Political Smokeout

Weekly roundup (January 14-January 20)

Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• speculated on a state mythical creature for South Dakota
• wondered how long good feelings in the Legislature would endure
• talked to Gov. Dennis Daugaard about his leadership style
• noted a school to be named after Sen. George McGovern
• took photos of a reading day at the Capitol
• sat in on a hearing about sex in juvenile prisons
• got the schedule for Sen. John Thune’s Sioux Falls town hall
• noted the rise in concealed carry permits in South Dakota
• philosophized about state’s rights
• rounded up this year’s Red Tape Review bills
• broke the news that Sen. Stan Adelstein had abandoned his impeachment plans
• got early copies of Adelstein’s bills to ban political activity in the secretary of state’s office…
• …and make the office nonpartisan
• watched the tourism tax bill pass committee
• wrote about a skirmish over video lottery
• previewed a bill simplifying the state’s bank tax structure
• counted the state’s increasing number of commemorations
• attended the legislator memorial service
• asked a question about the school sentinels bill
• reported on Sen. Russell Olson’s proposal to create a scholarship
• mapped where tourists spend their money in South Dakota
• saw the state tourism tax romp its way through the House
• went to a pro-gun rally at the Capitol

Weekly roundup (January 7-January 13)

Hey, the Legislature. Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• took a look south of 57th Street at the Lincoln County GOP elections
• posted the latest developments in the Stephanie Strong case
• went to Pierre for the Legislature
• observed a prayer service in the Capitol
• watched Rep. Brian Gosch elected unanimously as Speaker
• made a word cloud of Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s State of the State
• told the story of Rep. Dean Wink’s long-ago NFL history
• saw a gubernatorial painting restored to its place in the Capitol
• rounded up some bills that probably won’t come back this year
• noted the filing of the criminal justice initiative’s bill, SB70
• talked to Stace Nelson about missing the Speaker vote
• poked my head into Legislature Boot Camp
• saw the news about an honor for Sen. John Thune’s father 
• attended a hearing on new teen driving laws
• looked into a discrepancy about a lawmaker’s address
• wrote about a South Dakota-Oscars connection
• checked the weather as lawmakers prepared to flee
• stirred up trouble about a potential bill for lawmakers carrying weapons
• got an anecdote about Daugaard and his grandson-to-be
• recounted the increasingly sad story of former lawmaker Gil Koetzle

Weekly roundup (December 31-January 6)

Things picked up a bit last week, and they’re only going to get more intense now that the legislative session starts tomorrow. Today was light because I was traveling, but tomorrow on out it should be full steam ahead.

Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• posted, then deleted, an audio file of Stephanie Strong’s court hearing
• created a timeline of half-staff orders in South Dakota last year
• reported the votes of South Dakota’s delegation on the fiscal cliff
• followed up on half-staff orders
• broke the news of the Minnehaha County GOP pulling out of Chamber forums
• linked to the questions lists from the disputed Chamber forums
• published a remarkable rebuke to the Minnehaha County GOP from the state party
• gathered reaction to the fiscal cliff vote from the delegation’s Facebook pages
• noted a lack of support for the GOP legislative forums among local lawmakers
• rounded up reactions to Daugaard’s appoint of a Rounds aide to a state board
• recorded Rep. Kristi Noem’s vote in the House Speaker election
• appeared on “100 Eyes”
• got Mike Rounds on the record on the fiscal cliff deal
• reported Lora Hubbel passing on another term as Minnehaha County GOP chair
• wondered whether South Dakota voters are done with big ideas
• noted Noem’s hiring of a state director
• listed Sen. John Thune’s upcoming town halls
• previewed the upcoming Minnehaha County GOP leadership elections
• figured out who exactly votes in those elections

Weekly roundup (December 24-December 30)

Another slow week at Political Smokeout, a lull that’s soon to end with the arrival of the legislative session next week. Last week, I:

• appreciated the willingness of some lawmakers to air their bills before the session
• discussed a post about how five gun control proposals would actually function
• wondered about the semantics of tax shifts
• critiqued my own news judgment
• noted reports of division in President Barack Obama’s administration over Keystone XL
• broke the news of the legal victory for Brian Gosch and Jason Gant
• linked to an amusing year-in-review post

Weekly roundup (December 17-December 23)

Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• posted a photo of the 12th Amendment at work
• linked to the first bills filed for the 2013 legislative session
• wondered whether TIME made the right “person of the year” pick
• noted Sen. John Thune and Rep. Kristi Noem following talking points on gun control
• covered Daniel Willard’s initial court date (sans Willard)
• appreciated Sen. Tim Johnson’s move on the VA, and engaged in a little controversial speculation
• gave a primer in our marginal tax system
• discussed Jonathan Ellis’s report on Tim Rave not seeking to stay party chair
• reported a legal retreat by Planned Parenthood
• dug up an obscure, and impressive, profile of Johnson’s chief of staff
• talked to Noem about House Speaker John Boehner and his failed “Plan B”
• admired a long profile of why Mitt Romney lost

Weekly roundup (December 10-December 16)

I was on vacation yesterday, so this is a day late. Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• discovered where outgoing Pennington County State’s Attorney Glenn Brenner is going
• wondered who was polling about the South Dakota legislative session
• took a big-picture look at the U.S.’s long-term fiscal problems
• broke the news on Daniel Willard’s robocall charges
• posted the criminal complaint and affidavit against Willard
• gathered the committee assignments for next year’s Legislature
• created a word cloud of Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s budget speech
• noticed a South Dakota dig in the The Onion
• wondered about the law Willard is accused of violating
• found audio of Rep. Kristi Noem criticizing House Speaker John Boehner
• enjoyed a solve-the-deficit-yourself game
• got Daugaard’s reaction to the Connecticut shootings
• posted the discovery request by Willard’s attorney

