Despite frigid temps, volunteer pro-life South Dakotans got the job done

Even as waterways in South Dakota swell from melting snow, stacks of petitions are flooding back in to the Vote Yes office here in Sioux Falls. It is quite clear that my last minute Urgency Tour a few weeks ago talking to 185 pastors in twelve South Dakota cities was a huge success. And, just like I suspected, Aberdeen especially rose to the occasion. Way to go up there!

In a few days, as if they are comparing apples and apples, local media will start comparing our petition drive to the '06 UnHealthy Families petition drive.  However, this is hardly an apple to apple comparison - more like comparing Mt. Rushmore to the SPAM Museum (or some other out of state shrine to something artificial or disingenuous). There are three notable differences between these two petition drives.

First, I just checked with my meteorologist friend and discovered the average temperature (Sioux Falls) during our three-month petition drive (last 87 days) was only 18.69 degrees (that's not factoring in windchill). The Campaign for Unhealthy Families had warm spring/summer months in 2006 to stand outside in front of public places and collect signatures. We had the coldest January in ten years. (Because I can't help myself, I must mention how climatologists are seeing a global cooling trend further debunking Algore's global warming prophecies.) But I digress.

The second notable difference between our petition drive and theirs is that Unhealthy Families paid out of state professionals to come in here and gather signatures for them. We did it with 100% South Dakota volunteers and 100% South Dakota money - moms with kids in tow, dads went door to door, pastors, farmers, and teachers pulled this off.

Third, we didn't cheat or commit fraud. This didn't come out in '06, but nearly half of the "38,000" signatures "collected" by Unhealthy Families in '06 were found to be invalid. We followed the law and asked real, live, of age, registered South Dakota voters to sign and verified such with notary publics.

In light of these significant differences between our two petition drives, the number that VoteYesForLife will unveil to the public this Sunday is all the more a strong statement that this is what the voters of South Dakota wanted… to stop abortion from being used as birth control.

All petition circulators, volunteers and media are invited to celebrate the success of this petition drive by attending the unveiling this Sunday, March 30 (3:30-4:30 P.M. CST).  NOTE THE LOCATION CHANGE… the celebration will now take place at the Ivy Room (2425 S. Shirley Ave Suite 118) in Sioux Falls (by Century Theaters).