GLIMMER

ME AFTER GETTING SD GOP CONVENTION REPORTS

In my last post, or I should say my previous post since it evidently will not turn out to be my actual last one, some of you would be forgiven for detecting a tinge of hopelessness on my part at the prospect of the grassroots achieving any recognizable and profound victories in our state government. 

Quite so! , as the English say.

Sometimes, hopelessness is the only offramp, and I GOTTA PEE y’all.

However, one good turn deserves another, so I feel compelled to spend some time discussing the positive outcomes of South Dakota’s most recent political event - the Republican Convention, which took place the final weekend of June. 

It was a doozy.

And now, perhaps, we have been given a glimmer of hope.

First and foremost, let’s take a moment to celebrate what should universally be celebrated as a bonafide Victory with a capital V - the election of Heather Baxter over No Way Monae for Secretary of State. Monae Johnson has betrayed the people of SD in many ways while adopting the government-speak of the Establishment, beyond what can be reasonably be processed as any possible change of heart, that those of us on the Dissident Awake wing can only surmise to be due to interference of the blackmail variety. Of course, one can never really know about these things, but either blackmail or bribery seem to be the only explanations for Monae’s betrayal of the people and philosophy that carried her into office. Conversely, my observations of Heather’s deep involvement in the Election Integrity movement in SD lead me to confidence that she will not follow Monae down that unfortunate path. Let us all pray for her safety, and fortitude.

Since I was not an attendee of the state convention, I rely on my trusted friends who were present for their valuable insights. Some, below, were willing to provide custom made quotes fine-tuned for the loyal and, I must say, very intelligent readers of this Substack. Others gave me their takes that I will use on background. Before the official quotes, I shall attempt to distill for you some salient nuggets into this synopsis:

• Rep John Hughes once again befuddled the grassroots by standing up and nominating John Fitzgerald for Attorney General. I won’t spend any time here educating us all on Fitzgerald’s shortcomings, but will settle for the fact that he is married to Rep Mary Fitzgerald, notorious enemy of the populists. Also overheard at this convention were the Hughes kvetching with a couple of their like-mindeds about the stupidity and futility of the grassroots patriots in SD. Sad!

• The Minnehaha County GOP….ugh…this poorly written soap opera spilled over into the entire Convention, irritating everyone else with its confusing plot lines, excessive dialogue, arcane rules violations and non stop bickering. It's like being forced to litigate a nasty divorce between Mike Zitterich and Hillary Clinton. 

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  This next bit is actually pretty badass. Apparently the SD GOP has a Resolution Committee which decides on a wishlist of “Resolutions”, which can be described as act of solving a problem or bringing something to a definitive solution. And this time around, our committee was filled with Patriots who came to bring the pain to the Establishment. Here is the full list of goodies that delegates were blessed to be able to vote on:

• RESOLUTION CALLING FOR THE ELIMINATION OF ELECTRONICS IN OUR ELECTION SYSTEM

• SOUTH DAKOTA GOP RECOGNIZES CO2 AS A BENEFICIAL ATMOSPHERIC GAS

• RECLAIM THE REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (revised #2)

• A RESOLUTION IN ROBUST SUPPORT OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S PURSUIT OF JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR COVID-19 PANDEMIC-RESPONSE MALFEASANCE AND FRAUD, PURSUANT TO THE FEBRUARY 2025 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL COALITION LETTER

• A Resolution Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary, Recognizing South Dakota’s place in America’s History, and Acknowledging the Importance of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial

• Resolution To Defund Politically-Biased Programming By South Dakota Public Broadcasting

• Resolution Honoring Sandye Kading for Her Service to South Dakota Republicans

• RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT PETITIONS AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT

• Strengthening Justice for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse and Pedophilia

• RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF BANNING CELL-CULTURED PROTEIN IN SOUTH DAKOTA

• RESOLUTION TO urge U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the federal delegation to continue efforts to pass the SAVE America Act.

• Condemn and Censure false campaign adds;

• A Resolution Calling Upon the Government of South Dakota to Protect South Dakota from the Consequences of Minnesota’s Energy Policy

• A Resolution Rebuking Senator John Thune for his Performance as US Senate Majority Leader, and Censuring Him Until the SAVE America Act becomes Law

• RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE PROTECTION OF SOUTH DAKOTA'S PEOPLE, FAMILIES, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PRIVACY, AND RURAL CHARACTER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DATA CENTERS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INFRASTRUCTURE

• RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT LIMITING A CHANGE IN PARTY AFFILIATION

All good stuff.

