Bluestem Prairie

Not just abortion. Climate change and Legacy Amendment denial in 2022 MNGOP platform

We've been posting about abortion position policy on the part of Republican candidates in Minnesota in such recent posts as Doe V. Gomez' is a sudden MNGOP splendid "shift in tone from the party on abortion" and Action 4 Liberty, Brodkorb publish "confidential" MNGOP state chair abortion email to candidates.

A commenter noted on the first post:

That Minnesota Republican Party email tells at least three different lies that I could find.

1 - In the email, the Minnesota Republican Party tells their people to say that the MN GOP position is that abortion rights are not on the ballot this year. That is a lie. Here is their actual position on abortion, as outlined in their official Minnesota Republican Party Platform adopted in May of this year: that life and full personhood run "from conception to natural death" and to that end they support passing laws, constitutional amendments (state and Federal) or ballot measures banning abortion.

2 - This leads to the next lie: that Doe v. Gomez is "settled" and thus can't be unsettled. Again, their current platform tells us they intend to overturn Roe v. Gomez and by any means they can think of.

3 - They lie about abortion in Minnesota being legal "up to the moment of birth." Abortion in Minnesota is legal after viability only to preserve the mother's life or health.

https://www.findlaw.com/state/minnesota-law/minnesota-abortion-laws.html

But abortion policy isn't the only stone to be found among the acres of diamonds that is the 2022 Republican Party of Minnesota Platform. 

There's this paean to climate emergency denial:

Section 8 – Enjoy and Protect our Natural Resources

. . . We believe that economic development of natural resources can be balanced with environmental stewardship and
should not be obstructed by radical environmentalist concerns. We oppose policies and mandates based on the
Theory of Man-Made Global Warming, as well as any energy policies arising from it [emphasis added].  Therefore, we support:
• Repeal of Minnesota’s Next Generation Energy Act of 2007.
• Research and development of alternative forms of energy by private initiatives.
• The building of clean coal-fired and nuclear power plants.
• Requiring the federal government to meet its obligation to store or recycle nuclear waste.
• A free market for all energy, and oppose government mandates, subsidies or monopolies.
• Repeal of the “Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment."
• Oil pipelines over rail transport as a matter of public safety.

That's certainly interesting on a day in which Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida, and our feed is awash with headlines like Hurricane Ian intensifies into a monster with climate markings and Why tackling climate change means a stronger economy — according to Janet Yellen.

And never mind that Minnesota’s Next Generation Energy Act of 2007 was a broadly bipartisan measure passed during the last Republican administration, as Andrew Twite noted for MinnPost in 2018:

In our current political climate, it’s easy to forget that clean energy used to be widely bipartisan. Passed in 2007 with near universal legislative support and signed into law by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the Next Generation Energy Act was a landmark piece of legislation that aimed to spur renewable energy and save utility customers money through energy efficiency and conservation – all with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota 80 percent by 2050.

And the “Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment"? Those dirty hippies at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture note in A 25-year Commitment to Clean Water in Minnesota:

On November 4^th 2008, Minnesota voters approved the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the state constitution. This amendment passed with 56% of the vote.

The Amendment increases the sales and use tax rate by three-eighths of one percent, starting July 1, 2009 and continuing through 2034. Amendment dollars are dedicated to four separate funds:

• Outdoor Heritage Fund
• Parks and Trails Fund
• Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund
• Clean Water Fund

Oh the horror of the will of the people.

Perhaps the  climate action-denying platform's where Ryan Wilson got the notion to deep six ESG in his race for state auditor.

The "acronym for Environment, Social and Governance describes a move to consider issues such as climate change, social justice and equity as state and local governments decide where to invest funds such as those that support employee pensions," MinnPost's Peter Callaghan wrote last week in Wait? There’s a ‘real issue’ in the state auditor’s race?.

Callaghan reports:

Many of the campaign issues in Minnesota are issues in races across the country as well, put there by partisan strategists who see them as potent for bringing the right voters to the polls.

Similar talking points on public safety, abortion, inflation and school curricula can be seen and heard in congressional and state campaigns in every state, Minnesota included. And now some national Republicans are trying to add ESG to the list – or, as they call it, “woke investing.”

First, what is ESG? The acronym for Environment, Social and Governance describes a move to consider issues such as climate change, social justice and equity as state and local governments decide where to invest funds such as those that support employee pensions. 

Supporters of ESG say it makes financial sense to begin avoiding businesses with financial models that may well be unsustainable, leading to reduced value in the future. . . . 

Opponents, including high-profile Republicans like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have attempted to cite it as the political left using public funds to further political goals. So far, the issue has emerged in only one statewide Minnesota race. As one of four members of the State Board of Investment, the state auditor helps set policy for how the $130 billion in state funds are invested.

“I will not play politics with our pensions,” GOP nominee Ryan Wilson said during the only debate so far with the incumbent DFL Auditor Julie Blaha. “We must put return on investment first.”

Unlike the way some Republicans are stepping gingerly around the issue of abortion and some Democrats are trying to finesee the issues around public safety, Blaha is running toward this political fire rather than away from it. She said considering ESG factors is the trend in retirement fund investing, not just by public systems but by private investors.

