Well… sort of..

He has taken up residence “in spirit”.  The problem is, it seems the space he is occupying is the mind of Republican leaders in good old South Dakota.

Republicans, as you will recall, threw a fit when Harry Reid silenced his opposition by making it difficult/impossible to even get a vote on important issues.  He was in control.  NOTHING got past his desk if he didn’t like it.  What a travesty for Democracy.

BUT NOW…

South Dakota Republican leadership has assumed the “Harry Reid doctrine”.  If the Republican leadership doesn’t like it, nobody gets to vote!

The current proposal by Republican leaders is to double the number of signatures required for ballot initiatives.  That might sound innocent enough, but as I have spoken to Republican Legislators, the message is LOUD and CLEAR… this is nothing more than a partisan action to “Stop Democrats from bringing stupid ideas forward”.  Who then, gets to decide what is “stupid”?  You guessed it!  The Republican super-majority in the Legislature.  They already have complete power to shut down ANY idea they don’t like (and they do).  Senate Bill 166 would now make it extremely difficult for citizens to place an issue on the ballot.  How convenient for the Republican super-majority.  That would have the “Harry Reid” effect of silencing the opposition by denying a vote.

Just for the record, I voted AGAINST all three ballot issues in the recent election.  I thought they were all bad ideas.  South Dakota voters didn’t agree, and passed every one of them.  I didn’t like that, but I DID get to vote!

I have seen personally, Republican leadership insisting on “block votes” to shut down Democrats.  Not based on the merits, but based on the party.  I didn’t agree with it then and I don’t agree with it now.  Democracy requires that we win the argument.  The objective is NOT to follow the Harry Reid example.

My hope is that there are still enough principled Republicans in the State Legislature to stop this partisan attempt to eliminate any dissention or opposition to the strong-arm leadership of THE party.

Please contact your Legislators and tell them we don’t want Harry Reid in South Dakota politics.

Complete contact list for SD Legislators

***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***

     “It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”

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