Lake County Dems Meet Tonight, Talk 2012

Hey, local Democrats! Don't just sit there—do something! Or at least come talk about doing something. The Lake County Democrats are meeting tonight at 6 p.m. at Nicky's, in Madison's lovely western suburbs. I'll be bringing my to-do list for 2012 (which started 60 hours ago). You should too!

Hey, Bjorklund, 9-12ers! Get Real, Shift Focus to Lake County Politics

Consider this post an open letter to the local Glenn Beck club, the 9-12 Project. Their candidates for public office, Jason Bjorklund here in Madison and Steve Sibson down in Mitchell, both came in last in their respective races. I am mildly alarmed that two know-nothing conservative talk-radio karaoke speechifiers can get one in five of my neighbors to vote for them... but one in five still doesn't make me feel surrounded.

Now that I've thoroughly insulted the Glenn Beck club, I want to invite them to practical political action. Instead of being a rather harsh caricature of Toastmasters with a topic list limited to guns, the President's birth certificate, full-reserve banking, and Marxism, Jason Bjorklund and his snarling pack of poli-sci-yenas have a golden opportunity to reverse their general election failure and re-assert their relevance to real politics by getting involved in local issues.

Lake County is fertile ground for a group of citizens interested in graduating from mere talk to practical civic action. We have a range of big issues just waiting for local citizens to get up and holler:

1. On Tuesday, November 9, at 7 p.m., the Lake County Commission will hold its first public hearing on the proposed revision of the county zoning ordinance. The proposed changes raised a number of sparky questions at last week's candidates' forum. The proposed changes will also lay the roadmap for the work of the new zoning and environmental inspector the county will hire in the coming months. The county contends that the zoning revision is meant to make the ordinance more user-friendly. The Winfred freedom fighters and other folks I talk to see the zoning ordinance creating all sorts of local government intrusion into our lives. 9-12ers, you should be meeting and hosting open educational sessions to analyze the zoning ordinance for signs of tyranny that you can fight right here in our backyards.
2. The Madison Central School District is pushing a colossal waste of local tax dollars on a multi-million-dollar luxury gym to satisfy the interests of a few elite basketball players and sports fans. There are practical alternatives to this boondoggle that would save the taxpayers millions. Jason Bjorklund has declared himself a "victim" of Madison's public education system. Here's a perfect chance for him to lead his fellow citizens in focusing our dollars on real educational improvements, not more play space for varsity athletes.
3. The Lake Area Improvement Corporation continues to receive and spend thousands of local tax dollars without any real accountability to the public. The LAIC pays its director over $100,000 to bestow favors on the powers that be and shut out broad public participation while failing to meet its own anemic job creation goals. The 9-12 Project is the perfect group to catalyze public dissatisfaction with this star chamber of crony capitalism to advocate for real change to more open and participatory economic development.
   

The local Glenn Beck club showed signs of civic usefulness last spring when it brought more statewide candidates to visit with Madison voters than did any other civic organization, my benighted Democratic Party included. They slid back during Mr. Bjorklund's largely irrelevant campaign. Real Lake County politics offers a chance for redemption. Drop the talk of guns and Obama and tyranny in Washington. Turn your attention to regulation, taxation, government waste and cronyism right here on Washington Avenue and throughout Madison and Lake County.

Toward that end, I offer my services. Mr. Bjorklund, I am willing to be the featured speaker at your next 9-12 Project meeting. If you will invite me, I will come lead a conversation with your members about applying your Nine Principles and Twelve Values to local politics.

And don't forget, Glenn Beckers: there are elections for city commission and school board coming up in the spring. Let Kristi Noem carry your water against President Obama: think about making a difference for your neighbors right here in Lake County.

Haggar Anti-Abortion Ally Lies with Last-Minute Negative Flyer

Congresswoman-Elect Kristi Noem wasn't the only South Dakota Republican lying her way to victory with deceptive mailings. District 15 Representative-Elect Jenna Haggar, a Republican masquerading as an Independent, enjoyed a bump Tuesday from a last-minute lie from her friends in the Unruh-abstinence camp.

As documented by Mr. Powers on Monday, the "District 15 PAC" sent out a flyer "endorsing" incumbent Democratic Representative Martha Vanderlinde. I've been tuning out Mr. Powers's propaganda too often lately. Had I paid attention, I'd have noticed the following statements on this flyer:

1. "We are proud that Martha is among the most liberal-left politicians in Pierre."
2. "Celebrated the passage of Obamacare"
3. "Proudly assisted a 3rd-trimester abortion"
4. "Supports gay marriage and endorsed by gay/lesbian/transgendered lobbists" [sic]

I also would have noticed the statement of organization for the District 15 PAC, filed four days before the election. PAC chair Christina Espenscheid declared the purpose of the PAC to be "Support Distric [sic] 15 candidates."

