My initial man-crush on Kristi is fading fast.
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Source: American Thinker
Kristi Noem for President? Not So Fast.
Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem made headlines in 2020 for keeping her state open during the COVID-19 outbreak and opposing Faucian dictates about masks, stay-at-home orders, and church closures. To this, conservatives applauded — and rightly so. But does holding the line during a pandemic in a state with less than 900 thousand people — about the size of Charlotte, North Carolina — now warrant the frenetic swell of support for Noem among conservatives to be the next vice president or even president? Absolutely not — especially at time when the fight for constitutional conservative values is more important than ever.
Noem said in her speech at the Conservative Action Political Committee, where she put on a visually stunning show, that “conservatives must be smarter than progressives.” Indeed they must — starting with the people they rally around to be their leaders. After listening to her speech, one would walk away thinking she fits the bill. She checked all the boxes: told the harrowing tale of keeping her state open in defiance of draconian demands, made jokes about the incompetence of the D.C. media (one could just hear the echo of Sarah Palin’s lame-stream media quips), talked enthusiastically about America’s founding and the Constitution, rallied the troops for limited government and our God-given rights, praised good old-fashioned American individuality, derided identity politics, told a touching personal story about her cowboy father, and ended with a plea for our children and their future.
Perfect. Just what all conservatives long to hear, and much like — the comparison is simply too obvious to ignore — Palin in her prime. We loved the Alaskan governor too. Sassy, fiery, intelligent, pretty, and 100-percent Americana.
Unlike Palin, however, Noem has a federal record that goes beyond her laudable COVID response and her brief time in the governor’s mansion. She served in Congress from 2011 to 2019, where she cast votes that affected all Americans, not just those in South Dakota. Alas, reality has a way of throwing cold water on us all.
Noem waxes eloquent about freedom, conservatism, and the Constitution, but when it came to voting, she was decidedly purple in her ideology and leadership within the House of Representatives. Contrary to conservative values, she voted for the bloated $855-billion Cromnibus spending package, voted against repealing federal biofuel and energy subsidy programs, voted against farm bill work requirements, voted against reducing funding for assistance housing programs, and voted against reducing funding for essential air service programs and other alternative energy requirements. However, she has been consistently pro-life and voted to bar funding of Obama’s policy to grant amnesty to illegal aliens, though at the time of this vote, she had an underwhelming 51-percent liberty score across the board.
Regarding voting scores, Heritage Action and Conservative Review gave her a failing grade of 58-percent lifetime liberty score. Compare this to Ted Cruz’s 91 percent, Rand Paul’s 89, and Mike Lee’s 96. The Club for Growth in 2017 gave her a lifetime score of 65 percent. Compare this to Justin Amash’s 99 percent, Andy Biggs’s 100 percent, and Jim Jordan’s 98 percent. The American Conservative Union in the same year gave her a lifetime average of 75 percent. Finally, Noem’s National Journal Composite Conservative Score, which was last recorded in 2013, was 27.5 percent.
During Noem’s many years in Congress, she held zero leadership positions on any committee or subcommittee. She succeeded sponsoring three bills (an Amber alert bill, an amendment to Title XI, and a peace and security act) that made it into law. The last piece of legislation is problematic — not so much because the law is overtly controversial — it had bipartisan support — but because of its focus and external support.
Additionally, the peace and security act wasn’t about liberty, limited government, conservative initiatives, or economic growth. It was about women. Having legislation about women isn’t intrinsically bad, but it does say something about your priorities when your most notable legislation as a woman is about women during an age of identity politics. It’s also revealing that the initiative was supported only by anti-conservative lobby groups.
The bill introduced by Noem in the 115th Congress was H.R. 2484 — Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, an issue previously advocated by the Obama administration. In the Senate, S. 1141 was introduced by a Democrat — Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who was considered as a running mate for Joe Biden. The bill states, “The United States should be a global leader in promoting the participation of women in conflict prevention, management, and resolution and post-conflict relief and recovery efforts; and the political participation and leadership of women in fragile environments, particularly during democratic transitions, is critical to sustaining democratic institutions.”
In other words, the United States is to be proactive in telling international entities that women — because of their sex — need to be involved in peacemaking because, evidently, they’re better at making peace. Again, not a necessarily a controversial issue — and it did receive Republican support and was signed into law by President Trump — but it’s not particularly “conservative” or limited regarding government involvement. And, as stated above, it received no support from conservative lobby groups.
