The Musical Tribute to America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Our Founding Fathers created a government of three branches, each checking the other two, each checked by the other two. The Legislative was tasked with creating law, the Executive with executing law, the Judicial with interpreting law. Unfortunately, the lines between branches have become muddled at times. The Supreme Court has legislated from the bench – going beyond merely interpreting laws to actually creating them. Consequently, politicos began seeking to control the Court’s makeup and thereby to control the Court itself. After three justices were appointed during President Trump’s term, the Democrat Party screamed for an increase in the Supreme Court’s membership. By appointing a slew of Left-leaning justices, Democrats intended to dilute conservative votes and force rulings that further a liberal agenda. On January 17, 2023, protesting such manipulation and gross distortion of our system of government, the South Dakota Federation of Republican Women’s executive committee passed a unanimous resolution asking Congress to maintain the size of the Supreme Court at nine justices.

 For questions, please contact Catherine Barranco at president@SDFRW.org or                                 Sarah Frankenstein at sfrankenstein@gpna.com 

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The South Dakota Federation of Republican Women Calls on Congress and State Legislatures to Act to Maintain the Size of Supreme Court at Nine Justices On January 17, 2023, the South Dakota Federation of Republican Women (SDFRW) Executive Committee unanimously adopted a resolution supporting a constitutional amendment to keep the Supreme Court at nine justices. It reads:

WHEREAS, An independent United States Supreme Court is an essential element of America's                       system of checks and balances that protects our Constitutional rights; and, 

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has been composed of nine Justices for more than 150 years; and,

WHEREAS, The United States President and Congress should be prohibited from undermining the independence of the Supreme Court by changing the number of Justices on the Court; and,

.WHEREAS, The practice of “packing the Court” for political advantage greatly decreases confidence that the Supreme Court exists as an essential element of America’s system of checks and balances, which guarantees and protects a citizen’s constitutional rights; and,

WHEREAS, A number of former state attorneys general oppose “packing the court,” and recent polls have shown that voters support a “Keep Nine Amendment” by more than a three-to-one margin; 

RESOLVED, That the South Dakota Federation of Republican Women joins the National Federation of Republican Women and the Republican National Committee to urge Congress to adopt the "Keep Nine Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution that states: "The Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine Justices;” and, 

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to South Dakota U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson to encourage him and his bill co-sponsors in their fight to “Keep Nine,” copies of this resolution be sent to South Dakota U.S. Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds as a show of our support for their efforts to “Keep Nine,” and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the National Federation of Republican Women to underline their call to action to “Keep Nine”. 

Dear SDFRW Members, 

Happy 2023! I began the New Year reminiscing about where we’ve been and contemplating where

we’re headed. 

I remembered with great affection our achievements under the leadership of Presidents Sandy Rhoden and Penny Sattgast. We’ll be forever in their debt. They took SDFRW to a new level and paved the way for us to climb higher still! 

Looking forward, I feel as though SDFRW is a fledgling standing at the nest’s edge, wings catching the wind, eyes fixed on the horizon. And what a glorious horizon!  Taking what we learned from our test flights – the experiences that helped us grow strong – we’ll soar to heights we can hardly imagine.

Here's to our next adventure! 

Catherine Barranco

Dear SDFRW members,

I hope your December is off to a great start! What an amazing honor and privilege it has been to serve as your SDFRW President for the past two years! Our organization has been “off and running” from Day 1, and I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for your work in making SDFRW what it is today! I especially want to thank the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors for their hard work and commitment, and once again, congratulate Catherine Barranco, our new President-elect, who will take over as SDFRW President on January 1st. Catherine, and her new team will do an excellent job and I am looking forward to serving right alongside them in the capacity of Past-President!

I have truly enjoyed my time as your president and have had the honor to travel to clubs across the state to speak on behalf of our efforts and initiatives. It is such a joy to visit with old friends and meet new ones along the way! SDFRW has so many talented and passionate members, which makes us extra special! You will often catch me saying how “our local clubs are the heart and soul of our organization” and what we, as Republican women do, really does matter!

Together, we have worked to achieve back-to-back record memberships, strengthened our statewide committees, expanded our organizational infrastructure, engaged our youth, held a wonderful state convention in Pierre, honored our veterans and active military, supported local causes through our Caring for America programs,  maintained the South Dakota First Ladies and First Gentlemen Exhibit at the State Capitol, added a new club, increased our reach on social media, sent a large SD delegation to the NFRW convention, had a huge promotional presence at the SDGOP convention, held record fundraisers, significantly increased our Rushmore Regents membership, worked to place patriotic books in our libraries, provided our members with legislative updates, and supported our state, local, and US Republican candidates!

We have truly put ourselves “on the map” as not only a positive and fun organization that everyone is talking about and wants to be a part of but also as the organization that knows how to get things done! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve and I am so excited for what is to come for SDFRW in the following years, as we continue to grow our organization! God bless each of you and may God continue to bless the great state of South Dakota!

Kind Regards,

Penny Sattgast-SDFRW President

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free". -Ronald Reagan