“Even if you don’t care about the environment at all, you need to think about climate change in investments,” she said during the WCCO radio debate. “There are significant risks and there are significant opportunities in how climate is changing and how we’re transitioning energy.”

Blaha blamed “MAGA auditors and treasurers” who are trying to discredit ESG in investment decisions. “The evidence is overwhelming, and it’s also common sense. How many of us are sinking our savings into coal right now?”

“You know what’s been a great investment over the last six months that we missed out on?” Wilson asked. “Coal.” To which Blaha responded that pension funds are invested with 10, 20 and 30-year outlooks, not six months.

“You cannot be running around trying to day trade with my pension,” she said. . . . 

So, day-trading as an investment policy--and repeal of bipartisan, Republican era legislation and a successful amendment approved by 56 percent of Minnesota voters. Your Republican Party of Minnesota. Read the rest of the agenda here.

Take that "radical environmentalist concerns."

Image: The Republican Party of Minnesota wants to repeal the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Take that, hikers, bikers, historic sites and artists.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Shoulda got a transcript: MN Supreme Court affirms referee's findings on Westrom residency

Bluestem Prairie has been following the questions surrounding Torrey Westrom's residency in Senate District 12 by We The People third party candidate Ashley Klingbeil and her campaign manager Christine Fischer. Even before I could read the decision, Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst tweeted:

UPDATE: MN Supreme Court denies effort to oust @SenWestrom from November ballot. #mnleghttps://t.co/8WJygKDavJ https://t.co/9xIy26Ysou

— Brian Bakst (@Stowydad) September 28, 2022

Here's the decision. I'm not a lawyer, but the opinion does note the value of getting a transcript of testimony one wishes to contest.

Petition asking court to order the removal of Torrey Westrom from ballot denied uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Will the decision draw conservative voters away from the Klingbeil bid? 

Related posts:

•  Will Westrom family support for Rasmusson primary challenger ruffle MNSenate GOP unity?
• Petitioners in Westrom residency challenge referee's conclusion; his lawyers don't
• Referee's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law: Torrey Westrom stays on MN12 ballot 
• Westrom residency: an account of the hearing before the Honorable Diane Bratvold
• Westrom residency: Klingbeil thanks intervenor; referee's decision to come no later than Tuesday
• Another MN12 resident moves to intervene in challenge to Westrom residency in district
• MinnPost: if Klingbeil's petition on Westrom's residency prevails, still chance for GOP on ballot
• Swift County Monitor, Black Robe Regiment look into MN12 Westrom non-residency claims
• MN12 Westrom residency challenge: Supreme Court sets August 15 deadline for evidence
• MN12: "We The People" candidate Klingbeil follows through on Westrom residency challenge
• Via personal Facebook page: independent candidate vows to challenge Westrom residency
• MN12: Ashley Klingbeil to challenge Torrey and Dorry from the right for state senate seat
• Will 2020 redistricting plan boundary adjustment get snuck in to let Westrom live in lake house? 

Photo: Torrey Westrom's new real estate purchase on Lake Mary in Senate District 12.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

As lawmakers raise questions, South Dakota's election officials defend state’s electoral system

I voted on Monday at the Roberts County Courthouse, completely confident that my ballot would be counted, as would those of my fellow citizens who are eligible to vote. 

Not everyone shares this confidence, Bart Pfankuch reports for South Dakota News Watch. Here's his article.

As lawmakers raise questions, election officials in South Dakota defend state’s electoral system
by Bart Pfankuch

Despite the concerns of some lawmakers and citizens, South Dakota election officials are “very confident” that the state electoral process is sound and that the 2022 general election results will be accurate and valid.

As is the case in almost all states, the South Dakota electoral process has come under increased scrutiny since the 2020 election in which former President Donald Trump lost but has continued to claim the election was rigged and electoral processes in America were compromised.

However, South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett and county auditors who run local elections say they have reviewed the concerns and concluded that the electoral process in place in South Dakota is secure and that voters can trust the results of the Nov. 8, 2022, election.

“I’m very confident in our system, which is a bottom-up approach led by auditors at the county level, and I also know that our election laws are strong,” Barnett said. “We have paper ballots, our tabulating machines are not connected to the internet, and a statewide canvass is completed after election day.”

Barnett said that while he is highly confident in the South Dakota electoral system, he is aware that scrutiny of elections is at an all-time high in America. Some of the uncertainty also arose after election officials across the nation found ways to hold valid elections in 2020, a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing and procedures such as absentee voting rose to unprecedented levels of use.

“I think some people across the country have lower voter confidence, so that carries over to other states,” Barnett said. “At more of the ground level in our elections, the auditors are seeing more questioning of the process and the system than they’ve probably ever seen before.”

Some of the recent concern has come from Republican lawmakers, including those in the new Freedom Caucus in the South Dakota Legislature, a group of 24 conservative Republican lawmakers.

In an Aug. 19, 2022, letter to Gov. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Mark Vargo, the lawmakers requested the two officials take steps to preserve 2020 election records by directing our “county Auditors to uphold the rights of our citizens to oversee and review the election process to further strengthen our elections, and to honor our commitment to our citizens for government transparency.”

In an Aug. 17 press release, the Freedom Caucus asked Noem and other lawmakers to “join them in taking immediate action in light of election integrity findings the caucus says they have recently become aware of.”

