Clark took down the Facebook post in question, but queried by Ferguson, he stuck by his statement, saying “People shouldn’t be able to use their minority status to bully a business” and putting faith in the free market to push shopkeepers who discriminate too harshly out of business.
Representative Clark, a Lakota woman is not bullying anyone when she walks into Dairy Queen and expects to be served her Oreo Blizzard for the same price and with the same courtesy as the white man in line in front of her.
And Representative Clark, yesterday’s ruling affirmed that a businessowner cannot turn away Indians, blacks, or any other racial minority, no matter how many racist customers that owner can find to keep his racist shop afloat:
Nevertheless, while those religious and philosophical objections are protected, it is a general rule that such objections do not allow business owners and other actors in the economy and in society to deny protected persons equal access to goods and services under a neutral and generally applicable public accommodations law [Justice Anthony Kennedy, majority opinion, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 2018.06.04, p. 9].
District 9, you cannot reëlect a Representative who openly advocates racial discrimination. Racial equality in public accommodations is a basic Constitutional principle that every lawmaker must uphold. Any statement to the contrary should disqualify a candidate from office.
District 9 Republicans, you should strongly consider seeking Rep. Clark’s withdrawal from the House race so your county party officials may name a replacement for the ballot by August 14.
The god I grew up hearing about would smite stoopid wingnuts with their own jawbones for thinking kristian religion wants true followers to discriminate against other human beings. I guesds what passes for kristian wingnuts can’t read and comprehend their bible or 10 commandments.
Roger Cornelius
Bring it on, Rep. Clark.
Tell those South Dakota business owners to have the courage to go full Jim Crow and post signs telling me that I am not permitted in their business.
Rep. Clark, if you’re provoking Roger Cornelius, there’s a strong probability that you’re on the wrong side of the issue.
grudznick
They best not ban me from the DQ on account of my race either. I buy copious amounts of Blizzard from that DQ out there on Campbell street whenever somebody drives me there, and I’m often a minority but I still get my cup of Blizzard.
Roger Cornelius
Grudz,
Are you a person of color?
Chuck-Z
Trickle-down racism was one of my biggest fears with the election of Trump. It seems to be turning into a downpour.
owen reitzel
He said what the far right is thinking and had the courage to say. They want to take us ack to the 60’s.
By the way this guy is a REPUBLICAN and not A DEMOCRAT.
Robin Friday
Forgive me, Owen, but I don’t think anyone who is a legislator says anything like that out of courage. It doesn’t take courage, only stupidity, even if some people are thinking it. How can a legislator be so ignorant of the LAW?
owen reitzel
Good point Robin. I agree. This is what Trump has brought this country too
I wouldn’t deny Grudz service, but I’d require him to show a photo ID. ;-)
Owen, Robin, you raise an interesting discussion of “courage”. I can see where Owen is coming from: Clark likely knows the heat his comment will generate, yet he made it and stuck with it. But I can also see where Robin is coming from: “courage” is admirable, and while I might express a faint preference for a legislator to be honest about the racism he harbors rather than conceal it in word games the way Al Novstrup does, the awfulness of such racism and disrespect for the Constitution drowns out any other consideration. If you’re racist, yes, it is better to admit it than to pretend otherwise, but that honesty is good only in that it helps all of us help you stop being racist and keep you from assuming positions of power until you have stopped being racist.
I am inclined to think Clark’s comment originates more from cluelessness about yesterday’s ruling and basic civil rights. If that explanation doesn’t hold up, the next most logical explanation is contempt for civil rights and the Constitution. Neither is acceptable for a legislator.
Roger Cornelius
If Rep. Clark was seeking national attention he got it, The Hill is running the headline on Facebook.
I referred to courage in my earlier comment, where I challenged Clark to have the courage to tell business owners that want to return to the Jim Crow to post a sign out in the front of their business and tell me they don’t want to serve me.
mike fom iowa
Speaking of pols, David koch bros has retired from trying to force his agenda down everyone’s throat.
Now maybe the Clarks of the world will find something more productive to waste their time on.
Don’t be looking for Monsanto anymore, either. It gave up the name hoping bad [publicity will follow.
grudznick
Mr. C, it doesn’t matter what color I am, DQ may not deny me service on that account. Stop being a racist. You’ve seen me many a time.
Roger Cornelius
Grudz you are delusional, you know as well as I do that I don’t know who in the hell you are, quit making crap up.
You missed the whole point of this story, it isn’t about you, it is about a white legislator saying it should be legal for a white business owner to discriminate people of color.
Debbo
District 9, you don’t want the shame of being represented by a racist bigot. You have an outstanding alternative, Toni Miller. I know Toni and she’s deeply concerned about what’s right, not only for POC, but also for rural folks. She will listen to you and care for your needs, regardless of skin color, address or anything else. If you are Toni Miller’s constituent, she’s got your back.
Robin Friday
I will agree with your word “cluelessness” as a substitute for my word “stupidity”, Cory. However, I strongly suspect that the cluelessness in question is not just about the SCOTUS decision yesterday, but is actually an overall condition with which or from which the legislator in question suffers.
