Wacky Speaker Haugaard Whacks Lobbyist Taylor for May 2018 Criticism

Last updated on 2019-01-18

Last May, the South Dakota Municipal League published in its magazine an editorial by its director, Yvonne Taylor, that called over 20% of the Legislature “Wackies”… and she was not referring to the Democratic minority. Taylor explained her Legislative taxonomy:

I’ll have to give you some definitions. “Normal” doesn’t mean we always agree – but The Normals are usually willing to look at issues one by one, listen to facts, and make rational decisions. Wackies, on the other hand, have come in opposed to government in general and all forms of taxation; seem to firmly believe the state and local governments are ripping them off; and often have their own particular nit to pick on some other topic. They think facts they don’t like are lies and they blanket vote based on a preconceived mindset, not on the issue at hand [Yvonne Taylor, “Director’s Notes,” South Dakota Municipalities, May 2018, p. 4].

Taylor helpfully illustrated how the Wackies’ blind ideology and hyperbole get in the way of the practical problem-solving that her constituency—South Dakota’s local, non-partisan governments—depend on the Legislature to carry out:

Look at Senate Bill 25. Many years ago, the State took over regulation of water pollution control – meaning everyone here gets to work with the state DENR instead of the Federal EPA. When they did that, they put in place fees to pay the costs of administration. For municipalities, those were based on the 1990 census.

More than 20 years later, federal funding has decreased, and there has never been an increase in these fees. DENR came up with a bill to help them keep doing this – the alternative is having to work with EPA – if the state cannot do it, EPA will take it back over.

There were no opponents to the bill, and everyone who would pay an increase supported it – farm groups, business groups, the Municipal League.

It died in the House – the Wackies don’t like taxes or fees. Now eventually it was brought back to life and it passed – but 22% voted against it in the end – that mindset stops things from happening, even if people affected want it – and it stops people from bringing things forward [links added; Taylor, May 2018].

Exactly whom with this example was Taylor calling Wackies? Let’s see who voted Nay on 2018 SB 2015:

• Senate, January 24, 2018: SB 25 passed 30–5. Nays: Phil Jensen, Nelson, Netherton, Russell, Tapio—all Republicans.
• House, February 20, 2018: SB 25 missed the 2/3 threshold by two votes on first pass; 19 nays were Democrat Ahlers, then Republicans Campbell, Dennert, DiSanto, Frye-Mueller, Goodwin, Greenfield (Lana), Haugaard, Howard, Kaiser, Karr, Latterell, Livermont, Marty, May, Mills, Peterson (Sue), Pischke, Steinhauer
• House reconsidered SB 25 next day on motion by Rhoden; passed 51–14; remaining Nays: Campbell, Dennert, Frye-Mueller, Goodwin, Gosch, Greenfield (Lana), Haugaard, Kaiser, Livermont, Marty, May, Mills, Pischke, Steinhauer—all Republicans.

Taylor named none of those legislators, but she called in her column for voters to “make good decisions” in the primary and the general and “get that wacky ratio down.”

Of those 19 SB 25 Nays, 15 ran to return to Pierre. 14 won in November; only Liz May lost to a Democrat. Of the four not returning, Tapio was replaced by Lee Schoenbeck, whom we may garland with many sobriquets but certainly not with the term “wacky.” Kaiser was replaced by Carl Perry, who’s wacky tendencies didn’t come raging out in the District 3 campaign but whom I’m watching for signs of contagion. Netherton’s replacement, Maggie Sutton, was picked by Dennis Daugaard, so she can’t be wacky. Campbell’s replacement, Tony Randolph, has my kind of mustache, but his bills show a wacky fanaticism for guns, God, and Trump.

I don’t know if the overall wacky ratio has gone down, but it certainly went up at the top: one of Taylor’s wackies, Rep. Steven Haugaard (R-10/Sioux Falls) is now Speaker of the House. Speaker Haugaard, whose personal sense of superior virtue probably chafes at any description beneath Your Holiness, peddles all sorts of falsehoods and regressive positions, seems to epitomize Taylor’s definition of Wackies.

Perhaps that’s why I’ve heard from four different sources that Speaker Haugaard has issued some sort of ban on Taylor’s lobbying activities in the House. I don’t know how exactly a Speaker of the House would restrict any citizen’s First Amendment right to speak to legislators and testify on bills. Under the Legislature’s Joint Rule 2-4, no lobbyists are allowed on the floor of the House or the Senate or in the lobbies from three hours prior to the chamber’s convening to one hour after adjournment. Joint Rule 1A-8 says no one may distribute items to House members’ desks without approval of the chief clerk of the House, “subject to the review of the speaker of the House,” so maybe His Holiness has decreed that Yvonne Taylor may not enter the Chamber during breakfast to drop off Municipal League swag. How satisfying that glorious revenge must be…

…but using one’s power to punish a citizen for speaking freely and criticizing elected leaders for putting partisanship and ideology over practical problem-solving? That sounds a lot worse than wacky.

Related: Yvonne Taylor remains a registered lobbyist for both the Municipal League and the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association. What? Dissing a lady who speaks for cops? Now that’s wacky.