Last updated on 2012.09.18
This is Congresswoman Kristi Noem, literally phoning it in at the July 24 hearing of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs.
The subcommittee was hearing testimony on three bills affecting Native American tribes in Oregon and Arizona. Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael Black, member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and former Aberdonian, offered his testimony. Subcommittee chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) invited questions from three other members, then turned to South Dakota's lone Congresswoman (see timestamp 13:13 in the full video from the House Natural Resources Committee). Rep. Noem was apparently so engrossed in whatever e-mail or text or blog post she had on her screen that she missed the Chairman's cue. She waved off the opportunity to ask any questions of her fellow South Dakotan or to acknowledge his testimony on Native American interests.
Boy, even when Kristi manages to sit in one of her committee chairs, it's still empty.
She apparently was mistaken and thought she was elected to play Farmville and not to pass a Farm Bill. Honest mistake. I could see a Gilda Radner style apology.
"Jabber, jabber, jabber" is now on the congressional record. How great is that!
She didn't go to Washington to talk (or to listen) - she went there to text. It's all coming together.
As Jonathon Ellis tirelessly says "this is the worst job in America." I'm about as tired of that statement as I could be.
She get's paid $175,000 a year, is a celebrity in SD - which is what she wants, has millions of dollars at her disposal to promote herself and is on national TV to give her opinion a couple times a month.
Jabber, jabber, jabber. It's pathetic.
Cory, You are right. What has Noem done to get over 50% in November? Be the incumbent and that is about it.
She isn't doing anything that would force people to come over to her and she has those other 60,000 presidential year voters to deal with who most likely aren't a fan of hers or see her like this video makes her apear.
The Marking voters are likely not going to vote for her because they passed on maximizing their vote in a close election and making a change in 2010 and they knew they were throwing their vote away voting for Marking. That means they didn't want SHS and they didn't want Noem. Why would they want Noem in '12?
Noem is an embarrassment -- a very costly one! She is lazy and must think the issues in front of Congress are as trivial as the state legislature where she was widely viewed as lazy and disinterested in what was going on.
Still waiting on that farm bill, Kristi. Tick tock!
While "jabber jabber jabber" might be one of the more insightful things to come from Don Young's mouth, this just might become the political meme, equivalent to "Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?..."
Kristi Noem apparently isn't prepared for the changing dynamic in politics. It used to be that you could go to DC and not have anyone pay much attention to what you're doing there - except for the recorded votes you took. It's still that way in Pierre, and that's what she's used to. If your work habits are lousy, who cares - nobody's watching. If you want to get drunk every night on free booze and party with the lobbyists or the interns, who cares - nobody's watching and everybody does it to some degree.
But congress members are under a microscope, and will be ever more so in the future. When Rep. Noem skips meetings, it will come out. When she goes to meetings but doesn't pay attention it's on video, and it will come out. The time is coming when political parties, potential opponents, or deep pocket special interests will have people monitoring congress members 24/7. Going to their events. Watching where and with whom they spend the night. Keeping track of their schedules & their dalliances. Lazy people and those with lax morals will find it ever tougher to operate in Washington without everybody knowing what they are up to. Sooner or later the folks back home, when presented with enough information, will get fed up with a congress member who's not up to the task for one reason or another - or for several reasons.
Has Kristi ever been featured on Jay Leno's Jaywalking segments?
Hey Matt, there's an idea for the campaign...stop people on the street, in the fields, coffee shops and grain elevators - ask them specifically what Kristi has done to help South Dakota, what bills has she passed and if they think she represented them well...and why they think she has.
Maybe Kristi was texting and chatting with junior high kids to find out just how bad the food was in the school lunchroom ;^)
OMG, lol, brb, L8R, ttyl, yolo, B4N, CYA, QT...
Governing is hard!
Voters - You swapped Stephanie for Kristi. Feels good, huh?
As much as I disliked Stephanie's Blue Dog two-step, she was a hard-working, focused and productive House member who delivered the goods for South Dakota. Say what you will about Nancy Pelosi, Nancy never chose the farm bill or the wind production tax credit as political hostages to get the Democrats' agenda passed. In fact, those items were in the Democrats' agenda.
Voters swapped Stephanie for Kristi and they got what they asked for: John Boehner's obstructionist agenda to wreck America's economy. Kristi is a leader in Boehner's caucus. If you want somebody to fight for South Dakota's wind energy and agricultural needs, don't let Boehner have control of South Dakota's only House seat.
Jana -- Let's hope she wasn't driving and texting...
Her work ethic is pathetic.
Jana, You should seroiusly push hard to get Varilek to do a "Jay Walking" about Kristi. People do NOT like her. Other than she is hot.
I don't think many in Congress are impressed with her. He is not the only chairman who has had a problem with her.
The workhorses can spot a showhorse from a mile away, G-man. Don Young, bat-#$%t crazy as he is, thinks of himself as a workhorse.
Thanks Mike, glad you liked the idea.
As far as the whole Kristi as hot thing goes...I pray we've moved beyond the Sarah Palin phase of qualifying our candidates...I hope. God willing, substance will matter again.
Heard a good one the other day that could apply to Kristi.
"She would be good at foreign policy...because most policies are foreign to her." http://instantrimshot.com/
John Thune votes against veterans...again!
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=2&vote=00193
What the H-E-double hockey sticks!!!
Kristi just doesn't flat out show up until the last second for the farm bill, and then spends her time playing Angry Birds on her phone, and now Thune votes against The Veterans Jobs Corp Act.
Please tell me that someone is going to call out our "hot" congresspeople to the Republicans in SD that they are obviously not there to serve the people of South Dakota...they must be auditioning for a reality TV show or getting cute haircuts and pedicures. I'm afraid we have lost them to the glitz and glamor of the national stage.
Dear John and Kristi - In the immortal words of Desi Arnaz - "You both got some 'splanin' to do!â€
Struggling Michele Bachmann doesn't want to debate either: MPR.
Farm bill dead:
http://www.ewg.org/release/speaker-boehner-makes-wise-decision-reject-farm-bill#.UFtF96_2Kd0.twitter
Kristi representing South Dakota farmers = FAIL
John Thune representing veterans = FAIL*
*Thune voted this week against the Veterans Jobs Bill
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/veterans-jobs-bill-blocked-in-the-senate/
Kristi failed because of her own inaction and ineptness.
John failed because he truly believes that petty politics is more important than the veterans of the wars the GOP started.
Kristi said she comes home every weekend, and would continue to do so. Okay, let's make sure she doesn't have to fly every weekend, and can also stay home during the week. Does any work get done around her home or ranch? What a lazy fop. Also, can someone do something with her hair?
She wasn't even there 20 minutes later, and she never came back! I'm so glad she stayed to hear the testimony. She is very dedicated, obviously. Oi!