Straight Outta Ridge
I’m curious? What is the name of Michael Clark’s business?
With The Hill picking up the story for national eyes, Toni Miller and Michael Saba had better make sure their online donation pages are working.
Spike
Pierre is full of weirdos. Noem says she’s going to protect SD from DC. Yea right. Except for the farm subsidized payments she gets and the federally subsidized crop insurance her husband sells. Crop insurance is a scam.
She will fit right in with the racists and repubtards of Pierre.
What republican party?
grudznick
Mr. C, you miss the entire point. Open your eyes wider.
No business owner, regardless of color, should be able to discriminate against any customer, regardless of color.
You always make things be one color vs. another color.
Please list the colors of business owners who are not allowed to discriminate, and then list the colors of the customers who are not allowed to be discriminated against. In fact, do that in the opposite order. List customer colors you feel should not be able to be discriminated against. Make sure you include my color, even though you claim you don’t know it.
grudznick
grudznick wins. I have declared it. The grudznick declared this, with 99% of the argument done, over.
OldSarg
“it is about a white legislator saying it should be legal” it shouldn’t matter if the person is white or any color, racism is wrong and to blame someone of racism based upon the person’s skin color is also wrong. That is racist. You should apologize Roger.
Dana P
“minority status” ??? What the bleepity bleep? Many days, I still can’t believe this is 2018.
I understand the point Owen is trying to make. I call it the inside voice/outside voice. This guy didn’t say this out of ignorance. This is what he truly believes and he is backtracking a bit because he realizes it could hurt him (I hope it can hurt him) The election of Trump, who famously says “good people both sides” about a white supremacist rally, has emboldened people like Clark to use his outside voice when making his feelings known.
Has anyone in the state’s mainstream media attempted to get a comment from the Republican nominee for governor or the current Republican governor? I haven’t seen any, but one would think allegedly liberal media would want to know how they feel about a current and potentially future legislator’s comments.
Roger Cornelius
Here’s just how delusional Grudz is, he claims I know him and I know his skin color, I know neither, he hides behind a mysterious fake username. Come out the closet Grudz and be a real man, not a coward.
You are working overtime trying to flip this argument on racism and calling me a racist.
Now back to basics, Rep Clark said a very clearly that a business owner should have the right to turn away people of color, his words not mine.
People of color is commonly refers to Blacks, Hispanics, Asian and Native Americans, not various shades of white. Turning away people of color from a business owner hasn’t happened recently, at least not that I am aware.
But that is what Clark is advocating and it is illegal and it is discrimination
Oh, Kal Lis, you ask for the kind of hard-hitting journalism that would happen elsewhere. Asking such questions of last night’s coronees only puts Republicans in a tight spot, and any such reporting, despite its objective motivation and outcome, allows the hyperpartisans to accuse the media of playing favorites, and the timid SD media will run away from that fearful accusation to preserve their dwindling market share.
Roger Elgersma
No religion says that black white or brown is a sin. Religious beliefs and prejudice are two separate things. Some people have both religious beleifs and prejudice so they think they are the same.
The god I grew up hearing about would smite stoopid wingnuts with their own jawbones for thinking kristian religion wants true followers to discriminate against other human beings. I guesds what passes for kristian wingnuts can’t read and comprehend their bible or 10 commandments.
Bring it on, Rep. Clark.
Tell those South Dakota business owners to have the courage to go full Jim Crow and post signs telling me that I am not permitted in their business.
Mike, I’m not going to wait for God or the free market to fight discrimination. I’m sticking with the Constitution. :-)
Rep. Clark, if you’re provoking Roger Cornelius, there’s a strong probability that you’re on the wrong side of the issue.
They best not ban me from the DQ on account of my race either. I buy copious amounts of Blizzard from that DQ out there on Campbell street whenever somebody drives me there, and I’m often a minority but I still get my cup of Blizzard.
Grudz,
Are you a person of color?
Trickle-down racism was one of my biggest fears with the election of Trump. It seems to be turning into a downpour.
He said what the far right is thinking and had the courage to say. They want to take us ack to the 60’s.
By the way this guy is a REPUBLICAN and not A DEMOCRAT.
Forgive me, Owen, but I don’t think anyone who is a legislator says anything like that out of courage. It doesn’t take courage, only stupidity, even if some people are thinking it. How can a legislator be so ignorant of the LAW?
Good point Robin. I agree. This is what Trump has brought this country too
I wouldn’t deny Grudz service, but I’d require him to show a photo ID. ;-)
Owen, Robin, you raise an interesting discussion of “courage”. I can see where Owen is coming from: Clark likely knows the heat his comment will generate, yet he made it and stuck with it. But I can also see where Robin is coming from: “courage” is admirable, and while I might express a faint preference for a legislator to be honest about the racism he harbors rather than conceal it in word games the way Al Novstrup does, the awfulness of such racism and disrespect for the Constitution drowns out any other consideration. If you’re racist, yes, it is better to admit it than to pretend otherwise, but that honesty is good only in that it helps all of us help you stop being racist and keep you from assuming positions of power until you have stopped being racist.
