Barack Obama to the rescue! Governor Dennis Daugaard is pleased to report that our caring and hard-working President has with great alacrity declared western South Dakota a disaster area due to last month's early blizzard. Governor Daugaard says President Obama and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are models of efficiency from whom Congress could learn a thing or two:
Local and FEMA officials worked quickly with our Office of Emergency Management staff to provide me the information to request federal assistance.... The presidential declaration came equally quickly, and it will help our impacted communities recover from this devastating blizzard as rapidly as possible. While the disaster unemployment program will provide some help for our producers, what they really need is for Congress to work with the same urgency our state did and pass a new Farm Bill [Governor Dennis Daugaard, press release, 2013.11.08].
Kristi, John, Tim—Dennis is talking about you! Get to work! Acknowledge the practical reality that the urban majority won't give a darn about subsidizing farmers without offering their constituencies food security, support food stamps for consumers right alongside crop insurance and other assistance for producers, and get the job done before winter really sets in.
Thank you President Obama for remembering our ranchers!
It was to be expected. Liberals believe that helping the group first will ultimately help the individual while conservatives believe that helping themselves first will ultimately help the group. Conservative longing for individualism is at it's core an attempt to justify selfishness.
The GOP and Kristi Noem have not studied the history of the Farm Bill and Food Stamp program. It was authored by Sen. George McGovern and Sen. Bob Dole. These were both on totally opposite sides of the political divide. Both happened to represent farm states. They knew that as the population of the rural areas decreased and the urban areas increased, the farm programs would suffer. They included programs to help the urban areas in the farm bill to insure its survival.
People like Noem are so proud that they stripped SNAP programs out of the farm bill. What they did, was to endanger continued support to the rural areas. I can see why suburban conservatives would see this as a way to cut money, but wake up Kristi. Have a backbone and think for South Dakota, not the GOP leadership and Tea Party.
" Kristi. Have a backbone and think " Noem Think is an oxymoron.
@Larry: Correct, sir. Food stamps were included in the farm bill because every morsel of food eaten by a needy person is money in a farmer's pocket. Cutting billions from the SNAP budget will lower demand and increase supply of ag commodities and significantly lower their wholesale prices. The excess food grown and not sold to the gov't will just get given to other countries as aid. Ms. Noem: Cutting food stamps to lower the deficit hurts your constituents. It would be like cutting off your nose because you think your face is too ugly.
Larry not ip.
Like NJ Governor Christie, it's good to see that the Governor's anti-government rhetoric gets put aside when there is need - need only the government can meet.
Now if this new found appreciation for the President could spill over into the ACA and Medicaid expansion, the Governor could help even more South Dakotans with cooperation from the fed.