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AN ACTUAL REPRESENTATIVE REPUBLIC

One thing I want to say about my reference in my last post {click} to a “Network" that runs much of our modern world: It is much easier to manipulate typical elections that involve voting machines (tabulators) and ballot boxes, than the type of election we saw at the Convention in Rapid City last week. At the state Convention, we had around 750 delegates, who were elected by their friends and neighbors in their respective precincts, spend three days listening to speeches, fellowshipping with peers, and getting familiar with the various candidates & their political philosophy. At the end, votes are taken, and sometimes retaken, until a clear winner emerges. Some, typically those on the Left, revere the process of every citizen voting on Election Day, held up as the penultimate manifestation of The People having a voice in a Democracy. And sure, it kinda is like that, if you trust the system that counts the votes. But when you don't, then it's all just a Kabuki show. Personally, I've always found it cringey to see media types so maniacally exhorting the general population to GET OUT & VOTE!, as if there is some ethereal benefit to having extremely low information (ignorant) voters decide to briefly pay attention to politics by choosing whoever is the most convincing salesman, with the biggest advertising budget to boot. These part-time attention-payers even get little stickers to reinforce the notion of what good little citizens they are. Participation trophies for adults. “Look mommy, I boted!”

There is just something…cleaner, about the whole convention system. Maybe because it's not so easy to run for Precinct Committee Person, then go though all the rigamarole of attending the Convention. In my life experience, the easy road is usually the wrong one. The effort involved organically transforms the PCP from a low-IQ normie into a highly qualified decision maker for offices that are of great importance to us, such as AG, Secretary of State, PUC & Auditor.

Simply put, the whole precint committe people voting in convention system is nearly impossible to rig, and much more difficult for Big money PACs to mutilate with bribery & propaganda. This is why the Establishment candidates did so poorly. Even Peri Pourier nearly won after entering the PUC contest at a very late date.

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Below are some quotes about this historic convention that I personally solicited for the purpose of providing you some helpful sense-making, and hopefully valuable perspectives on the Republican candidates that we chose to run in November.

Please enjoy.

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FROM OUR NEXT SOS HEATHER BAXTER-

“When your voter data is exposed, when auditors can’t get answers, and when early voting collapses weeks before an election — that’s not bad luck, that’s failed leadership. I will bring competence, transparency, and respect for the law back to every function of this office, on day one.” -Heather Baxter

(Heather has a LOT more to say on this subject, but I thank her for providing this pithy quote)

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FROM ADAM LONG (not so pithy)-

“One of the things I appreciated most about the 2026 South Dakota Republican Convention was seeing hundreds of Republicans from every corner of our state gathered in one room. We don’t all agree on every issue, every strategy, or every candidate, and that’s okay. Healthy debate is part of a strong party.

What impressed me wasn’t that everyone agreed. It was that people from different counties, different backgrounds, and different perspectives were willing to have conversations. We challenged one another’s ideas, shared experiences, and looked for areas where we could move forward together without expecting complete agreement.

As I watched those conversations unfold, I couldn’t help but think about my time in the military.

The military is made up of people from every imaginable background. Different personalities. Different life experiences. Different political beliefs. Different ways of solving problems. Yet we still accomplish missions because we’re taught to value each person’s strengths, communicate honestly, trust one another, and stay focused on something bigger than ourselves.

Success doesn’t come from surrounding yourself with people who think exactly like you. In fact, some of the strongest teams I’ve ever served on were successful because of our differences, not in spite of them. Different perspectives sharpened our thinking, challenged our assumptions, and ultimately made us better.

That made me think about Minnehaha County.

We’ve experienced our share of division, and I believe it’s becoming increasingly clear that we need a reset. Not a reset where everyone suddenly agrees or falls in line, but one where we remember that respectful conversation will always accomplish more than constant conflict.

Let’s be honest, there will always be Republicans I disagree with, and there are principles I won’t compromise. That’s not only expected, it’s healthy. But disagreement doesn’t have to become division. We should be willing to sit down, listen, challenge each other respectfully, and search for as much common ground as we can without sacrificing our core values.

I have friends on different sides of the discussions happening in Minnehaha County. I’ve intentionally stayed out of much of the conflict because I don’t pretend to know every detail, and I don’t believe adding another voice to the argument helps anyone.

What I do believe is this: our party doesn’t have to think alike to work effectively. We simply need enough mutual respect to have honest conversations, recognize each other’s strengths, and keep our focus on serving the people of South Dakota. That’s how great teams succeed. I believe that’s how we’ll move Minnehaha County…and our Republican Party…forward.” 

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 RENAE RANDALL - Bomb Dropper

FIRST, HER QUOTE:

“I ran for State Auditor to have the power to initiate an investigation into my whistleblower report of a likely fraud at the SDRS/SDIC and my experience in trying to report it to the South Dakota government as I still have not been successful even after reporting it to numerous government agencies, boards and committees. I also happen to know that I am not the only whistleblower stuck in this tailspin, and something needs to be done about this.

But the main goal at the Convention was to get my message out to the people that are at the first rung of our representative democracy, the delegates. Just normal people taking the initiative to effect change at the local level for the people they know and care about.

There is something very wrong with the South Dakota government. It is malfunctioning at a large scale. The people of this state need to not be afraid to ask questions and demand clear answers about what is going on. I need others to do it for me, because virtually the entire South Dakota government won’t speak to me….but the delegates sure seem interested in what I had to say, so I have hope we can change things for the better.”

