People unaccostomed to the raw pugialism of political campaigns often believe the PR nonsense about “niceness” and “positivity,” when under the surface of the roiling water, absolutely nothing is off limits. No holds barred.

In politics, as in water polo and submarine warfare, the real action is happening beneath the torrid waves. Seal the bulkheads Wear a cup. Or, risk losing the family jewels.

On Sunday, South Dakota gubernatorial candidate Toby Doeden revealed publicly what I’ve reported repeatedly over most of the past two years: That Jon Hansen and Karla Lems both knew Toby Doeden was running for governor before he announced, and that Jon Hansen was among his first choices as his Lieutenant Governor running mate. To unify the grassroots and forge a conservative unity ticket and legislative base that would have been unstoppable.

A terrifying prospect to the South Dakota political establishment hellbent on regaining control of the bridge. No matter what.

As I’ve said from the beginning, unified conservative victory was never the design of the Hansen-Lems campaign, which went wire-to-wire in last place with little cash backing, carving off just enough votes and kicking enough sand in the eye of the Doeden camp to make sure Dusty Johnson and Larry Rhoden had not one, but two chances to defeat Toby Doeden in the primary. All according to plan.

After promising repeatedly to pause and reconsider prospects, should their campaign flail in either fundraising or popular support, Jon and Karla stayed in the race to the bitter end and have stayed totally silent ever since their 4th place finish, aside from taking screenshots of Doeden supporters and transmitting them inside their trademark private gossip groups to undermine Doeden in the homestretch. Just as they did for an entire year.

I’ve publicly and repeatedly stated that the political mathematics of the GOP primary meant that Jon and Karla could only possibly serve as a splitter campaign to divide the right, and give plausible platform from which their surrogates could rain focused fire on grassroots targets. Still happening today.

Did they know? Or were they walked into an operation that could only benefit the political establishment?

There’s no campaign math required now to know that the plan from the very beginning was to split the conservative base in an attempt to facilitate a RINO win. A grassroots base that candidate Doeden funded and supported out of his own pocket and now appears not just previously willing, but perpetually committed to unifying. If only some would have heeded the call.

Instead, they’re buddied up to establishment hack Larry Rhoden now, with Scott Odenbach making joint Rhoden campaign appearances that cast the past two sessions of legislative leadership skulduggery against conservatives as equally choreographed bad faith. Pieces into place.

No matter what happens on Tuesday, South Dakota conservatives have been deliberately betrayed and cheated out what was there for the taking: A unified conservative base, a solid conservative legislative majority and a conservative populist outsider governor beholden to no one and willing to partake in unprecedented policy gains, government transparency and a return of political power to the people of South Dakota. Where it belongs.

Myopic, stubbornly stupid and malignantly misinformed, the Black Sheep clan still refuses to see what was obvious and true from the very beginning.

They only ran to divide the base. And quietly and otherwise, by their silence and their actions during the primary runoff, they confirm what someone told you 16 months ago.

IF they were truly committed to what was best for the conservative movement, they wouldn’t have launched a futile and unfunded campaign that could only divide the conservative voting bloc, wouldn’t have demanded instantaneous loyalty from their fellow legislators in the legislative conservative caucus, would have dropped out when the numbers weren’t there and would have heroically accepted multiple invitations to unify the camps, to bring South Dakota into a new era of unprecedented conservative victory. Oh, what might have been…

Overwhelming evidence reveals that unifying the base was never their plan.

On the eve of the election in Sioux Falls Monday night, GOP candidate Toby Doeden told a capacity crowd explicitly what had become painfully obvious during the course of the gubernatorial campaign. Everything I’ve written about and described for nearly two years of moldy Denmark cheese that so many seemed willing to pretend wasn’t fouling the room. More than enough to poison an elephant.

“South Dakota has a strong grassroots movement. And we have found out in the aftermath of our primary that we had some folks in leadership positions in this grassroots movement that were not in it for the right reasons.” Doeden said.

“We have exposed numerous grassroots ‘leaders,’ quote, unquote, that were in this movement for nothing more, or nothing less, than to push their careers ahead.”

“I am here tonight to promise to every Constitutional conservative in this state, win lose or draw in this race, I will spend the remaining years of my life making sure that these individuals never get elected to public office ever again.” Doeden said.

“An entire movement was built on a small group of leaders. And they have betrayed you. It’s the worst indictment I’ve ever had to make. Sadly it’s true and people all across this state are waking up to that stark fact today.”

“You cannot fight for landowner rights and support Larry Rhoden.”