On the Issues: Tina Mulally

Incumbent candidates have a voting record upon which we can rely to know whether they will support Republican values and principles if re-elected.  The best indicator of how a candidate will behave if they receive our support is how they have already voted on the issues. If a candidate has faithfully supported Republican principles in the past, there is every reason to believe they will continue to do so, if re-elected. If a candidate has done a poor job of representing Republican principles, or has even done more to help the other side than their own, then there is every reason to believe this behavior will continue if they are re-elected.

Tina Mulally

But fresh candidates with no voting record are an unknown.  Often times we only hear sweet-sounding mottos and phrases from them that don’t really tell us how they will vote on various issues or certain bills in particular.  Also, we sometimes hear that a candidate is in favor of this issue or that, but when the rubber meets the road and a bill is before them, the tune changes.

American Clarion recently submitted a list of questions to new candidates for the South Dakota Legislature in 2016.  These questions focused primarily on bills that were considered in the 2016 legislative session, to develop an idea of how the candidate might have voted on these issues, were they in office at the time the bills were considered.

The next installment in this series comes from Tina Mulally, a Republican candidate for the South Dakota Senate in District 35.  You can read more about her here.

The candidate’s responses are below, presented un-edited and in full.

How would you have voted on HB 1182, the education tax bill? If you would have opposed HB 1182, what kind of legislation would you have sponsored or supported?

HB 1182 is not something I would have been willing to support when there was a better bill to be considered. HB 1130 would not have raised taxes and would have earmarked the money with no administration fees being extracted by the state of by local school boards. It also would have fulfilled the premise of the “bill of goods” sold to the taxpayers some 20 or 25 years ago when video lottery was brought to our state.

How would you have voted on HB 1008, the restroom privacy bill, and why?

HB 1008 was a very well written bill. It protected the rights of the children while providing accommodations for the gender confused without stompiing on the rights of the many for only a few.

Would you have voted to override Governor Daugaard’s veto of the privacy bill, and why?

I would have stood on my principles. If I thought the bill was good enough to get my vote the first time then I would have certainly voted to override the Governors veto.

Would you have supported HB 1076, the drug testing for welfare recipient’s bill, or a variation thereof? Why or why not?

HB 1076 was asking nothing more from recipients of taxpayers money than is asked of our military, our police force, all government employees, health care workers as well as most employees of any major company. For our Governor to say it is embarrassing was a disgrace to all who WORK for their income from taxpayers.

How would you have voted on HB 1107 to protect religious freedom and the right of conscience for Christian organizations and businesses?

Every business owner has the right to refuse service to anyone. If they are unfair or discriminating in their business practices then the business will soon go ‘OUT OF BUSINESS.’ This is how the free market works.

How would you have voted on HB 1110 to provide taxpayer-funded health care to pregnant illegal aliens?

No on HB 1110. The first thing an illegal has done is broken our laws by being in our country illegally. To give free health care to illegals would be a slap in the face to the citizens of this country who can not afford prenatal health care when non is provided to them free of charge.

Do you support or oppose legislation which would better enable South Dakota to deal with the illegal immigration problem in our state?

Let’s enforce the laws we already have before bringing new legislation. It’s called ILLEGAL for a reason.

What is your opinion of Governor Daugaard’s refusal to stand against the resettlement of improperly vetted Syrian refugees in South Dakota?

Governor Daugaard has fallen for the bait of receiving Federal Taxpayers money for a short term gain. This state will be ill equipped to handle the number of refugees who, for the most part, do not want to become US citizens. I believe SD should not consider taking any unvetted refugees at this time.

Do you support or oppose Common Core and other nationalized education standards? Why?

Common Core is a ploy to control our children. It has nothing to do with educating our children in history of this great country, the good and the bad, or to build strong, well rounded citizens with problem solving skills. I’m sure the astronauts that landed on the moon would appreciate the engineers getting the wrong answer to a math question as long as they could explain how they got tht answer. Common Sense people not Common Core.

Do you support or oppose expanding Medicaid in South Dakota? Why?

I oppose the expansion of Medicaid. The Federal government should fix the problems with IHS and not ask the taxpayers to ‘foot the bill’ again for their inefficiencies. Besides where are the 50,000 new recipients actually coming from?

Do you support or oppose legislation that would reduce the number of abortions that occur in South Dakota?

There are other alternatives to abortion. Just ask my granddaughter who was adopted.

Do you support or oppose legislation allowing law-abiding South Dakotans to carry a concealed weapon without a permit?

I believe in Constitutional carry. Criminals are not going to get a permit. Well armed citizens are the best deterrent to crime.

Based on the bills that have passed the South Dakota Legislature in the past two years, and the bills that have been killed in the South Dakota Legislature over the past two years, do you believe the majority of South Dakota Republican legislators are doing a good job of upholding the values and principles of the Republican Party? Why or why not?

No, I do not believe most of the Republican legislators have upheld the values or principles set forth in the party platform.

If elected to the South Dakota Legislature, what is your number one legislative priority, and why?

When elected, I will fight to reduce unnecessary spending, pave the way for less regulations for entrepreneurs to start a business, which will create jobs and fight to return the states to their proper function over the federal government where the power is with the people.

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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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