Barbour for Daugaard: Here Comes the Fox News Money!

Update 2010.10.27 08:59 CDT: That's what I get for wishful thinking. I review Daugaard's pre-general filing, and sure enough, there's RGA PAC, in for $51, 456.60, about the same as the $50K Heidepriem got from the Democratic Governors Association. Haley Barbour also stopped in Wyoming to stump for Republican Matt Mead, who is ahead of Democratic challenger Leslie Petersen by at least 30 points. So much for worry.

-----------original wishful post-------------
Republicans must be getting nervous if they feel the need to send to send Republican Governors Association chair Haley Barbour all the way out to South Dakota to stump for Dennis Daugaard. Perhaps they timed this visit to change the narrative from what they perhaps anticipated would be a really bad KELO debate for Daugaard against hard-punching policy aficionado Democrat Scott Heidepriem. (I haven't seen the debate yet, but Bob Mercer calls it a "clear victory" for Heidepriem.)

Or maybe Barbour and Team Denny timed the visit to keep RGA's Fox News money off the campaign finance books for as long as possible. Reviewing Daugaard's pre-general and supplemental campaign finance filings, I saw no sign of donations from the Republican Governors Association. RGA gave the Rounds-Daugaard campaign $100,000 in 2006. RGA also has a million dollars from Fox News to spread around the country for Republicans in need.

Heidepriem and Daugaard each reported a quarter-million cash on hand for the last week of the campaign. Actually, amazingly, Heidepriem reported just about $10,000 more cash available for the last push than the GOP favorite who started raising cash three years ago. Daugaard has already burned up his cash advantage, and in debates, Heidepriem is taking a mighty swing at showing Daugaard does not have the policy-wonk advantage one might expect from a sitting liuetenant governor. I still get nervous about wishful thinking, but Haley Barbour's last-minute visit, and the RGA/Fox News money he may bring, may show Daugaard really, remarkably, unexpectedly, is a Republican in need.

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Don't forget, kids: If Mr. Barbour does bring Fox money, you need to tell us about it within 48 hours.

Clark Schmidtke's Side of the Story: "I'm Innocent!"

Permit me to update what I just published about the court records of our District 8 Senate candidates. District 8 Senate Candidate Clark C. Schmidtke Sr. and I just had a very serious conversation on the phone about his court records and what really happened in Minnesota. Trying hard to reserve judgment, I present what I've read and what I've heard (and delay once again talking about actual policies affecting District 8).

According to information from the Minnesota judicial system, in Case No. 46-K0-95-000504, The State of Minnesota vs. Clark Calvin Schmidtke, Judge Robert D. Walker presiding, our candidate was charged with 45 charges of theft and mistreatment of vulnerable adults.

Schmidtke says he was innocent. The county social worker, he says, brought bogus charges against him because the county owed his health care facility money and wanted to put him out of business. He did go out of business in 1995. He lived in Arizona at the time and thus had to fly back and forth for court appearances. He went to court 15 times. Eventually, Schmidtke says he ran out of money for the lawyer. He asked his lawyer how much it would cost to continue fighting the charges: $15,000. Schmidtke didn't have that money, so he switched to a public defender. That public defender recommended Schmidtke simply plead, take a few days' jail time and pay restitution. Schmidtke agreed and pled to three charges of theft. The remaining 42 charges we dropped... and Schmidtke spent eight months in jail and was assessed $14,225.96 in restitution.

The court record shows $580 credited toward restitution in 1997. Schmidtke's first payment is listed in 1999. Schmidtke then made 19 payments from 1999 to 2003 adding up to $6530. The Minnesota judicial website indicates that Schmidtke's current balance due is $7,695.96.

Schmidtke says that last figure is an error. In 2004, another complication arose. Schimdtke's probation officer claimed she didn't know Schmidtke had moved to South Dakota, hauled him back to Minnesota, and tossed him in jail. Schmidtke says his son then looked through his dad's phone records and found information that showed the probation officer would have known from those records that Schmidtke was in South Dakota.

