I won, says Judge Kornmann!
This afternoon, just six days after hearing my excellent lawyer Jim Leach argue in federal court that banning out-of-state contributions to ballot question committees is unconstitutional, Judge Charles Kornmann said yup, the First Amendment and the Commerce Clause still rule in South Dakota, no matter how much Mark Mickelson may want to throw them out in his cynical campaign to eliminate real grassroots initiative and referendum.
Here is Judge Kornmann’s ruling:
I’ll have more commentary this evening, after I walk the dog, take daughter to dance, and coordinate a statewide petition drive, which just got significantly easier now that I don’t have to worry about Jason Ravnsborg prosecuting me for taking money from someone who looks like a resident of South Dakota on paper but who Ravnsborg could prove was visiting friends in Pipestone when she donated to my ballot question committee via ActBlue and thus, under the term resident that IM 24 left woefully undefined, could not legally donate to any South Dakota ballot question committee.
IM 24 is dead; grassroots ballot question campaigns are thus a little more alive tonight. Yahoo!
Very good job young man. Thank you
Good job Cory and thanks.
Forgot to mention that you are getting well deserved accolades on Dakota War College.
Porter was wrong. Nothing new. 🤓
Yep, Phat Phough at War College is saying, “I’ve ALWAYS been in favor of freedom of speech,” despite much evidence to the contrary.
This was a necessary victory, but all it is is a bright dry spot on a long, dark, wet SoDak gumbo road, seeded with spikes, snakes, scorpions and Stace Nelsons.
This question was really a no brainer from the beginning. We learned from Citizens United the value of money and free speech which is why the corrupt and entrenched political class is so opposed and wants it overturned. What many lose sight of is how great this is for us little guys who can now fight the greedy corporations by forming our own PACs that conform to state and federal tax laws and gain funding for our causes.
Congrats! This was a no-brainer.
BOO! BOO! HISS! Keep the dark, out-of-state money away! Protest by peacefully sitting in around the clipboarders! Boost, boost the peacefulness of the protests. BOO! Kornmann is a libbie!
Seriously, the worst part of this is that Mr. H will be so full of himself his lithe body won’t be able to support his swollen head, when in reality it was Mr. Jackley who carried all the water here.
Congratulations, Cory. A battle of principles for me but I’m basically a First Amendment person. That doesn’t make me like dark money any better. Oh, the dilemma! Well done.
Grudz, if you don’t like out-of-state money, don’t take any, and don’t vote for anything backed by out-of-state money.
Also, tell your newspaper and broadcast friends to stop doing business with out-of-state buyers.
I don’t like dark money, either, Robin. I don’t have any dark money; when I file my statutorily required campaign finance reports, you’ll see where all of my money came from and decide whether the sources of that money at all impugn the merits of the policies I seek to enact.
As for who carried the water, well, does the judge make any determination along those lines when he awards attorneys’ fees? Whoever carried the water, Grudz, you’ll get to pay for the buckets, thanks to Mark Mickelson’s folly.
And thank you for the congratulations. I’m always happy to lead a fight for First Amendment rights.
🐐
[Heck, Grudz has discovered emojis. Something feels wrong with the world.]
[I don’t even like it when my e-mail replaces good old colon-hyphen-parenthesis with an upright yellow smiley face. :-) ]
Cory, You are making a difference!
I asked Mickelson about this very possibility when he was circulating his petitions and he poo poo’d my concerns. If a rube like me knew this would happen, how did the people behind this measure not see this coming?
Oh, and if he really wants too keep out of state influencers out of our government, maybe he should get his republican colleagues to stop being tools for ALEC and other right wing groups to push their agendas directly through the legislature.
Congratulations Cory. Well done.
Now we need to get Citizens United (what a dishonest name) overturned or pass an amendment that says $ is not speech. While we’re amending, let’s include in it public financing only for elections, no “gifts” of any kind to law makers, 12 year terms for SCOTUS, ERA, all districts drawn by algorithm, paper trail required for all voting machines and maybe a few other odds and ends……… You know, so we can become a democracy again.
Grudzilla’s selfie is spot on.
Hey, Remington! When Mickelson poo-pooed your concern, did he offer any legal or Constitutional argument to back his poo?