DC Dakotans group forms to raise money, and fight Marriage Amendment


(Click on image to enlarge)

A group in Washington DC calling itself "DC Dakotans" has formed and is raising money to defeat Amendment C on the 2006 South Dakota Ballot. Aside from Jon Hoadley of South Dakotans against Discrimination, it also includes notable South Dakota politico Steve Hildebrand, and Ross Buntrock who was in the same fraternity as I was during our time at SDSU.

They're hosting a fundraiser at $35 to $200 a head tomorrow in their quest to defeat Amendment C. I have to recognize that this group has been organizing and doing their work as they prepare to go to war on this issue.

DC Dakotans also has a website under construction at http://www.dcdakotans.com as you can see below.
On the other side of things, I'm told that the South Dakota Family Policy Council is taking the lead on promoting the measure, but since they're just starting, it doesn't seem that they've built up a lot of steam at this point.

I'd attribute it to the fact that South Dakota is standing as the battleground state on abortion this year, and many of the ground troops are involved on that front.

But there's still a lot of time left before the election, and the winds can change at a moment's notice. Even the South Dakotans Against Discrimination group recognizes that the polling stands at 49% at the moment. They note that "49% of voters are not fooled."

That puts them in a close position to the 51% who either support the amendment or are undecided and while they've been working hard to defeat the issue, the other side is only starting.

Comments

Haggs said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
PP said…
Good point. I incorrectly assumed without looking it up myself.
Haggs said…
51%? Where are you getting that? If I remember right, the 49% against the amendment was the highest with a low 40s for those for Amendment Discrimination (or "C", whichever). There was a number of undecided votes in that poll, so don't assume that the pro-amendment people got 51%.

(Sorry for the redo. Dang typos.)
PP said…
Don't feel bad, I edited the post myself after the comment.
Anonymous said…
in the bottum left corner it says "DC DAKOTANS: A GAY NETWORK."

now that's something you don't see every day
Anonymous said…
How about, "Good neighbors don't circumvent the legislature and get courts to establish policies for liberals, when these liberals can't find a majority of Americans to agree with them."

Or, how about, "[what I wrote above].com"
Anonymous said…
Where is Princess Stephanie?? will she be there, or at the Planned Parenthood Pro-Abortion Potluck? wait, Stephanie wants to put a ban on gays in the constitution, i forgot. oh we remember Princess
Anonymous said…
Interesting that the comments to this post devolved so quickly, especially when compared to the comments for your other posts. Often those who post comments on your blog have something thoughtful or useful to say. Not so with the comments to this post. Instead the homophobes posting comments here are showing their ignorance and unfounded fear. Sad.
Anonymous said…
After Stephanie Herseth came out in support of the gay marriage amendment (banning gay marriages in the U.S.), Steve Hildebrand personally asked Stephanie Herseth to refund his $500 contribution during her 2004 Special Election.

PP, it's time that you post the truth about Steve Hildebrand. You owe it to your readers. The liberals cannot attack you for just posting the facts, and they cannot call you a bigot for posting the truth about Steve Hildebrand.
Anonymous said…
Ahem ... the SD Family Policy Council has been raising $$$ using the issue of marriage discrimination since the first time that a defenition of marriage bill failed in the SD legislature in 1995. Against Discrimination has only been raising money since January.

Why was it introduced in both 04 and 05 legislative sessions? Simple, it was on the agends of the national Concerned Women For America, of which Elizabeth Kraus is a dutiful soldier.

The American Family Association is hoping to raise megabucks with a recent doomsday letter painting SD as the root of all evil.

Focus on the Family (Action), the Promise Keepers, the Traditional Values Coalition and Gary Bauer all had their hands out for anti-marriage donations at their "Stand For the Family" Let's Burn Daschle In Effigy (Though We Can't Officially Endorse Thune) Rallies in '04.

As with the abortion ban, which the legislature seems to care about more strongly than the populance, perhaps the likely voters of SD just aren't buying efforts to change SD law and Constitution, with bills that might have passed more easily without the second sentence of each.

No exceptions? No sale.
Quasi-marital? Nope.