If I understand the story, it was at this point that Martin County Attorney Terry W. Viesselman stepped in and said enough's enough. Schmidtke says Viesselman recommended the court reduce the case from felony to misdemeanor and drop the remaining restitution at this time. Schimdtke says the court did just that. He has not made any further restitution payments at this time, as it was his impression that the case was closed and he was absolved of further obligations. (Schmidtke says he'll get a lawyer to check on the status of that balance shown on the judicial website soon.)

Schmidtke said he wasn't eager to see any of this come out. He didn't want to do ill to any other candidates. He also has to make a living, and bad press like this could impact his bottom line at the assisted living facility he runs in Trent. Running for office was just asking for opposition research to dig up this hard-to-explain story.

Nonetheless, he says he is deeply upset with bad government in Pierre. He kept waiting last spring for some Democrat to challenge Senator Russell Olson (R-8/Madison), and when no one stepped forward, he felt someone had to speak up on the issues and challenge the status quo... even if it was a suboptimal candidate such as himself.
-----------------------------------
On a personal note: I told Clark that he's damaged goods. He knows that. I also told him that he's still right on policy issues and on the need for change in Pierre. And forget my partisan hat: I have strong bias toward any individual who argues that he has been unjustly persecuted by the powers that be and simply ran out of money to fight the good fight and prove his innocence. Clark has also done time, paid some restitution, apparently to the satisfaction of the prosecuting attorney, and now just wants to move on with his life, serve the people who hire him, and pay the bills.

But candidate Schmidtke also wants to serve the people of South Dakota in Pierre. Some voters—maybe most voters—will dismiss Schmidtke and his story out of hand. And I can't blame you if you do.

The court says a man I know and respect committed crimes. The man says he did not. I still have some thinking to do.

Next District 8 Senator Will Have Noteworthy Court Record

I still have one or two posts in the chute on last week's candidates forum here in District 8. I want very much to talk about the policies discussed by the four legislative candidates who attended the AAUW forum.

But first, I must address the court records publicized by Pat Powers at Dakota War College. Last week an anonymous source pointed Mr. Powers toward online documents from the state of Minnesota. The first document, from the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings in 1995, indicates that

Clark Schmidtke, Sr., Independent/Democrat candidate for South Dakota District 8 Senate

Clark Schmidtke, Sr., Independent/Democratic candidate for District 8 State Senate, admitted that he had forged two checks in the names of individuals in his care. The associated report recommended disciplinary action against Mr. Schmidtke's adult foster care license. The second document, from the Ethical Practices Board of Minnesota's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board in 1997, indicates that Clark Schmidtke failed to file a final campaign finance report for his 1994 campaign for District 22B State Legislature and accepted a campaign contribution exceeding the 1994 contribution limit. Schmidtke owed $347.80 in filing fees and judgment interest. That amount appears to include a $200 civil fine that the Minnesota previously recommended against pursuing, since collecting it would not be cost effective.

Since Mr. Powers's post and my tentative response on Friday, some commenters have generously suggested that...

1. the documents may refer to a different Clark Schmidtke,
2. neither of the documents refers to the final disposition of the cases, and
3. such court records are unwanted distractions from the discussion we should be having about the right policies for District 8 and South Dakota.

To the first, I say that I am sufficiently confident that the Clark Schmidtke in the above legal documents and the Clark Schmidtke running for District 8 Senate are the same man. Candidate Schmidtke is from Minnesota. He ran for Minnesota state legislature. He works in assisted living/senior care. The overlap satisfies me to accept the association between our candidate and the Minnesota documents.

To the second, I agree that the two documents do not tell us the whole story, let alone the final outcome of these cases in Minnesota. I have Facebooked and e-mailed Mr. Schmidtke and await his filling in of that story. I have not heard back, although I have received an invitation to hear from Mr. Schmidtke in person at tonight's Moody County Democrats meeting. I will, alas, be unable to attend, so other bloggers are welcome to scoop me.

