Having decided the South Dakota Farmers Union really isn't a liberal cabal out to get her, Rep. Kristi Noem spoke at a forum sponsored by SDFU and the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association a couple weekends ago at the Black Hills Stock Show. Among her key statements was this assessment of her failure to pass a real Farm Bill for South Dakota:
Rather than the standard five-year farm bill, Congress passed an extension of the 2008 farm-support legislation as part of the “fiscal cliff” deal early in 2013.
“It’s a short-term extension and it didn’t have any of the reforms in it that we needed and that we worked so hard on in committee,” Noem said. “It was the current farm bill extended for one more year while we hopefully come up with a new farm bill that works better for South Dakotans” ["Rep. Kristi Noem Discusses Farm Bill at Black Hills Stock Show Event," South Dakota Farmers Union, 2013.01.27].
Rep. Noem says she "talked a lot... and worked very hard" to pass a Farm Bill. Apparently, she's expecting to be graded on effort... which is probably the only way she got a college degree from SDSU. Noem got none of what she says South Dakota needs in the Farm Bill; therefore, we must conclude that she recognizes she failed.
We can only hope Rep. Noem also recognizes her rank hypocrisy on disaster assistance:
Noem says her priority is to let other lawmakers in Washington know that disaster programs are vital to South Dakota farmers and ranchers because of the state’s extreme weather conditions.
“We have droughts, sometimes we get a lot of snow and a lot of cold weather that can wipe out a calf crop pretty quick and those disaster programs protect us through those hard years and that’s why it’s so important that we not only get them authorized but we get them funded,” she said [SDFU, 2013.01.27].
Ah, yes. Disaster assistance is vital for South Dakota businesspeople. But for folks suffering hurricane damage on the East Coast, disaster assistance is an opportunity for budget hawkery and political grandstanding.
Carry on, Rep. Noem. Carry on.
Subsidized ethanol far bigger threat to Earth than Alberta tar sands:
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2013/02/05/ethanol-worse-than-the-canadian-tar-sands/
With Noem being such a disaster in Congress and reading the blogs around the state do you think Brendan Johnson will run for US Senate or US Congress in '14?
And what do you think is more winnable for Democrats?
Noem is incompetent, but not because she isn't smart enough. She is lazy and arrogant, having got by so far on her looks and seeking forgiveness.
Being a successful House member from South Dakota is a tougher job than being one of its two U.S. Senators. Stephanie finessed the tough work by reaching across the aisle with the Blue Dog coalition, which ruined her relationship with her Democrat base in South Dakota. But at least she got the job done.
In Kristi's case, she can still upset part of her GOP base and get re-elected. The Argus endorsement last fall was an embarrassment because it identified Kristi's laziness but said she deserved a second chance. So here we are.
I predict Kristi will continue her slacker demeanor into a second term and beyond, until she gets into enough trouble here at home.
I give Noem credit for holding townhall meetings. She knows (or her political advisers told her) that she needs to pick up the pace and get off the cell phone.
Mike, I'll go out on the limb and call it a toss-up. The Senate seat ought to be easier for Dems as a keep than the House seat as a gain. Noem has the advantage of incumbency and her rodeo horsey act. With all of Noem's obvious nonsense and the laziness and arrogance Dougal decries, I thought Varilek had a good shot last year, but I was mistaken, so I will not underestimate Noem. Still, Rounds has recognition and money. We Dems have no easy race next year.
It would be fun to see Stephanie and Brendan's internal polling if they have some.
My personal guess is that Rounds is going to be very tough to defeat in a general. So tough that Johnson would lose by more than 15% if he were to run again.
Brendan is an interesting case because he has law enforcement as his background so he can't get labeled as a left wing lib on his voting record like SHS (who actually voted much more conservative than Tim Johnson) but I worry Brendan is going to get some heat for cronyism if he runs for US Senate. Especially if his dad sits on the seat until it's hard for anyone else to get in.
I know Brendan is young and telegenic but a first campaign against a popular former Governor is not an easy race to win. Rounds has high approval ratings to boot plus the advantage of a red state.
As a Republican I would want to face Herseth Sandlin the least. I think she is moderate and well respected in this state. I also think many South Dakota voters like her and look at her as a hard worker.
All signs in my book point to Brendan Johnson having an easier time running for House against Noem. I would guess her approval rating is much lower than Rounds' and she doesn't really have a great team supporting her. In '04 the state split sending Thune to the Senate and Herseth to the House. I think that is likely to happen again if Brendan challenges Noem.
But then again Brendan may just not want to serve in the House and run every two years.
I just don't see much chance for him to beat Mike Rounds (10% chance) but I see him as the front runner against Noem.
Varilek never really had a shot and was way to the left of Herseth. Just because voters didn't like Noem didn't mean they agreed with Varilek on the issues. I would guess they still don't care much for Noem and they probably would find B Johnson very appealing as an alternative to her.
Dougal, I agree with you. Noem is smart but she is very arrogant. I won't vote for her because of how she acts around constituents and what she's like as a person.
She isn't any where near the class of John Thune.