Have you seen billboards or TV ads for Amendment C? Nope. It's key to success thus far has been door to door conversations. And the SD Family Policy Council, like the propaganda non-newspaper The Dakota Voice has had a platform in the same fundamentalist churches that have "offered" the allegedly non-biased Focus on the Family How to Vote Guides whose intensely-framed "surveys" which make politicians less likely to answer legitimate questionaires like Project Vote Smart.


Suggesting the pro Amendment C forces are behind in public support (the argus/kelo poll numbers being 49% against, 41% for, and 10% no opinion/not sure) for lack of fundraising and campaigning is merely spin.

If David beats Goliath, it's because for the first time in SD history, the GLBT are politically reaching out to other progressive groups and circling the wagons as the Right wing have done for the last 30 years with the NRA, anti-labor/worker, anti-abortion, anti-environment, pro-Rapture, anti-public school groups.

Groups which exist to ensure that the side fighting Amendment C remains seperate and unequal.
PP said…
According to Anon 9:10, I owe the readers "the truth" about Steve Hildebrand?

OK, here's the truth - he's a liberal Daschle Democrat.

What else were you looking for? Because in my book, that's enough reason to oppose what he stands for.

If you're looking for what I think you're looking for, go look somewhere else. Because that type of name calling lacks dignity.
Anonymous said…
While the SD Family Policy Council may be "just starting," they could have been working on this issue for months. Amendment C has been on the ballot for a long time, and the SD Family Policy Council has existed for 11 years.

It's true, SD is a "battleground state" this year, but conservatives are the ones sponsored both HB 1215 and Amendment C. If they're spread too thinly, then they have no one to blame but themselves.

If anything, since the pool of people working on the "no" side of both of these issues is much smaller (after all, this is South Dakota), they're spread much more thinly than their opponents. That makes it all the more incredible that the Argus/Kelo poll showed the "no" side of both issues winning.
Anonymous said…
Anon 9:27, what's GLBT?
Anonymous said…
The "DC resident" wasn't successful in 2004 election. Let's hope this group of DC Dakotans is also defeated.
Anonymous said…
Gay
Lesbian
Bisexual
Transgender (?)
Anonymous said…
after seeing stuff like this, is it any wonder Daschle lost with Hildebrand in charge? i want my donation to Tom back.
Anonymous said…
"Because that type of name calling lacks dignity."

Yeah, you've cornered the market on dignity, what with your "babies on a fork" cartoon and all.
Anonymous said…
this is so ignorant, like that preacher who give out the "Voting Tom Daschle Supports Sodomy" bumper stickers--hope you proud. Good for the brave mean of the "Gay Network" of South Dakotans in DC. They don't need you "Brokeback" jokes.
PP said…
yes anon, I agree. The jokes are going away.
Anonymous said…
Yes, 7:37, I thought a cartoon was in order, perhaps two men in sketch...
Anonymous said…
so now the gay thought police can have Jay Leno jokes erased? who knew how powerful they were?
Anonymous said…
this gives new meaning to phrase "Hildebrand Boys." Also, Brendan may want to think about changing his handle from "Prince Johnson."
Anonymous said…
as a dakota bear for a long time i'm tired of these guys running off to dc or wherever. i stayed true to my state and stuck it out and they should too instead running away to the "gay network" of "DC Dakotans."
Anonymous said…
will Jeff Gannon be there? or is he "covering" the White House?
Anonymous said…
who organizes these events? i've never heard of these organizations
Anonymous said…
8:39 --they are paper-tiger props puppeted by Steve Hildebrand (as noted in a post on another topic). I would bet that nobody "belongs" to these "organizations" -- and that their "headquarters" are Hildebrand's consulting business. Remember South Dakotans for Social Security, etc.???? Same kind of thing. What ever happened to that? These are flash-in-the-pan "organizations" that crop up with just about any issue.
Anonymous said…
Anon 9:07, check out the organization's website (there's a link in the original post)...Steve Hildebrand seems curiously missing, as are his PAC and consulting business. As of the filing deadline, it doesn't look like Steve Hildebrand had much to do with them at all. There's no consulting fee, no donation from his PAC, and no personal donation listed.

