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Watch Out SD! Obama, Holder Coming to Fight Gerrymandering!

Know why G. Mark Mickelson, Spencer Gosch, and other Republican legislators are desperate to limit out-of-state contributions to ballot measure campaigns? Because they’re afraid pro-democracy initiatives will draw the support of Barack Obama:

A Democratic group backed by former President Barack Obama said this week it plans to invest millions of dollars in state-level elections in 11 states this year, with its heaviest focus on Ohio.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, said this year’s election cycle is critical to affecting the congressional redistricting process. It is the first cycle whose winners will participate in drawing congressional maps for the decade starting in 2021.

…The group is targeting races in 11 states, including nine gubernatorial races, 18 legislative chambers, two ballot initiatives and two down-ballot races. Eight more states are on the committee’s watch list.

…On its watch list are ballot initiatives in Arizona, Missouri, South Dakota and Utah; the governor’s and state Senate races in Maine; and the governor’s, state Senate and state House races in New Hampshire [Julie Carr, “Obama-Backed Dem Group to Invest Millions in 11 State-Level Elections,” AP via Talking Points Memo, 2018.02.09].

House Bill 1216, an unconstitutional measure that says a guy in Flandreau can spend spend infinite sums to campaign against Mickelson’s tobacco tax but restricts that guy’s sister in Pipestone from spending more than $100K to support that tax, barely passed House State Affairs 7–6 on Wednesday. It’s on the House calendar for debate Monday. Imagine if this measure passes, it goes to court, and Eric Holder and Barack Obama themselves come to argue against it!

2 Comments

  1. Tell us where and when !! We’ll be there.
    Maybe just a simple Obama family visit to Mt Rushmore …………..

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