The release continues: “The caucus has not disclosed the specific details regarding their findings, but stated that some of the issues are time sensitive and affect the oversight of the election process.”

Despite the concerns of some lawmakers and citizens, South Dakota election officials are “very confident” that the state electoral process is sound and that the 2022 general election results will be accurate and valid.

As is the case in almost all states, the South Dakota electoral process has come under increased scrutiny since the 2020 election in which former President Donald Trump lost but has continued to claim the election was rigged and electoral processes in America were compromised.

However, South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett and county auditors who run local elections say they have reviewed the concerns and concluded that the electoral process in place in South Dakota is secure and that voters can trust the results of the Nov. 8, 2022, election.

“I’m very confident in our system, which is a bottom-up approach led by auditors at the county level, and I also know that our election laws are strong,” Barnett said. “We have paper ballots, our tabulating machines are not connected to the internet, and a statewide canvass is completed after election day.”

Barnett said that while he is highly confident in the South Dakota electoral system, he is aware that scrutiny of elections is at an all-time high in America. Some of the uncertainty also arose after election officials across the nation found ways to hold valid elections in 2020, a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing and procedures such as absentee voting rose to unprecedented levels of use.

“I think some people across the country have lower voter confidence, so that carries over to other states,” Barnett said. “At more of the ground level in our elections, the auditors are seeing more questioning of the process and the system than they’ve probably ever seen before.”

Some of the recent concern has come from Republican lawmakers, including those in the new Freedom Caucus in the South Dakota Legislature, a group of 24 conservative Republican lawmakers.

In an Aug. 19, 2022, letter to Gov. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Mark Vargo, the lawmakers requested the two officials take steps to preserve 2020 election records by directing our “county Auditors to uphold the rights of our citizens to oversee and review the election process to further strengthen our elections, and to honor our commitment to our citizens for government transparency.”

In an Aug. 17 press release, the Freedom Caucus asked Noem and other lawmakers to “join them in taking immediate action in light of election integrity findings the caucus says they have recently become aware of.”

The release continues: “The caucus has not disclosed the specific details regarding their findings, but stated that some of the issues are time sensitive and affect the oversight of the election process.”

“I’m not aware of anything concrete; it’s more like rhetoric,” Barnett said. “There’s nothing that I’ve seen concrete that they have reported to law enforcement or anything concrete that has been brought to our attention. And I don’t know who they’re attacking, really; it just gets to be like playing whack-a-mole.”

Some of the concerns raised by lawmakers dovetail with those of the citizens’ group, called the South Dakota Canvassing Group, which claims to have evidence of significant electoral problems in the state. The group’s website asks visitors to “Help us save South Dakota,” and provides basic 2022 election and ballot information, but also asks for donations and seeks volunteers to send in “election fraud tips.”

The website includes a video of a South Dakota Canvassing Group member speaking at a Moment of Truth Summit hosted by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, and the site references connections to Capt. Seth Keshel. Both Lindell and Keshel are known to be election deniers.

Aylward said the Freedom Caucus is not formally connected to the canvassing group but shares some of its concerns.

“They contacted us on this issue, and I agree with them on a lot of the concerns that they have,” Aylward said. “A lot of people see the stuff they [the canvassing group] are pursing as fringe, but I would say they raise a lot of good questions.”

Aylward said that human error, including voter error, plays a role in many election issues. Aylward said in an interview with News Watch that he has no concrete evidence of any electoral fraud in South Dakota at this time. But in a subsequent interview, he said his concerns increased after watching a video of a Sept. 20 press conference held by the canvassing group in Sioux Falls where members raised questions about electoral integrity in South Dakota.

One of the key talking points raised by the canvassing group and other national election critics is a desire to review Cast Vote Records, which are documents that some electoral machines produce to show how votes were cast and by whom. Citizens and groups across the country — prompted by national election deniers — have made formal records requests to see the CVRs, though many of the documents are not subject to open-records laws.

Aylward said he had heard that some South Dakota auditors have released CVRs and some have not; and he said he heard that some auditors are aware that CVRs exist and others are not. “That seems to result from a communication or training issue,” he said.

Barnett told News Watch in an interview that South Dakota voting machines do produce the CVRs but do not include images of actual ballots that could prove useful to someone trying to reconcile votes cast with vote tallies.

“If their goal is to lower voter confidence statewide, that’s a tool — to ask for something and then say, ‘We asked for it and didn’t get it,’ and that raises suspicion and lowers voter confidence,” Barnett said. “I don’t know what they hope to gain or what the motive is, so some of this is a head-scratcher.”

Aylward also said he had heard from citizens he trusts that they were unable to vote as expected in the 2022 primary election in June, or were turned away at the polls.

Barnett said some voter confusion did result from the redistricting process undertaken recently in South Dakota in which a few legislative districts and polling sites were changed for some voters. Barnett urged voters to visit the secretary of state’s website  and use the Voter Information Portal to double-check their registration status, the district in which they can vote, and their polling locations.

Aylward said he does not believe any issues raised by the caucus or the citizens’ group will have an effect on the validity of the 2022 election in South Dakota.

