Varilek Says Noem “Irresponsible” in Farm Bill; Noem Says Uncertainty No Big Deal

Democratic candidate for U.S. House Matt Varilek talked to the South Dakota Stockgrowers yesterday about the Farm Bill. The woman he should replace, Congresswoman Kristi Noem, did not. She was in Watertown, participating in a march for Alzheimer's, where she likely got to focus on her skill set of smiling, waving, and hugging nice old folks while avoiding any hard questions.

Varilek told the Stockgrowers that Rep. Noem's failure to push the Farm Bill through is "irresponsible":

But because the U.S. House and Kristi Noem walked away from the Farm Bill, folks here do not have that safety net in place. And we're dealing with a drought, the Farm Bill expires on September 30th, so it really is pretty irresponsible. I'm here to tell folks that we don't have to settle for that lack of results [Matt Varilek, quoted by Brad Sugden, "Matt Varilek Meets Local Producers at Stock Growers Convention," KOTA-TV, September 22, 2012].

Rep. Noem says not to worry, the expiration of the current Farm Bill one week from today won't cause much trouble. Most of the programs are funded at least to the end of this year. But the biggest disruption is the uncertainty Noem's impotence is causing for agribusiness:

The biggest effect [of the Farm Bill's Sept. 30 expiration] could be indirect, as farmers try to get loans for next year and businesses try to anticipate price changes.

Farmers "can go into their banker and say, "˜I think this is what's going to happen,' " said John Kersteins, director of government relations for the South Dakota Farmers Union. "But with all that uncertainty, the banker might say they don't have the capacity or the stability to go forward" and give the loan [David Montgomery, "What's Next for Farm Bill?" that Sioux Falls paper, September 18, 2012].

When uncertainty means a businessman can't get a loan, that sounds like a major disruption to me. Rep. Noem herself has said that uncertainty is a farmer's and rancher's "biggest fear." But when her failure to do her job causes that uncertainty, it becomes no big deal.

South Dakota can no longer waste its one House seat on a politician who can travel to Rapid City to get her picture taken with Elvis but not to answer for her failure to do her job. We need a Congressman who will show up, work hard, and get results.

Bonus rebuttal: Some "Dave" comments on the KOTA story that "Varilek is so attached to a government check that if he looses maybe he can get on welfare with a little help from his buddy Tim." Dave ignores two key facts:

1. Matt Varilek has a long resume of skills and experiences that make him a valuable public servant. He doesn't need welfare; he can earn his pay in whatever job he tackles.
2. Rep. Noem is at least as attached to government checks, given that her husband continues to pay the mortgage selling federally subsidized crop insurance, and given that for fifteen years, Noem and her siblings have kept the family farm afloat with nearly $3.2 million in welfare checks known as farm subsidies. You want to trot out standard GOP agitprop about over-reliance on welfare? Fire Noem.