Online Crackerbarrel: Lange and Sly on Global Warming Resolution

...and further commentary on blogging and online crackerbarrels!

Here's the first installment of responses to the online crackerbarrel questions you readers submitted last week. I present legislator responses unedited, uneditorialized.

First up, Curtis Price's question:

For Rep Jackie Sly (and any others that wish to comment)

Why did you vote in favor of equal time for "astrological causes" for global warming?

District 8 Rep. Gerry Lange replies:

Good question, Curtis Price, on the global warming issue. Sometimes, I sign on to bills by friends across the aisle in the hopes of getting some "reciprocral" consideration for some of our bills. HCR 1009 attracted national attention, much like the Skopes "Monkey" Trial did back in the 1920's. In speaking on the floor, my point was that there is no harm in exposing students to sharply contrasting views on what most of us consider "conventional reality." Like William Jennings Bryan, who was vilified by the intellectuals backing Darwin's evolutionary theory, some of us got e-mails with words describing us as "archetypical Neanderthals. No problem in a nation where we believe in First Amendment rights, but it does raise a question as to whether we can carry on a "civic dialogue" or not. "Party-line" voting has been less frequent this session; and I think that's a good thing. Resolutions are not law and are sometimes characherized as a chance for someone to do a bit of "grandstanding!"

District 33 Rep. Jackie Sly replies:

Thanks for the email. Normally, I do not get involved with blogging. Mr. Price is free to contact me regarding HCR 1009. I would be more than happy to email him directly or talk to him personally. I am the only "Sly" in the RC phone book. Plus, he has emailed me previously so knows how to get in contact with me.

I look forward to seeing new farmer's markets open up throughout SD and working to help make the existing ones grow. We have a potential for strong local producers and local markets to continue meeting the needs of local buyers.

This comment is in regard to a local cracker-barrel in your area. Do you have a Chamber of Commerce or some service group that would sponsor cracker-barrels? In the RC area we have several during each legislative session. They are planned well in advance, so the legislators know when they need to try to keep their calendars open. The forums here are mainly sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, but a local service group, Democracy in Action, organized one for an area that did not have one previously. They are a great way for the citizens to interact with the legislators during the time we are in session. By this time, the votes have been taken and many of the bills are already signed.

Resolutions do not require anyone to do anything. They are used as a way to address a concern. One legislator suggested that we have a resolution to not have any more resolutions. If one takes the time to look over the resolutions submitted, they are almost always divisive. Thus, the testimony on the floor is usually of opposing viewpoints.

Again, thanks for contacting me. We will soon be back in Pierre making some tough decisions. Ones that will once again have a variety of viewpoints, but at some point decisions will need to be made.

Respectfully,
Rep. Sly

Stay tuned: more legislator responses to your questions coming up today!

SHS Earmarks $357M; Madison Gets $7.5M Hwy 34 Shout-Out

Last month, Taxpayers for Common Sense reported that South Dakota received $148 million in federal earmarks, thanks largely to the bipartisan efforts of our Congressional delegation.

Yesterday, Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced she's put in for $357 million in earmarks in FY 2011. You can review the complete list on David Montgomery's super-cool spreadsheet (thank you, David!).

Notice this: On Tuesday, word gets out that Madison native Dr. Kevin Weiland is circulating petitions to challenge Herseth Sandlin for her House seat. Same day, SHS releases her earmark requests, the single largest of which for transportation is $7.5 million to begin expansion of Highway 34 between Madison and I-29, a four-lane-ification project locals have been clamoring for. Coincidence?

Rounds Vetoes Unfunded Higher Ed Grants, Christmas Firecrackers

Governor Rounds vetoed two bills yesterday, HB 1240 and HB 1241. Both vetoes sound reasonable.

HB 1240 sought to create a new need-based grant fund to help students pay for university or tech school. Governor Rounds vetoed the bill because he felt the Legislature was creating a "false promise" by not funding the grants and hoping they could find private donors to float the program. The governor took exception as well to the Legislature's creation of this new program at the same time that they are considering cutting the existing Opportunity Scholarship. I agree: let's pay for what we have first. Then if we think a new program is worth creating, let's find the funds to make it happen.

HB 1241 would have allowed South Dakotans to shoot off fireworks from December 23 to January 2. Governor Rounds said he's cool with explosives on New Year's but not on Christmas. The governor's fellow Catholic Republican Pat Powers goes out with a whimper on this veto. But Powers can sometimes be more Roman candle than Roman Catholic sometimes. then fireworks have always been a hot-button issue for Powers. The atheist in the room understands and respects the governor's decision: explosives don't seem to fit with "Silent Night, Holy Night."

