Lincoln County is responsible for sending one of the most Tea-baggin'est contingents of legislators to Pierre. District 6, the Lennox-Tea-Harrisburg corner of the county, elected ultra-conservatives Ernie Otten, Herman Otten, and Isaac Latterell last year. The other three districts that include Lincoln County (12, 13, and 16) are also all Republican. Lincoln County also gave Mitt Romney 62.0% of their vote, higher than the statewide average of 57.9%.
Now the Ottens, Latterell, and other conservatives must turn with the rest of their soaked constituents and urge Governor Dennis Daugaard to ask President Barack Obama for money we don't have to help them recover from the wrath of God:
So far, Lincoln County has seen $800,000 in rain and flood damage this spring and county officials say costs continues to rise with each storm that moves through.
"Every time we get a rain like this it just aggravates that. There are places where the dirt it falling away from culverts so there may be a hole in the road," Lincoln County Emergency Manager Harold Timmerman said.
Timmerman says on Tuesday, the Lincoln County Commissions plan to ask for a state disaster declaration to be sent to Governor Dennis Daugaard.
...Back on May 10th Lincoln County was declared a federal disaster after the spring snow and ice storm that caused millions of dollars worth of damage across [South Dakota] [Stephanie Gregory, "Lincoln County Hoping for Disaster Declaration After Flooding," KELOLand.com, 2013.06.09].
The hypocrisy of asking for money from a federal government against whom you vigorously campaign is a daily occurrence in South Dakota. But it wouldn't be hypocrisy if, instead of undermining civic spirit by demonizing government with cries of "Socialism!" and "Tyranny!" politicians like Otten, Latterell, and Kristi Noem would lead their constituents in honest conversations about the need to work together as a community through government to solve practical problems like cleaning up natural disasters.
Odd that Lincoln County has such close ties to Noem. Otten's son is her westriver director and Latterell's sister is on her staff in DC. No wonder she gets so much Tea Party cred without being Tea Party.
The federal government simply can't afford to put money into every state, county and local project in the country regardless of whether (when) it rains. At some point the federal government needs to cut off the spigot of free money, and state, county and local governments will have to tax people at the level necessary to support their own needs and wants. Without the free money, lower levels of government will be forced to more carefully allocate resources and to discern between needs and wants. When it's your own hard earned money you're spending, you're much more careful with it than if someone just gives money to you and you expect more to come.
Lincoln county has the money from 20,000 doctors that live in sf and get no county services for their tax dollars. The poor old farmers can pay for the roads without my federal tax dollars.
The whiners and federal welfare queens of southeast South Dakota are indistinguishable from those of northwest Iowa. You'd think they actually sent more money to Washington than they whine to receive.
It's good you have pointed this out. Hey reporters! I think there is a story here in pursuing comments from the legislators that the people voted into office based largely on the whole no more government spending-TEA party platitudes.
Ben, David, Ellis...you guys going to follow up with the Tea Party crowd or are you going to wait until they live their convictions and fight to deny any spending in Lincoln County.
If they don't, will you at least ask them if their convictions are only as strong as convenience will allow them?
Didn't think so...carry on. Just sad that you would cover their Tea Party shrieks to help them get elected and then look the other way when they conveniently find those same convictions...well...inconvenient.
But Jana, that would be just mean of those reporters to ask such politically charged questions in the midst of such suffering. You can't challenge or blame people when bad things happen. You're supposed to put politics aside and just help out... right?