By Denise Ross

Wondering why Stephanie Herseth and Tim Johnson handily won re-election to Congress in November while their fellow Democrats further down ticket couldn’t muster a single legislative seat out of the Black Hills? There is a culprit: It’s Barack Obama.

That was one take-away message from the forum I moderated last Thursday night. (I know, I’m late with this. Sue me.) Obama did just a little too well in South Dakota, even though he ultimately lost the state to McCain and despite a total lack of an Obama campaign apperatus in the Rushmore State. It was the very idea that he might win here that rousted otherwise deflated Republicans to get out and vote. And defend South Dakota as a red state.

Those extra Republican votes played a key role in defeating Democratic legislative candidates out West, despite all their best efforts, Finch believes.

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This week’s storm has closed portions of the state’s two interstates, but it’s also given some South Dakota drivers longer to renew their license plates.

The state’s division of motor vehicles sent out a press release today announcing that people whose names begin with F, G or J have until April 6 to renew their license plates. They were supposed to get that taken care of by today.

 Motor Vehicles Division Director Debra Hillmer says the blizzard which is dropping several feet of snow across South Dakota and causing some county offices to close may be preventing vehicle owners in many areas from traveling to those offices that did remain open. 

Rounds told the Argus Leader that county offices were closed in Brown, Spink, Beadle, Clark, Codington, Hamlin, Brookings, Marshall, Day, Roberts, Grant, Deuel, and Kingsbury counties.

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According to a Thursday Associated Press report in the Argus Leader, groups representing South Dakota’s bars and casinos are considering whether to put the issue of South Dakota’s new smoke-free status to a vote of the people in the 2010 general election. Gov. Mike Rounds signed a bill two weeks ago banning smoking in bars and Deadwood casinos.

The group opposing the smoking ban, which includes representatives of Deadwood casinos, video lottery establishments and bars, would need 16,776 valid signatures by June 29 to get the issue on the ballot.

The article  quotes Mike DeMersseman, a Rapid City lawyer and lobbyist for the Deadwood Visitors Bureau and Gaming Association,who said the group plans to meet to discuss the issue and “it’s very likely that there would be a referral.”

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By Denise Ross

OK, so I’ll be moderating a discussion amongst Pennington County Democrats on Thursday evening (tomorrow). And it just now struck me the double entendre (not the naughty kind, tho) inherent in the word “moderate” and “moderator” when it comes to political parties, especially these days.

The Dems are asking themselves why their local legislative candidates did collectively and individually worse than the top-ticket Dems, Herseth and Obama. The fun begins at 6 p.m. at the labor temple on St. Patrick Street in Rapid City. It’s open to the public.

I haven’t studied the numbers, but my impression from a few conversations is that Obama - while perhaps not winning - did better than the local guys. Plus Herseth cleaned up, winning almost everywhere if not in fact everywhere and, therefore, did way better than the legislative folks.

A few factors to consider:

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By Denise Ross

Here’s another picture of the 6 1/2 week old little piggy, David Alexander Larson:

You might think this has little to do with politics, but he’ll be paying for all this stimulus spending we’re up to at the moment.

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According to a news report on tonight’s Lehrer News Hour, one in three pregnant South African women are infected with HIV. The country’s former minister of health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, believed in treating the epidemic with herbal remedies. I think her nickname was beetroot.

There are 1,000 AIDS deaths in South Africa daily. If the same situation occurred in the U.S., one doctor was quoted as saying it would amount to a war situation. But the country now has a new health secretary, Barbara Hogan, who was previously imprisoned for opposing apartheid. She believes in the distribution of antiretroviral drugs.

 The drugs reduce the amount of the virus in a pregnant women’s blood and greatly reduces the chances that a woman will infect her unborn child. According to the report, the drugs also allow those infected to live relatively normal lives and reduce the general spread of the disease. Unfortunately, the rate of infection and death in children and babies is still on the rise. 

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By Susan Smith

No, blog readers, that is not the name of my new band, it is a wrap-up of today’s blog headlines. For those of you still under your rocks, (and many days I wish I resided there, believe me) Gov. Mike Rounds signed the smoking ban today. It takes effect July 1. When he said on Monday he hoped to sign the bill soon soon, he offered no empty political promise.

Anyway, this has set South Dakota’s blogland afire. Pat Powers, the brains behind South Dakota War College, has called for the state to be renamed Nanny Dakota; and Todd Epp, who keeps a birdseye view at S.D. Watch, announced that Powers had gone koo-koo la-la.

