Yesterday SDGOP chairman Craig Lawrence accused Every Voice Action of "defamation" and called them "cowards." I don't think Lawrence understands the definition of either word.
Lawrence asserted at a "thunderous" press conference (yeah, and my daughter and I use thunder as a another word for farting) that the PAC's ads against Mike Rounds are defamatory and threatened to sue any TV station that ran them. What Lawrence and Rounds call defamation is really just criticism backed with evidence that Rounds can't answer. Give Mike Rounds anything less than the kingly deference to which he thinks he's entitled, and he'll sue you.
Lawrence then calls Every Voice Action (and, I assume by extension, all of us who criticize Mike Rounds) "cowards" for "defaming Mike Rounds without a shred of evidence linking him to wrongdoing.”
While I will continue to untremblingly post all the evidence, including Mike Rounds's own words, that shows Mike Rounds let corruption run unchecked in his EB-5 program, I challenge Lawrence's insult to Every Voice Action. They are not cowards. They have actually shown the courage to end the run of their latest ad, not because they are afraid of Lawrence's paper threat, but because they are committed to telling the truth. Their latest ad had said South Dakota taxpayers faced millions in legal liability for the corruption in Mike Rounds's EB-5 program. The Darley v. SDIBI ruling this week decided that South Dakota will escape such liability in one limited legal action arising from Mike Rounds's EB-5 program. While the threat remains that other parties may sue South Dakota over Mike Rounds's EB-5 program, Every Voice Action choosing to pull that particular ad. They are admitting that one of the arguments they made against Mike Rounds holds less water now than it did when they launched the ad. I tell debaters that ceding an argument takes guts. Every Voice Action is showing guts and honesty, not cowardice.
But they'll be back, with friends. Lawrence can shout "Defamation!" and "Cowards!" all he wants, but Mike Rounds sounds much more like the frightened man making things up.
Cory, I agree that the lawsuit being dropped changed the facts, but that does mean that the potential liabilities were lies. But the SDGOP does have a point in calling EB-5 an auction a misstatement. Though I am not sure how that could be defamation.
How would the Rounds cabal know that Benda and Bollen weren't auctioning green cards?
special 100 eyes on argus today, any chance Jarding shows up this time?
threatening to sue media never ends up good
Rounds is a political hack in a political race. The courts have more or less said it is nearly impossible to slander or libel such a character.
I doubt anybody watching those videos took the auction part seriously. It was another way to show what was happening at a non-public way under the curtains.
Has anybody been able to check to see if any of those who got green cards have since gotten citizenship?
They now need to come back with even tougher ads against Rounds with some of the facts Cory and others have dug out on the EB-5 issues. TV stations waffling on this are the real cowards in this. With all the all or half deceptive ads broadcast, the ads attacking Rounds are insignificant by comparison.
re: the potential liabilities were lies
No, it doesn't mean this at all. Lies are deliberate falsehoods. Things that are open to debate and asserted in good faith do not become "lies" if merely proven incorrect. It just shows that they were incorrect.
Come on, people; use the dictionary already. The "English Only" crowd really shouldn't be so cavalier with the mother tongue.
Every time Mike Rounds opens his mouth, which he doesn't do much since he doesn't debate, he defames the citizens of South Dakota by continually telling lies.
Can we sue Mike Rounds for defamation?
The Republican Party, the party of death panels, voter fraud, WMD and mushroom clouds, etc, etc, is going to sue over semantics of auctioneering citizenship, buying it or giving it to "special" individuals? Give me a freaking break!
The only bite whitey wingnut has is the threat of expensive litigation against someone with shallow pockets. koch bros have threatened to tie up the city of Chicago in court for years if they are forced to implement remedies for tar sand residue dust(pet koch) blowing around Chicago neighborhoods.
When you advertise something for sale, like Cory posted in the letter to potential buyers in the EB-5, you can safely call it an auction. Here is what the big boys say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auction
The SDGOP should just let auction be the order of the day or they could call it what it really was, a ponzi scheme run by a criminal enterprise.