But permit me this snark: if I were running for office, and some blogger connected my name with past criminal activity with just eleven days left before the election, I wouldn't wait four days to stomp out the fire. Knowing past issues could bubble up in opposition research, I'd be online immediately with either, "It ain't me!" or "I was framed!" or full disclosure of what I did, why I did it, why I am deeply deeply deeply sorry I did it, and why I am still the better choice for the office I'm seeking.

And to the third: yes, I would rather talk entirely about policies and voting records. On those points alone, Clark Schmidtke can mop up the floor with Senator Russell Olson. Every policy statement I've heard Schmidtke make, with perhaps the exception of his willingness to entertain the possibility of charter schools in South Dakota, is right on. Olson has a record of bad votes, wimpy votes, and Big Biz/Big Oil apologetics that are wrong for South Dakota.

Yet I believe past wrongdoings and interactions with the legal system are relevant to discussions of candidates' qualifications. When I ran for school board two years ago, the first question from a voter here on the blog was about my firing at the hands of the Madison Central School Board in 2001, a public employment matter that led to a board hearing and court appeal. (Add that to my three speeding tickets, and you have the full record of my interactions with the South Dakota court system.) More people than I have pointed to Kristi Noem's lengthy record of traffic violations, failures to appear in court, and arrest warrants, not to mention her subsequent unapologetic self-justifications, as indications of her unfitness for high office.

Forgery and failure to follow campaign finance rules are significant crimes. I cannot ignore the association of candidate Clark Schmidtke with such crimes.

Russell Olson, Republican incumbent candidate for South Dakota District 8 Senate

And thanks to Mr. Powers's raising of the issue, I can no longer ignore Russell Olson's record of interaction with the South Dakota judicial system. Following is a list of some South Dakota court cases involving Russell D. Olson, a.k.a Russell Donovan Olson, Russell Dean Olson, and Russell Olson. The information comes from a record search conducted on October 23, 2010:

1. Docket #39399M0702111: Municipal speeding, 25 mph in a 20 zone, Madison, Lake County, 11/28/2007. Pled guilty by POA 1/10/28, paid $69.
2. #39399M0601101: County speeding, 65 in a 55, Lake County, 7/26/2006. Pled guilty by POA 8/24/2006, paid $76.
3. #32399M0502504: Municipal speeding, 55 in a 35, Pierre, Hughes County, 12/19/2005. Pled guilty by POA 1/6/2006, paid $119.
4. #50399M0201111: Speeding other roadways, 70 in 55, Moody County, 5/20/2002. Pled guilty by POA 6/10/2002, paid $91.
5. #07399M0100396: Open alcoholic beverage container accessible in vehicle, Brule County, 6/22/2001. Pled guilty by POA 7/19/2001, paid $86.
6. #17399M9802737: Failure to make proper stop, Davison County, 12/11/1998. Pled nolo contendre; disposition: stipulate to facts, found guilty 1/19/1999, paid $78.
7. #50399M9800546: Speeding other roadways, 75 in a 55, Moody County, 5/2/1998. Pled guilty by POA 5/20/1998, paid $100.
8. #17399M9502117: Speeding, 68 in a 55, Davison County, 11/13/1995. Pled guilty by POA 11/22/1995, paid $70.
9. #13C95000220A0: Speeding, 33 in a 25; Fleeing from police; Clay County, 5/11/1995. No plea to either charge, both charges dismissed on motion by prosecutor; pled guilty by POA to careless driving, 9/5/1995, paid $75.
10. #13C94000333A0: Simple assault, Clay County, 10/9/1994. Warrant issued 11/8/1994 for Failure to appear; no plea to original charge, charge dismissed on reduction; pled guilty to Disorderly conduct 11/15/1994, paid $200.
11. #49399M9323207: Speeding, 75 in a 65, Minnehaha County, 8/13/1993. Pled guilty 9/17/1993, paid $60.
12. #49399M9323208: Open alcoholic beverage container accessible in vehicle, Minnehaha County, 8/13/1993. No plea; dismissed on prosecutor's motion 9/17/1993.
13. #50399M9300227: Speeding, 65 in a 55, Moody County, 3/8/1993. Pled guilty by POA, paid $50.
14. #50399M9101291: Disorderly conduct, Moody County, 6/15/1991. Pled guilty 7/31/1991, paid $50.
15. #50C91000127A0: Having an altered or invalid license in possession, Moody County, 6/15/1991. Pled guilty 7/31/1991, paid $120. Incarcerated to local jail for 30 days consecutive with 30 days suspended; conditions: pay fine and costs, obey all laws for one year.
16. #13399S9001361: Possession of alcohol by minor, Clay County, 5/6/1990. Pled guilty by POA 7/18/1990, fine of $50 ($40 suspended), costs of $15.
17. #13399S9001369: Possession of alcohol by minor, Clay County, 5/6/1990. Pled guilty by POA 7/18/1990, fine $50, costs $15. [This record appears to duplicate the preceding record.]
18. #50399M8900259: Possession of alcohol by minor, Moody County, filed 2/13/1989. No plea entered 2/22/1989; dismissed by motion of prosecutor 2/21/1990.

