Ballotpedia posts a list of the 26 House races it finds competitive. South Dakota's is not among them.
One step toward making Corinna Robinson's challenge to Rep. Kristi Noem #27 on that list is trumpeting the long-anticipated publication of Robinson's Issues page on her campaign website. What's she got?
Jobs: Robinson says Noem's partisanship has contributed to the lack of action from Congress on jobs. In her most substantive statement, Robinson promises to "fight for much-needed improvements to critical infrastructure, fullly support the use of solar and wind energy to help keep our environment safe while helping create new green jobs right here in South Dakota." Rather than go for the green-jobs enchilada, Rep. Noem supports a few temporary jobs to build a tar sands pipeline that will raise our gasoline prices and cost us long-term jobs.
Children and Education: Robinson expresses support for early childhood education and Head Start. Rep. Noem, as we know, helped kick 57,000 kids out of Head Start. Robinson also strikes a Weiland-Warrenesque position calling for giving student-loan holders the same interest-rate breaks international banks get via corporate welfare. Meanwhile, Rep. Noem tells folks worried about student debt to get a job.
Veterans: Robinson dings Rep. Noem for voting to cut funding for veterans' programs. She says "it’s high time we had one of our own representing South Dakota military families in Washington." Showing her stripes is one good way for Robinson to cut into Noem's traditional conservative base... but let's hope she doesn't succeed so well with that argument that she gets Rick Weiland supporters to all flip to Vietnam veteran Larry Pressler.
"A Soldier's Pledge to Defend the Second Amendment": I feel an urge to roll my eyes. Really, Corinna? Do we have to roll over to the misguided gun-nuttery? Can no one run for office in this state without waving a gun and dead critters around?
But wait: Corinna sends me a little code, saying that she "sincerely understand[s] the purpose of the second amendment ~ to provide for a militia in defense of our great nation."
Hmm... she may not understand the purpose of a tilde and an em dash, but Robinson alludes here to the traditionalist, limited interpretation of the Second Amendment that I'd be happy to hear more of: the Founders saw firearms as a means of national defense, not an excuse to walk into a bar or courthouse with a machine gun strapped to your back.
Agriculture: Robinson says Rep. Noem stalled the 2012 Farm Bill, causing food prices to rise. I might need to see some more data on that:
- Bread spiked in anticipation of the 2012 failure, but actually dropped a bit right after the 2012 failure and has stayed pretty much at the high to which it climbed from 2004 to 2008.
- Ground beef has risen sharply since 2010, but that price climb stalled while the Farm Bill was in limbo, then bounced up when the Farm Bill finally passed last February.
- Eggs are following what looks like an typical inflationary trend, with a slight bounce when the Farm Bill failed in 2012, then a drop, then a climb right through passage in February 2014, then a slight drop this May... all the while remaining below the peak price of March 2008.
- Milk prices plummeted in November 2012 and have remained below their 2011 and 2012 peaks.
Robinson also dings Noem for the $3.4 million in farm subsidies her family has collected. An issue that has non-fatally hobbled Noem's conservative credentials since her first Congressional camapign. Remember, Robinson has received paychecks from the government all her life, but she actually worked for that money.
It's good to see that Robinson has settled on a policy platform. Now let's see her get the voters talking about that platform and asking their Congresswoman why she hasn't done better on those issue.
All of those issues should matter to voters. I think that what she should be hitting with is the shut down of the government and the votes against the ACA should be hung around NOem's neck like an anvil. The other main issue is veterans. It has been real quiet now in the House since the VA issues broke. NOem claims that they have control of the purse and I agree. Open that bad boy up and start to act like you give a care about veterans and their issues by fully funding the VA. That is what Robinson should be saying, that she would support the fully funding of the VA to avoid the shortcomings we have experienced.
Robinson didn't vote to slash food stamps for the poor and veterans while voting for farm subsidies for herself,did she?
President Obama will address many issues today in Texas and one of the those will be of NOem and her parties complete lack of work in the House. They have to go and it starts right here with NOem and goes up to the brilliant Gohmert from Texas along with the equally brilliant Steve King from the Sioux City area. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/211804-obama-to-press-executive-action-authority
President Obama is clearly telling all who are pissed with him to do their damn jobs and he ain't scared of their little fits and threats of impeachment or law suits. Go get'um sir and inspire the voters of this state to overthrow their republican overlords at the voting booths.
In South Dakota, the republicans want to impeach a black man for working hard. Clearly they are racists without a clue.
The black snake called the Keystone XL would only exacerbate the climate change that is happening right now. Here in South Dakota, we are just getting problems solved from years of drought that could come again tomorrow. We need to diversify our crops more than just to waste water with irrigation projects. Perhaps hemp would be the answer, it sure is not dairy. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/10/dairy-farmers-innevadafaceparchedpasturesthirdyearofdrought.html
Hyperbole: when's the last time you saw anybody packing a "machine gun" in these parts? At the courthouse or anywhere else?
Having said that, I would agree that candidates seem all too willing to pander, often without even a basic understanding of existing firearms laws and their effectiveness or lack thereof. My guess is that it is an easy button to push...
Cranky: O.K., maybe Rep. Betty Olson is only pushing for concealed weapons in courthouses and the Capitol... and she'd have a tough time hiding an AK-47 in her little britches. But some of the Gooney McBuckshot crowd would advocate for no restrictions on firearms in courthouses.
Cranky, there are plenty of photos of people carrying guns that look like AK 47s in Target stores. It wasn't just a one-time thing. They're still doing it in other stores.
Maybe he didn't walk into a bar or a courthouse, but according to the Argus (editorial column, Ellis maybe?) there was some guy walking around on Minnesota Ave with an AK47 strapped to his back earlier this week.
I saw Corinna just yesterday. It was on a milk carton.
Ba-dum-bum!