"the potential liabilities were lies"
Sorry Chris I misspoke on the top comment:
"I agree that the lawsuit being dropped changed the facts, but that does mean that the potential liabilities were lies."
I meant to say:
I agree that the lawsuit being dropped changed the facts, but that does "NOT" mean that the potential liabilities were lies.
Daily Kos has some good stuff up to read about South Dakota's twerp Mike Rounds. Kos has activated Act Blue for Rick Weiland http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/09/1335418/-Here-s-how-we-re-going-to-help-win-South-Dakota?showAll=yes
There was no lawsuit filed, there was only the threat of one.
Mike Rounds is the real coward.
The verbiage simply needs to be changed to "EB-5 has cost South Dakota taxpayers millions to fight litigation".
@Steve Sibson, thanks for the correction. My apologies. I've been reading too much bad-faith commentary on the internets lately, and shouldn't have jumped to conclusions.
Cory we both know the more the pressers of negative ads spin their story the more Senior Citizens will; even those who are Democrats on the Fence, vote for Mike Rounds. And those Seniors Vote! Tell me what's wrong with America and how you plan on helping to fix it! Weiland talks about taking it back, Pressler somehow gaining seniority as an Independent, but from whom are we taking it back from or stealing seniority? Both make no sense.
Starting on the Scotch a little early today, Charlie?
Charlie Hoffman,
What do you call what Power's is doing to Pressler over your Dump Site? Isn't that negative?
As far as Rick's Taking It Back campaign, he talked from the beginning about taking the country back from the corporations that are purchasing candidates and trying to get that big money out of campaigns.
Early on, Rick challenged Rounds to put a cap on campaign spending, Rounds said no, and added that I have $9 million dollars to beat you. (can't wait to see Rounds final FEC report, the FBI probably wants to look at too).
The debate over negative advertising will go on, sometimes the ads work, sometimes they don't. (Willy Horton).
As far as senior citizens go, I doubt you speak for all of us, many of Rick's supporters are seniors and support we ever kind of ads he or the PAC's supporting him put up.
To be clear Charlie, Pressler's rise in the polls isn't due to Republicans disliking Weiland, it is because Republicans are becoming disenchanted with Rounds and all EB-5 scandals lurking in the shadows, and the apparent one that are making it to the local media and today, the ones that are being reported by the national media.
I see Republicans are pulling the "full Janklow" to save Rounds. Whining about "defamation," using the word "cowards" to apply to your adversaries is right from the Janklow playbook.
You got to hand it to Republicans. They have lying and coverup down to an art form. Will South Dakotans ever wake up?
The latest Argus story speculates on the possibility of Round's going negative...considering Mike has been outspoken AGAINST Obamacare, AGAINST the EPA, AGAINST the Department of Education, AGAINST landowner rights vs a foreign oil company, AGAINST Harry Reid, AGAINST minimum wage...etc.
Help me out here...what's he campaigned on that's positive besides empty platitudes?
Jana,
Excellent point, what little he has said is all negative, even Powers at the Dump Site isn't doing any positive reporting on Rounds, only defending Rounds and attacking Larry Pressler.
You'd think that John Thune is running for office this year with all the positive coverage Powers is giving him.
I keep thinking that if they had thrown everything on the table, admitted mistakes were made, put wheels in motion to make it right and made recommendations to be sure it wouldn't happen again...might have been a news story for a week or two.
Now they were either too arrogant to realize that there was reason for concern on the part of the media and citizens...or they know that there is more to this story that is damning to the candidate and the party.
Or a third and more probable reason is that they view themselves above criticism and scrutiny.
The GOP sees the state as their own little toy, governance as a game played to increase power and gain for themselves and their friends.
Mike's new ad says that South Dakota has no liability...excuse me...so all liability has been eliminated?
One would like to thunderously point out that there are still liability issues out there for the state.
The Darley suit in question is just one area of exposure that the GOED/Northern Beef/EB-5 scandal poses for the citizens of South Dakota.
