By Denise Ross

Regular Hoghouse Blog readers might remember the saga of Eric Sage, the attendee of the Sturgis motorcycle rally who wound up charged with drug paraphernalia possession - and later ingestion - after the cops found a pot pipe in the purse of a traveling companion riding in a seperate vehicle. (I swear it’s true.)

Mr. Sage was riding behind this vehicle on a motorcycle and was pulled over for crossing the center line. The accompanying vehicle pulled over to wait for him, and a slew of misdemeanor charges ensued.

Bob Newland over at www.sodaknorml.org has compiled the resulting round of complaints filed by Sage with the SD Highway Patrol, the Pennington County Commission and the SD Bar.

Sage found some traction with the state bar, and the prosecutor who handled the case has been formally admonished for violating bar rules against prosecuting a case not supported by probable cause and for unnecessarily burdening a third party. 

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By Denise Ross

So I got some cash today so as to purchase a PowerBall ticket (hey, it could happen), and noticed that in this season of income taxes, IRA payments, property taxes (due today, people!), the annual car insurance premium and a little trip to the dentist, the bank account looked a little too healthy.

Well guess what. The economic stimulus has landed in my bank account. (pending, so says Wells Fargo.)

I thought the checks weren’t going in the mail until June or July, so - while I’m not a huge fan of these early tax returns (and that is how the deposit is labled, as a “tax return”) - it was sort of a pleasant surprise.

Anyone else get stimulated today?

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By Denise Ross

When the pundits talk about why some super-delegates have defected from the Clinton camp to the Obama camp, they often mention the importance of down-ticket races, especially in red states like South Dakota. The conventional wisdom is that Clinton brings out the most partisan insticts, and when most voters are Republicans, well, the down-ticket Dems take the blood-bath.  

The idea is that Obama brings out the warm-fuzzy bipartisan feelings, making it more likely for independents, Republican cross-over voters and new voters to check that box next to a down-ticket Dem.

But you already knew that. Here are some down-ticket types who have attended the Obama events in Rapid City recently.

From the campaign office open house a week-and-a-half-ago:

State Sen. Tom Katus, D-Rapid City (District 32)

State House candidate Kevin Killer of Pine Ridge (District 27)

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By Denise Ross

Tom Daschle, national co-chairman of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, said Tuesday that Obama had no choice but to strongly denounce recent comments by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

That isn’t the Rev. Wright he thought he knew, Daschle said.

Here’s video of Daschle’s statement:

And, if you haven’t yet read about Obama breaking it off with his long-time pastor, here’s a place to start.

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By Denise Ross

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-SD, said Tuesday that he is proud of the “obstructionist” label that Republicans once taunted him with.

The longer this (Bush administration) goes, the prouder I am of that title. I look back with pride.

Daschle gave a rousing speech to a few hundred Barack Obama supporters in Rapid City Tuesday evening.

(Photo by Denise)

Despite his partisan pride, Daschle said it’s time to move past the trench warfare that’s characterized national politics in recent decades. He supports Obama, he said, because he believes the Illinois senator can bridge the divide.

He’s got the capacity to bring us together.

There’s more from the Obama rally. I’ll be posting throughout the evening and probably into Wednesday. Anyone who attended the Spearfish event earlier Tuesday or who is at the Custer coffee Wednesday morning, e-mail photos and observations to me at denise@hoghouseblog.com

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By Denise Ross

I found a good run-down of the farm bill, which is not quite over the finish line. But Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., likes what he sees, according to Agriculture Online.

He gets drought relief, trimmed only slightly from an original $4B price tag to $3.8B.

“One of the hardest fought battles in the farm bill process was carrying the permanent disaster program we passed in the Senate to the finish line,” said Thune. “The biggest obstacle to overcome was the fact that only the Senate farm bill included permanent disaster, and it was one of the first farm bill components the House was willing to bargain away in pre-conference negotiations with the [Bush] administration. Thanks to a unified Senate in the conference committee we now will have for the first time in years a comprehensive permanent disaster program that will provide a safety net and fill in the gaps where crop insurance and other programs stop short.”

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By Denise Ross

Via some glitch in the matrix, Google news alerts trolled up an NYT report from 2005 quoting Tom Daschle on his distaste for voter ID.

When I got the alert, I assumed it was one of many stories being written about the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding Indiana’s requirement that voter’s present a photo ID at the polls (similar to SD’s own voter ID law).

Since Democrats are tsk-tsking the court ruling and Republicans are celebrating it, I doubt Daschle’s opinion has changed since 2005, when an apparently unnamed commission headed by James Baker and Jimmy Carter convened to study ways to reform America’s voting process.

The commission, too, supported voter ID. Daschle dissented:

For some, the commission’s ID proposal constitutes nothing short of a modern-day poll tax.

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By Denise Ross

This has been playing all weekend, but if you want to watch this, here is the first TV ad to air in SD for the 2008 presidential campaign.

It’s worth noting that this Barack Obama ad about the need for health care reform has been airing in other states since 2007. (See YouTube for other iterations.)

Since both Sens. Obama and Clinton agree on the need to reform America’s health care system, what is the advantage of this ad? Isn’t it really an introduction ad?

Is it effective?

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By Denise Ross

Tom Daschle will be in the Black Hills Tuesday and Wednesday stumping for Barack Obama. Here are some event details, which also can be found at Obama’s SD website:

• Black Hills State Early Voting Kickoff with Sen. Tom Daschle
  Tuesday, April 29, 2008 @ 11:30am - Jacket Legacy Room
  BHSU Student Union, Spearfish
• Rapid City Rally with Senator Daschle
  Tuesday, April 29, 2008 @ 5:30pm - LaCroix Hall
  Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City
• Custer Community Coffee with Senator Tom Daschle
  Wednesday, April 30, 2008 @ 09:30am - Pine Room
  Custer County Annex Building, Custer

There are other campaign events, sans political celebrity, listed on Obama’s site.

Last week, Hillary announced a state director for SD, and she now has a web presence for our state. Campaign events will be next. Get ready, Hillary fans!

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By Denise Ross

The North Carolina Republican Party is using the coming storm of the Obama & Hillary show to do a little negative branding of some Democratic gubernatorial candidates who have endorsed Obama.

The argument in the video below, to be aired on NC televisions, is that - in light of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright screaming God damn America! - these Dems lack judgment for endorsing Obama, who has refused to distance himself from his pastor. 

With Wright taking to the airwaves this weekend and probably becoming more vocal, will the SD GOP call on Tim Johnson, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, the 25 state lawmakers and the public utilities commissioner to step away from their candidate?

Or will John McCain’s strong disavowal of the ad be enough to keep SD from following NC?

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