“I see it as, if we come out with these letters and we’re able to come together with the auditors to work together, I think that improves voter confidence,” Aylward said. “But if you end up butting heads or not coming to the same conclusion, I can definitely see that making confidence worse in the public’s view.”

Barnett said some of the new election scrutiny likely has its roots in Trump’s consistent allegations of electoral fraud.

“He’s got a following of folks upset that he didn’t win,” said Barnett. “He’s got a following, and some of his followers are going to believe what he says … but if people have questions, the best resource would be to turn to their county auditors.”

Barnett and Aylward, both Republicans, said they acknowledge that President Joe Biden was duly elected in 2020.

Lincoln County Auditor Sheri Lund said voter fraud is extremely rare in South Dakota, and added that those who do try to game the system are typically caught and prosecuted.

“I do not believe it is common, and the safeguards are in place to prevent that,” she said.

Many of the problems that occur during voting are due to unintentional errors on the part of the voter, she said. For instance, a 90-year-old woman who voted absentee in a recent election forgot she had done so, and then was taken by her son to vote on Election Day. The error was caught and the woman was not allowed to vote twice, Lund said.

“Every ballot that goes out is accounted for, and if there is a discrepancy, we would stop the process until the discrepancy is resolved,” she said. “We have checks and balances for every aspect of the election process.”

Lund said one criticism of the election process that arose in South Dakota recently involved claims that there were roughly 125 voters whose ages were listed as 120 years or older on the voter rolls. Upon investigation, she said, officials were able to determine that some voter ages were incorrectly entered into the system when a voter-registration computer program was changed and the ages wrongly defaulted to those unobtainable ages.

Lund said she and other auditors have received numerous Freedom of Information Act requests for voting records and information, and that they do their best to follow state laws in responding or providing material.

Lund said auditors recently have received numerous copies of the same FOIA request for election documents signed by different people.

“They’ve sent out a mass mailing to every auditor in the state with the same request,” she said. “They’re trying to find somebody that’s going to give them information that they [the requesters] don’t have.”

When the Freedom Caucus letter was sent to the governor and attorney general, Lund said she took notice, and with the help of Charles Mix County Auditor Jason Gant, arranged a public meeting where election concerns could be raised and addressed.

“When you get 24 legislators signing off on a letter that there are issues with elections in South Dakota, that’s a concern,” she said.

After hosting the meeting, and hearing the concerns, Lund said she remained steadfast in her support of the current electoral processes in her county and others across the state. Auditors in South Dakota stay in frequent contact about election processes, and if problems arise, they work together to fix them, Lund said.

So far, she said, she hasn’t seen evidence of fundamental issues with the state electoral process.

Lund said she respects the rights of citizens to question government and government officials.

“If you’re not comfortable with what’s going on, question it, and If they give you an answer and you’re not comfortable with that answer, then second-question it,” she said. “But if you have no basis in what you’re arguing about, does it really become a question at that point?”

Lund said she feels that some people, be it the canvassing group or those who show up to county meetings, can sometimes go overboard in trying to spread controversy over things they don’t understand or agree with.

“I absolutely appreciate anybody that ever questions government, but if you get an answer and you get an explanation and then you’re using fear-mongering to try to get people to believe your thought, I don’t think that’s right,” she said.

Aylward said he and others will continue to ask questions that he hopes will make the electoral process in South Dakota more transparent and more secure.

“As far as the election coming up, if we can make it as transparent as possible, and make the public feel better, it will put everybody at ease,” he said. “I do believe that the auditors are trying their hardest and all of them are trying to do a great job. I do have confidence in the process, but I don’t see the problem with looking into things a bit more.”

HOW TO FIND YOUR PERSONAL VOTER INFORMATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA

The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office provides a Voter Information Portal that enables voters to enter their name and Zip Code or birthdate to determine their legislative, county commission and school board district; to learn their polling location on Election Day; and to view a sample of their ballot. Election questions can also be placed to county auditors, whose contact information can be found below.

CLICK HERE to access the Voter Information Portal.

CLICK HERE to access an online list of all county auditors with name, phone number and email address.

Key dates in 2022 election:

— Absentee voting began: Sept. 23, 2022

— Voter registration deadline: Oct. 24, 2022

— Election Day: Nov. 8, 2022

Aritcle used with permission of South Dakota News Watch.

Related post

•  Funhouse mirrors? The peculiar GOP endorsed secretary of state candidates in MN & SD 
•  Back from Sioux Falls, senator Paul Utke flaunts Mike Lindell bobblehead in Facebook interview
•  Draz, Gruenhagen, Mort & "a number of other MN legislators" at Mike Lindell's Cyber Symposium

Photo: Election Day, absentee voting and the early voting process will look much the same in 2022 as it did in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was raging. These voters took advantage of early voting in Hughes County in 2020. Photo: News Watch file.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Chronic Wasting Disease: St. Louis County permanently bans new or expanded cervid farms

Some good news from Northeastern Minnesota. At the Duluth News Tribune, John Myers reports in St. Louis County makes deer farm ban permanent:

The St. Louis County Board on Tuesday voted to permanently prohibit new deer and elk farms in the county in an effort to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.

