...No Other Public Events Scheduled
Congresswoman Kristi Noem has finally released a specific place and time for the roundtable discussion about flooding issues that she is holding in Pierre. Rep. Noem, House Transportation chair Rep. John Mica (R-FL), Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) and engineers from the U.S. Army Corps will meet Friday, August 19, from 10:30 a.m. to noon Central Daylight Time, at the Pierre Ramkota in Amphitheater 2.
Rep. Noem invites the public to attend. It remains unclear whether Rep. Noem will also invite the public to ask any questions or provide any input without first donating to her campaign. It remains unclear whether the public will receive any reminders of Rep. Noem's sketchy record on supporting flood assistance, or whether Rep. Noem will demand that Governor Dennis Daugaard stop pressing FEMA to drive up our deficit.
It also remains unclear whether we South Dakotans will get any other opportunities to interact with our Congresswoman during the long August recess. It took our Congresswoman's staff over a week to nail down the details of this stopover in Pierre; they apparently were bogged down sending out invitations to the exclusive Boehnerfest at the Minnehaha Country Club on August 18. (Note the priorities there.)
In signs that my blog has absolutely no influence whatsoever, aside from the Mica event, Noem's public calendar remains distressingly empty. On Facebook, her "government official" page has no calendar, her Wall shows little sign of engagement from the Noem office, and her only major activity appears to be archiving her photo ops.
Noem's campaign Facebook page has a blank Events page. Her Wall hasn't been updated since before the debt vote; the last thing Noem's social media coordinator found worth mentioning was that Kristi would be on Fox News again.
Noem's official Twitter feed announced the Mica visit on August 3 but has not updated followers with the date, time, and place. Her campaign Tweets have lain dormant since her big chat with Greta on Fox at the end of July. Neither account tells constituents where or when they might get to chat with her during the August recess.
Now consider what I just did. I went to five different websites, all managed by Rep. Noem's staff, hoping to find information about her public appearances. Two weeks after the last House vote of the summer, I can find information about one recess meeting with the Congresswoman. One.
You don't have to be a snarky blogger to feel shut out by Rep. Noem.
Update 08:35 CDT: Jonathan Ellis says that a veteran South Dakota Republican pol considers the Noem-Boehner country club breakfast event "stupid" and "elitist" and urges the Congresswoman to hold a public forum at the VFW. See, Kristi? It's not just me. It's your base that recognizes you're really dropping the August ball. Get some town halls on the calendar, now!
Who is keeping the political dairy?
The Govenors whose states are in the Missouri's drainage area will meet with the CORPS in Omaha, Neb., on Aug. 19 The meeting will focus on corps' management of the river this year and why it was unable to prevent major flooding. SO who will be in Pierre representing the CORPS for this meeting? All the big guns will be in Omaha. And the Govenors meeting has been on the calendar long before NOEM/MICA roadshow.