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By Susan Smith

Hello friends. It’s me again, back with another ranching analogy.

The lead steers, bulls, stallions, cows, or whatever your choice of herd animal might be, have managed to shepherd (I am unstoppable!!) a bill that presumes openness for records held by the state, to the governor’s desk where it is inches away from the final destination - the great holding pen of laws ready to go into effect.

This is a big deal to us media types who for many years have argued and practically begged for such a statute. If Gov. Rounds signs the bill, records will be closed on a case-by-case basis and require a specific law. Currently, a record isn’t open unless state law requires it be kept. Lawmakers deserve a great deal of credit for overcoming the reservations they had about making such a bold statement. After all, they have to balance the need for transparency in government with protecting the best interests of their constituents. Many argue that the information some people have to provide about themselves and their businesses leaves them vulnerable.

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By Susan Smith

If the Legislature was one big popularity contest (wait a minute … ) and the smoking ban bill was the homecoming dance, Gov. Mike Rounds would be this year’s most sought after date.

Will he (ask me) or won’t he, those who have made their investments on either side of the bill might nervously wonder.

House Bill 1240, which bans most public smoking in the state, excluding that done in smoke shops, cigar bars and motels and hotels, was delivered to the governor on March 11.

According to an Associated Press report released today, Rounds hopes to make the decision soon. His staff is reviewing the bill to make sure it’s written correctly. He’ll make the decision after that process is completed, he said. A potential loss in state gambling revenue will not influence his decision, Rounds said. His budget office estimates that revenue from video lottery could drop 15 to 25 percent.   That amounts to a possible $15 million cut from an estimated $111 million in lottery money.

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By Denise Ross

(I live!)

SHS says liquidate AIG, and she seems to mean it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her as pissed as she seems to be via this brief press release:

HERSETH SANDLIN:  LIQUIDATE AIG, REFUND TAXPAYER MONEY

Washington, DC, March 17th, 2009 - In response to reports that American International Group, Inc. (AIG) paid out $165 million in bonuses after receiving billions of taxpayer dollars, Rep. Herseth Sandlin issued the following statement:

“The potential for this kind of egregious abuse of taxpayer funds is one of the reasons I voted against the Wall Street bailout. Last fall through today, American taxpayers’ dollars have been used to bail out AIG. Taxpayers now own more than eighty percent of the company. It’s time for liquidation. (Emphasis added.) AIG’s assets should be sold and taxpayers repaid.”

I know she has a genteel affect, but I don’t think you’d want to be on Stephanie’s list. She appears to me to have a fairly wide no-nonsense streak. What’s the take of the Hoghouse readership?

Speaking of no-nonsense, Sen. Tim Johnson also weighed in on AIG Tuesday eve, albeit with a bit more moderated tone:

Johnson To AIG CEO: Renegotiate Contracts or Congress Will Act
Joins colleagues in standing up for taxpayers 

Washington, DC—U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) today called on American International Group’s (AIG) Chairman and CEO, Edward Liddy, to voluntarily renegotiate their contracts or Congress will begin working to enact legislation to recoup recent bonus payments. Johnson has joined with his colleagues in expressing outrage at the $165 million in bonus payments the troubled company has made to their employees after accepting federal dollars to stay afloat. 
 
“The only way anyone at AIG deserves a bonus is if you are rewarding incompetence. (Emphasis added.) The payment of $165 million in bonuses is offensive to anyone who knows even a little about hard work. Bonuses are meant to reward a job well done and should not be given to those who have run a company into the ground,” Johnson said. “If contracts are not renegotiated to prevent payment of these bonuses, Congress is prepared to step in and work to right this wrong.”
 
Johnson has worked from his position as a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee to raise concern about regulatory gaps in the current system and to find ways to prevent another situation like the one at AIG. Earlier today, Johnson took part in a committee hearing examining the next steps in modernizing insurance regulation.
 
Together with Senate Democrats, Johnson sent a letter to Liddy this afternoon. (Read the letter on the jump - click “CLICK HERE” below.)

Recalling President Obama’s call to not govern out of anger, I pose these questions:

1. Is SHS’s call for liquidation governing out of anger?

2. Do we care, or perhaps even like it?

3. What would follow the liquidation of AIG?

4. Would the rhetoric of these two SD Dems be different if it were Citibank (and you all know it could just as easily be Citibank) that had acted so foolishly?

Discuss. And read the letter on the jump, if you dare.

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