Christina Espenscheid (left), pictured at International Leadership Conference, Nashville 2004

Espenscheid, Espenscheid... where have I heard that name before?

Two new studies released Tuesday provided evidence that abstinence for youth is “healthy and effective.” The reports for both of these studies were released at the Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to Christina Espenscheid, the education program director of the Abstinence Clearinghouse [press release, 2005.06.17].

Ah, Christina Dena Espenscheid, veteran of Leslee Unruh's Abstinence Clearinghouse, an organization well-accustomed to denying reality. Espenscheid, event and volunteer coordinator for the failed abortion ban campaign in 2006. Espenscheid, paid lobbyist in Pierre for the Abstinence Clearinghouse in 2006, the year before Jenna Haggar did the same job for SD Right to Life. Espenscheid, who went on to coordinate for another failed ballot measure in 2008, Initiated Measure 10, on behalf of the shady "South Dakotans for Clean and Open Government." (Dang, Pat: I wish your server hadn't deleted all your great posts on why Espenscheid's IM 10 was bogus.)

I guess it's nice that political operative Espenscheid could finally coordinate a campaign that succeeded. It's too bad that, to help her colleague in abstinence-crusading Jenna Haggar win, Espenscheid stooped to deceit, pretending to be an organization supporting Vanderlinde and mailing out this lie on the eve of the election.

I've been told by a mostly reasonable Christian neighbor that Muslim fundamentalists are authorized by the Qu'ran itself to lie to advance their religious and political beliefs. Espenscheid appears to demonstrate that taqiyya works for South Dakota Christians as well.

Bogus attack flyer distributed by Christina Espenscheid and "District 15 PAC"
on behalf of the Haggar for House campaign.

Mortenson: Withdraw 248 U.S. Soldiers, Fund All Afghan Higher Ed

A full house at Frost Arena greets Greg Mortenson as he preapres to speak at South Dakota State University, November 3, 2010

The Heidelbergers joined about 5000 other people at SDSU's Frost Arena last night. Nary a basketball in sight: we gathered to hear author, adventurer, humanitarian (and ELCA Lutheran!) Greg Mortenson talk about how to save the world one conversation and one school at a time.

The author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools offered a lot of practical and political insight into what's happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and what we Americans might do to make it better.

Mortenson is an Army veteran, so he has great respect for and understanding of the military. This old soldier said there is no military solution to ending the Taliban's terrorism and oppression of women in Afghanistan and Pakistan and bringing our soldiers home. Asking our 18-year-olds to be soldiers is hard enough; asking our young soldiers to be diplomats and humanitarians at the same time, says Mortenson, is an enormous burden. Building some sort of peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan requires something more.

The military gets this. Mortenson said that General Petreaus has made Three Cups of Tea, about Mortenson's efforts to build relationships with village elders and build schools for girls in Afghanistan and pakistan, required reading for senior military officials. The U.S. military also brings Mortenson to 28 military bases a year to conduct briefings for Afghanistan-bound troops on local culture.

Mortenson sees education, especially education for girls, as the key to peace throughout the world's poorer and less stable countries. Educating women leads to lower infant mortality, increased literacy, and a decrease in population growth. Mortenson says flatly that there are too many people on the planet (cue awkward shifting from some audience members). He says we can lessen the strain on our natural resources without any controversial policies. He's not mandating forced birth control or limits on family size. He believes letting girls go to school will result quite naturally and justly in those girls growing into women who assert their rights to control their destiny, to work and participate freely in the economy and culture, and to have fewer yet healthier children.

Mortenson puts into financial perspective how easy it would be for the U.S. and the West to shift from military to humanitarian solutions. President Obama doubled our troop presence in Afghanistan last year to 100,000 pairs of boots on the ground. At $100 billion a year, that's $1 million per soldier. Mortenson says he asked the Afghan minister of education to cite a dream budget for the country's higher education system. $248 million a year, said the minister. Bring 248 American soldiers home, and you'd have the money to fund all 24 of Afghanistan's universities, and then some.

Or try this: Bring five soldiers home. Use the corresponding five million dollars to build an Afghan version of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Train a new corps of Afghan engineers and geologists to lead the country's exploitation of newly discovered rare earth minerals and other ores that could be worth hundreds of billions. Let Afghanistan make itself rich, says Mortenson, with a meager investment in education.

