South Dakota RINO Money Hoof Prints Lead Left

A friend pointed out some interesting things to me this weekend concerning campaign donations. They involve some donations from some liberal groups to some South Dakota “Republicans” whom some would have us believe are reliable defenders of conservative values. You might want to begin by asking yourself: why would liberal groups give money to Republicans if these Republicans really represented conservative values?

Follow the Money from 2010 shows (below) that the deceptively named Bipartisan Dakotans was fully 100% a Democrat PAC, with 100% of its money going to Democrats. Bipartisan Dakotans gave $54,175 to a Democrat candidate for governor.

While no 2012 data for this group is yet available at Follow the Money, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website reveals that Bipartisan Dakotans has now become a little more “bipartisan”…sort of.  It would seem that while they now have money funneling into more than one political party, the money is still leaning Leftward.

The SOS website shows us that Bipartisan Dakotans is supporting two of the more liberal “Republicans” in South Dakota. They donated $3,000 to Brian Gosch (who considers it more important to “punish” Second Amendment groups that reveal liberal voting records than to defend Second Amendment rights, and who scored 41% on a recent Republican scorecard), and $3,000 to Kristin Conzet who scored 44% on that same scorecard

Bipartisan Dakotans also donated $1,000 to “Independent” liberal Dist. 33 State Senate candidate Matt McGrath who joins other liberals in opposing efforts to protect South Dakotans from encroaching Shariah law in our state, and who makes it pretty clear that he favors abortion over protecting innocent human life.

It is interesting to note that Bipartisan Dakotans received two $3,000 donations from Stan Adelstein, one of the most liberal “Republicans” in the South Dakota Legislature. The group also received a $1,000 donation from Equality South Dakota, a pro-homosexual group.

It stands to reason that a pro-homosexual group isn’t going to give money to an organization that will in turn give that money to candidates who seriously oppose the homosexual agenda. Groups know that their donations have the potential to not only help but sometimes hurt those they favor. But if you were a liberal group who wanted to help a liberal “Republican” who might be helpful to your cause, without hurting him in the eyes of his party faithful, wouldn’t funneling money to him through a second PAC (one with a less liberal-sounding name) be a good way to help him without hurting him with your help? It certainly would.

So what does this say about Gosch–chief contender for Speaker of the South Dakota House–as well as “Republican” Kristin Conzet? We already know that despite being a leader in the South Dakota Legislature, Gosch will sell out Republican values and the GOP platform at the drop of a hat. What does this pro-homosexual group expect to get from the GOP leadership for their money?

Speaking of GOP leadership, notice that in 2008, Equality South Dakota gave not only to pro-homosexual liberal Democrats, but also to “Republicans” as well, including former South Dakota Speaker of the House and current Chairman of the South Dakota GOP Tim Rave.

Incidentally, pro-homosexual Equality South Dakota is listed as one of “Republican” Tom Nelson’s top 20 contributors in 2008.  Astute observers will recall that Nelson is one of the “Republicans” that RINO Governor Dennis Daugaard endorsed (over Republicans who actually represent GOP values) in the primary earlier this year.  Astute Republicans may also be led to ask themselves: what is a purported “pro-family” governor doing supporting a liberal “Republican” who receives campaign financing from a pro-homosexual group?

An old political axiom is “Follow the money.” If we follow the money, where does it lead?  We find ties between South Dakota “Republican” leadership and liberal groups that support Democrat candidates and the homosexual agenda–among other liberal agenda items.

If you are a Republican who believes in Republican values, do you see anything wrong with this picture?

The primary has passed, and there isn’t much we can do to get better Republicans at this point. But when the Republican caucus meets prior to the 2013 session, they need to be sure they elect real Republicans to leadership, not “Republicans” who are working for the other team. And in 2014, we need to do everything we can to get a real Republican governor, not one who will roll out the red carpet for socialized health care schemes in South Dakota and back liberals over real Republicans.

It’s time “Republican” meant something in South Dakota (and our nation) again.

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Bob Ellis has been the owner of media company Dakota Voice, LLC since 2005. He is a 10-year U.S. Air Force veteran, a political reporter and commentator for the past decade, and has been involved in numerous election and public policy campaigns for over 20 years. He was a founding member and board member of the Tea Party groups Citizens for Liberty and the South Dakota Tea Party Alliance. He lives in Rapid City, South Dakota with his wife and two children.

Bob Ellis

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