Fun with Marty: SD AG Jackley Joins Doomed Health Care Lawsuit

Our global warming resolution was embarrassing enough. Now South Dakota Attorney General is trying to get South Dakota on Rachel Maddow again, signing our good name, along with twelve other state AGs, to a really weak lawsuit against Uncle Sam to block health care reform.

I eagerly downloaded the document (eagerly hyperlinked by our state website [sorry! link since removed by state!]), hoping to find some profound legal arguments. Instead, I found pretty thin gruel, a bad mix of shaky Constitutional references and policy arguments more suited to the well of Congress or the campaign trail than a court of law. Here are some tidbits a judge will be throwing out shortly:

Paragraph 2: "The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying healthcare coverage." Nor does the Constitution authorize construction of a federal spaceport in Florida, but I haven't heard Florida AG Bill McCollum, lead plaintiff on this suit, ask the courts to nullify NASA.

Also not authorized by the Constitution: minimum wage legislation, development of the Internet, or federal definitions of marriage.

Paragraph 4 questions the federal government's power to establish eligibility guidelines and operating rules for Medicaid. The suit calls health care reform "an unprecedented encroachment on the sovereignty of the states." But it is precedented: welfare reform in 1996 imposed lots of new restrictions on how states administered social assistance programs. Republicans didn't see anything unconstitutional about that. Federal program, federal rules.

Paragraph 4 also undercuts the policy argument AG Jackley made on SDPB Dakota Midday Tuesday that the states can solve health care needs better. The lawsuit says state budgets are in dire straits and they can't afford to withdraw from Medicaid. The lawsuit states Medicaid has become "customary and necessary."

States can solve better, but only the federal government can solve. Which is it, Mr. Jackley?

Of course, whichever it is doesn't matter: Mr. Jackley's moaning about tight state budgets and (later) unfunded mandates is purely a policy argument that has no weight in the courtroom. Health care reform may be an ill-conceived, expensive, ineffective law (compared to Canadian single-payer, it definitely is!). But the judge won't care. Jackley needs to show the law is unconstitutional. The Constitution does not forbid expensive or ineffective laws. Unless we get an activist judge (and we wouldn't want that), Paragraph 4 wastes the court's time.

Paragraphs 6, 7, and 8 gripe about unfunded mandates. Nowhere does the lawsuit cite the case law that finds unfunded mandates unconstitutional. (Hit those law journals, kids!) If AG Jackley does find such case law, though, the court will have to nuke another unfunded mandate: elections. (Darn: midterm elections are unconstitutional: Dems hold Congress while courts figure that out.)

Paragraphs 32 through 37 make an argument akin to breach of contract, saying the plaintiffs agreed to participate in Medicaid under certain conditions and that Uncle Sam is now changing the conditions. There could be a little legal ground there... but the AGs make themselves look like dupes. All but one of the AGs are Republicans, and Republicans always tell us to beware the federal government. Yet these paragraphs tell us the plaintiffs never expected that the federal government might try to expand Medicaid or federal power therethrough. Good grief.

If Marty Jackley wanted to legislate, he should have run for Congress. Our AG should respect the Constitution enough to avoid wasting our time and the court's with his policy preferences.

South Dakota #5 in Small School Districts -- Nationwide, States Press Consolidation

Talk of school consolidation raises hackles (including mine) here in South Dakota. But according to this Stateline article, fiscal pressures are forcing school districts in Maine, Vermont, Mississippi, and elsewhere to consider merging:

...Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has asked a blue-ribbon commission to come up with a plan for reducing the state’s number of school districts by a third. “If you picture a state with 82 counties and 152 school districts you start to see part of the problem,” says Dan Turner, a spokesman for Barbour. “This is both an educational opportunity and an economic necessity.” The governor’s office claims that the change will save $65 million, but acknowledges that as a “guesstimate” [Melissa Maynard, "Still Too Many Schools?" Stateline.org, 2010.03.22].

Note Mississippi's numbers: 82 counties, 152 school districts. South Dakota has 66 counties and 150-some public school districts.

Maynard also notes that Arkansas consolidated schools after setting the minimum school district size at 350. That size was a compromise down from the original proposal to set the minimum size of districts at 1500. Minimum district size in South Dakota: 100. A minimum enrollment of 350 would close about half of South Dakota's school districts.