Official documents indicate that Clark Schmidtke wrote two illegal checks for $1500 and owed the state of Minnesota about $350 for state campaign finance law violations (maybe $200 more... but I'm unclear on the wording of one of those documents). Official documents indicate Russell Olson has incurred around $1300 in penalties for a string of criminal offenses in South Dakota.

We will elect one of these men our state senator from District 8 next week. Voters, I welcome you to share how you reason out which of these men to vote for... or whether to vote on the District 8 Senate race at all.

p.s.: South Dakota does not allow write-in votes... but one write-in doesn't negate your votes on the other races.

District 9: Liberal Media Endorses Pastor Hickey and Debate Dodger

What liberal media? That Sioux Falls paper just endorsed the complete Republican slate for District 9 Senate and House. That includes Deb Peters, who appears to be dodging debates and thinks the right way to keep families from open enrolling out of her school district is to throw up legislative barriers to school choice; Bob Deelstra, who has a speech impediment online; and, in the greatest sign of the apocalypse, Pastor Steve Hickey, who will ban abortion entirely if he gets the chance.

Now I'll admit, of the various fundagelicals with whom I've locked blog horns, Pastor Hickey has come across as more capable of reasoned debate and practical political action than some others of his ilk. But that the largest newspaper in our state would pick him and his Republican colleagues over Trudi Hatch, Mark Anderson, and Rob Wilson—three relatively sober and serious Democrats, not wild radicals like me—reduces to absurdity any suggestion that the South Dakota media has a liberal bias.

Then again, Pastor Hickey does support reparations for Native Americans, including at least a conversation about some eventual land settlement. Maybe he's a liberal after all....

Noem on Farm Subsidies: Everybody Else Gets $200K a Year from Uncle Sam, Right?

In an interview with the Rapid City Journal a couple weeks ago, South Dakota's GOP candidate for U.S. House Kristi Noem addressed the question of her family's huge reliance on federal farm subsidies. Watch the video:



Says Noem:

What our family has done is participate in the farm programs. And so the farm programs I think essentially almost every farmer in South Dakota has participated in those, and they haven't been bailouts they have been programs that the United States has put forward for farmers to participate in.

It's all about national security, says Noem, so we don't have to depend on other countries for food. Fear, everyone. Fear.

Noem says every farmer and rancher would prefer more risk management programs to direct payments, a position she's taken in other discussions like the State Fair debate.

Noem concludes by claiming, "We've done what every other farmer and rancher has done by participating in those [programs]."

Actually, no, Kristi. You haven't done what every other farmer and rancher has done. As the invaluable Environmental Working Group notes, the vast majority of farmers get little benefit from farm subsidy programs. 26% of South Dakota farmers get no subsidies. 10% of South Dakota farmers claim 61% of the subsidies sent to our state. The bottom 80% have collected an average of $1,334 per year since 1995. The top 10% have collected an average of $35,077 per year since 1995.