Often, it’s revealing to grasp the essence of a bill by looking at who lobbies on its behalf. In the case of Noem’s legislation, there were two: J Street and Population Action International. J Street is a liberal “pro-Israel” group funded by George Soros — financial support that the head of J Street wanted to keep confidential and “misspoke” about when it was leaked. To ward off controversy, founder Jeremy Ben-Ami later apologized for “misleading” statements about Soros’s large funding of the lobby group.
J Street is extremely progressive and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here it stands apart from AIPAC, which is decidedly pro-Israel and supported by most Republicans. J Street also successfully labored to defeat Tea Party activists Joe Walsh and Allen West because they opposed the creation of a Palestinian state.
The other lobby group for Noem’s legislation was Population Action International, a feminist organization that supports universal access to abortion, climate change initiatives, and the reproductive “rights” of young people. It is ardently supported by the Feminist Majority Foundation and puts pressure on American politicians to support family planning programs, gender equality, and environmental sustainability on an international scale.
Exposing the sole lobby groups for Noem’s legislation does not mean she supports their agenda. However, when it comes to politics, you can learn much about a person’s political trajectories not only by what she says she stands for or by a singular stance on a particular issue, but who supports her when she steps up to present federal legislation. At best, this could mean she can connect on some points with an opposition bound by identity politics; at worst, it means she focuses on compromises rather than much-needed disruptive conservative initiatives.
In summary, Noem is a novice governor who has made some good decisions for her state during the pandemic and is able to give an attractive speech to conservatives. But she is a failed legislator when it comes to issues she says she supports; has proven herself in no leadership positions within Congress, where the mettle of national and international politics is truly tested; and is legislatively supported by groups that oppose everything conservatives hold dear.
THE END
All good points.
I would like to say this:
People change in the midst of a crisis, some for the better, some for the worse. Noem could have made a change for the better after getting out of Mordor for a while and having no lobbyists pressuring her.
I believe that the vast majority of people around the world, not just here, are horrified by their government’s actions regarding Covid-1984.
It could have very well sparked Noem’s moral compass to get back to center. I think she certainly sees the writing on the wall politically speaking anyway.
Lobbyists are a cancer on society, and are the ones calling the shots as they actually control all the money, money which fuels the beast.
We can talk about term limits till the cows come home, but as long as there are piles of money to be made by the demons running the show, nothing will change. Starve the beast and it dies. It will also ensure only people who actually want to serve the country will run.
Alas, the ticks in DC will never change the rules as long as they benefit them.
Then she should be open and honest about her record and own her mistakes.
As long as the government is spending $4TRILLION+ every year, there will be those standing in line and paying to get their “fair share” of the spending largess. The answer lies in cutting the size and scope of government at all levels. The chances of the District of Corruption imposing spending restrictions on themselves is below zero, so until the government collapses, we will have the DC ticks.
South Dakota is still under a “state of emergency” due to COVID, which allows local governments to impose restrictions on businesses and mask mandates.
So, she has no real principles, and she is a politician. But I repeat myself.
Yup. She’s the female John Thune.
Chief, I continue to be amazed at my own gullibility …. although I know you’re not. 🙂
I listed to her speech … my first real exposure to her …. and, I’m like, “Wow, this gal is terrific!! She might make a good POTUS some day!!”
The requisite platitudes, a pretty face, a nice smile, and a nice set of tits … and suddenly I forget that, yeah, she’s just another politician.
Shame on me.
Drunks drink and politicians lie.
Don’t listen to what people say; watch what they do.
I’d vote for a duck for Fire Chief, before a woman in a major executive position. Tear down that glass ceiling, Mr. Bubbles! You can do it!
I can’t think of a woman alive that would make a good President.
+1000 Star.
a lot can happen in 4 years
She’s a Politician, who have no morals to begin with and will do whatever the biggest donors desire.
And, as the Bible says, is created for and intended to be a follower, as a woman.
How can the followers be the leaders?
How can those being lead expect success from these “leaders”?
Those two things together are like 4 strikes in Baseball.
(downvoters, fire away on me, the messenger)
I stopped reading at this point: “She checked all the boxes.” Bullshit. She didn’t check a friggen one. I will not even consider walking into a voting booth until someone who wants to rule me is held to the Ron Paul standard. You attack the power centers: The Fed, The CIA, Corporatism, Pharma, etc. Did she ever specifically call for ending a single government program or just spew vague bullshit about ‘reducing government’? She’s exactly why I always detested “conservatives”. They’re so easily led down the garden path by the Rush Limbaugh gatekeepers. Trump has endorsed her-what does that tell you?
