Posted on 03/17/2006 10:58:33 PM PST by Tim Long
PIERRE, S.D. - The superintendent of Mount Rushmore was surprised at first when people from all over the country started calling up to express their opinion about South Dakota's ban on nearly all abortions.
Some callers said they were so upset that they would never visit Mount Rushmore, South Dakota's No. 1 tourist attraction. Others said they were so thrilled that they would make a point of coming to see the chiseled faces of four U.S. presidents in the Black Hills.
On further reflection, Superintendent Gerard Baker decided that the messages from far and wide made sense, because Mount Rushmore is a symbol of freedom.
"That's what we're all about here," he said. "That's what America is all about, people expressing their freedom and people expressing their choices and so forth."
In an uproar that has taken many South Dakotans by surprise, politicians and state agencies have been bombarded in the past few weeks with thousands upon thousands of calls, letters and e-mails — pro and con — from across the country and around the world.
And a few small groups have called for a tourism boycott of South Dakota, urging people to avoid such attractions as Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, and the Corn Palace, an arena in Mitchell whose walls are covered with colorful ears of corn.
The furor was prompted by the passage of the strictest abortion law in America — a ban on all abortions except to save a woman's life, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The measure, set to take effect July 1, is aimed at overturning the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that established the right to an abortion.
Planned Parenthood, which operates South Dakota's only abortion clinic, has said it will decide soon whether to challenge the measure in court or press for a statewide referendum in November.
"Obviously, this is one of the most contentious issues in American society, so when a state does something dramatic, I think you can reasonably expect it will elicit a pretty strong response from the folks who have an interest in the issue," said Don Dahlin, a political science professor at the University of South Dakota,
In a state where many people do not bother to lock their cars or homes, security was tightened at the state Capitol as the Legislature debated the abortion measure, with state troopers more visible than usual, and plainclothes officers sitting in during a committee hearing.
Steps were also taken to protect some of the bill's main sponsors when they returned home.
But "to the best of my knowledge, we've had no threats," said Republican Gov. Mike Rounds, who signed the law March 6.
The governor's office has set up a call center with five lines just to take calls about the abortion measure. An estimated 10,000 calls, e-mails and letters arrived in a two-week period. "I don't know of any other single event that has generated more interest than this," said press secretary Mark Johnston.
Tourism is South Dakota's second-largest industry, behind agriculture, with visitors to the state spending $809 million in 2005, according to the Tourism Department. Mount Rushmore received 2.75 million visitors in 2005.
Among those calling for a boycott is the Women's Medical Fund, an abortion rights organization based in Madison, Wis. "Our message is that if they are going to treat women in this inhumane way, they can expect to pay a price," said Anne Gaylor, the group's director.
State Tourism Director Billie Jo Waara said that her office has been getting a dozen or so calls a day from people on both sides of the issue. Some say they will not vacation in South Dakota, but very few of those who had already made travel plans have canceled, she said.
So far, "it's unclear whether it will be significant or not," Waara said.
Dahlin said the effect of a tourism boycott would probably be relatively small because the state relies on family tourism, not the kind of large-scale convention business that can be shifted all at once to another city.
At Mount Rushmore, Baker said the controversy has had no effect yet.
Baker said it's a free country, but added: "I guess if I had to say something, I would say if you're bringing your family here and you decide not to do that, what you're doing is cheating your family, you're cheating your youngsters by not bringing them to learn about this place."
I have always wanted to visit the caverns in South Dakota,
but have refused to spend a dime there because of little Tommy.
That feeling holds true for Mass, and the rest of the northeast states.
It might sound a little childish, but that's just my way
of protesting the stinking libs.
You would be surprised how important murdering babies is to these people. I don't doubt they would boycott any place that dared infringe upon such a "right."
PP has no choice but to go to court. I would only hope they would try the referendum route where they would get pounded into the ground by the voters.
They're not just whining: they're attempting to use the spectre of lost tourist dollars to scare other states away from making pro-life laws.
But we must have contact with them if we're to conquer them. : )
You're way behind. It's already past 47 million.
I can't say I've ever planned a vacation around whether or not I could have an abortion there.
AP idiot ping!
Are you still in So. Dak.? If you live in the Rushmore area, I'm probably fairly close...........we live right behind Bear Country.
I agree with your points about tourism here. This is a family destination, and if there is any impact from the Bill, it will be a positive one.
You're probably right, but there also might be problems with the business community, which is notoriously hostile to social conservatism and might be pressured to keep away from S. Dak., or even to pull out in some cases. I'm not talking about tourism, but presence in the state.
Clean up one state at a time. Soon businesses will have to establish themselves in these states or go broke. Matter of fact I have never heard of a business staying out of a state because they felt a law wasn't morally right. I've heard of them staying away because profits would be affected by some state laws. For businesses that is what they look at. Profit.
Yes, but the liberals know how to put the squeeze to businesses. I'm not saying that S. Dak. should have chickened out. I'm glad they didn't. But we always need to be prepared for what the liberals can throw at us. It's a lot.
Anyway, for those of you considering making SD part of your vacation plans, there are many helpful websites. Here is a starting point.
Yeah! I'm sure those bikers are a real feminist crowd! LOL!
I doubt many liberals vacation in South Dakota. Maybe the Badlands attract a few environmentalist types. But it's not the type of terrain to attract many leftist tree hugger tourists. They prefer places with expensive ski lodges, spas, salons, and other attributes that allow them to "enjoy nature" without actually having to get their manicured nails dirty. The bike rally and Mt. Rushmore aren't exactly the type of attraction that brings wine-sipping lefties to the state.
Now if they changed Mt. Rushmore so that it features likenesses of Castro, Mao, Stalin, and Ho Chi Minh, and if Sturgis hosted a limousine rally, then maybe the lefties would enjoy South Dakota.
The Caseys had three of their otters escape four days ago. There was a hole in the fence, hills and fresh snow beckoned them, and they found their way across the fox and wolf areas (still don't know how they did that) and wound up in our back yard for awhile. We saw the tracks where they were sliding down our hills. One of our neighbors was finally able to lure them to her house, called the Caseys and their otter 'holiday' was over. We've had the bears on our acreage several times, the snow may drift over the fence separating our property, or a tree will fall on the fence allowing them an escape venue. We just call the Caseys and they come over with their buckets of dog food and four wheelers or snowmobiles to lure them back.
Quite often the wolves manage to get loose and wander around over here. We call them "democrat" wolves, because when they can't find the free food here, they go back to Bear Country, where the livin' is easy.
Since "Doc" died, Pauline and the boys have made a lot of improvements there. They are good neighbors and friends.
To all the rest of you who want to come to our wonderful Black Hills, I urge you to vist "Bear Country, USA". Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse are great, but we have lots of other stuff to see and do.
Maybe we should have a FReeper convention here.
Swell!
"Come visit beautiful, abortionist-free South Dakota!"
LOL! No doubt the tourist who usually visited South Dakota to tour the Abortatoriums, will be affected. That would be some number between 0 and 10 ?
Some callers said they were so upset that they would never visit Mount Rushmore, South Dakota's No. 1 tourist attraction. >>>
The air will be a lot cleaner now. It should be much more pleasant there.
And SD will be in God's favor.
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