If this really is a Steve Hildebrand organization, wouldn't his name have probably been somewhere on something (website, report, etc) from the beginning?
Anonymous said…
outbear...just because I live in DC doesn't mean I don't care about what's happening back home. Hence the organization of our group.

My decision to live in DC has little to do with being gay and everything to do with my career.

Besides, you should be happy that we're helping. We're doing it for people like you who are still back home. And, of course, for the greater good...
Anonymous said…
I am a member of DC Dakotans, and let me echo the comment that many of us are here in DC because our career paths took us this way. We love our home state and because we often make it home as often as possible and still love the state, we have formed this group to stay in touch and keep a sense of South Dakota alive and well here in the nation's capitol.

As for this being a "Steve Hildebrand" group, nothing could be further from the truth. Obvisously Steve still has friends and colleagues in DC and as such chose to list himself as a host for the event. Steve supports the efforts of the group and has offered to help spread the word to former colleagues and friends.

The group began informally several years ago and as the group has grown to well over 30 people, from various political and personal backgrounds, we try and stay connected as much as we can with home.

We see this event as a way to show our support for what's still happening back in South Dakota and to make sure that it's still the welcoming, live and let live attitude that we love and that will be there when we move back.
Anonymous said…
lexrex, a "bear" is a gay man.
Anonymous said…
A traditional marriage law passed with about a 60% "yes" vote in California.

There is absolutely no way that this will NOT pass in South Dakota by anything under 65% "yes."

I'm betting 70%.

This lobby would gain more credibility if it would try to pass LAWS rather than go through liberal judges to accomplish their goals.

Is Tom Daschle still running for President? He's worse of a choice for president than George Pataki. Daschle would get clobbered in his home state.
Anonymous said…
>There is absolutely no way that this
>will NOT pass in South Dakota by >anything under 65% "yes."
>I'm betting 70%.

So why not sign your name to the comment so that we can collect should you be incorrect?
Anonymous said…
Aha! Mrs. Ellis is really Bob Ellis in drag. That explains his behavior at and after the picnic in RC. You heard it here first!
Anonymous said…
Does this group of tolerance support what the state of Massachussets has done to the Catholic Church there (making them decide between not being involved in adoptions or helping homosexuals adopt)?

Tolerance. Liberals don't apply tolerance both ways (I'll let the jokes begin here...)
Anonymous said…
anon 7:48,

Do you speak the way you type?

WOW!
Anonymous said…
This is not a "traditional marriage" issue. If it were, then maybe this amendment would be getting 70% support. However, the wording of this amendment is so extreme and vague and goes so much further than a direct definition of marriage, that the average South Dakotans realizes that passage of such a vague and poor vaguely worded law unleashes numerous untold consequences. The folks that wrote the amendment shouldn't have gone so far in their attempts to drive society back to the stone age.
Anonymous said…
As one of those DCDakotans, I'd like to point out that my family and friends back home can't believe that the legislature spends more time worrying about "defending marriage" and abortion then about finding ways to increase economic development so that people like myself have more job opportunities to move back for.
Anonymous said…
Liberals say this legislation takes us "back to the stoneage." Give me a break.

You liberals would have more credibility if you'd admit the state of the present situation.

Who is it that made the issue of marriage an issue: conservatives or liberals? If you guessed "conservatives," you would be "Wrong-o."

It is LIBERALS who made this an issue by going around lawmakers and going through the courts.

What conservatives are doing is RESPONDING to you liberals.

And it bugs you that WE'RE WINNING.
Anonymous said…
What is old Tom up to these days?

Is he still funding an imaginary staff somewhere?

Planning to run for UN Secretary General?
Anonymous said…
Yes, we'd hate to see all states follow the lead of Massechusettes and have the LOWEST DIVORCE RATE OF ANY STATE IN THE NATION... just those liberal values and their successful marriages...
PP said…
Anon (whatever, there have been several) the gay jokes are off topic.

And if I want to be the thought police, I can.

Alternatively, I can also turn on mandatory registration for posting, or pay the $6 to get the full IP address and identity of those posting.

