Author Archives: Denise Ross

McGovern bridges partisan divide

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Of course he is lionized as a liberal pillar, but as I watch the funeral, I am heartened to see Republicans, including Gov. Dennis Daugaard, in attendance.

For all of the nasty, ugly, downright depressing political gamesmanship that goes on day in and day out, seeing this shines some light into my American soul.

After a week of so much reflection about McGovern’s high standards in so many areas, leaving me determined to work harder in my own life, this sight reflects on the health of our democracy and society.

McGovern proved that the Democrat and the Republican can be friends. True friends. We cannot let that be buried along with him.

 

Thune gets ‘pants on fire’ rating from PolitiFact

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Sen. John Thune’s pants catch on fire during the Republican National Convention last week.

We’ve heard about how the VP-nominee Paul Ryan’s speech was “factually challenged,” but South Dakota’s own John Thune has been called a liar by PolitiFact for saying the Obama administration sought to ban farm kids from doing chores.

From the Miami Herald political blog:

(Thune) said the Obama administration ‘proposed banning farm kids from doing basic chores!’

…

We explored Thune’s claim and found that the truth wasn’t close to what he said.
From PolitiFact:
The summary of the proposed rules stated they “would impact only hired farm workers and in no way compromise the statutory child labor parental exemption involving children working on farms owned or operated by their parents.”
While the Labor Department has sought to tighten safety rules for minors working on farms, the proposal specifically did notban kids from doing basic chores, the Miami Herald says.
Thune had been railing against this idea for months – even sponsoring a bill to stop it, so I wasn’t surprised to hear him bring it up during his speech. Well, maybe I was a little surprised since the Labor folks said back in April that they would drop the idea.
As for Thune being a pants-on-fire liar, that one is still too hot to touch here at the Republic Insider. Without poring over the mind-numbing Labor proposal, I suspect it’s based in a difference of perception over what constitutes a “basic chore” and a “parental exemption.” (My own husband earned money working summers on a farm run by his step-dad.)
Thune has a reputation, in South Dakota at least, as a straight shooter. But please do keep those pants away from open flames, senator!

Running government like a business

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We hear the admonition often, and often from Republicans, that government ought to be run like a business.

The MDR’s own intrepid editor Seth Tupper has dared to question this notion. And the statements of so many politicians echoed around my mind as I have observed the uproar over the Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to charge some users of Missouri River water.

This from the AP:

The corps’ plan appears to propose requiring contracts and payments from users who take water from the reservoirs …

Say what you will about water rights and lawsuits. This is what running government like a business looks like. Controller of commodity seeks to monetize said commodity. Is that so wrong?

On public radio’s Dakota Midday program, a Corps official said they agency wouldn’t be charging for the water, per se, but rather charging to store the water. I challenge you to find a more weasely explanation for anything from, say, your mobile phone provider or your car dealer. Feels very Rage Against the Machine-y, no?

There are valid arguments on all sides of this issue, but we ought not let those who glibly make the business argument off the hook if they are now howling at the Corps.

Layer on this our nation’s budget deficits and debt plus arguments that broad taxes should be shunned in favor of user-fees — charging those who use government services — and you get a good case study in taking one’s own medicine.

 

Insight into South Dakota’s rich guy, T. Denny Sanford

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  As the GOP convention gets underway, talk will abound about the rich and their fair share and job creators and insert-buzz-phrase-here.

It’s time to learn more about South Dakota’s perhaps most-famous 1-percenter, T. Denny Sanford, both subprime credit card baron (some would say robber-baron) and philanthropist extraordinaire.

This 2007 Forbes profile humanizes the man behind the money. His mother died when he was 4, and as the mother of two boys ages 2 & 3, that one hits you right in the throat.

This statue of T. Denny Sanford stands at the Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls. (Image from Wikipedia/Jake DeGroot)

In his zeal to give his money away before he dies, Sanford has spent his $2.8B fortune down to $400M. Break out the ramen.

At 8 he started working every afternoon and weekend, stocking his father’s shelves. The summer after graduating from high school he was arrested during a drunken brawl. That earned him a 90-day sentence in juvenile detention. A judge let him out on day 36, after he agreed to enroll at the University of Minnesota.

The piece doesn’t delve into his apparent need to see his name on every piece of rock and stone within South Dakota borders. But that’s another post.