The unanimous vote, held during the commissioners' regular meeting Wright, updates the county’s zoning ordinance to allow existing cervid farms to continue to operate but prohibits expansion of those existing farms. As of May, the county had only five such cervid farms in operation among about 250 statewide. . .  .

CWD is always fatal to animals and there are no treatments or vaccines. In 2021, a CWD-positive deer farm was confirmed in Beltrami County and, earlier this year, two wild deer tested positive for CWD in Grand Rapids in neighboring Itasca County — the first wild deer confirmed with the deer in Northeastern Minnesota. . . . 

Read the rest at the News Tribune.

Photo: Wild whitetail deer in the woods.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

 

 

Doe V. Gomez' is a sudden MNGOP splendid "shift in tone from the party on abortion"

Early on Monday, Bluestem had posted Action 4 Liberty, Brodkorb publish "confidential" MNGOP state chair abortion email to candidates.

Now Briana Bierschbach steps in with a professional eye in her quick analysis, MN GOP memo to candidates: Abortion is a 'protected constitutional right' at the Star Tribune.

Whatever can a party do when its position on a suddenly heated issue is widely unpopular?

Bierschbach reports:

Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann is advising the party's candidates to refer to abortion as a "protected constitutional right" in the state before pivoting to crime, the economy and education, according to a memo shared by several Republicans.

The memo, sent to candidates on Friday, comes as the party in Minnesota and nationally is struggling to find the right message on abortion following the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in June. Democrats have spent the summer hammering Republicans on the issue, including spending millions of dollars on attack ads in the race for governor.

It also marks a shift in tone from the state party's platform adopted in May, which says the U.S. and Minnesota Constitutions should be amended to restore legal "protection to the lives of innocent human beings from conception to natural death."

"Here are the facts: Abortion up to the moment of birth is a protected constitutional right in Minnesota. The only two ways this can be changed are by the Minnesota Supreme Court overturning existing law or by Minnesota voters passing a state referendum," Hann wrote in the memo. "Since abortion is not on the ballot, let's talk about the ongoing issues that affect Minnesotans every day: crime, inflation, the economy and education." .  . .

Abortion is among the top three issues for voters in the governor's race, according to the latest Star Tribune/MPR News/KARE 11 Minnesota Poll, coming in close behind the economy and crime. The poll also found more than half of Minnesotans oppose the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and think abortions should be legal in most or all cases.

Jeepers. Read the entire article at the Strib.

Related posts

• Action 4 Liberty, Brodkorb publish "confidential" MNGOP state chair abortion email to candidates
• At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story
•  Scott Jensen in Rochester: your body, my choice not to talk about abortion until after I'm elected
• MN01: Finstad "sidesteps" abortion issue
• MNGOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen bails on 3rd annual Alex anti-vaxx event
• Mankato GOP gubernatorial forum take one: Jensen forgets his own gun legislation record
• Jensen ad touts MAFP's 2016 award, but where does he stand on med group's policy positions?

Image: Meme by Stacey Burns.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Action 4 Liberty, Brodkorb publish "confidential" MNGOP state chair abortion email to candidates

 

We've been posting about the retreat of Minnesota Republican candidates from being bold pro-life candidates like Governor Kristi Noem, who rattled on national media about forcing a raped ten-year-old victim bear her assailant's child.

See posts like Scott Jensen in Rochester: your body, my choice not to talk about abortion until after I'm elected and  MN01: Finstad "sidesteps" abortion issue.

While Congressman Finstad's retreat into the foliage may pre-date the missive, Republican Party state chair David Hann shared advice on how to talk (or not talk) about abortion in an email to candidates.

I first read the email via a Facebook post on the Action 4 Liberty page:

That post led to a post by A4L leader Jake Duesenberg on the organization's webpage, Leaked MNGOP Chair Talking Points on Abortion Falsely Claims 'Constitutional' Right. Duesenberg writes:

Republican Party of Minnesota Chair, David Hann, sent talking points to candidates instructing them to refer to abortion as a "protected constitutional right." Hann says the talking point was "developed and tested" by "key stakeholders" and constitutes the official position of the MNGOP. Multiple sources sent us the email containing the message from Hann.

The Minnesota Constitution does not mention abortion or allude to abortion as a Constitutionally protected right. However, that hasn't stopped activist judges on the Minnesota Supreme Court from making the outrageous statement. And the Radical Left in Minnesota has fully embraced the idea that abortion is a right for women.

Hann's statement is ludicrous. It not only is incorrect, it validates the Democrat's talking points. The memo surrenders the issue of abortion to the Radical Left and embraces the leftist position that abortion is a right up until birth. Furthering the left wing propaganda does nothing to advance the pro-life agenda in Minnesota.

The screenshot at the top of this post is from the A4L page. It was apparently captured on September 23.

The Republican Party of Minnesota included Action 4 Liberty in its Minnesota Scammers Exposed website, noting:

Action 4 Liberty is led by Jake Duesenberg, a notorious scammer who personally pocketed half of all money ever raised by Action 4 Liberty, according to the group’s five most recent filings with the Internal Revenue Service. In total, Duesenberg paid himself more than $300,000 — money that could have been spent promoting liberty or working to elect Republicans.

