A Pat Powers propaganda watch

In a previous post I explained how the hypocrisy of Pat Powers can only be explained by his hatred toward those he dislikes. The issues and position on the issues doesn’t really matter. And Pat Powers will resort to distortions and out right falsehoods to attack those he hates. For example take a closer look at this statement from a recent Pat Powers post:

Former State Representative Bill Peterson came up with the catchy quip "Free Pat Powers" after my 2 minutes of comments at the GOP State Convention where I explained how under initiated measure 10, my rights of free speech as expressed in the form of political contributions would be abridged because my wife holds an employment contract with a school district.

Heck, if my mother was still alive and working as a school nurse, I’d be doubly damned from donating, since the measure would prohibit donations from me because professional school staff work under contract as well.

In section 10 of IM10 is the meaning of the term "Government contract":

(2) "Government contract," includes any contract awarded by an agency or department of this state or any public body receiving state subsidy or authorized to levy taxes, for the purchase of goods or services for amounts greater than fine hundred dollars, indexed for inflation per the Consumer Price Index after the year 2010. A contract for services includes collective bargaining agreements with a labor organization representing employees but not employment contracts with individual employees.

"But not employment contracts with individual employees." That means that Pat Powers wife and mother’s employment contracts do not fall under the scope of IM10. This is a blatant disregard of the truth by a guy who likes to criticize IM10 for being poorly written. Perhaps those conclusions were due to Powers’ inability to comprehend what he reads. Nevertheless, promoting these falsehoods at a Republican convention and then reported by the South Dakota media across the state of South Dakota shows how far some will go to paint others as extremists.

So Pat Powers falsely attacked IM 10 for abridging his "rights of free speech as expressed in the form of political contributions" as he then attacks the free speech rights of the anonymous donors to the SDCAC later on in his post. Here you will find the clear constitutional rights of anonymous free speech:

Anonymous communications have an important place in our political and social discourse. The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that the right to anonymous free speech is protected by the First Amendment. A much-cited 1995 Supreme Court ruling in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission reads:

Protections for anonymous speech are vital to democratic discourse. Allowing dissenters to shield their identities frees them to express critical, minority views . . . Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. . . . It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation . . . at the hand of an intolerant society.

The tradition of anonymous speech is older than the United States. Founders Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers under the pseudonym "Publius," and "the Federal Farmer" spoke up in rebuttal. The US Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized rights to speak anonymously derived from the First Amendment.

Hypocrisy, falsehoods, and blatant distortion of the truth are traits of Pat Powers, who probably learned those tricks as a fixture in the Pierre Capitol Culture. For Example, Pat Powers is a master at using campaign finance reporting to marginalize and embarrass those he hates. His mission is to make the public think that IM10 is extreme so the tyranny of mob rule will defeat it. And what happens if the election day support for IM10 is 28% or less? He will use that as further evidence that the measure was extreme. He will not accept the argument that he himself only got 28% of the primary vote in June.

And do not expect Pat Powers to issue a written apology for his misstatements to the delegates attending the Republican convention, who drank his Kool-Aid as they voted to pass a resolution against IM10. Nor will it be likely for Powers to come clean and urge the media that reported his distortions to correct the record. Not doing so will prove Pat Powers intent was to spread propaganda. 

It will take strong measures, such as IM10, to clean up the intolerant Pierre Capitol Culture's use of power over those who dare challenge the process and where too much of what happens are decided in secret and behind closed doors and not under the purview of the citizens. Now is the time for true conservatives to stand up for truth to power.

Comments

[PP at the SDWC]

Steve -

If the SDCAC is going to whore itself out to any special interest with a big checkbook, your group at least owes it to the rest of us to "show us the money," in reference to who has you guys bought and paid for on IM 10.

[Sibby's response: Please continue with the personal attacks as you ignore the issues and the truth. It is making my analysis of South Dakota politics much more clearer. If you want to understand who is buying off who, look at all the federal money that is being used to buy off all of our freedoms. And from a principled argument, freedom means the citizens have more rights than the government. You have failed to understand that as you use government police state tactics to go after citizens who are petitioning the government to limit itself.]