Or why not aim even bigger: Mortenson says that worldwide, 120 million children are not in school. 78 million are girls. Millions of them are slaves, bought and sold to produce rice, soccer balls, fireworks, and many other things we use. Educating one child takes a few dollars a day in some places. Mortenson says spending $60 billion dollars over the next ten years would eradicate worldwide illiteracy. That's $6 billion a year—no small sum... but only 6% of what we spend each year making war in Afghanistan.

Mortenson said the Taliban fear education—an awkward position for such supposedly pious men, as Mortenson cites a line from Muhammad declaring the ink of the scholar holier than the blood of a martyr. Holy or not, smart people, especially smart women, are the enemy of their fear- and force-based power. Since 2007, the Taliban have destroyed 2400 schools, three quarters of them girls' schools.

But Mortenson says the Taliban have yet to destroy one of the schools he's helped start in the region, in large part because he gets the locals themselves to build the schools. And overall, Afghanistan's greatest success under American/NATO occupation is in education. Mortenson says that in 2000, 800,000 Afghan children, mostly boys, were in school. In 2010, nine million Afghan children are in school. 2.8 million of those children are girls. That's still a terrible imbalance, but it's enormous progress from when the Taliban held Kabul.

Typical political labels don't fit in this discussion. But for those of you blog readers addicted to such things, Mortenson is no big-government liberal. He said our initial top-down approach to rebuilding Afghanistan, the Bonn Agreement, failed because it was too centralized. Mortenson said the post-World War II Marshall Plan was "brilliant" because it was decentralized and provincialized. Mortenson said General Petreaus boils his model for building a healthy and peaceful Afghanistan down to three bullet points: listen, respect, and build relationships with the people, especially with the elders. Ultimately, said Mortenson, people in Afghanistan and Pakistan want the same things we do: they want their children to live, and they want their children to learn. We can help make that happen, but we will do it with brains, not bullets.

SD Voter Turnout Higher in GOP Counties, Lower in Dem Counties

Mr. Woodring points out an interesting party-related phenomenon in Tuesday's voter turnout figures here in South Dakota. He notices that the six counties where voter turnout was below 50%—Buffalo, Corson, Dewey, Shannon, Todd, and Ziebach—all tilted for Scott Heidepriem for governor. Those counties also all have high Native American populations.

Mr. Woodring got me wondering if Dems really did sit on their hands in this general election. I haven't found a turnout breakdown by party on Secretary of State Chris Nelson's awesome results website yet. But we do have turnout figures by county as well as the final voter registration totals as of October 18, the final date to register for the November 2 vote.

Some quick number-crunching produces these correlation numbers:

Correlations with turnout
...with GOP voters as percentage of county total	0.689
...with % Dem	-0.642
...with % Indy	-0.285
...with total voter registration	-0.074

Counties with higher proportions of Republicans (top five: Campbell, Harding, Haakon, Douglas, Jones) tended to have higher voter turnout. Counties with higher proportions of Democrats (the six Woodring listed are the top six) tended to see lower voter turnout.

Another view: Of the 29 counties where Republicans make up more than 50% of registered voters, 23 met or beat the statewide voter turnout of 62.3%. Of the 13 counties where Democrats make up a majority of the electorate (such places do exist in South Dakota!), five beat the statewide voter turnout average.

Turnout does not appear to correlate significantly with number of voters available. The ten counties with the most registered voters were all within four percentage points of the state average, six above, four below. The ten counties with the fewest voters varied much more, from 43.4% turnout among Buffalo County's 1050 registered voters to 83.7% turnout among Jerauld County's 1365 registered voters.

(Interestingly, folks in Jerauld are almost evenly split between the parties, with 614 Republicans and 608 Democrats. They broke for Daugaard 54-46, Herseth Sandlin 51-41-8.)

This result suggests the enthusiasm gap played a role in the results in South Dakota. Given two Democrats at the top of the ticket who ran away from the Democratic label, Democrats appear to have been more inclined to stay home Tuesday.

Patricia Stricherz Makes History: First Female Legislator from Lake County

At some point, Patricia Stricherz may cease to amaze me. But not tonight.

My wife and I got to wondering when the last time was that Lake County elected a woman to the South Dakota Legislature.

That's a tricky question, and I welcome my fellow bloggers and commenters to contribute their research. For one thing, districts change, so we Lake County residents haven't always been in District 8. But a quick scan of the Legislature's archive reveals that Patricia Stricherz is the first woman from Lake County ever elected to the Legislature. Going all the way back to Charles B. Kennedy, who served two years in the Territorial Assembly, Lake County has produced 63 legislators, all male.