Just saying...if you're going to shriek about words in an ad...well, I think the GOP leadership would be the first to recognize this little mistake.
Thanks Roger, in Power's defense...he's not giving Thune positive coverage as much as he is whoring out his site for self flagellating press releases from Thune, Noem and Daugaard.
Chris, it was my typo. I am the one who apologies. Thanks for understanding my mistake.
Lawrence and Rounds are the only 2 cowards here.
Watch Weiland on The Ed Show.
This is a picture of a real leader!
http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/watch/exclusive-look-at-south-dakota-senate-race-339748931741
Thanks for the link owen reitzel. You are correct, he is the picture of a real leader.
Again, to be fair to Mike, here's what he's for:
-He's for Privatizing Medicare with his support for Paul Ryan's budget...before he held his finger in the wind and decided he was against it
-He's for Common Core
-He's for giving foreign companies eminent domain over private family farm land
-He's for having those under 26 pay his company for health insurance
-He's for eliminating those with pre-existing conditions from having affordable insurance
-He's for hamstringing congress's ability to manage the world's largest economy and defend itself with a federal balanced budget
-He's for the belief that platitudes are good foreign policy, and feigning support for the military is good politics
-He's for making nepotism in government
-He's for minimal transparency in government
-He's for big profits at the expense of low wages
-He's for rewarding campaign donors
-He's for keeping Valhalla as his private little retreat in the Black Hills
-He's for any policy that will fit on a bumper sticker
-He's for good dental hygiene when you have to smile constantly
Uh oh...More thunder out of the Rounds campaign from his campaign manager...of course blaming the media...
"He has tried and we have tried extremely hard to make sure that he had an opportunity to explain and to discuss these issues. In a lot of cases, certain reporters simply weren't interested in reporting his side of the story," Skjonsberg said. "It's a little bit of a difficult question to criticize that we haven't handled it well, when there's clearly a bias towards, a desire among some in the media to make this scandal... more than it is."
Yes, ducking debates is hard work! Just wondering if those debates would have been a good opportunity to explain and discuss the issues?
Pssst...Rob, the people who believe in the great liberal media bogeyman are already voting for Howie.
Sorry, forgot the link and credit to David Montgomery over at the Argus Leader.
http://www.argusleader.com/story/davidmontgomery/2014/10/09/rounds-campaign-defiant/16999027/
Thanks for the link Jana. Rounds have had plenty of opportunities to talk about the EB-5 scandal but he's chosen not to unless it is in a controlled environment.
In other words Rounds can't handle pressure, even if he has nothing to hide. If he can't handle the pressure now how is he going to handle it when he gets to Washington?
South Dakota's send this guy to Washington it'll be the biggest mistake since Abdnor went to DC. instead of McGovern.
Larry I thought about taking a video of an old Blumhardt Sprayer filled with Detonate, RoundUp & a few other grass & Weed killing chemicals I was nuking a horribly non efficient piece of ground tonight but why instigate anger and stupidly from you ???
Where is Bollen? Have we forgotten about him? I think he absentee voted and left the country. So I've heard. How many properties does he own in Aberdeen and how much did he pay himself through the EB5 program with a no bid contract. More issues with this program than lawsuits. Rounds is not vindicated because of one arbitrator's ruling.
Roger at this stage of the game do you truly believe anyone who is Paying attention in America wants anything to do with re-electing Obama Light/Weiland ? Pressler's past support of Obama is his Achilles heel. The Swing vote has been solidified soundly against your guy. If the GOP led House & Senate stick to their solid American values (Non-PC Acceptance ) it is over for the Democrats! How many heads must roll for you to understand this?
Rounds does not seem defiant, he seems trapped in his own device. The rest of the rats on the ship smell the fear and are just as trapped. Send some money to Rick Weiland and have him bore another hole in Rounds failed ship of state. Will be good to see the shady lobbyist Skunkendorfer go down as well.
I think Larry is right again, Charlie Hoffman must be in the scotch and it ain't even the weekend, tsk tsk.