“You attack the power centers: The Fed, The CIA, Corporatism, Pharma, etc.” You die!
It’s why I stopped voting decades ago.
At some point, Un, we are going to have to take that risk. The alternative is slavery for us and our progeny.
+1 for “I stopped reading” in reply to a Stucky post 😉
+1 for Revealing The Truth.
I guess if you actually choose to be a politician you don’t qualify. sane people would run away from such a soulless job.
In other words, put not your trust in princes?
All members of the political class are owned, even the ones you like. When it counts, they will always support the very establishment whose directors want you enslaved or dead.
The government we have is far too big to be trusted to anyone. We will not begin to regain the liberty we have given up until we shrink the government to about 20% of the current oppressive force we now face.
Never gonna happen until it all crashes. The whole point of these huge gubmint bailouts and give-aways and stimulus and QE 1-4, etc. is to keep the Fed Greenback Ponzi afloat. That’s why gubmint always grows — b/c it literally cannot shrink, otherwise deflation sets in and the Fed house of cards implodes. Isn’t it interesting that in the past year, with all of the trillion$ in “relief packages”, there were no clutched pearls and grandstanding over raising the debt ceiling? No one mentioned it once. Funny how that charade disappeared, no?
Nothing changes until the Fed dies, and that ain’t gonna happen until it blows itself up.
Looks more like a Chris than a Kristi. Not falling for this one. Just another invert like gabbard, playing the role of faux conservative.
Excellent article, Stucky. Noem’s a Swamp creature. She supports importing more “refugees” into South Dakota. Oh, btw, the first big ‘surge’ of COVID was among refugee/immigrant workers at the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls.
Add in her national ads for oppressed people in Blue states to relocate to South Dakota, and it’s only a matter of time before SD turns blue because of her.
I would consider her qualifications if she is able to lick my sack while in the standing doggie position. She is a politician afterall and as such she should have no problem performing that task.
Any person that locked down, mandated masks or otherwise imposed any restriction on any U.S. American, which is everyone elected last I checked, which was never as it was glaringly clear, is a shit heel fucken tyrant following garbage science and even more garbage nanny state bullshit.
All these pro choice cunts exemplify that mindset. My body, my choice unless you are scared shitless of a government sponsored bogeyman named covid.
Other than not being terrible on my sex drive, that twat is as useless as all the rest of the shaved apes in office.
America used to be about being a renegade and bucking the system/ trends in favor of doing the right thing.
I am just looking forward to the new version of Nailin Palin with Cream Noem on the hub of porn.
Probably a more realistic version of her arriving on the scene anyhow.
ZFG, out.
P.S. polish that coin purse or give me death Noem. Tits and ass always make a pair of balls do the dumbest shit in the hopes of getting a piece of the quiff. Although, I have met a few women that were worth every bit of idiocy I pulled to get in their intellectual pants aside from the physical action.
P.P.S. She does not strike me as one with substance beneath the fillers in her cheeks. At least she does do some form of muscle training. Probably kegels too. And tonsil flexing. Happens to the best of us Stuckmeister.
This is good advice as it relates to wives and women politicians, although I don’t know how it would help you avoid Liz Cheney.
Her action on the Cannabis initiative exposed her as well as I need to see. She is just a political creature in a state small enough that she can’t afford to piss off real people. I’ll take any bet that says she based her opinion on anything but some wealthy people telling her what it should be.
Dubya in drag…
Soros doesn’t support Israel unless it is an Arab state. He is just as open borders for Israel as for Europe and the US. The ruling Likud Party declared Soros Persona non grata.
The light is on and the welcome mat is out in Hell for all of them…
Lipstick On A Pig??……The article should have been about the next president – President Harris
I wonder who will step up to create the America First scorecard that will replace Club for Growth and all of these other libertarian scorecards. Interesting business idea for someone.
Nothing is ever quite as it seems.
The fact is there are almost zero conservatives in politics. Conservatives, not RINOs.
This will only reverse after the economy collapses. At that point fiscal responsibility and individual liberty,
may
get a serious reconsideration.
I haven’t changed my mind. To me, she’s still butt-ugly.