I got curious about the number and size of school districts nationwide. Here's what I found:

• 32% of our school districts have enrollment under 200 students, defined in our statutes as the "small school" category. Only four states have a larger percentage of small schools: Maine (46%), North Dakota (51%), Vermont (51%), and Montana (66%).
• Nationally, 14% of school districts have fewer than 200 students.
• 13 states have no districts with fewer than 200 students. Those states include Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia, all of which have significant rural populations.
  
• South Dakota has about 50 school districts serving fewer than 200 students. Utah and Nevada, with all their wide open spaces and isolated small towns, each list just one such small school district.
  
• Overall, Utah serves 580,000 students in 40 school districts. Nevada serves 470,000 students with 17 districts: one for each county, one for Carson City. South Dakota's 150-some districts serve 140,000 students.
  

We'll continue to discuss merits of different-size school districts. These numbers simply put the choices South Dakota has made in perspective with how other states organize their schools.

Dr. Kevin Weiland Circulating U.S. House Petitions

Steve Hildebrand is out, but Dr. Kevin Weiland from Rapid City may be up for a primary challenge to incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. He's circulating nominating petitions around Rapid City, and I have a copy to circulate in my hands.

Dr. Weiland has made these pages before, with some good perspective on local food and healthy diets. He could bring up some really interesting ideas in a primary debate.

So one more time: primary, anyone? Dems, if you'd like to test drive that yummy open primary and give our independent neighbors something to vote on in June, here's your chance. Call me, get a petition, and go get your neighbors' signatures. Signatures need to be turned in to the Secretary of State by March 30, so time's a-wastin'! Get a move on!

------------------------------
Update in Reverse: Darn it! Mr. Epp beats me to the Submit button. Epp says bring it on!

As much as I like Stephanie, I think it's time to have a Democrat who's actually a Democrat as our U.S. Congressman. Or we progressives at least need to get her attention and let her know she also represents us as well.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dahle continues to urge pragmatism, warning that anyone left of SHS will lose to the likes of Nelson, Noem, or Curd. (Nelson? Maybe. Noem and Curd—we can definitely take 'em! Just let them start opening their mouths.)

So what do you think, Dems? If you're nervous, don't answer that knock at the door. If you're ready for a debate, use your signature to send Weiland into the fray!

Health Care Reform Boosts Community, Liberty... and Farms!

Harvard economics prof and blogger Greg Mankiw grumbles that health care reform represents a trade-off between community and liberty:

I like to think of the big tradeoff as being between community and liberty. From this perspective, the health reform bill offers more community (all Americans get health insurance, regulated by a centralized authority) and less liberty (insurance mandates, higher taxes). Once again, regardless of whether you are more communitarian or libertarian, a reasonable person should be able to understand the opposite vantagepoint [Dr. Greg Mankiw, "Healthcare, Tradeoffs, and the Road Ahead," blog, 2010.03.22].

I understand the opposite vantagepoint, but I see a more complex equation than "more community = less liberty." It's not a zero-sum game. Community does not take away liberty; community is the basis of liberty.

Health care reform gives us more economic liberty. Consider job lock: right now, lots of people are sticking with jobs they don't like, jobs they aren't optimally suited for, simply to cling to their employer health plans. Make health insurance easier to get and keep, and people will feel more free to pursue new jobs and even self-employment. And what's more liberating than being your own boss...

...or growing your own food?

The reforms banning practices such as denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions also will affect farmers, Tolbert said.

Doug Sombke, president of the South Dakota Farmers Union, said he likes the bill. He said his sons had trouble coming back to the family farm due to pre-existing conditions from football injuries.

“This will fix that sort of coverage and help us as young people want to come back and get into agriculture,” Sombke said [David Montgomery, "Experts: Be Patient with Health Care Changes," Pierre Capital Journal, 2010.03.23].

Young people living and working where they want: that's liberty. Even as we increase community. Neat trick!

Daugaard on Agriculture: I Smell Butz

South Dakota GOP candidate for governor Dennis Daugaard released his economic recovery plan last week. Recovery from eight years of Republican mismanagement? Not really. Daugaard's plan embraces much of his boss's big business status quo.

This big-business focus is acutely apparent in Daugaard's plans for agriculture. Note first off that he pairs agriculture with biotechnology. To Daugaard and the GOP, ag/biotech is a big scientific machine, all inputs and outputs, expansion über alles.

Daugaard stumbles a bit in his opening plank on convening an annual ag forum: he mentions that one of our state values is cooperation—hey, that's socialism!