Your family, Kristi, has taken over three million dollars in subsidies over the last 15 years. That's $200,000 per year. That's more federal handouts than all but 17 other farm operations in the entire state have taken over the same period. Three million dollars is six times the amount I've earned in paychecks since 1995.

On farm subsidies, Kristi Noem again demonstrates her inability to square the anti-government, free-market principles she spouts for her Tea Party supporters with her family's dependence on federal handouts for fiscal viability.

South Dakota Has Highest Percentage of College Grads in Debt

The Heidepriem campaign sends out a press release on a bothersome statistic about our higher education system: according to 2009 data from the Project on Student Debt, South Dakota has the highest reported percentage of students graduating from college in debt. 78% of our 2009 grads carried student loan debt. The only other states with more than 70% of their college grads carrying debt are Iowa (74%), Minnesota and West Virginia (73%), New Hampshire and Pennsylvania (72%), and North Dakota (71%).

The states with the most students graduating free and clear are Nevada, Utah, Delaware, Arizona, and New Mexico. Even dreaded California manages to issue just over half of its baccalaureate degrees without letters from the bank stapled to the diplomas.

South Dakota isn't quite so bad off when we count actual average debt. By that metric, we rank 17th out of the reporting states (Hawaii and Idaho aren't talking), with the average student owing $23,581 at graduation. The highest average student debt is in the District of Columbia, $30,033. The lowest average student debt load is in Utah, just $12,860.

Within our borders, a whopping 92% of Dakota State University students graduate with debt. That's the highest percentage of any reporting school in the state, even higher than at South Dakota's private colleges. Consider that at Augustana College, tuition and fees are four times higher than at DSU, but 76% graduate with debt. An Augie grad's average debt in 2009 was $29,531 compared to $21,189 at DSU.

And for you SDSU-USD partisans, note that Jackrabbits have a lower proportion of students in debt than Coyotes and the average Jackrabbit debt is lower.

Why would low-tuition South Dakota have such a high proportion of students going into debt to pay for their undergraduate education? Scott Heidepriem contends that Pierre is saddling our valuable students with debt while cutting higher education and throwing money at tax breaks for TransCanada, state planes, no-bid contracts, and the other fiscal malfeasance of the Rounds-Daugaard administration. TransCanada's $10.5-million handout could have knocked $5000 off 2100 graduates' debt. An extra $5000 in spending power in the hands of 2100 new graduates could translate into a lot of down payments on new cars and houses. It could even keep a few more valuable workers in South Dakota, as more college grads could pay off their student loans on South Dakota wages.

Let me venture that our low wages may also contribute to our bad student debt numbers. Even with our relatively low in-state tuition, students have a hard time finding part-time or summer jobs that pay enough to cover their college bills. Thus, more students have to turn to loans and start their careers in the red.

The Project for Student Debt does a good job of explaining how they get their data and the limitations of their study. The information they use is voluntarily reported by the colleges surveyed, so there is a chance that colleges underreport the amount of student debt. But PSD's numbers are the only ones on the table, and they indicate South Dakota's policies are leaving college graduates in a financial lurch that drags down our economy and makes it harder to keep high-value graduates.

Lake Herman Dirtiest in October, Still Safe

We volunteers in the Dakota Water Watch bacteria monitoring project took our last samples for 2010 on October 12. The biology lab at Dakota State University just sent back the draft results for the season.

Charlie Stoneback and I sampled five different sites on our Lake Herman through summer and fall. The highest E. coli ratings for the year came this month, in that warm October weather. Charlie got the highest bacteria reading, 210 colony-forming units per 100 mL, at the sample site right next to his house, at the mouth of the golf course creek. That was over twice as high as the reading he got at the same site in July.

The next highest October readings were at my two sites: 144 cfu/mL at the mouth of the stream on the south tip of the lake, 100 cfu/mL at the mouth of the stream that runs into the lake from the southwest, next to Camp Lakoida. I never got a reading over 100 in any of my other 2010 samples.

