an editorial by G. Moritz
PT Barnum said that there is a sucker born every minute. That being the case, the party that holds a supermajority in this state must think we South Dakotans are a bunch of suckers.
This Amendment C, proposed by District 25’s Jon Hansen, is just the latest drop of the horse fodder to come out of the halls of power in Pierre. Their TV ads are so cute. Under God, the People Rule. That’s supposed to be our state motto. Well then, I suppose the folks who proposed this Amendment must think they’re God then, or that they speak for him. Last I checked, the people passed legalized recreational marijuana, but those in power struck it down because it didn’t jive with whatever their agenda is. These folks did the exact same for several other bills that have passed over the last decade, like the anti-corruption task force. Blatantly ignoring the will of the people whenever it suits them. For a party that’s supposed to be about the Government staying out of the business of everyday folks, you certainly don’t practice what you preach. So much for limited Government.
They say it’s about taxes. That doesn’t pass the smell test either. What we’re really talking about, is that these fellas don’t like the powers that are given to the voters in the Constitution, that the people can pass legislation in this state by a simple majority vote. Harkening back to the idea that “Under God, the People Rule,” well that must stick in their craws something awful. The very idea of representative democracy must scare them so badly that they have to kill any vestige of it that remains in our sacred halls. Their voting records certainly seem to bear that out. Time and again over the last several decades, the people have passed measures on the ballot to change the laws that affect them, as is their right, and your actions in the legislature have struck them down again and again.
The writers and proponents of this amendment must feel that they don’t have the political capital to outright get rid of the initiative and referendum powers of the people, at least not yet, but they can put a “Tax Cap” on those powers, then you can get rid of those inconvenient powers of the people without having to actually vote on the floor to revoke them.
In short, in this rigged carnival game they’ve proposed with Amendment C, their plan is to just get the people to do the dirty work for them, and place limits on our own power in our own state government. Sinister. What’s worse is that they think they’ll look great doing it and that the voters will thank them for it because they’re keeping “Taxes Down.” What a crock of manure! The proponents of Amendment C all should be ashamed of themselves, but then if they had any shame, they’d never have proposed this truckload of horse dung in the first place. It’s already the subject of a lawsuit of whether or not it’s constitutional, and it hasn’t even come up for vote yet!
Why in God’s name would We the People of South Dakota vote to put limits on our power! Anybody with any sense will vote no, and leave the constitution as is. And those in power would do well to remember that they serve at the voter’s pleasure and tolerance. In the United States of America, and the great state of South Dakota, positions of authority are given by the people, and the people can and will take that power away.
