Last updated on 2021-10-01
Jason Ravnsborg’s only real skill is butt-kissing, not butt-kicking. But could blatant corruption in the office of the Governor seeking to sack him be motivating our Attorney General to turn over a tougher leaf?
South Dakota’s attorney general said Tuesday he is reviewing concerns from state lawmakers over a meeting Gov. Kristi Noem held last year that included both her daughter and a state employee who was overseeing her daughter’s application to become a certified real estate appraiser.
“I have been contacted by concerned citizens and legislators,” Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg said in a statement. “I am actively reviewing their concerns and I will be following the steps prescribed in codified law in relation to those questions” [Stephen Groves, “South Dakota AG Reviewing Noem’s Meeting with Daughter,” AP, 2021.09.29].
Even if our Attorney General had any legal competence, Governor Noem might not need to worry. The Republican Legislature has refused to pass anti-nepotism laws. No law prevents the Governor from assembling her staff to bully some bureaucrat who, in responsibly carrying out her duties, has crossed the Governor’s kin.
But this is South Dakota—never mind the law. Jason Ravnsborg occupies a unique and arguably enviable position: he is a powerful elected official with absolutely nothing to lose. He burned up all of his political currency the night he killed Joe Boever. He adds no value to any candidate’s campaign appearance. His predecessor Marty Jackley is a shoe-in for the nomination in 2022. Nothing Ravnsborg does now can damage his political career, because his political career is over.
But no one can remove him from office until November 9, when the Legislature plans to convene to consider impeaching him. If the House does impeach him, Ravnsborg will be suspended from duty until and unless the Senate acquits him. Jason Ravnsborg thus has six weeks during which he could use the unfettered authority of the Office of the Attorney General to unearth and release all the information he can find about corruption in state government. EB-5, GEAR UP, use of state planes and state employees for campaign purposes… all the skeletons are right there, Jason, in closets that the Attorney General can unlock and lay bare for everyone, maybe not for prosecutors but certainly for an eager press.
Digging up and releasing all that information won’t save your political career, Jason. You killed a man, everyone knows it, and no one wants you to serve another term as Attorney General. But documenting and publicizing the Governor’s nepotism, as well as dumping documentation on previous and ongoing corruption that we may or may not know about, could give you the satisfaction of, for the first time in your stunted political career, effectively serving the public interest… not to mention taking down with you some of the bastards who are casting you aside.
If you need some help going through those skeletons, Jason, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.
My guess is that noem will get behind ravensborg in a quid pro quo. You stop investigating, I stop the impeachment.
The governor’s actions go beyond nepotism. This is out and out corruption. Your claims that Republicans didn’t pass anti-nepotism laws that were brought by a Republican are intellectually dishonest. As usual the Democrats are literally missing in action. They are even worse than the corrupt Republicans as they had an even larger obligation to act as a second party and At least put on a façade of opposing the Establishment corrupt Republicans. Instead? as usual they provided no opposition but acted as willing useful tools in helping oppose legitimate efforts to combat the corruption of these establishment Republican administrations.
Who was the South Dakota politician who introduced an anti-nepotism bill? This was about her early nepotism, hiring her daughter and son-in-law. Giving her daughter a big raise while everyone else in state government was frozen. This is just too rich. I read this article written by a conservative. The other candidates are eating this story for breakfast maybe at grudz CCS.
Mark, Stace Nelson led that charge in 2019. Review Senators Greenfield’s and Novstrup’s excuses for killing that bill and their open defense of nepotism at this 2019 Aberdeen crackerbarrel.
DD, my statement that Republicans like Greenfield and Novstrup killed the anti-nepotism laws is entirely honest. Don’t go accusing me of lying to South Dakota, especially not on any word games about might really be a Republican and what influence the minuscule Democratic caucus in Pierre has over the state of South Dakota anti-corruption laws.
Let’s stay focused here: Noem is the scumbag, and the one-party regime enables that scumbaggery.