The biggest surprise of the convention - not counting the national bruhaha that erupted when Matt Bruner decided to cowboy up on election superactivist Scott Presler, for which Matt paid a FAFO tax to the tune of getting himself & his cowboy hat fired as a “Sargeant at arms” whatever that is- was the entry of Renae Randall as a candidate for State Auditor. It wasn’t a surprise to me, actually, as I was asked to make some introductions a month ago for this very purpose. I have been getting to know Renae, and her story, for the past couple of months, and even though we don’t necessarily align on social issues much, I must admit that in a purely platonic fashion I kinda love her. If you were able to watch her speech, then you probably love her too.

Whistleblowers in general should be, in a rational and just society, assumed to be telling truths and risking it all to expose the corruptions of the powerful elite, at the very least initially.

They should be adorned with honor, sung songs of bravery and glory, lifted up in the press as heroes against the powerful. Instead they are mostly shunned, ignored and ridiculed. Renae certainly has been. It's weird.

 In telling her own story of sordidity, Renae quickly and efficiently cuts through any skepticism that that average Normie has built up to support their bubble of security that they maintain as a coping mechanism in this topsy turvy world of information, mis & mal-information. 

After all, as we concluded through the bizzarro covid times………..

    No lies are too big to be disbelieved, but some truths are.

The average human on earth had an easier time believing that standing 6 feet apart (roughly) actually kept them safe than believing that nearly everyone in authority was completely full of shite. 

Renae’s story, which I hope to more thoroughly cover in the future, is so explosive that it could very well be the biggest scandal in SD history. And the fact that every media outlet refuses to cover it only buttresses its integrity, in my opinion. When it comes to billions of dollars, the Network absolutely does not mess around, & will do everything it can to discredit & ignore her. We must keep Renae in our prayers, & help her however we can to shine the light of truth here.

If you’d like to learn more about her very credible story, please go to https://www.exposelies605.com/

Renae’s speech, which I watched on an X post, briefly outlined her reasons for entering this completely foreign arena, which in turn touched on the highlights of her ordeal the past 15 months. The 750 or so delegates sat transfixed in shock as she unfurled her tale of lies, corruption and digital persecution, like something out of a classic movie thriller, or Minneapolis, nearly inconceivable in our nice midwestern utopia. For a thoroughly unknown candidate in a 3-way race to win 25% of the votes, a neophyte to politics, proves the power & credibility of her testimony.

I will attempt to summarize her speech thusly: South Dakota does not have a law problem, but an enforcement problem.

Let us hope and pray that our next Auditor (most likely Catherine Barranco) and AG will have the courage to investigate Renae’s quite credible claims.

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FROM CATHERINE BARRANCO (our next Auditor)

“In speaking with people across the state, I've heard time and again that South Dakotans are proud of our elected officials' hard work to rank South Dakota among our Republic’s most fiscally conservative and secure states. Nevertheless, we remain incredibly concerned that frauds like those perpetrated in Minnesota and other mismanaged states could migrate here. Under the leadership of Larry Rhoden, Marty Jackley, Rich Sattgast, and the conservative legislature, funds were approved for additional personnel in the Auditor's Office along with new post-audit powers. My intent is to apply those resources toward identification and investigation of any person found stealing taxpayer money. At the same time, the Auditor's Office will seek to curtail waste. As my husband demonstrated in Sioux Falls, these in-house investigations often spotlight inefficiency resulting from institutional inertia. When that’s eliminated, it gives our lawmakers room to cut taxes, cut spending, or both.”

As an aside, I would like to add that Catherine, in her appeal for a recommendation, explicitly told me that she plans to add a DOGE department of some kind in her capacity of Auditor, should she ultimately win. I also await her response to my query of whether or not she will investigate Renae Randall's explosive claims. For now, I shall consider Catherine's advancement as a positive development for the populist movement. She thus far has proven to be responsive and considerate of the concerns of The People, and we can ask for no more at this point. Please also keep the Barrancos in your prayers, for their family is going through an intensely difficult time.

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LANCE RUSSELL

(QUOTE ASKED FOR, STILL WAITING…)

I must admit to you all that I don’t know much about Lance. But his speech was stellar, and cut right to the heart of the crime problem in SD, taking as I understand it a direct shot at SD's very own political Don Corleone - Dennis Duagaard. Me thinks perhaps we have an AG candidate who does not fear the Establishment. 

This is good, my friends.

Fear of “rocking the boat" (aka “South Dakota Nice”) is the last thing we need from our electeds.

“The secret to happiness is freedom…and the secret to freedom is courage.” —Thucydides

Courage.

Will Lance Russell have the courage necessary to protect us citizens from the Corporatocracy? 

We shall see.

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In conclusion, we still have a massive governor runoff vote - the 1st in SD history apparently - and many grassroots patriots are undecided between the two.

I will simply leave you with this graphic, with the names supporting sitting governor Rhoden. 

The people I have circled are not our people. They do not want the same things that we do for SD. And guess what? Every single one of them will have more influence with Governor Woody than we ever will.

Think about that before you pull the trigger.