The Argus Leader editorial board again brings up the Republican/Democrat love feast that we have in the South Dakota Senate:
The parallels between the South Dakota Senate's Republican and Democratic leaders almost are as easy to see as the differences: Dave Knudson, once a Democrat, now is the Republican Senate majority leader. Scott Heidepriem, once a Republican, now is the Senate minority leader. Both are Sioux Falls lawyers. Both are veterans of the South Dakota Legislature, and both are mentioned frequently as candidates for governor.
And during the course of an hour-long interview with the Argus Leader's editorial board earlier this month, the two men agreed on at least as much as they disagreed.
And then there is this:
EB: To what extent then, Scott, is it a Republican/ Democrat issue as you think about the House and the Senate? Dave didn't give us the reasons why that disconnect was there. Is it a Republican/Democrat issue, or does it go beyond that?
SCOTT HEIDEPRIEM: It's not a Republican/Democrat [divide] in terms of the Senate because, as you saw, we got along very well, and we passed everything that we wanted in the Senate with a few exceptions.It's a difference in philosophy and here's the difference: In the Senate, the center of gravity was made up of people who wanted to see things pass. In the House, the center of gravity is made up of people who do not want to see things pass.
…
HEIDEPRIEM: Maybe Dave can think of some proposals that the House passed and sent to us that we killed. But I can't think of one right now, but I can think of quite a few significant bills that the Senate passed that the House killed. A number which were primarily sponsored by Dave Knudson, whether it's vocation governance, which was changed and died, or K-12 funding, dead in the House. Pre-K rule- making, dead in the House. Ethics, dead in the House. Maybe that's House-bashing?
Note the Pre-K rule-making. After reading through some of my posts, I think you will agree that issue is as far-left as you get. I mean, how more to the left is Hillar’s global village? Clearly the long-standing divide in the SD GOP is between the conservative populists versus the RINO elites.
