It has been quite a start to 2017, and I would like to devote this "insider update" to the recent news surrounding our victory in South Dakota, and the resulting repeal.
What happened
Last month, South Dakota legislators did something so brazen it boggles the mind: they repealed the Anti-Corruption Act that voters passed in November -- in the state ranked the 4th most corrupt in the nation. They did this without feedback from communities they represent, and by adding a bogus "emergency clause" which fast-tracked a vote in the House and Senate, and kept the Anti-Corruption Act from being referred back to the ballot. While our members and allies were able to put substantial pressure on lawmakers, the repeal passed anyway. This garnered attention from multiple national and local media outlets, and led to an outpouring of support for South Dakota from across the country.
South Dakota's response
South Dakotans are mad as hell, and they're letting their politicians know. Hundreds of residents from across the state showed up at the capital, Pierre, for multiple actions with chants of "respect our vote" before a climactic final vote. And because of the tremendous support of our donors, you, we were able to provide support transportation, help with communications, and we captured all the action with cameras for use in future inspiration and organizing. South Dakotans are continuing to show up at town hall meetings with elected officials to express their outrage that the will of the people was overturned. In just the past month, Represent South Dakota has formed four energized chapters -- that's a lot for a state with very few people!
What's next
The House and Senate have introduced a series of laws to "replace" the Anti-Corruption Act piecemeal, including a lobbyist gift ban, an increase in the time allowed between serving as an election official and working as a lobbyist, and establishing a "Government Accountability Task Force," which would study government, campaign finance, lobbyist restrictions, and ethics. While these are positive steps, we are watching them get riddled with loopholes, and some are actually making the corruption problem even worse. We are issuing press releases, and dogging legislators, and when the legislature adjourns on March 10, we'll know what the replacement laws actually look like. Rest assured, we have ideas of how we can have the final victory in South Dakota, and I look forward to providing more details to you next month.
The attack on the people of South Dakota is not just South Dakota's problem: it's our problem. We will continue to fight by supporting our volunteers on-the-ground, by spreading the word, and by holding those elected to represent us accountable to do just that.
As always, thank you for your support,
| Halley Gmeiner |