If you wouldn't say it in a public forum, and put your name to it, don't say it here.
Anonymous said…
Standing for traditional marriage is progressive and refreshing.

What's forward thinking is that we as a society want to protect the bedrock of society, traditional marriage.

And while being a homo has been around for just as long, it is not the stuff that propels successful societies forward in a progressive and constructive manner.

So, gay marriage = stone age
abortion = stone age
Anonymous said…
DC Dakotans started a year or two ago with a handful (literally - 3 or 4 folks) of Dakotans meeting for drinks at a bar joking about how many Dakotans they knew in DC. Before long regular evites were flying a seemingly growing email listing for after work drinks at some local watering hole. Dozens of people show up ranging in ages from early 20’s to late 60’s. The only real common denominator is that we all grew up in the same small lazy little prairie town that has been photocopied and sprinkled across the vast wasteland of middle America.

Allegations of conspiracy theories about this group being some subversive arm of Daschle’s or Hildebrand are amusing – but untrue.
Anonymous said…
In 10:20 PM a DC Dakotan refers to South Dakota as "the vast wasteland of middle America". This is the same attitude that the Daschle staffers had for South Dakotans. They believe we are hicks from the wasteland and that they are intellectual superior.

Same attitude as David Newquist (blogger who is married to a big wig in the FORMER Senator Daschle's office).
Anonymous said…
Maybe Mass. has a low divorce rate because nobody gets married, they just live together.
Anonymous said…
So why is it that the Republ'an "Red" colored states have higher divorce rates than the Democratic "Blue" ones?

"born-again Christians have among the highest divorce rates."

"the highest divorce rates are to be found in the Bible Belt."


From
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/31/walking_the_walk_on_family_values

Walking the walk on family values
By William V. D'Antonio
October 31, 2004

The state with the lowest divorce rate in the nation is Massachusetts. At latest count it had a divorce rate of 2.4 per 1,000 population, while the rate for Texas was 4.1.

But don't take the US government's word for it. Take a look at the findings from the George Barna Research Group. George Barna, a born-again Christian whose company is in Ventura, Calif., found that Massachusetts does indeed have the lowest divorce rate among all 50 states. More disturbing was the finding that born-again Christians have among the highest divorce rates.

The Associated Press, using data supplied by the US Census Bureau, found that the highest divorce rates are to be found in the Bible Belt. The AP report stated that "the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average of 4.2 per thousand people." The 10 Southern states with some of the highest divorce rates were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. By comparison nine states in the Northeast were among those with the lowest divorce rates: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

How to explain these differences? The following factors provide a partial answer:

* More couples in the South enter their first marriage at a younger age.

* Average household incomes are lower in the South.

* Southern states have a lower percentage of Roman Catholics, "a denomination that does not recognize divorce." Barna's study showed that 21 percent of Catholics had been divorced, compared with 29 percent of Baptists.

* Education. Massachusetts has about the highest rate of education in the country, with 85 percent completing high school. For Texas the rate is 76 percent. One third of Massachusetts residents have completed college, compared with 23 percent of Texans, and the other Northeast states are right behind Massachusetts.

The liberals from Massachusetts have long prided themselves on their emphasis on education, and it has paid off: People who stay in school longer get married at a later age, when they are more mature, are more likely to secure a better job, and job income increases with each level of formal education. As a result, Massachusetts also leads in per capita and family income while births by teenagers, as a percent of total births, was 7.4 for Massachusetts and 16.1 for Texas.
Anonymous said…
The Daschle staffers refered to South Dakotans as "local yocals".

The elite liberals think they are superior to the average South Dakotan.

They are welcome to believe that and we are welcome to continue to vote against anything the DC residents believe in.
Anonymous said…
"the bedrock of society, traditional marriage."

The right wing theocrats are fond of this statement, but they never provide any support for it.

One of you explain to the rest of us why man/woman marriage is the "bedrock of society."
Anonymous said…
The reason that more couples get married at a younger age in the Bible Belt is because the bride is pregnant. They are taught that abstinence is best so they don't use birth control. Plus using birth control would indicate that they plan to have sex. That enables them to think it "just happened."

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