What do these numbers mean? Well, there's some E. coli in Lake Herman, and the little buggers apparently enjoyed the warm October weather that didn't really break until this weekend. But even Charlie's high number doesn't exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's single-sample maximum for immersion recreation of 235 cfu/mL (environmental scientists, check that number for me!).

In other words, swimming in Lake Herman is still relatively safe. And we're still filtering nutrients and keeping the water a little cleaner and the property values a little higher at Lake Madison.

RMA Gov Poll Questions Pushy Compared to Rasmussen

I mentioned yesterday the RMA Research poll that shows South Dakota Democratic candidate for governor Scott Heidepriem within six points of Republican Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard, with over 20% of likely voters still up for grabs. That prompted a friend of mine who also happens to be a fervent Daugaard supporter to contact me. This friend received one of the phone calls from RMA Research for the most recent poll. Below are notes my friend took during the call. The questions asked make clear RMA Research was conducting a push poll geared to test messages for Team Heidepriem.

How likely are you to vote?

Pick what issue is most important to you in this election cycle:

• Jobs and the economy
• Decrease in Education spending
• No bid contracts to political groups
• some others (mostly anti-Dennis)

How's South Dakota's economy?

How's South Dakota's economy compared to other Plains states?

Who are you supporting? [CAH note: Whom. Rephrase the question as a statement: You are supporting ____. Direct object goes in the blank. You are supporting whom? You are supporting him....]

When did you decide who[m!!!] you were supporting?

• After the June Primary
• In the past 2 weeks
• in the last week

How strong is your support? [My friend replied "strong," but a later question repeated my friend's answer as "somewhat strong"—check the script, kids!]

Impression of these people?

• Daugaard
• Rounds
• Heidepreim
• (Bill) Janklow

Job Performance?

• Rounds as Gov
• Dennis as Lt. Gov
• Scott as Minority Leader
• Obama as President

How do these issues affect whether or not you're voting for Dennis?

• Raises to top executives who and then those executives contributions to Dennis.
• Increased spending and adding FTE's.
• 10 state airplanes that Dennis and Rounds use at their will, and Valhalla which Dennis and Rounds use as they please and was remodeled with taxpayer money.
• Decrease in education spending under Dennis' watch.

[The individual polled says each of the above items came with at least a paragraph-long description. The poll then asked if each item made the subject less likely, more likely, or had no effect on the subject's decision to vote for Dennis.

Rate the 4 previous issues on a scale of 1-4 if they make you really less likely to vote for Dennis, somewhat less likely, no effect or more likely.

After this information are you still somewhat strongly supporting Dennis? [This is where the pollster misquoted my friend's "strong" support cited earlier.]

For Secretary of State are you voting for Ben the Democrat or Jason Grant? [My friend says this was the question word for word.]

Compare RMA Research's questions and order with those used by Rasmussen, which last week found Daugaard leading Heidepriem 55% to 36%:

1* If the 2010 Election for Governor of South Dakota were held today would you vote for Republican Dennis Daugaard or Democrat Scott Heidepriem? (Please note that we split the survey to rotate the order of the candidate names, so while half will hear the Republican candidate first, the other half hears the Democrat mentioned first.)

• Dennis Daugaard
• Scott Heidepriem
• Some Other Candidate
• Not Sure

2* I’m going to read you a short list of people in the News. For each, please let me know if you have a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable impression.

• Daugaard
• Heidepriem

3*A proposal has been made to repeal the health care bill and stop it from going into effect. Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose a proposal to repeal the health care bill?

4* The health care plan passed by Congress requires every American to buy or obtain health insurance. Do you Strongly Favor, Somewhat Favor, Somewhat Oppose, or Strongly Oppose a federal law that requires every American to buy or obtain health insurance?

5* Should individual states have the right to opt out of the entire national health care plan?

6* Generally speaking, how would you rate the U.S. economy these days? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

7* Are economic conditions in the country getting better or worse?

8* Do you consider yourself part of the Tea Party Movement?

