following day in Custer Tim spoke at the Rocky Knolls Golf Course in front of a full house of the Custer County Democrats gathered for the 30th Roosevelt-McGovern Day Rally!
The 90+ in attendance appeared to appreciate his direct and clear message on this election as a test of our values as Americans, and the choice we have to invest in the lives of our neighbors in education, healthcare, good jobs, and affordable housing, or continue the failed trickle-down approaches. Many people commented on his refreshing candor and his clear plan to work for actual change in Washington instead of joining the broken congressional system in place. Enthusiasm was sustained throughout the event, with Tim receiving standing ovations both before and after his speech! It was great to be with the Custer County Dems and some Republicans who joined us there also! As we say wherever we go, Tim’s message has an appeal that crosses party lines.
The next stop was Hot Springs, with its beautiful sandstone buildings, for a radio interview and main street campaigning.
George Hendrickson hopes he can accomplish a goal that has eluded independent statewide candidates in South Dakota: winning.
The 46-year-old former police officer and medical cannabis advocate from Sioux Falls is set to announce Sunday that he will run for U.S. House. And he’s hopeful that his conservative platform and promise not to accept money from political action committees will set him apart.
“South Dakota Republicans are always afraid of voting for the independent because it could help elect the Democrat,” he told Argus Leader Media. “But that could be different in this election because every single person I’ve talked to, they are so mad at the establishment, Democrat and Republican alike, that they are dying for a real choice.”
I’ve only met George on one occasion, and I hardly remember what we talked about, but I am well aware of his stances. I applaud his efforts for medical  cannabis to help children, but I keep telling those folks to go whole hog. I still believe if medical and recreational cannabis both get on the ballot that Rec will pass and medical may not. There are more people who want to use the drug for recreation than for medical reasons, and I think people who want it for pain relief don’t want to fiddle with a prescription, they just want to buy it openly and be done with it.
I still think Rec will garner over 52% of the vote. But I also think the AG and Legislature will try to erase the measure if it passes due to Federal regulations.
Yet, well publicized data from the US Centers for Disease Control, Monitoring the Future, and others reports that daily, monthly, and yearly marijuana use by young people declined sharply during much of this same period. Perhaps even more importantly, studies further report that rates of problematic marijuana – so-called “cannabis use disorder†(CUD) – also fell significantly. For example, data published last week by investigators at the US National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finds that the prevalence of past year CUD in young people fell 25 percent in the years between 2002 and 2014. Their findings mimicked those of a 2016 NIDA-funded study which similarly reported a 24 percent decline in problematic pot use by young people.
So, if fewer young people are using pot – and even fewer are doing so problematically – why are more teens than ever before winding up in substance abuse treatment programs? The answer lies with the criminal justice system.
And I believe Jackley and Republican Legislators will try to use the system to kill legalization in our state.
I’ve know about Tim’s potential run for several months, but since he was still serving as a judge, several people close to the campaign had to keep the zip lipped, so to speak.
Congress wasn’t Tim’s first pick, he considered a Governor run, and was encouraged by many to run for AG instead (I actually think that would have been his best move and best chance at winning). But he settled on Congress, which also gives him a better chance than governor.
A well connected Republican told me over the weekend that Tim’s decision to run for Congress may have had to do with a little horse trading between his camp and a possible governor campaign camp for Huether, and the reason why MMM put out the very bizarre press release that he was not running for Congress. I’m sure that ordeal made Tim want to take an immediate hot shower.
There of course is having the support of a major political party. (insert laughter here) But since the Dems made Sutton the ‘chosen one’ for the governor race, there is a potential that Mr. Bjorkman may not have a primary challenge, though there are some rumblings about a West River person announcing soon from the Democratic Party.
To be honest with you, after hearing Tim speak a few times now at Dem Forum, my opinion is he will be a true contender to either Dusty or Sharp Shooting Shantel. He is sharp as a tack and has immense compassion for people.
I just hope he is smart enough to run his own campaign and only depend on the state party to ‘assist’ him with certain things instead of running his campaign, but only stuff they can’t screw up, like licking envelopes or handing out candy at parades. Hopefully they will just concentrate on Sutton’s loss so they can allow Mr. Bjorkman to win.
The only person who made the decision to register as an independent was Mike. But he may not have had a choice. Over the past year there has been many prominent Democrats considering asking him to leave the party, ironically for the reasons he told us why he was leaving; he’s not a Democrat. This has been obvious for a while and came to its climax yesterday.
Even if Mike would have chosen to remain in the party, I don’t think he would be helping them much, and vice versa. I think Mike’s chances of winning in Congress have increased by registering Independent. But I don’t think he has a shot at becoming Governor as an Independent.
I think the Dems should look at this as a blessing in disguise. Instead dealing with this sociopath, they will have a chance to put up a solid (Democratic) candidate, and let Mike steal votes from the Republican (because that is what he will do). The Dems might actually have a shot at the congressional seat in 2018, thanks to Mike Huether after all.
Professional clothing can be hard to come by when times are tight financially. A Sioux Falls organization is raising money to ease that burden for women in the community.
A non-profit in the Sioux Falls area that helps at-risk youth is getting ready for a major project. McCrossan Boys Ranch helps about 15-20 boys get a high school diploma each year, but the school is running low on space.