But then he gets back to business, talking about the following needs:

1. more value-added agriculture (i.e., more beef and turkey plants making profit on poverty-wage immigrant labor)
2. more international trade and exports (so we can buy back the food we eat from domestic corporations)
3. more business development in biotechnology (so more of our university presidents can work for Monsanto and other Big Ag interests)

Earlier in his plan, Daugaard does mention creating a corps of "small-town specialists." He apparently fails to make any connection, though, between the ideas of small-town development and local self-sufficiency. There's no talk of growing our own food or promoting farmers markets and community-supported agriculture. Daugaard nods toward agritourism and bringing outsiders to come look at our wineries and gardens (how about some tours of Rick Millner's law-breaking mega-feedlot in Veblen?), but there's no talk of repopulating rural South Dakota by helping new farmers start smaller, locally sustainable operations.

Daugaard gives lip service to the South Dakota value of "self-reliance," but Daugaard's ag plan makes clear Republicans still think like Nixon ag secretary Earl Butz: Agriculture is big business. Get big, get corporate, or get out.

Congress Hits Double, Passes Student Loan Reform Too!

The health care reforms passed by the House last night is not not NOT a government takeover of health care. Not even close. If it were, I'd really be partying.

But for those of you who need a real socialism fix, Understanding Government reminds us that last night's historic vote did include one honest-to-goodness nationalization of an industry. We got student loan reform! Instead of subsidizing banks to provide federal student loans, Uncle Sam will now kick out the middle man and handle students loans directly. Savings: $61 billion... $36 billion of which goes to expand Pell Grants. Not as big a boost as I was hoping for when SHS voted against this good legislation last fall, but still good news for students and taxpayers alike.

I guess it's not really nationalization to take back a government service that was outsourced to produce an artificial risk-free market. But why quibble: if you wanted socialism to gripe about, student loan reform is as good as you're going to get this week. Go ahead, Republicans: gripe about yet another great piece of Democratic deficit-cutting.

Dylan Nelson Receives Posthumous Award for Saving Lives

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation has recognized Madison's Dylan Nelson with one of three 2010 Citizen Service Above Self Awards. From the award nomination:

Dylan Nelson of Madison, South Dakota has been recognized for sacrificing his own life while saving two others in Lake Madison on August 8, 2009. Nelson was swimming with his younger brother and cousin along a sandbar when a strong current pulled them under. After Nelson swam out of the strong current, he saw that this brother and cousin were still trapped. Nelson entered the current, saved his cousin, and brought him closer to shore where a man with a Jet Ski took the cousin to shore. Nelson then returned to rescue his brother, again taking him to the man with the Jet Ski. After that, Dylan went underwater and drowned. Dylan Nelson’s act of extraordinary selflessness and bravery continues to be an inspiration and a credit to the state of South Dakota and to his fellow Americans.

SHS Can't Win for Trying: Now Blamed for Other Blue Dogs' Votes

Memo to Herseth Sandlin: triangulation still isn't going to win you Republican votes. You tried in November, and Chris Nelson hammered you for not blocking health care reform on the procedural votes. Now you cast no votes on the bill and the procedurals, and you still catch Republican heck. Dr. R. Blake Curd moans and groans that you didn't show enough leadership in lobbying your fellow Blue Dogs to stop the bill:

While our own Representative voted against the measure, 30 other members of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition voted for the bill. If Rep. Herseth Sandlin had used her position in the Blue Dog Coalition to convince 4 other members to vote “no” the bill would have died. South Dakota only has one seat in the House and therefore we need a leader who will stake out their position and convince others it’s the right course of action [R. Blake Curd, official campaign propaganda, regurgitated at DWC, 2010.03.21].

If they can't hold you accountable for your vote, they'll hold you accountable for everyone else's vote. Remind me to comb the Legislative records and use this trick on Curd and Kristi Noem.

No matter what you do, Stephanie, the right wing is going to paint you as a leftist. You might as well have the fun of being a leftist! Get back on that Dem horse, ride hard, and ride left!

"Total Destruction of Our Constitutional Republic" -- Really?

Congressman Devin Nunes told Fox News last night that the passage of health care reform would be "the total destruction of our Constitutional republic." The California Republican also said the country is being run by crazy 1960's leftists from Hollywood and San Francisco.

I'll be watching for evidence of that "total destruction" today. If you see any Hollywood liberals tearing down Grecian columns, San Franciscans urinating on courthouses, beret-wearing brownshirts storming the Madison Daily Leader office, or any other signs of the total destruction of the Constitutional republic, post them here. I'll broadcast until the leftists come for me. (And they'll come for me and Heidepriem: we're only recent converts to the Democratic party, and our ideological purity is in question.)

In the mean time, enjoy the epic Tea Bag fail.