Duesenberg is not a conservative. He liked a tweet that attacked President Trump as a “socialist” and endorsed Erik Mortensen, who tweeted that President Trump is a “complete fraud” who should “go away.” Mortensen even turned his back on President Trump on Election Night 2016, posting that he was “rooting for a Gary Johnson win.”

Duesenberg has a long history of attacking trusted conservatives like Congressman Tom Emmer, Rep. Mary Franson, Rep. Kurt Daudt, Rep. Eric Lucero, and Rep. Cal Bahr.

Most concerning of all, Action 4 Liberty activists have engaged in increasingly unhinged outbursts against conservatives. In Blaine, a conservative GOP lawmaker filed a police complaint against an Action 4 Liberty activist who physically attacked him.

They seem nice, but perhaps not as ineffective as the Scammers page asserts. After the August 11 primary, Walker Orenstein reported in Small but mighty showing for anti-establishment GOP candidates in Minnesota primary:

Three conservative Republican Senate candidates and a handful of House candidates beat out their more centrist GOP rivals on Tuesday in a primary in which the anti-establishment wing of the party looked to make a mark.

That anti-establishment wing — often backed by the far-right Action 4 Liberty or libertarian-leaning firebrands like Reps. Steve Drazkowski and Jeremy Munson — scored victories in places like Little Falls, Stillwater, Northfield and Red Wing. . . .

“We are talking about highly partisan, highly combustible political candidates coming into the institution of the Minnesota Senate,” said Michael Brodkorb, a political activist who is critical of that faction of the GOP. . . .

Since its publication by Action 4 Liberty, the email has also been shared by that more establishment figure on the right. On Monday,  Brodkorb tweeted:

NEW: The @MNGOP sent a “CONFIDENTIAL” email to candidates with instructions on how to answer questions about abortion. According to the email, the answer was “developed and tested” by the "state party and key stakeholders..." See email below. pic.twitter.com/DwnbTrk1lI

— Michael Brodkorb (@mbrodkorb) September 26, 2022

Meanwhile, we received an email from the Minnesota DFL House and Senate Caucuses with the subject line, "State Legislative Candidates to Host Reproductive Rights Panel in Rochester, MN."

Maybe Hann is on to something.

And here in ruby-red South Dakota, Democratic candidates rallied for reproductive rights in Sioux Falls, as we noted in At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story.

Screenshot: An image of the email David Hann sent to candidates. Via Action 4 Liberty post, Leaked MNGOP Chair Talking Points on Abortion Falsely Claims 'Constitutional' Right. 

UPDATE: Meme by Stacey Burns.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Drumbeat: SD investigation weighs Noem’s use of state plane, includes trip for son's prom

From Saturday, another Stephen Groves article for the Associated Press about Noem's ethical breaches includes another vignette about the governor skirting the will of the people. 

Groves reports in South Dakota investigation weighs Noem’s use of state plane:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was returning from an official appearance in Rapid City in 2019 when she faced a decision: Overnight in the capital of Pierre, where another trip would start the next day, or head home and see her son attend his high school prom?

The Republican governor chose the latter, a decision that eventually cost taxpayers some $3,700 when the state airplane dropped her off near her home and then returned the next day to pick her up.

It’s one of several trips that year where Noem, a potential 2024 White House contender, blurred the lines between official travel and attending either family or political events. The trips sparked a complaint to the state ethics board, which has referred the matter to the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation. A county prosecutor overseeing the investigation will decide whether the governor broke an untested law enacted by voters in 2006 to rein in questionable use of the state airplane. . . . 

in the first year of her term in 2019, Noem used the state plane six times to fly to out-of-state events hosted by political organizations including the Republican Governors Association, Republican Jewish Coalition, Turning Point USA and the National Rifle Association. Raw Story, an online news site, first reported the trips, which the governor’s office defended as part of her work as the state’s “ambassador” to bolster the state’s economy and intergovernmental relationships.

State plane logs also show that Noem had family members join her on in-state flights in 2019.

The 2006 ballot measure was a response to scrutiny of plane travel by then-Gov. Mike Rounds, who attended events such as his son’s away basketball games while on trips for other official business. At the time, Rounds, now a U.S. senator, used political funds to reimburse the state for those trips, as well as travel to political events. . . .

On another trip, Noem’s itinerary allowed her to return home for her son’s prom. On April 5, 2019, she rode the state plane from Watertown, near her home in Castlewood, to Rapid City for an announcement on Ellsworth Air Force Base. On the return flight, the plane stopped in the capital city of Pierre to drop off Rounds, who had joined her for the trip, and several aides. But even though she had another trip from Pierre to Las Vegas for a Republican Jewish Coalition event planned the next day, Noem didn’t stay in the governor’s mansion there.

She flew to Watertown, near her home, in time to watch her son take the stage at his prom, according to Noem’s social media posts. The state plane, meanwhile, returned to Pierre, only to make the trip back to Watertown for the governor the next day. .

Fury defended the trips because her travel started in Watertown, near where she had spoken at an event for her son’s school district the day before. 

Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School who specializes in government ethics, said Noem’s travel to political events seemed to fall into a legal gray area. While a trip to fundraise or campaign would clearly break the law, he said, traveling to meet with political groups was “pushing the limit.” . . . 

