Republican legislators and candidates had until last Wednesday, August 8, to submit their loyalty pledges to House and Senate GOP leadership. The pledge requires that Republican members “maintain the highest degree of confidentiality within the caucus,” meaning those Republicans who have sworn their loyalty to the party bosses over their voters probably can’t tell us that they have signed this odious pledge.
But it occurs to me that, one month from today, Bob Mercer and other attentive reporters can probably compile a full list of pledge signers just by watching. The Legislature will convene in special session on September 12 to make it possible for South Dakota to collect the sales tax from out-of-state online vendors, as authorized by the United States Supreme Court in June. Given the potential political impact of voting to effectively raises taxes by $48 million to $58 million (though, yes, it’s more complicated than that) less than two months before an election (we should have Legislative Session in September every election year!), the Republican House and Senate caucuses will surely meet to count noses, soothe nerves, and twist arms. Mercer, Ferguson, Nord, and any other interested citizen could sit outside the caucus meeting room with a list of Republican legislators (don’t forget the three noobs!), check off those who go in, then hunt down the remaining few and ask, “Hey, did you forget the meeting, or did you just not sign the pledge?”
Of course, if Gordon Howie and Tonchi Weaver have any pull, the pledge may be mooted by special session time. Howie blasts the GOP “Gangsters on Parade” (a clever phrase I can find used by Weaver a week ago and used by Doug Wiken in 2009) for issuing this “mafia-style demand”:
The “Loyalty Pledge” demonstrates so much of what is wrong with the GOP leadership. It doesn’t encourage freedom of thought and adherence to principle and integrity. It fosters a dictatorial culture of back-room politics at its worst. A few brave Legislators refused to sign “The Pledge”. Thank you to all of them with the courage to stand against this intimidation.
Now, it’s time for others to renew their strength and stand for political freedom [Gordon Howie, “Rescission of ‘Loyalty Pledge’ by South Dakota Legislators,” The Right Side, 2018.08.11].
I’ve heard from one pledge opponent that the “brave few” number eleven… out of 98 standing Republican Legislative candidates. Howie says Weaver and the Citizens for Liberty are sending all Republican legislators a letter urging them to rescind their caucus loyalty pledge and avoid charges of violating RNC rules, Robert’s Rules, the SDGOP platform, and state law. To the last point, Weaver cites SDCL 2-4-14, which prohibits “Giving or offering a bribe to a member, or attempting, by menace or other corrupt means or device, directly or indirectly, to control or influence a member in giving his vote, or to prevent his giving the same,” and SDCL 22-12A-4, which hits any person who “gives, or offers to give, a bribe to any member of the Legislature, or attempts, directly or indirectly, by menace, deceit, suppression of truth, or any other corrupt means, to influence a member to give or to withhold the member’s vote, or to not attend the legislative session, or any committee thereof” with a Class 4 felony. I’m not convinced Weaver could make either of those statutes stick to the GOP loyalty pledge, since the pledge doesn’t directly reference actual votes on committee or the floor, only positions of influence on committees, participation in the club, and campaign cash. The pledge is plenty sleazy, but we’ll be arguing that sleaziness at the polls, not in court.
You can also argue that sleaziness at the Brown County Fair, where Republican legislators Al Novstrup (assuming he can pull himself away from running kiddie-karts in Sioux Falls), Drew Dennert, Brock Greenfield, and Lana Greenfield are almost certain to make appearances. If you don’t want to wait for Bob Mercer’s headcount, drop by the GOP booth at the Brown County Fair and ask your Republican legislators if they signed the party loyalty pledge.
You can also stop by the Democratic fair booth, but you don’t have to ask our candidates about our Democratic caucus loyalty pledge: I can tell you there is no such pledge (at least none that’s been sent or mentioned to me) and if there were, I would not sign it. Besides, we Democrats caucus in open, public meetings, where anyone can hear our thinking on legislation. Only the Republicans meet in secret to plot against the people.
Related Reading: You know who else demanded loyalty pledges? Nazis, who made soldiers and civil servants swear to God their “unconditional obedience” to the Führer.
At this point let’s shut down the legislatures and let Dennis the Dictator run the show.
Why are the Democratic caucuses “public” but nobody ever attends? If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a noise? Answers to these and other philosophic quandaries will be provided by Lt. Governor Rhoden in due time.
Grudznick, I was a member of the SD House Democratic caucus for four years in the 1990s. We had a steady stream of caucus visitors in that time, high school students and their government teachers, farmers, ranchers, businesspeople and union members, ordinary South Dakotans from all walks of life were all visitors and were welcomed and recognized by caucus. I have attended the caucus as a visitor many times in the 20+ years since I was a member and visitors and welcoming visitors is still the common practice of the Democratic legislative caucus. The only instruction given to Democratic legislators at the end of each caucus meeting and after having discussed the merits of each bill on that day’s calendar was “vote your conscience”.
I figured that might get your goat, Mr. Nemec. Nobody attends today, I am told.
How did they fit all those school kids in the Senate Minority leader’s office, back in your day, Mr. Nemec? Today they caucus in rooms that hold barely 5 or 6 people, uncomfortably. Times do change, from back those good old days, don’t they? Heck, back then there were beers and whiskeys in all the offices of the legislatures.
Back then the beer and whiskey was in the offices of Republican leadership. I could name names if you want. You may be told no one attends today but my visits in the last couple years would indicate otherwise.
This is why I’m running as an Independent. When WF Buckley started the National Review, he did so (in part) to answer the “irresponsible right”. As a subscriber to NR since I was 12, few things bother me more than people purporting to be conservative yet holding clearly unconservative beliefs and even more, acting on them. What the Republican party has done in this state flies in the face of reasoned debate, transparency and power in the hands of the governed rather than the governing.
Nick, Dems have been fighting (hard) for more open government in South Dakota for … forever. You may have more in common with the Pierre Dem caucus then you may know. If elected, you can even show up and contribute to the conversation! How’s that for putting your money where your mouth is on “consent of the governed.”
Nick reminds me there is a tension between accepting the advantages of party affiliation and the potential obligations certain party leaders may try to impose. We candidates perhaps need to flip the perception: maybe we need party leaders to realize that we candidates are the ones doing them a favor. Instead of letting caucus leaders demand that they sign loyalty oaths, perhaps Republican candidates should demand that their party leaders sign loyalty oaths to each of the candidates who is agreeing to carry the party banner.