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Vulgar DiSanto Post Echoes Racist Charlottesville Violence

Making the rounds today on social media is a screen cap of an “All Lives Splatter” meme posted by House Republican whip Rep. Lynne DiSanto (R-35/Rapid City) on September 7:

Screen cap from Rep. DiSanto's Facebook page, tweeted by Adam Dale Jorgensen, 2017.09.19.
Screen cap from Rep. DiSanto’s Facebook page, tweeted by Adam Dale Jorgensen, 2017.09.19.

The SDGOP spin blog dismisses complaints about Rep. DiSanto’s apparent endorsement of this message as faux outrage. As usual, the SDGOP spin blog misses the context: the image DiSanto offers for chuckles depicts exactly what James Alex Fields Jr. appears to have done on August 12 to Americans protesting racism on a Charlottesville, Virginia, street.

A racist kook kills and injures fellow citizens with his car, and Rep. Lynne DiSanto jokes that “we can all support” that movement. One may reasonably contend that DiSanto’s statement was inappropriate. DiSanto seems to think so: she has removed the post instead of standing by it. Her majority leader Rep. Lee Qualm (R-21/Platte) also thinks the post was inappropriate:

“Obviously I think she wishes she had not put it out there, but she was quick to pull it down and it seems like one of those things you do without putting much though into it.”

Qualm said the move was an error in judgment. He said the party does not condone hitting protesters [Dana Ferguson, “S.D. GOP Whip Shares Meme Endorsing Vehicular Assault on Protesters,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2017.09.19].

Perhaps Qualm represents one fading thread of conscience and responsible use of words in the party of DiSanto, Tapio, and Trump.

Faintly, Faintly Related: Back during Session, Rep. DiSanto held out against Senate Bill 176, Governor Dennis Daugaard’s watered-down effort to quash public protest. Rep. DiSanto ultimately rolled over for the Governor on the final vote on the conference committee version of the bill.

Update 21:25 CDT: Lynne DiSanto (listed there under her hyphenated Hix-DiSanto nom de sales) had a profile page on the Keller Williams website as one of their realtors… or at least Google Cache says she did on September 10:

Lynne Hix-DiSanto agent page, Keller Williams, cahced by Google 2017.09.10.
Lynne Hix-DiSanto agent page, Keller Williams, cahced by Google 2017.09.10.

As of this evening, that profile page on KW.com is inaccessible. I search KW’s Rapid City agents and find the profiles for the alphabetically adjacent Julie Herman and Jim Hoag are still accessible.

KW.com, screen cap, 2017.09.19 21:05 CDT.
KW.com, screen cap, 2017.09.19 21:05 CDT.

Google Cache also shares DiSanto’s realtor Facebook page, which is also inaccessible tonight.

Disanto realtor Facebook page, cached by Google 2017.08.31.
Disanto realtor Facebook page, cached by Google 2017.08.31.

The removal DiSanto’s realtor web pages sparks me to revisit another comment Majority leader Qualm made to Ferguson:

DiSanto is set to again serve as majority whip during the 2018 legislative session unless she opts to step down from the elected position, said Republican House Majority Leader Lee Qualm [Ferguson, reprinted now in USA Today, 2017.09.19 20:17 EDT].

That the Majority Leader even mentions the possibility that his whip might opt to step down suggests Qualm may already be thinking of joining Keller Williams in distancing his organization from DiSanto’s thoughtless online comment.

Update 21:28 CDT: DiSanto gives Seth Tupper the classic “I’m sorry if you were offended” non-apology:

“I am sorry if people took offense to it and perceived my message in any way insinuating support or condoning people being hit by cars,” DiSanto said. “I perceived it differently. I perceived it as encouraging people to stay out of the street” [Seth Tupper, “Rep. DiSanto Slammed for Facebook Post About Protesters,” Rapid City Journal, 2017.09.19].

Yet even Rep. DiSanto acknowledges the context that makes her statement inappropriate:

DiSanto said she failed to consider examples of violence against protesters when she shared her Facebook post.

“That was a lack of judgment on my part to not take that into consideration, the highly charged political environment that we’re in,” she said [Tupper, 2017.09.19].

Think before you post—that shouldn’t be a hard rule to follow… especially for an individual elected to vote on the laws that govern our fair state.

Update 2017.09.20 05:11 CDT: Before bedtime, last night Keller Williams Realty Black Hills announced on Facebook that “Due to recent events, Lynne Disanto is no longer associated” with their company.

23 Comments

  1. John 2017-09-19 20:36

    No surprise. She’s appeared to many, perhaps most as a racist and bigot who had little interest in supporting the Constitution (except for her misunderstood amendment against government tryanny). Ever notice how most of the time, too much of the time, that when South Dakota makes the national news it is because of the stupidity, racism, bigotry of our right wing nuts or their apologists.

  2. John 2017-09-19 20:41

    Time to run over her en-route to another term, metaphorically speaking? Time to whip her, metaphorically speaking of course?

