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Meyer on Noem at Madison HS: Vague, Evasive, Hypocritical

I don't know how Lake County State's Attorney and good Republican Ken Meyer feels about Rep. Kristi Noem, but I see his son Azmon Meyer came away from the Congresswoman's March 2 appearance at Madison High School unimpressed. Young Meyer summarizes Noem's half-hour talk with MHS juniors and seniors thus:

If you were impressed by Representative Noem then you either: (a) were blinded by her exterior appearance (shocker!), (b) Know little to nothing about politics, or (c) are a devout republican supporter. If you are a sophomore or freshman then don't despair, you didn't miss much [Azmon Meyer, "Why Kristi Noem Failed to Impress," MHS Maroon, 2012.03.20].

What roused Meyer to such a negative assessment?

The question and answer portion of the assembly was where Representative Noem failed to shine. Questions were asked by a few different students, and while Noem was able to effectively answer a couple of them, most of what she did was "beating around the bush". When asked what she would do to help education in South Dakota, she responded with obscure generalizations. When asked about the current unrest in Syria, and what she thought of China and Russia opposing sanctions against Syria, she changed the topic to China's economic dominance. Unrelated? Yes. Also, she was asked if she generally votes with her party. Interestingly, her response indicated that she didn't always vote with her party. However, upon checking her voting record in the house, it's apparent that she almost exclusively does. Over 90% of the time she votes Republican [Meyer 2012.03.20].

It sounds like Meyer heard the same inattentive, talking-point-dependent Noem that I heard in Rapid City last month. (And hey, did Kristi ever get a copy of that Tea Party mission statement? Did she ever read it?)

Meyer offered Rep. Noem three intelligent questions during her visit. She wimped out on each one:

First, I asked Noem if there was a specific GOP candidate for president that she supported at least somewhat, and why. She responded by saying that the GOP field has many interesting and diverse candidates and she'd just "have to wait and see" [Meyer 2012.03.20].

Funny: Senator John Thune didn't have to wait and see. He made his mind up for Romney before Thanksgiving.

Second, my question was "What do you think of the growing nuclear threat in Iran?" Basically, her response was that we definitely needed to halt their progress, and stop them [Meyer 2012.03.20].

Meyer deemed this answer "decent," but we must ask how, dear Kristi? How do we halt and stop Iran's nuclear program? That's the question that matters for our soldiers and our oil prices.

Finally, I asked what she thought about the participation of Super PAC's (Political Action Committees) in the general election. She portrayed them vaguely as negative and hurtful to the election, saying that they made elections too "drug out" and that everyone becomes "sick of them" [Meyer 2012.03.20].

Oh, Kristi shouldn't have handed that one to the astute Maroon fact-finder:

The third answer was somewhat hypocritical, because Representative Noem actually has her own Super PAC, Kristi PAC. Noem is sighted as having said she will use the PAC to pay expenses and support other Republican candidates. According to the Washington Post, Noem was among the top freshman Republicans in PAC fundraising in the first quarter of 2011, raising $169,000 from PACs and hosting at least 10 Washington fundraisers [Meyer 2012.03.20].

Speaking of which, Kristi, how were those cocktails in California?

MHS's Meyer saw what South Dakotans see in Noem's all-too-infrequent public forums: she just can't address policy issues with any serious specifics or analysis. With a performance like that, Meyer says Noem won't win his vote.

The conversation at the big Meyer dinner table tonight: expect dad Ken to ask son Azmon whether he thinks Stephanie Strong or Bill Cissell can do any better. (I don't know if the Meyers allow mention of Democrats at dinner.)

Update 21:40 MST: Perhaps the astute Mr. Meyer should consider entering this blog scholarship contest. Write a blog post on your favorite presidential candidate, get a shot at winning $1000 for college. And as an added bonus for the Meyers, the scholarship guidelines indicate the sponsor, YourLocalSecurity.com, is based in Utah! ;-)

13 Comments

  1. Rorschach 2012.03.21

    Whatever his political leanings are, Azmon Meyer sounds like a bright kid who expects more than a pretty face and empty rhetoric from South Dakota's representative in Congress.

    My assessment of Sen. Thune is that while he enjoys spinning issues for partisan gain, he actually has the understanding of complex issues that we expect a Senator to have.

    On the other hand, Rep. Noem also enjoys spinning issues for partisan gain, but I'm not convinced she has in-depth understanding of anything. I think she's intellectually lazy, overly dependent on party talking points, and overly confident that she can get by on her looks.

  2. Erin 2012.03.21

    Not a comment specifically on the content of this post, but I have to say that I'm very impressed with Azmon's writing. Excellent work!

  3. John Hess 2012.03.21

    It's really an impossible job though to stay on top of every issue. If anything comes out wrong someone is ready to pounce.

  4. LK 2012.03.21

    "It’s really an impossible job though to stay on top of every issue. If anything comes out wrong someone is ready to pounce."

    I agree.

    One would also need to get elected to Congress and hire a staff in Washington DC and perhaps get appointed to committees and avail one's self of the research that they provide.

    Then, one would have to open some offices in South Dakota where people could walk in and talk about their concerns.

    However, do Congresspeople manage?

  5. mike 2012.03.21

    Noem is an appalling Legislator. I really like John Thune so you would assume that I would be just as enthused about Noem but I cannot stand her. I will never vote for her. PERIOD.

    I didn't even dislike Stephanie Herseth this much.

  6. mike 2012.03.21

    Maybe if she spent less time campaigning and fundraising and going to school as an intern she would know more about what she does in DC.

  7. mike 2012.03.21

    Behind the scenes I've heard several Republican legislators say that Noem is not open with them and she constantly refers to talking points rather than just simply discussing an issue. Most feel she is very guarded like she is afraid to show she doesn't know something so she just sticks with the talking points and since she is fairly articulate as a speaker it works well for her.

  8. Bill Fleming 2012.03.21

    Mike, did you see the new HBO movie "Game Change?" That's exactly what they had to do with Sarah Palin. She was a really slow learner, and way, way behind in terms of what she needed to know. So they had her memorize 25 talking points and 4 attack ads. It's all she ever knew or ever had to know, and is how she(they) pulled it off.

  9. caheidelberger Post author | 2012.03.21

    Azmon Meyer is more on top of issues that Kristi Noem. Meyer for Congress 2020?

  10. John Hess 2012.03.21

    We're in this world of cell phone cameras, minirecorders, facebook, twitter, and any stupid thing high profile people say is up and out there. I feel kind of bad for them that they can't say stupid things and get away with it. We have the luxury that nobody cares what we say.

  11. bret clanton 2012.03.21

    Young Meyer's opinion of Rep. Noem pretty much reflects mine after meeting with her in her Rapid City crackerbarrel. Hey Kristi, which county in the state carried you by the largest percentage and have you ever been there??????

  12. bret clanton 2012.03.21

    Hey Kristi, which county in the state carried you by the largest percentage and have you ever been there???? I have noticed you know my address when you are trying to solicite funds.......

  13. caheidelberger Post author | 2012.03.21

    The county that gave Noem the biggest percentage in the 2010 primary was her home county, Hamlin, 69.23%. After a cluster of counties adjoining Hamlin, Harding was 7th, giving Noem 52.87%.

    In the general, Harding County delivered Kristi her biggest percentage, 73.03%. Hamlin County was 21st, giving Noem 55.29%. Meyer's Lake County went for Herseth Sandlin, 47.23% versus 46.39%.

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