Mr. kurtz, how do you feel about your man Hemp's performance tonight? I, for one, enjoy seeing a younger old fella out there standing that long and slinging it.
Undertaker (jeepers, this comment section is going to start sounding like a WWE match), I have had one report of Joop walking his dog in Aberdeen this week. You are correct: Joop is one of Aberdeen's biggest landlords.
Charlie, didn't you catch my post explaining How Obama has outperformed Romney's jobs promise and done lots of other good?
One big difference we're seeing this race is that Weiland seems to be committed to the path I've recommended: don't apologize for being a Democrat; run as one, tell people the facts, and change the narrative!
And for Pete's sake, don't give in to Rounds now thinking he can blatantly lie to us in his ad and get away with it. Rounds and Lawrence have carried their hubris too far. South Dakotans will see that more clearly than the Obama smokescreen you guys are trying to throw.
Craig Lawrence is the dumbest chairman the state GOP ever hogtied into the job. For a guy who ought to know mass communications law because of the racket he owns, he sure seems completely clueless. But I digress.
Right now I guarantee you that the RSCC has been talking with Pressler and his people to cut a deal. They're ready to throw Rounds under the bus. They want to own South Dakota's last congressional seat, currently held by moderate Tim Johnson. The last thing they want is Rick Weiland in that seat, and they are now convinced Mike Rounds can't win.
That's why Lawrence is squeeeeeeeeealin' like a hog!
Rounds is toast. Pressler's their best shot at holding the Senate seat. Fools like PP are too dumb to realize the worm has turned.
This is now a race between Rick Weiland and Larry Pressler. Mike Rounds is yesterday's dirty birdcage liner. Craig Lawrence might figure this out in a few weeks.
Charlie Hoffman,
There are a good number of leaders in business and industry that would love to see President Obama stay in office and complete his work on the economy, Republican John Tristan is one of them. Tristan understands the impact of President Obama criticism.
Personally, I dismiss much of the FOX "News" type criticism of the President, you guys sit around on your butts everyday and think why President Obama is a terrible President.
Pick any Republican presidential candidate you wish and President Obama or Hillary Clinton out poll them in double digits at any given time.
South Dakota voters are starting to take a pretty serious look at your guy Rounds, it is evident in his polling. When all those months when he was untouchable, now Weiland and Pressler are a real threat to him. Rounds drastic slide in poll numbers should tell you that he has a problem.
President Obama has stayed out of this race for a reason and South Dakota Democrats are grateful, we recognize that as soon as you say Obama out here in hill country, things become racial.
As Cory, Tristan, and Fortune magazine have pointed out, President Obama is best president for a sound and robust economy than even Bill Clinton.
Yo, Craig Lawrence! Feel something slippin' in your shorts? Your boy Rounds is toast and your pal Larry Pressler's in love with Barack H. Obama. The RSCC is sending in a "rescue squad" to push Skjornsburg out of the way from a failed campaign ... and it wasn't really Rob's fault it was a failure. The fault is yours, Craig, for being too cowardly to keep Mike out of the race and preventing a better candidate to win the June primary. A veteran like Stace Nelson would have been a better, more true warrior for the GOP.
Now the RSCC has to make peace with Larry Pressler to be your standard bearer. Or else you will lose.
http://www.argusleader.com/story/davidmontgomery/2014/10/09/rounds-campaign-defiant/16999027/
To quote Jim Morrison: This is the End.
But Mr. C, the Obama can't stay in office after this term even if Mr. Tristan and his and my good friend Mr. Stan really want it. He just can't. So what will happen is he won't. I hope Mr. Stan runs again for the legislatures, and Mr. Tristan can keep writing nice stories for us too. But you know that Obama will go away.
96, I'm startin to think you got music in yer genes
grudz,
I'm well aware President Obama can't run again, I was suggesting that he would out poll any Republican candidate put forth.
On the other hand, FOX "News" and other retard right media think that President Obama will usurp the Constitution, being the communist that he is, and simply stay in office.
