Last updated on 2012.11.22
Rep. Kristi Noem toured the corporate offices at Vantage Point in Mitchell yesterday. She said all sorts of silly things.
- Noem called for more bipartisanship in Washington... which means we should replace her with Demcorat Matt Varilek to weaken the staunchly partisan grip of Speaker Boehner and his obstructionist House Republicans.
- Noem said she misses the "freedom and sense of purpose" (reporter Ross Dolan's words) she had legislating in South Dakota... which means we should do her a favor and send her back to Castlewood so she can be happy again. But does she really want to give up all the freedom she has now to skip committee meetings?
- Noem said her most "fun day" in Washington included marking up the Farm Bill... which means the most fun she had came in writing legislation that couldn't win enough votes to pass the House, guaranteed expiration of the current Farm Bill, and extended uncertainty for South Dakota farmers. Noem also doesn't note that she enjoyed a markup process that weakened country-of-origin labeling, blocked GIPSA, and would do other damage to South Dakota. Yes, fun indeed.
- Noem bemoaned that livestock producers "don't have a crop insurance program to participate in"... which means she wants to expand another government program, one that just happens to write her husband's paycheck.
- She repeated her claim that undeserving people are using loopholes to get food stamps... which means she's not reading her mail or paying attention to the simple reality that when Wall Street crashed the economy, more people needed help feeding themselves and their kids.
Maybe Kristi just needed to get all the foolishness out of her system before she faces Matt Varilek in only West River debate, in Rapid City, Friday. But her Mitchell appearance (wait, was that a public forum, or just another controlled environment with a hand-picked audience?) shows that she can't open her mouth without exposing the paucity of coherent ideas in her head.
I hope Varilek takes her to task. But he can't come off as mean.
I can't believe how bad she is at representing SD. Chris Nelson would have been sooooooo much better. He actually does more than sell his looks to voters. He works for them.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they keep track of legislators' attendance at meetings in Pierre? Kristi and her Republican caucus did away with attendance records in congress when they took over after the 2010 elections to make it harder to keep track of who was there or not there.
If you were running a business and your employees took a vote and said they just did away with attendance records - then they quit showing up, would you fire them? Stupid question, isn't it? We're the employers here, and it's time to fire our slack-off.
Noem is a complete failure as South Dakota's sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives for many reasons. Add to it now that Noem has joined the chorus of haters who identify poverty-stricken, down and out Americans as the political scapegoat for the GOP's excuse to get re-elected.
If Matt gets mad at her, it is justified on behalf of South Dakotans who believe in simple fairness and honesty. The GOP's Great Recession cratered our economy and left quite a lot of South Dakota families in the dumps. Instead of slapping them around at election time, Noem should be part of the solution. That, of course, would require she showed up to work on the committees she chose when she took office.
Noem is in over her head. I hope the voters get that message before election day. That would require a lot of money for paid advertising, especially since the good ol' boys in the state's news media lack interest in reporting her record and ineptitude.
I'm trying to figure out how Kristi, a "candidate for Congress" (that's how she IDs herself in her latest ad) also claims in same ad to have held over 800 constituent meetings in the last 2 years. Seriously?
That would make a good Varilek commercial by the way. A female employee comes to the boss & says "We just took a vote. No more keeping track of our work hours". Cut to employees shown leaving en masse with their golf bags. Narrator says: Kristi Noem and her Republican majority did away with committee attendance records when they took over congress in the 2010 election. Now Kristi's not showing up for work, and congress isn't getting its work done - like the farm bill, and highway funding. The boss in the ad tells the employee: "You're fired." The female employee pouts like Kristi. Matt says: I'm Matt Varilek and I approve this message. I'll show up for work, and I'll vote to reinstate attendance records to get congress working again.
a little off subject but Kristi should have drove about a quarter of a mile down the road to Verifications and see what outsourcing does to people
I know of people that are held accountable for every minute that they work. They must log everything they do including bathroom breaks. I wonder if either of the candidates could take that kind of scrutiny.
Noem House-mate Flake denies signing Norquist pact:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/261383-flake-denies-having-signed-norquist-no-tax-pledge
Kristi is an insult to hard working South Dakotan's. Her entrie life has been a hand out. She's a rich farmer who gets her money from us. She takes from the working people and pads her pockets with subsidies.
Chris Nelson would have been a people's congressman. Even Herseth was better than Kristi. Who would have thought?
Michael: Herseth Sandlin could have withstood such scrutiny. Varilek will be able to withstand it. Noem cannot.
R, that ad would be spectacular. Maybe some independent blogger with a cheap webcam and a flair for graphics should whip up such an ad and put it on YouTube?
If, hopefully she gets sent home this fall, let's do everything in our power to keep her from going to Pierre again. She might be better off staying home and raising her kids.
Seems sexist, Joan. Stick to lying to your nice old aunt.
KELOLAND called Kristi on the lies in her ad. The media is beginning to think that the truth matters.
Oh yeah, the claims in Matt Varilek's ads were deemed to be true.
http://www.keloland.com/newsdetail.cfm/fact-checking-noem-varilek-attack-ads/?id=138368
Kristi is also a little fuzzy on how many constituent meetings she had. Is it 500, 600 or 800. Those are all her numbers by the way.
@ArgusMontgomery Of Varilek's three debates with Noem (Dakotafest, Argus Leader, RCJ), he's putting in his best performance so far right now.
Weird lull in coverage of Varilek trouncing of Rep. Noem today....
I'd read the RCJ's coverage, but alas! that darned paywall. Anyone have video online yet?
Argus negotiating with Lee for rights to video? It sucked anyway.
Varilek has his way with Kristi: "Despite the fanfare it was Varilek, it seemed, who emerged from the 90-minute debate on top."
http://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/article_3284962c-14ca-11e2-8944-001a4bcf887a.html