I am inclined to think Clark’s comment originates more from cluelessness about yesterday’s ruling and basic civil rights. If that explanation doesn’t hold up, the next most logical explanation is contempt for civil rights and the Constitution. Neither is acceptable for a legislator.
If Rep. Clark was seeking national attention he got it, The Hill is running the headline on Facebook.
I referred to courage in my earlier comment, where I challenged Clark to have the courage to tell business owners that want to return to the Jim Crow to post a sign out in the front of their business and tell me they don’t want to serve me.
Speaking of pols, David koch bros has retired from trying to force his agenda down everyone’s throat.
Now maybe the Clarks of the world will find something more productive to waste their time on.
I hit send before I posted the link- https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/billionaire-david-koch-to-retire-from-koch-industries-political-group.html
Don’t be looking for Monsanto anymore, either. It gave up the name hoping bad [publicity will follow.
Mr. C, it doesn’t matter what color I am, DQ may not deny me service on that account. Stop being a racist. You’ve seen me many a time.
Grudz you are delusional, you know as well as I do that I don’t know who in the hell you are, quit making crap up.
You missed the whole point of this story, it isn’t about you, it is about a white legislator saying it should be legal for a white business owner to discriminate people of color.
District 9, you don’t want the shame of being represented by a racist bigot. You have an outstanding alternative, Toni Miller. I know Toni and she’s deeply concerned about what’s right, not only for POC, but also for rural folks. She will listen to you and care for your needs, regardless of skin color, address or anything else. If you are Toni Miller’s constituent, she’s got your back.
I will agree with your word “cluelessness” as a substitute for my word “stupidity”, Cory. However, I strongly suspect that the cluelessness in question is not just about the SCOTUS decision yesterday, but is actually an overall condition with which or from which the legislator in question suffers.
I’m curious? What is the name of Michael Clark’s business?
Good question, Ridge. ALEC says he works in customer service for a telecommunications company. Rep. Clark was ALEC’s Legislator of the Week just three weeks ago.
With The Hill picking up the story for national eyes, Toni Miller and Michael Saba had better make sure their online donation pages are working.
Pierre is full of weirdos. Noem says she’s going to protect SD from DC. Yea right. Except for the farm subsidized payments she gets and the federally subsidized crop insurance her husband sells. Crop insurance is a scam.
She will fit right in with the racists and repubtards of Pierre.
What republican party?
Mr. C, you miss the entire point. Open your eyes wider.
No business owner, regardless of color, should be able to discriminate against any customer, regardless of color.
You always make things be one color vs. another color.
Please list the colors of business owners who are not allowed to discriminate, and then list the colors of the customers who are not allowed to be discriminated against. In fact, do that in the opposite order. List customer colors you feel should not be able to be discriminated against. Make sure you include my color, even though you claim you don’t know it.
grudznick wins. I have declared it. The grudznick declared this, with 99% of the argument done, over.
“it is about a white legislator saying it should be legal” it shouldn’t matter if the person is white or any color, racism is wrong and to blame someone of racism based upon the person’s skin color is also wrong. That is racist. You should apologize Roger.
“minority status” ??? What the bleepity bleep? Many days, I still can’t believe this is 2018.
I understand the point Owen is trying to make. I call it the inside voice/outside voice. This guy didn’t say this out of ignorance. This is what he truly believes and he is backtracking a bit because he realizes it could hurt him (I hope it can hurt him) The election of Trump, who famously says “good people both sides” about a white supremacist rally, has emboldened people like Clark to use his outside voice when making his feelings known.
Has anyone in the state’s mainstream media attempted to get a comment from the Republican nominee for governor or the current Republican governor? I haven’t seen any, but one would think allegedly liberal media would want to know how they feel about a current and potentially future legislator’s comments.
Here’s just how delusional Grudz is, he claims I know him and I know his skin color, I know neither, he hides behind a mysterious fake username. Come out the closet Grudz and be a real man, not a coward.
You are working overtime trying to flip this argument on racism and calling me a racist.
Now back to basics, Rep Clark said a very clearly that a business owner should have the right to turn away people of color, his words not mine.
People of color is commonly refers to Blacks, Hispanics, Asian and Native Americans, not various shades of white. Turning away people of color from a business owner hasn’t happened recently, at least not that I am aware.
But that is what Clark is advocating and it is illegal and it is discrimination
Oh, Kal Lis, you ask for the kind of hard-hitting journalism that would happen elsewhere. Asking such questions of last night’s coronees only puts Republicans in a tight spot, and any such reporting, despite its objective motivation and outcome, allows the hyperpartisans to accuse the media of playing favorites, and the timid SD media will run away from that fearful accusation to preserve their dwindling market share.
No religion says that black white or brown is a sin. Religious beliefs and prejudice are two separate things. Some people have both religious beleifs and prejudice so they think they are the same.