To my point of the arrogance of the Rounds team, they close their fundraising letter with this gem:
"Please give today. Please help us fight off this late rally. Please don't wake up on Wednesday, November 5th wishing you had done more in a close South Dakota race."
You see, it's obviously your fault he loses if you don't send him money! That's right, it's not him, it's you... Forget that they've pissed away a huge lead and bigger bankroll...this will be your fault, so give now.
Seems thunderous, defiant and cowardly all at once.
Thanks again David Montgomery at the Argus Leader!
http://www.argusleader.com/story/davidmontgomery/2014/10/09/rounds-fundraiser/16983335/
I think Rounds is just the first Corrupt Republican domino to fall. Daugaard will be next and Cory....am I on to something here? If Jackley lied about Benda being about to be arrested (like Atty Rory King's interview contradicts) does Jackleys giving the press a false document (Im surmising) make him guilty of the same crimes Rounds is facing?
Craig Lawrence. Emblematic of SD GOP graft and corruption. The chairman of the SD GOP gets multi-million dollar no-bid contacts with taxpayer money flowing into his bank account. He uses the taxpayer money to employ at least one of the Governor's kids, and he pumps some of that no-bid taxpayer money back into the SD GOP to bolster the party's sagging finances. It's a big GOP insider circle jerk fueled by the taxes paid by millions of ordinary South Dakotans. We all pay for the SD GOP money orgy the Governor's office runs for the insiders who all dutifully kick back a portion to the state party and the officeholders who make it all possible(or at least close their eyes to the buggering of the taxpayers, and the schools, and the sick, and everybody who is not a GOP insider).
SDGOP threatening law suit is like a bully who ran out of semi-smart comebacks. Rounds should have come out with hang Joop Bollen for duping the Gov! Instead he has defended Joop, or evaded his involvement with the EB-5, and tried to bump blame to a dead man. Anywhich way, Rounds is guilty. It's plain as day that he and Joop Bollen pillaged financial opportunities from SD. And yes of course they auctioned off the que for the applicants to the highest bidder.
Lora, you're working that angle too hard. I see no evidence that Jackley presented a false document. The Benda arrest warrant appears to be a legitimate draft. The real story is why Jackley released that document at all, and why he waited until July 2014 to tell us about it. He made all that noise about protecting Benda's family from embarrassment to keep the crime scene investigation records secret, then dropped that damning statement on them.
Ro neatly summarizes the sick financial in-breeding that goes on. Lawrence and Rounds are so tightly committed to each other's corruption that when we hit one, the other has to squeal.
96: Which is more likely: the RSCC rushes in, fires Rounds's staff, and runs his campaign for the last three weeks, or the RSCC pulls a reverse Kansas, tells Rounds to quit, and buys Pressler? Pressler would take that deal, right?
I've heard that rumor too, Cory. If the national R's are going to try to cut a deal to dump Rounds and back Pressler, they better hop to it before PP and Wadhams pound him to a pulp with their anti-Obama hammers. LOL
*Pressler plucking petals off a daisy*
"They love me...they love me not...love me...love me not...
Cory, thanks for the reference (https://madvilletimes.com/2014/07/jackley-considered-arresting-benda-for-550k-future-fund-diversion/ ) But I think you are missing something that someone should pick up. Atty for Northern Beef, Rory King stated in an interview (I have a copy of it) that Richard Benda did NOT steal anything. He said that Benda was OWED half of that money for a year of work he had completed and for the following year. Nothing wrong with that. Benda DID everything a loan manager was supposed to do. He took a failing project with $15 million (what I recall from the interview with Mr King) in the red....to a state of the art, fully functioning Beef Packing Plant. It didn't last long, but Benda did a difficult job for a contracted amount of money. Since when does an Atty General file a (fake?) document without a date, months later just to cover for the Governor and Rounds while making a dead man look guilty? That is the same crime Rounds is coming under investigation for...
Lora, Rory King made that argument to Bob Mercer last December. First, why should we believe the lawyers of the crooks who are trying to cover up their heist?
