Hat tip to South DaCola and to commenter Dr. Weiland, who pointed this out in my comment section yesterday: Think Progress lists 13 GOP Congressional freshmen who have picked lobbyists to handle them in Washington. Among them, South Dakota's own Representative-Elect Kristi Noem.
Rep.-elect Krisi Noem (R-SD) selected Jordon Stoick as her chief of staff. Stoick is a vice president at the lobbying firm Direct Impact. Direct Impact also specializes in building public support for corporate causes, boasting on its website that it once generated hundreds of letters to the FCC on behalf of the telecom industry [Lee Fang, "At Least 13 New Republican Members Of Congress Hire Corporate Lobbyists To Manage Their Office," Think Progress, 2010.12.09].
Lobbyists?!? Noooooooo(em)! Mr. Ehrisman, I am so glad you saved this picture.
So that's how Stoick paid for that million-dollar mansion.
During the campaign, Noem said that we couldn't trust a Congresswoman who was married to one of those dirty-bird lobbyists. ""Legislating and lobbying simply should not mix in the same household," Noem said. "It is a recipe for conflicts of interest and possibly even corruption." But mixing legislating lobbying in the office we pay for is apparently fine. And Noem is already meeting with lobbyists to help her set her corporate agenda.
I knew Kristi would be great for blogging. The headlines almost write themselves.
Stoick's employment history seems a bit flighty. (http://63.e5bed1.client.atlantech.net/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=74335)
He has been with Direct Impact only since June. As press secretary for Wicker, he made about $108,000.
(http://www.legistorm.com/person/Jordan_P_Stoick/10526.html)
Unless Mrs. Stoick has a doozy of a job, one must wonder if that $1.01 million house signals a resurgence of the subprime business.
2 bits says SDWC won't touch any of this with a 10 foot pole. The whole situation just drips with irony.