  3. Bob Newland 2017-09-19 21:22

    “…it seems like one of those things you do without putting much though into it.”

    Indeed. Much like everything else she has done in her life.

  4. Bob Newland 2017-09-19 21:23

    “…it seems like one of those things you do without putting much though into it.” (The word is probably “thought.”)

    Indeed. Much like everything else she has done in her life.

  5. Donald Pay 2017-09-19 21:49

    I guess we shouldn’t expect much of Republican lawbreakers….er, lawmakers in The Dark Age of Trump, but this what ISIS and Nazis have been calling for: lone wolves commandeering a vehicle and running down pedestrians. Are Republicans now supporting the terrorist tactics ISIS and Nazis advocate?

    What a disgusting exhibition of stupidity and cowardice!!! But I’m not surprised. Republicans have no moral and no shame.

  6. Mr. Lansing 2017-09-19 21:52

    Pretty funny, Ms. DiSanto. If people showed up to protest you at some of these homes you’re trying to sell, would you drive up and run them over? Not so funny when it’s closer to your livelihood, huh Lynnie ?
    https://www.zillow.com/profile/lynne-disanto/

  7. A Nicer Person 2017-09-19 22:31

    What kind of a therapist condones the death of any human being (regardless of political persuasions/motivations)? That’s horrible! If I lived in the Valley and was a client, I’d start shopping around.

  8. A Nicer Person 2017-09-19 22:38

    ….and “politically charged climate” has nill to do with it. It’s called humanity.

    I realize God/Jesus put her in office, but I hope she loses more than just the real estate gig and has to do some real “soul searching” to remind her that she doesn’t have dibs on being an “American” just because she has a (R) behind her name on the ballot.

  9. Laurisa 2017-09-19 23:38

    Well, well, it looks like Charity Doyle’s been giving DiSanto lessons in Public Expression of Ignorant Racial Hatred and Bigotry. Given the historically ignorant racist screed she published a few years ago, in the guise of a discourse on deteriorating politics, it would appear she’s more than qualified.

  10. Spike 2017-09-19 23:46

    54% (or more) of South Dakotans probably approve of her message.

    90% of those people (expletive) probably consider themselves good ‘Christians’.

    DiSantos and others (like Trump) deny reality when they attempt to portray themselves as the ‘real americans’

    Obviously she thinks she is pretty dang important representing people in Pierre. And being a part of that juggernaut. After all is it not one of the most disfunctional, lowly rated secret state governments in the US? Or is that fake news?

    I am so thankful for the good people I know.

  11. mike from iowa 2017-09-20 07:07

    How much more embarrassingly red can Northern Mississippi get?

    I’m guessing the first time anyone appears to be driving too fast near a crowd of people, the guns will come out and bullets will fly in hopes of being the first on their block to bag a Commie protest hater.

  12. mike from iowa 2017-09-20 07:14

    DiSanto said she failed to consider examples of violence against protesters when she shared her Facebook post.

    Are wingnuts really this damn stoopid? You are doomed!!

  13. Mr. Lansing 2017-09-20 08:24

    Spike … pleasure to have you as an acquaintance. ☺ You too, MFI. There are a lot of good people that post on DFP and a lot of people that post here just to be around the good people that post here.

  14. Jenny 2017-09-20 08:54

    Must have been in a high bitch mood that day. Watch out, boys when the woman is having those days. But really, it is very unprofessional when a legislator and a real estate agent that works with the public posts something like that on social media. I would never do business with her after her posting something that would be racist to a lot of people.
    I’m all for not keeping your emotions inside, but there’s a thing called poise and tactfulness.

  15. Rorschach 2017-09-20 09:14

    I think she’s giving the green light to running down the folks protesting at Planned Parenthood.

  16. Jenny 2017-09-20 09:23

    Never a cool thing to post about killing people. Not my kind of humor, DWC.

  17. Rorschach 2017-09-20 09:35

    Killing people with cars is the new “pro-life.”

  18. Anne Bonney 2017-09-20 13:32

    Greetings from Red State Occupied North Carolina! I’m firmly ensconced in my Liberal Bunker reading the news.

    I’m glad you guys up there are shining light on this despicable person. Keep fighting the good fight! We’ll be reading and watching down here.

  19. Curt 2017-09-20 14:19

    Add this factoid to the file … Ms DiSanto chaired the West River ‘SD-for-Trump’ campaign and skipped a day of the 2017 Legislative session to attend his inaugural.

  20. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2017-09-20 19:28

    Good to hear from you, fellow Resistance member! Keep reading, and lob some rhetorical grenades! (But don’t run any Red Staters over with your SUV. That’s not nice. :-D )

  21. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2017-09-20 20:42

    Very important point, Curt. The connection to Trumpism is keenly relevant.

  22. bodidR 2017-09-21 10:43

    HOW can this person claim to be ‘Pro-life’???

Comments are closed.