With her support for more government surveillance, more ag welfare, and more military spending, Rep. Kristi Noem will have as hard a time winning Jim DeMint's seal of approval as M. Michael Rounds.
The far-from-liberal rag Pierre Capital Journal smells Noem's faux-conservatism on disaster assistance for livestock producers. Pierre's editorial board questions whether we can afford to increase disaster assistance when climate change may make disasters a regular experience. And in a provocative statement for scribes surrounded by cattlemen, they ask whether ranchers deserve a special government handout:
The world is full of risk. If Rep. Noem thinks the federal government should step in and protect one industry from disaster, will she be willing to do the same for retailers, or manufacturers, or some other industries? Why does agriculture get special treatment? There are already industries such as insurance and banking that work closely with producers in farm country. We suggest private industry, not the federal government, is the better solution for weathering bad years on the ranch and farm. If the right solution doesn’t exist right now let private industry invent one. Farmers and ranchers got along without these federal programs until 2008 and we believe they can, and should, get along without them still [editorial, "Private Industry Is a Better Option Than Feds for Weathering Disaster," Pierre Capital Journal, 2013.04.28].
Again, that's no liberal rant. That's a straight-up conservative critique of Republicans who claim to be conservative. And that's a call to consistency that entitlement-minded Kristi Noem will not be able to answer coherently.
One word "hypocrite"
Disaster relief has expanded so greatly that every snow storm, every rain storm, every spring flood however minor, every hot summer - presents another opportunity to seek federal dollars.
The federal government simply can't afford to cover everyone's losses all the time. Nor can it afford to subsidize everyone's bad decisions - to build in a flood plain (or rebuild) for example.
Noem is playing the Washington game the way it has always been played. Complain about spending, but grab all of the money you can for the home folks. Everybody, if they think about it, knows it's wrong but they still want in line when the free money is being handed out.
This country needs more statesmen and fewer typical politicians in DC. It's not just everybody else's congressman causing the disfunction in DC and throwing away borrowed money on unworthy things. Until we elect people who walk the walk we will continue getting the Congress we have and deserve.
I tend to agree with you Rorschach. The disaster relief should be for extreme disasters-like Hurrican Sandy. Yes Noem is playing the Washington game and of course she's not alone.
I don't have a problem with the Feds helping out our state with disaster relief bbut maybe not the smaller stuff. I guess the question is where do we draw the line.
You see this with the defense budget as well. Look what happened last week. Congress wanted to build more Abraham tanks but the Army didn't want them. The tank is built in Ohio and their delegation went nuts and wanted to money approved for a tank the Army didn't want.
I'm sure there is more examples of that. It comes down to whose ox is being gored
The real hypocrites are the senators from Texas. They voted against relief for the Hurricane Sandy victims but they screamed for aid for the plant that blew up in West Texas.
I'm glad to see Kristi's hypocrisy is being called into question.
(Notice Ellis, Howie and Randazzo are silent while Noem pushes for an internet sales tax and big ag bailouts)
You would think that those guys on the right wing blogs would be going crazy right now with Noem's love of big government.
This late planting season with cold and snow is probably an ideal disaster opportunity for Noem to bring back some pork without a farm bill..
KN's math never added up from the first day she started campaigning in 2010. Increase spending on crop insurance, disaster relief, pine-beetle control, Ellsworth, Lewis and Clark, plus continued cuts in taxes equals a balance budget in KN's math sheet. What makes her math sell better than other candidates, the answer my friend is ..........?
Noem isn't a hypocrite, she is arithmetically-challenged. Just not fair to criticize her. Her tears might stain her pretty boots.
All hat...no cattle.
She voted against the Hurricane Sandy disaster bill. Thune was also a no vote.
Rep. Noem could be Fed up with Mike's Industry Liberal Faux-conservatism.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/obama-lets-farmers-ranchers-business-owners-recover-16984638
Les: let me kiss you!
http://dakotawarcollege.com/the-judge-has-spoken-in-strong-v-gant-and-tephanie-trong-isnt-going-to-like-it/comment-page-1/#comment-156115
Republicans filing frivolous lawsuits against other Republicans. The Stephanie Strong and Dan Lederman lawsuits are both of the same caliber. Lederman's will be thrown out of court in short order. His attorney should be sanctioned just as Stephanie Strong was sanctioned for their ridiculous abuses of the court system.
R, are we seeing a war of the USD good-old-boys' club against anyone within the party who would challenge their supremacy? Is this all just an effort to scare the non-lawyer outsider in the party away from offering any resistance to the established party elites?