Weekly roundup (December 3-December 9)

Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• went to Pierre
• saw geese
• previewed Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s budget
• took a picture of Daugaard and Rep. David Lust
• and one of Daugaard and Lt. Gov. Matt Michels
• and one of Daugaard from above
• posted Daugaard’s budget presentation
• dug into Democratic complaints about FTEs
• reported Sen. Tim Johnson’s thoughts on Elizabeth Warren on the Banking Committee
• discussed Johnson’s health
• noted some pro-stimulus analysis by Daugaard’s economic advisers
• listened to Johnson walk back his previous comments on running in 2014
• linked to a report on Daugaard possibly suing the Army Corps of Engineers
• updated my research into the new state FTEs
• marveled at the tension between South Dakota Democrats and state workers
• posted the schedule for next year’s legislative coffees

Weekly roundup (November 19-December 2)

Two weeks in one, with me taking a week off for vacation and then an uneven week back. Last week on Political Smokeout, I:

• linked to Bob Mercer’s report about Chris Daugaard leaving his Public Utilities Commission job
• discussed what “Lincoln” had to say about politics
• gave an update on the shakeup in the House Appropriations Committee
• went on vacation
• broke down what happens if we go over the fiscal cliff
• discussed Mike Rounds’ impending Senate announcement
• quoted a Tim Johnson spokesman about the Rounds news
• went on a special “100 Eyes on South Dakota Politics” episode
• looked into Rounds’ website-to-be
• reported Rounds’ U.S. Senate candidacy
• noted the South Dakota Democratic Party’s anti-Rounds fusillade
• parsed Tim Johnson’s reaction to Rounds’ candidacy
• talked briefly to Dennis Daugaard about Rounds
• analyzed Kristi Noem’s reaction to the Rounds news
• posted a guest bit of history provided by Tony Venhuizen
• got photographed

Weekly roundup (November 12-November 18)

Last week was a big one on Political Smokeout, with the highest weekly visitor total in the blog’s history due mostly to one particular post that went moderately viral. Most of those people were newcomers who came only for the one post, as opposed to regular readers clicking on multiple posts, so the week wasn’t out of the ordinary when it came to page views.

The three posts I was most proud abut included the viral “Carmen Sandiego” post mentioned above, and two others with fewer than 200 reads: a long analysis of how South Dakota’s hypothetical secession would actually work, and a fun experiment making a cartogram map, weighting South Dakota’s legislative districts by population instead of land area. Give them a read if you didn’t already.

If you missed anything else, last week I:

• mapped the winners of the 2012 legislative elections in South Dakota
• dug up a fantastic video of Joe Biden appearing on “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego”
• reported on the South Dakota Senate leadership elections
• noted John Thune’s victory over European Union climate change rules
• speculated about changes coming to the SD Senate appropriations committee
• figured out one incumbent Senate leader lost
• discovered a petition to let South Dakota secede
• highlighted an amusing interview
• wrote about Thune’s reelection to his leadership job
• made a fun cartogram of South Dakota legislative districts, weighted by population
• followed up on the secession petition
• found an anti-secession petition
• groused about caucus secrecy
• analyzed, in great detail, how South Dakota secession would actually work
• rounded up the Democratic legislative leadership elections…
• …and the House Republican leadership elections

Weekly roundup (November 5-November 11)

Well, that election thingy was fun, wasn’t it? Another busy week on Political Smokeout, where I:

• reported on an incorrect mailing from the South Dakota Democrats
• posted a robocall for Kathy Miles
• summarized the Nielson Brothers’ last poll
• uploaded an SDDP robocall
• followed up on whether Matt Varilek had tried to pull down a radio ad
• solicited election predictions
• previewed what losers might ask themselves
• related a story from South Dakota politics past
• predicted (incorrectly) a “dead cat bounce” for the Democrats
• interviewed Chris Nelson about not running the election
• attended the South Dakota Republican Party victory party
• watched Nelson declare victory
• talked to Republicans upset about Obama’s win
• interviewed a “disappointed” John Thune
• summarized the legislative picture
• previewed the 2024 (or 2028?) House race
• took a look at how a Republican won in a Democratic district
• marveled at peoples’ capacity for self-deception
• reported on Thune’s decision to not run for a leadership spot
• analyzed the Nielson Brothers’ polling
• noted a story about Mike Rounds’ relatives
• wrote about politicians’ friendly wagers over a football game
• went behind the numbers of Democrats’ legislative losses
• looked at what happened to supporters of the defeated referred laws
• saw the Washington Post predicted the GOP to take Johnson’s seat

I also blogged a last minute flurry of postcards, including:

• Herman and Ernie Otten
• the SDDP against the Don and Jenna Haggar
• three for and against Steve Hickey
• the SDDP against Dan Lederman
• a pair of (possibly erroneously) similar SDDP cards
• two boosting Tim Rave and Jon Hansen
• some positive SDDP postcards
• the SDDP against Hal Wick
• Republican “slate cards”
• the SDDP against Dick Werner
• an awkward typo in a handout from James Schorzmann
• the SDDP against Hal Wick, the SDDP against Phyllis Heineman, and Bob Deelstra on his own behalf