9* How would you rate the job Barack Obama has been doing as President… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

10* How would you rate the job Mike Rounds has been doing as Governor… do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the job he’s been doing?

Both polls are what they are. Looking just at the questions, Rasmussen's poll is trying to find where people stand on the candidates and the issues, while RMA's poll is trying to find the messages that may get people to move toward their candidate.

Noem: George W. Bush Not Conservative Enough

The Brits get a taste of Kristi Noem in their Daily Mail. UK reporter David Rose comes to South Dakota to call our Republican candidate for U.S. House "glamorous" and "gun-crazy." He also finds she takes her conservative cues from Glenn Beck, not George W. Bush:

But what sets Kristi apart from the mainstream Republican leadership is when she starts talking about the last Republican President, George W. Bush.

In Britain, people tend to think of Bush as quite conservative. Not Kristi. 'Of course Bush was a good president, but he leaned too much to the middle and created programmes that put too many people on the government payroll. And once the Democrats got control of the House in 2006, he only used his power to veto their legislation once.'

...Beck, a former disc jockey and now a bestselling author, has launched his online 'Glenn Beck university', and among its teachings is that America started to go to the dogs at the time of the First World War, when government expanded far beyond the limits envisaged by the founding fathers with the establishment of institutions such as the Federal Reserve and publicly funded universal education.

In South Dakota, 52 per cent of all voters and 80 per cent of Republicans say they identify with Tea Party values. Kristi Noem says she agrees with Beck's analysis.

'His overall concept of more limited government and the need to go back to what our forefathers wanted is right,' she says.

'There are things that have to change but, as Beck says, not core values' [David Rose, "They see Obama as a hostile, alien force - like Hitler or Pol Pot: The glamorous, gun-crazy women preparing to blow the President away," UK Daily Mail, 2010.10.24].

Kristi Noem thinks George W. Bush wasn't conservative enough... and Bush wanted to privatize Social Security. So did Kristi, back in May, before she had to start thinking about what she was saying.

But a Republican Party moving from George W. Bush to Glenn Beck as font of good governing principles is a scary, scary party.

Bonus photo: If for no other reason, check out Rose's article to see the money shot of Kristi Noem coming to drink your milkshake.

Jackley Tops Volesky in Madville Times Poll

Ron Volesky can't even catch a break on the blog that loves him best. The Madville Times asked you, eager readers, "Who gets your vote for South Dakota Attorney General?" You said...

Marty Jackley	88 (56%)
Ron Volesky	69 (44%)

Votes: 157

Even Madville Times readers are willing to concede that, short of Mr. Volesky hiring Mr. Dahle for an eight-day blitzkrieg campaign, Governor Rounds's appointee Mr. Jackley will likely get a full term to stick around and have fun filing more futile political lawsuits.

But as Mr. Mercer points out, Ron Volesky is the only Democratic lawyer in the last decade who's stepped forward to carry the Democratic banner in the AG's race. Ron may need some magic to pull closer to 50%+1, but he still has my respect for being willing to serve the party and the state.

Veblen Dairy Operators Dodge $453K in Taxes, Says State

$452,888.40. That's how much the operators of the now-bankrupt Veblen mega-dairies have cheated the State of South Dakota.

This month, the State of South Dakota filed the following tax liens against Prairie Ridge Management, its manager Richard Millner, and Multi-Community Cooperative Dairy, the previous name under which Veblen West Dairy was organized:

Clippings from the Marshall County bank
scandal sheet, listing liens against Prairie
Ridge Management LLC, Richard Millner,
and Multi-community Cooperative Dairy,
October 2010. Click image to enlarge.