Neil Fulton, the dean of the University of South Dakota Law School who also served as Rounds’ chief of staff after the 2006 law was enacted, said it’s not perfectly clear what exactly the law means by “state business.” He said other jurisdictions usually define state business as “actions to advance programs or initiatives of the state.”

The law imposes steep fines: $1,000 plus 10 times the cost of the travel. Violators also face a Class 2 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum of a 30-day jail sentence, but that is usually only reserved for repeat or violent offenders.

“We weren’t hoping to convict anyone of anything,” Nesiba, the state lawmaker, said. “We were hoping to make a deterrent.”

We'll continue to post updates about the investigations.

Related posts

• Noem faces lawsuit by American Oversight for refusal to release travel expense records
•  Transparent Positive Pants Governor Noem tried to avoid ethics hearing, seal records 
• Noem silent about ethics probe response. Flight to daughter’s wedding part of official business
• AP: Ethics; or, Government Accountability Board keeps ‘action’ secret on complaint against Noem
• Half-cancelled: Noem video to be played at MD Republican Party "Red, White and Blue" dinner

Photo: One of the South Dakota state planes.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. 

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story

As reproductive rights rise in importance after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, voters in red states should not be taken for granted as pro-life.

A summer poll by South Dakota News Watch suggested that South Dakota voters aren't rigidly pro-life, like current Governor Noem, who has argued on national television that a ten-year-old rape victim should be forced to bear the children of her attacker.

And untold stories about abortion are now being shared.

Reporting for the Argus Leader, Annie Todd reports in 'That young girl was me' Rep. Linda Duba shares abortion story during rally:

Rep. Linda Duba (D-Sioux Falls) shared her abortion story for the first time in public during a reproductive justice rally organized by the South Dakota Democratic Party in Sioux Falls on Sunday.

Standing on a stage and speaking to a crowd of people dressed in green — the international symbol for abortion access — at Fawick Park, Duba told the story of a young college girl in the winter of 1976 who found herself pregnant. Although abortion had been legal in the United States for nearly three years with the passage of Roe v. Wade, abortions were still not provided in South Dakota.

“She came from a family who was pretty strict. She was worried about what people would think of her if they found out that she was pregnant and that young girl was me,” Duba said. 

Duba was one of five speakers, three of whom are running for office this November, who spoke about the importance of abortion access.

Across the county, abortion rights have become a rallying cry for democrats since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. Voters in Kansas rejected a ballot question that would’ve tightened abortion access for women in the state, according to the Associated Press.

Because of a 2005 trigger law, abortions in South Dakota are banned, even in cases of rape and incest. 

Duba said that women today must travel out of state, similar like she had to do 47 year ago when she was a sophomore at South Dakota State University and went to Minneapolis on a Saturday for a 15-minute abortion procedure.

“It was probably one of the scariest times in my life and then I came back home and I never told a soul,” she said. . . .

Read the rest of the article at the Argus Leader.

United States Senate candidate Brian Bengs tweeted from the rally:

Abortion is health care. pic.twitter.com/zrhY1gAkjM

— Brian Bengs for U.S. Senate (@BrianBengs) September 25, 2022

Prior to the rally, the South Dakota Democratic party tweeted an important reminder:

See you this afternoon at 2 pm at Fawick Park in Sioux Falls, and remember to wear green! pic.twitter.com/0TWEoYqgLO

— SD Democratic Party (@SoDakDems) September 25, 2022

Photo: South Dakota Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state rep. Jamie Smith, D-ioux Falls, comforts Duba after she shared her story. Photo by Annie Todd for the Argus Leader.

Related posts:

•  Abortion poll: Is South Dakota the next Kansas?
• Jamie Smith will focus on South Dakota and shake hands with your dog while he's at it 

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Pelican Rapids Press examines challenges facing Nathan Miller's write-in campaign for MN9 seat

Bluestem Prairie has been looking for coverage in local media of the Miller for Senate 9's effort to motivate voters in Minnesota Senate District 9. We've found it in the Pelican Rapids Press article, Write-in campaign brewing; clouding Republican State Senate 9 campaign.

Subhead: Miller plans long-shot run against fellow Republican Rasmusson and Democrat Cornell Walker.

Louis Hoglund reports:

The race for State Senate District 9 has become slightly murky, with a written announcement that a third candidate is launching a write-in campaign. 

After narrowly losing the August Republican State Senate 9 primary against Jordan Rasmusson, Nathan Miller purchased an ad in the Pelican Rapids Press Sept. 15. He announced that voters in Senate District 9, “have the option to write in their vote for honorable representation without being forced to extinguish the flame of truth that burns in their hearts.” 

In a rare inner-party challenge, Rasmusson defeated Miller by a margin of fewer than 400 votes, in August. The totals were 5,738-5,385. 

Evidently, after a month of contemplation, Miller has decided to run a write-in campaign. 

Miller’s write-in candidacy is announced, but technically, not official. 

As of press time, Sept. 19, the Otter Tail County auditor’s office has not received an official “write-in candidate” notification. Registration is required by the Minnesota Secretary of State-elections division. 

The deadline for a write-in candidacy for the legislature is November 1, so Miller still has over a month to file. 