Cibvet, even if Ravnsborg goes on a tear digging up corruption, I’m not sure he has much quid to offer for quo from Noem or anyone else. He’s toast no matter what. He could at least go out doing the right thing.
Well….Ravensborg will be busy this next year “building bridges” to county Republican groups and potential donors. He may be toast as a candidate but, inpolics, time heals all wounds. The Bpever killing will soon be dismissed as “could have happened to anyone” by loyal GOP activists.
sorry..the phrase should be “in politics, time heals all wounds…”
in jest He is only investigating to see if there is a way for him to resign and get a big severance package.
CAH,
Not alleging you are “lying;” however, it is intellectually dishonest to ignore the complicity of Democrats in helping kill the legislation and for them not bringing their own. While Greenfield and Norvstrup clearly deserve credit for being such buffoons, the Democrats who voted to kill the legislation right alongside them deserve even more scorn and derision.
Imagine how great our state would be if we all called balls and strikes based off of the circumstances and not with consideration of voter registration.
All of the clowns in office that subverted the anti nepotism legislation deserve our collective scorn.
Kristi, you can stop playing that you are a victim. No, the media is not out to destroy your daughter. Kristi, here are the facts we know:
1) You called a special meeting to meet with Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman, Sherry Bren, and included your daughter in that meeting.
2) The meeting was in regards to your daughter not getting a real estate appraisal license (certification).
3) Four months later, your daughter receives her certification and Sherry Bren is forced to retire by Secretary Hultman.
4) In March 2021, Bren is awarded $200,000 in state money, termed as a “retirement settlement” after she signs a non-disparaging statement.
Those are the FACTS we know at the present time. The media has been more than gracious to ask you, Governor Noem to detail what the meeting was about and why. Instead of doing that, you remain silent and refuse to answer any questions. In the meantime, you have attacked the media for trying to “destroy your children” and also want to blame as what you call an “inefficient system” in state bureaucracy. It’s as if you want to blame the media and Sherry Bren for what went down due to your authority to call such a meeting and the aftermath of that meeting. Kristi, the “poor me” victim game you always play is NOT going to work this time.
Well, it’s not like the media doesn’t deserve it all anyway.
But let it be known I have it on good authority that the Rhoden Rhangers have no official comment on any of this at this time.
Grudz said: “Well, it’s not like the media doesn’t deserve it all anyway.” Grudz, it sounds to me like you are excusing Kristi by telling us the media deserves to be blamed for her actions in this matter?
Just before he croaked and at Mrs. Noem’s behest Foster Friess gave $500,000 to a gaggle of religionist organizations in South Dakota. Friess was a founding member of the Council for National Policy, a Republican hate group. CNP has infiltrated Pierre and the extremist South Dakota Legislature because banks in my home state are hoarding nearly $4 TRILLION for its members including Robert Mercer, a Long Island hedge-fund manager who bankrolled Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns.
In South Dakota infrastructure suffers to prop up the state’s retirement system but now state employees are becoming weary of Mrs. Noem’s dalliances.
https://wnax.com/news/180081-sd-state-employees-feeling-impacts-of-politics/
So I’m just doin’ a bowl and thinking about the events of the past week. So, Marlboro Barbie 1986 Snow Queen of Hamlin High School of Watertown SoDak was at an ass-kissing gig in Las Vegas a few days ago where her Trumpsucking companion and advisor in her quest of becoming Actual Queen of The World felt up and insulted (in what order should those words appear?) Trashelle Odom, a big-deal contributor of cash to Trumpsucking aspirants.
First; “Trashelle?” Can it get any better?
Second; I don’t condone pursuing the pursuit of sexual advances beyond the point the target attempts to leave the vicinity. On the other hand, there is a question of the borders of the “vicinity.” I mean, you’ve indicated your willingness to give money to people who are plainly disrespectful to women. So maybe somewhere else than Las Vegas is out of the vicinity.
Third; Can it be possible that there are sane SoDak influencers who recognize that the seat of SoDak government is in the midst of a poop-storm of pettiness? Sherry Bren was one of the last folks in SoDak gummint with any idea how to run a program.