Now Stricherz moved from Moody County to the great rebellious part of Lake County known as Winfred just this summer, so we almost didn't get to claim her. Had she stayed in Moody, she'd have made history there, too: no lady legislators have ever had Moody County as their home address, according to the archive.

Now here's the stumper question: has Lake County ever been represented by a lady from another county in our district? Remember, districts change over time (and will again next year, as the Republicans recarve our fair state in an attempt to ensure their continued dominance at the polls), so figuring this one out will take a little historical review. No prize but praise and fame, but hey, South Dakota political trivia buffs: start searching!

Votes from the Fringe: Stacey Outpolls Marking

In the South Dakota U.S. House race, Independent B. Thomas Marking got 5.99% of the vote. That 5.99% of the vote had little to do with Mr. Marking's qualities as a person or candidate. Lori Stacey, Constitution Party candidate for Secretary of State, nuttiest person on the statewide ballot, got 6.60% of the vote. 832 votes more than Marking.

B. Thomas Marking didn't say much, but what policies and positions he did advocate were debatable yet reasonable. Lori Stacey spouted conspiracy theories and baseless threats and dwelt on minutiae of word choice as only a desperate paranoiac fringe candidate can. Her campaign finances were laughable even compared to Marking's paltry sums.

Yet she got more protest votes than B. Thomas Marking, who got to play referee (a good role for Indies—keep that in mind for future elections!) between Kristi Noem and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in the marquee race of 2010.

Maybe worth noting: Marking's third-best showing came in Hamlin County, Kristi Noem's home turf. Noem's own neighbors were among the folks most willing to vote for the third man. He drew 8.32% in Noem's backyard, even better than the 7.89% he pulled in his home county of Custer. Marking had his 17th-best showing in Brookings County, Herseth Sandlin's current home county. He bombed in Herseth country up north, Brown County, where he got only 4.59% of the vote.

South Dakota Legislature: No Good News for Dems

2011–2012 South Dakota Legislature, party composition (unofficial results, 2010.11.02) Click image to enlarge

Some vote notes on what happened in the South Dakota Legislature:

1. With Democrats Sandy Jerstad, Nancy Turbak Berry, and Gerald Lange booted by the voters from the Legislature, what's Dakota War College have left to blog about?
   
2. I guess there's still Frank Kloucek, still representing District 19. Kolaches will ride again... and maybe a little scrutiny of Monsanto-controlled SDSU?
3. But at least Turbak Berry got beat by Ried Holien, an old debate guy! Let's hear some good speeches, Ried!
   
4. Other incumbents who lost: Sen. Dan Ahlers from Dell Rapids, Rep. Oran Sorenson from Garretson, Rep. Quentin Burg from Wessington Springs, Rep. Matha Vanderlinde from Sioux Falls, Sen. Pam Merchant from Brookings, and Rep. Gerald Lange from Madison... all Democrats. Not one Republican incumbent in the Legislature lost.
5. If I'm counting right, the State Senate now has 29 Republicans and 6 Democrats. Dems lose 4. The Democratic caucus could carpool... in one car.
   
6. My count shows the State House with 51 Republicans and 19 Democrats. Dems lose 5.
   
7. Blogger and Pastor Steve Hickey wins District 9 House. Steve, I'll expect vociferous opposition to any new Blog Control Acts.
8. Blogger Steve Sibson does not win District 20 House. I was going to suggest that Sibby needs to put down World Net Daily and talk about things actually happening in South Dakota... but last night's results up and down the board make clear South Dakotans are not voting on policy.
9. Even without Sibby, the yahoo caucus made great gains. Expect Rep. Rev. Hickey to carpool with Reps. Jenna Haggar and Brian Liss from Sioux Falls. Get ready for Don Kopp to make climate change denial law as he originally wanted.
   

Veblen West Dairy Auction Delayed Two More Weeks

In another sign that the bad guys are winning in South Dakota, the bankruptcy auction of the Veblen West Dairy in northeastern South Dakota has been delayed again. Last week Friday, bankruptcy trustee Forrest C. Allred moved and Judge Charles C. Nail agreed to postpone the auction until November 18. Allred moved on behalf of the contending parties, the Veblen West equity owners and financier AgStar, which apparently "have requested and agreed to further time to discuss possible settlement of the matters in question, and consent to this motion" (says Document 461 in the Veblen West bankruptcy case, Allred's motion filed 2010.10.29).