A write-in for a legislative seat is highly uncommon, and an uphill challenge for a write-in to get their name out in circulation. In the case of State Senate District 9, the district spans five counties—Wilkin, Otter Tail, Traverse, and Grant—plus part of Douglas County. The district stretches from the outskirts of Barnesville and Wadena and follows the North Dakota border all the way southwest to Browns Valley. 

Write-in candidacies are, as the name implies. The name won’t appear on the ballot, so voters must manually write in the candidate. 

Battle Lake area Republican Miller rode a conservative wave into the primary, wearing red-white-blue shirts, a western hat—and a handgun holstered on his hip, at many appearances. 

He and conservative followers have questioned the Otter Tail County process that led to Rasmusson’s official party endorsement. In his letter, Miller repeated a request for an independent audit of the Otter Tail endorsement process and delegate counts. State Republican party officials have stood behind Rasmusson, as the officially endorsed Republican candidate.  

In his write-in announcement letter, Miller criticized the “establishment” Republicans—describing them as the “status quo, business as usual wing of the party.”

“…We are at a pivotal time in this country and state if we want to save it from the crushing debt, anti-God, anti-Constitution, and anti-American agenda that is being pushed on us,” wrote Miller. 

Miller’s announcement drew a string of social media comments on the “Otter Tail County Conservative Coalition” site. The official Republican Party of Otter Tail County had no reference to the inner party challenge. To date, there hasn’t been an official response from the Rasmusson campaign, or on the Rasmusson Facebook site. 

Miller supporters, in many cases, never removed the “Miller Time” signs that appeared across the countryside. . . .

Read the rest at the Pelican Rapids Press.

The process of filing a written request by a write-in candidate at the Minnesota Secretary of State's office doesn't seem overly onerous. Here's the form from the Minnesota Secretary of State's website:

Request Write in Votes Be Counted for Federal and State Office uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Meanwhile on social media, as news of the write-in campaign spreads, those favoring Jordan Rasmusson and party unity are pushing back. On a September 16 post:

we found there comments left within the last few days:

Speculating that Miller is an agent of Soros is absurd--though former state representative Bud Nornes may be on to something. See Walker Orenstein's post-primary report Small but mighty showing for anti-establishment GOP candidates in Minnesota primary at MinnPost.

Meanwhile, Rocks and Cows of Minnesota posted this flyer on Facebook:

And the mother of Senate Torrey Westrom, who moved outside of the district so as to avoid competing with Rasmusson and Miller for conservative votes, shared another Miller promo piece on her Facebook page:

Somehow, Bluestem suspects that Miller will manage to get in that paperwork required to have his write-in votes count.

Related posts

• MN9: Yep, Miller is running a write-in campaign, area conservatives organize against Rasmusson
• After losing primary, has Miller launched write-in campaign, attacking "establishment GOP"?
• Will Westrom family support for Rasmusson primary challenger ruffle MNSenate GOP unity?
• Rocks and Cows' Facebook post author Carol Hexum walks back anti-LGBTQ rally frame
•  Fergus Falls Pride: GOP Senate primary challenger Miller schedules anti-LGBQT event
• Will 2020 redistricting plan boundary adjustment get snuck in to let Westrom live in lake house? 

Screenshot:  From the Miller for 9A Facebook page.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Scott Jensen in Rochester: your body, my choice not to talk about abortion until after I'm elected

It's a bit of an old story in more ways than one, but the Scott Jensen's struggles with defining "medical freedom" continue.

Just about a a week and a half ago, Minnesota Reformer's Michelle Griffith provided A timeline of Scott Jensen’s shifting abortion stance.

At the Rochester Post Bulletin. John Molseed reported last Sunday in Jensen touts medical freedom in Rochester visit:

 Republican candidate for governor Scott Jensen said Sunday patients and their doctors deserve freedom to make choices in their treatments.

Jensen was speaking generally and about COVID-19 treatments but didn’t clarify if his remarks apply to a woman's right to abortion care. . . .

Whether that freedom would apply to women seeking abortion care or physicians performing abortion procedures, Jensen said the issue isn’t part of the upcoming November election.

“The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled on that,” he said.

However, Jensen said if he was elected he would address those concerns.

“That will be part of the discussion,” Jensen said. “But I think, for Minnesota, it’s clearly not on the ballot, but what is on the ballot is to fight inflation, crime and education.”

At the Star Tribune, Matt Delong reports in Six key takeaways from this week's Minnesota Poll:

The new poll found DFL Gov. Tim Walz holds a comfortable but not overwhelming 7-percentage point lead over his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Scott Jensen. But with 10% of voters undecided, this race could potentially swing in either direction.

Perhaps the new survey's most striking finding was the polarization by gender. Walz enjoys a 20-percentage point lead among women but is trailing by eight percentage points with men.  . . .

Surely, making abortion something to talk about after the election is so going to make women voters confident in casting a ballot for this cat.

Related posts

• MNGOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen bails on 3rd annual Alex anti-vaxx event
• Mankato GOP gubernatorial forum take one: Jensen forgets his own gun legislation record
• Jensen ad touts MAFP's 2016 award, but where does he stand on med group's policy positions?

Photo: Jensen pointing at the Rochester Minnesota skyline, d Chaska physician, speaks to a crowd of nearly 100 people at the Kathy's Pub rooftop in downtown Rochester Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. Photo by John Molseed / Post Bulletin.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6