Second, he said the payment was for two years advance salary, not work already done.
Third, do you really think Richard Benda did $450,000 worth of work managing one loan? What exactly did Benda do with the money for SDRC Inc. that got NBP built but couldn't sustain operations for more than nine months?
Fourth, the big difference here is that you are speculating, whereas we have an honest-to-goodness document proving Mike Rounds submitted a false document to GOAC. Come to me with forensic evidence on the arrest warrant. Come to me with direct evidence that AG Jackley had not scheduled any grand jury hearing in October 2013.
Don't run down rabbit holes when we have the fox right in front of us in our sights.
How about this for a 'rabbit hole' scenario? Pressler tells McConnell that he'll caucus with the R's if and only if Mitch steps down as majority/minority leader and the R's elect him (Larry) as his replacement. He wants promises that there will be no more filibuster abuse, and he want's Rick's amendment to ACA to include a Medicare public option to be the first order of business in the new Senate. Pressler says that if elected, he'll have seniority and leverage because he's independent. Why not start working that black magic right now! LOL... What else should he ask for, Cory? Might as well start cleaning up the GOP's Senate act while he's got 'em by the short hairs. Who knows, maybe Larry can put a deal together that's so sweet, even Rick Weiland might vote for him. ;-)
What if McConnell loses re-election? Would Thune be the Senate leader, and how could Larry Pressler refuse an order from inside his own congressional delegation? The RSCC has no more future with Rounds who will keep sinking until Nov. 4. They will move the carcass out of the way and snag Pressler ... even with Pressler's lipstick all over Obama's face.
Schieffer will make it so.
96, if Pressler is elected, John Thune becomes South Dakota's junior senator. :-)
Mitch McCTurtle might well lose his seat this year and then tea bag taliban will demand Cruz be elected Supremo Stupido of the Senate,which is the one job he is actually quailified for.
Or maybe they'll create a new classification for Thune: Senior Junior Senator. And if McConnell and John steps up we can call him Senior Junior Senate Leader.
... if McConnell loses ....
Sorry.
LOL! Love it! Or maybe John Junior Senior Senator Thune, as in '...looking for someone with a little authority? I have as little as anybody around here.'
Here's my what if, what if Rounds wins the senate seat and on Nov. 5 the Brendan Johnson's office releases the full results of the EB-5 investigations including grand jury indictments and arrest warrants.
Roger, if that happens, Rounds will go to DC and be sworn in as a US Senator. After all he was elected by the people. Until that guilty verdict comes from the jury he is innocent in the eyes of the law.
South Dakota will loose some of its representation during that time. When the Senate's Ethics committee meats they will call Rounds in and tell him he wont get any assignments on committee's because there are rumors that he didnt wash his hands after he went potty.
Rounds continues to fly between DC and SD spending time either at trial or in Washington doing nothing for the state. But he will be getting all kinds of tv time to explain why he forgot to wash his hands, or he was forced not wash his hands, or maybe complain that someone was spying on him and they lied.
It doesnt matter South Dakota will not have representation until the trial is over.
Is it just me, or did Richard Benda die, so Mike Rounds could get this far in the race providing Joop Bollen with enough time to move some if not all of $140,000,000 to a "safe place," so he could buy his pretty wife a Stairway To Heaven.
Maybe I think to much.
The Blindman
Bill, your scenario is exactly what I have laid out to Republicans supporting Mike Rounds, but they have their ear muffs on and refuse to acknowledge such a possibility.
What Rounds supporters should be asking is, Mike how are you going to get around this mess if you are elected to the senate?
Once this goes national, whether before or after the election, Mike Rounds will be forced to talk and when he does talk he'll dig the hole he is in even deeper.
We all know that corrupt politicians get prosecuted for crimes like perjury, seldom do they get prosecuted for the actual crime.
On this date in history, Oct. 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned his office after being charged and accepting a plea deal for taking illegal bribes.
Take the hint Mike Rounds!!!
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