• 58608—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Prairie Ridge Management Company LLC, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $63,004.74, for unpaid Sales Tax for tax period September 2009–August 2010. Dated October 13, 2010.
• 58609—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Richard Millner, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $63,004.74, for unpaid Sales Tax for tax period September 2009–August 2010. Dated October 13, 2010.
• 58610—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Prairie Ridge Management Company LLC, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $273,087.48, for unpaid Use Tax for tax period January 2007–October 2009. Dated October 13, 2010.
• 58611—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Richard Millner, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $273,087.48, for unpaid Use Tax for tax period January 2007–October 2009. Dated October 13, 2010.
• 58612—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Prairie Ridge Management Company LLC, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $1,932.99, for unpaid Contractors' Excise Tax for tax period January 2007–October 2009. Dated October 13, 2010.
• 58613—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Richard Millner, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $1,932.99, for unpaid Contractors' Excise Tax for tax period January 2007–October 2009. Dated October 13, 2010.
• 58621—Notice of Tax Lien—Against Multi-community Cooperative Dairy, in favor of State of South Dakota, in the amount of $114,863.19, for unpaid Use Tax for tax period January 2004–December 2009. Dated October 14, 2010.

I'm assuming the identical amounts against Prairie Ridge Management LLC and Richard Millner are simply the state holding both the corporation and its manager accountable for cheating us tax payers of what we are due.

After all the environmental infractions and legal trickery, Richard Millner's machinations and bad business practices may finally be brought to a halt by a state Department of Revenue going Al Capone on the Veblen dairies and citing them for tax evasion. Seems appropriate.

District 8 Campaign Finance: Russell Olson Backs Jason Bjorklund

In the South Dakota pre-general campaign finance reports were due in Secretary of State Chris Nelson's office Friday. I turn first to District 8 State Senator Russell Olson's filing and find he's backing "Independent" District 8 State House candidate Jason Bjorklund. Olson's treasurer Scott Delzer apparently doesn't know how to spell Bjorklund: line 7 of the list of contributions to other candidates reads "Bjorkland for House."

I checked: I don't see any Bjorkland running for state house.

The $300 donation from the Olson campaign to the Bjorklund campaign, along with comparable contributions from notable Madison Republicans Jerry Prostrollo and DeLon Mork, supports Patricia Stricherz's contention that the Independent candidate isn't as Independent as he might claim. Strizherz is the only official Republican on the District 8 House ballot. Stricherz has received no money from fellow Republican Olson. (Sec. Nelson has not yet posted Stricherz's pre-general filing.)

Update 2010.10.25 17:43 CDT: Candidate Stricherz informs me that she has received $565 in contributions: $150 from the Lake County GOP, $100 from the Olson campaign, $100 from the Dan Lederman campaign, and the rest from family and 2 PACs. Neither Olson's nor Lederman's filings record these contributions yet.
Update 2010.10.30: Filing received on the 28th confirms Russ's and Dan's donations. Note: Russ gives three times more to the "Independent" than to the official Republican.

Bjorklund has also received money from notable Madison Republicans Jerry Prostrollo and DeLon Mork.

Olson's $300 for Bjorklund exceeds the $250 contributions Olson gave to some of his Senate colleagues and the $150 he tossed Dusty Johnson's way. Perhaps Olson and Bjorklund share a love of Glenn Beck. (But hey: Stricherz loves Glenn Beck, too.)

So here's a question for the candidates' forum on Thursday: let's ask the District 8 Senate candidates which District 8 House candidates they support and why. Let's ask the House candidates the same thing about their pick for Senate.

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Alas for the local economy: Russell Olson is only raising and spending about half what he did in 2008. Jon Hunter must be disappointed. The other candidates aren't packing big balances, either. The figures for our District 8 candidates:

Name	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Sen. Russell Olson	$33,473	$28,061.03	$11,752.12
Clark Schmidtke	$2,150	$1,848.19	$301.81
Rep. Mitch Fargen	$22,499.95	$19.135.77	$4,996.82
Rep. Gerald Lange	$1,575.00	$380.00	$1,364.55
Jason Bjorklund	$3,288.02	$3,227.98	$182.02
Patricia Stricherz	$666.00	$866.00	$0.00

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I'm still investigating the criminal records of both of District 8's State Senate candidates, Russell Olson and Clark Schmidtke. Stay tuned... we may need a write-in campaign! Update: Got that taken care of.