So the main force behind Veblen West, Richard Millner, may be pulling out a victory after all, cobbling together just enough investors and financial tricks to keep the dairy and thousands of head of cattle in his hands. But that also means there's time for anyother investors interested in acquiring a giant feedlot and a few thousand head of cattle at rock-bottom prices still have a chance to make AgStar and the court an offer.

Liberal Blog Helps Patricia Stricherz Beat Gerry Lange?

Patricia Stricherz offers the following statement on winning a seat in Pierre with her surprise second-place finish in tonight's District 8 State House race:

Thank you all very much. Tonight, I have been given a privilege that few have been given — the privilege of accepting the voters call to service as Representative for District 8 State House. I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence.

Finally, a word to all District 8 House Candidates. You are all great men and ran a good and respectful campaign. You stood for something you believed in, the citizens of District 8 and the state of South Dakota, and did something about it. Because of this you have my respect and admiration [Patricia Stricherz, e-mail, 2010.11.02].

That said, I can't help wondering: did the Madville Times help Republican Stricherz beat my favorite Dem and neighbor Gerry Lange? Stricherz beat Lange by 124 votes. Her strongest margin over Lange was right here in Lake County, where she outpolled him by 380 votes.

Lake County is the Madville Times' core market. Stricherz advertised here. She campaigned here in the comment section.

And now, barring a remarkable recount outcome, she's going to be my representative in Pierre. Wow. I'm serious: Representative-Elect Patricia Stricherz is the biggest surprise I've had all night.

Bringing Religion to the Polls: How High Is Your Wall?

As I enjoy the tense hush surrounding a free people somberly performing their sacred democratic duty, I muse over seemingly conflicting views of politics and religion from theologically inclined corners of the South Dakota blogosphere.

First, check out the Gordon Howie/Pastor Scott Craig show at The Right Side Blog. Their mission statement calls for stimulating something called "Christian Conservative thought." In the last week and a half, their posts have portrayed this election as a "wake-up call for Christians." They have portrayed voting as a moral imperative to address the "dive" of the "moral fabric of our country" that is "apparent to every Christian." Under patriotic images of the American flag and Founding Fathers, they have exhorted readers to "take a stand for God and Jesus" (the ending D and S should be pronounced as separate syllables) the way the Founding Fathers did by doing "something." They urge voters to subject candidates to religious litmus tests. They even feature Rep. Mike Verchio (R-30/Hill City) managing to conflate Christian principles with tax and spend policies and his right to defend himself.

Meanwhile, another Christian, Pastor Shel Boese, offers this thought on Election Day:

As we approach another election in the USA I am so thankful our founding fathers understood that the church is best protected by not being co-opted by the state. (Something many Evangelicals who are almost back into the Egypt of Fundamentalism forget) AND the State is healthier when the church can be a prophetic voice and alternative power source in the world/nation – instead of a co-opted branch of the statist machinery [Pastor Shel Boese, "Election Thoughts...1," News, Thoughts, Theology, Teaching..., 2010.11.01].

Tell me if I'm wrong (I know you will!), but I think Pastor Shel is saying something different about church and state than are Pastor Scott and his friends.

Be a prophetic voice... remember that, pastors, next time you benedict the mayor's prayer breakfast. Regardless of who sits in the governor's chair or our seats in Congress, perhaps Christianity calls believers to always be the loyal opposition.

Madville Times on KJAM AM 1390 Tonight!

Local radio gets a dose of real liberal media tonight: KJAM has invited the Madville Times to join its Election Night news team! I will be blogcasting live from the KJAM studio in beautiful downtown Madison tonight from 7 to 10. I will be tweeting election results and commentary at #sdvote2010 (and I invite the Twitter-inclined among you to do the same).

Best of all, at the :10's and :40's on each hour, Matt Groce may actually let me near the microphone! Think of it this way: Matt will be Al Michaels, news director Lauri Struve will be Dan Fouts... and I'll be Dennis Miller.

When I'm not at the mic, I'll be furiously clicking through the live election tallies streaming from Secretary of State Chris Nelson's awesome website. (Seriously, Republicans, you picked Noem over a guy this smart, who can do stuff this cool on the Web?) I'll also be taking and responding to comments here on the blog. If you've got questions or comments you'd like us to address on air, submit them in the Madville Times comment section, and Matt and I will try to work your comments into the program!

And who's making this electrifying nght of wall-to-wall election coverage and blog-radio synergy possible?

The Madville Times is going to sell a lot of beer tonight. Wisecracks are more than welcome in the comment section.

So get your local Election Night 2010 media overdose right here in Madison! Listen to Matt and me on KJAM, follow the tweets and blog feed, and contribute your two cents' worth here on the Madville Times!