Kristi Noem’s Record: Increasing Taxes for South Dakota’s Small Businesses

(October 29, 2010)-Throughout this campaign, Kristi Noem has claimed to be a small government politician who wants to reduce taxes, reduce the size of government and help out our small business employers.

And throughout this campaign, Kristi Noem has avoided giving specifics on her plans or evidence of tough choices she’s made while in Pierre.  Taking a closer look, it’s clear her rhetoric doesn’t stand up to her legislative record of increasing taxes and using stimulus dollars to balance the state budget.  Not to mention the millions in federal farm subsidies she accepted.

In just this term in Pierre, Kristi Noem introduced, sponsored, or voted for legislation to increase taxes on South Dakotans at least seven times.

• In 2010, Noem cosponsored SB 186, which increases taxes on small businesses to cover shortfalls in the state unemployment insurance fund.
• In 2009, she was the prime sponsor of HB 1217, which gives the Governor authority to raise taxes unilaterally by suspending tax exemptions – such as exemptions on churches, hospitals, doctors, clinics and prescription drugs.
• She was also the prime sponsor of HB 1218, which increases taxes by raising fees collected by any state department or agency by 2.5% per year since the last time they were raised.  
• She was also the prime sponsor of HB 1229, which increased the gross receipts tax on South Dakota’s tourism industry by 50%.
• She voted to increase vehicle license fees by 67% (HB 1007), and cosponsored another bill to raise license fees on vehicles older than 5 years by an additional 33% (SB 11).
• She cosponsored SB 116, which imposes a new gas tax for ethyl and methyl alcohol used in motor vehicles.

(When not raising taxes, Kristi Noem has spent her time in Pierre fighting to regulate acupuncturists and tanning beds.)

Raising taxes only accounts for one side of the ledger.  It’s clear that while Kristi Noem talks a big game about cutting spending, she isn’t shy about accepting the same federal subsidies she decries.

Noem’s Family Ranch Received Nearly $3 Million in Farm Subsidies.
From 1995-2006, Noem’s family ranch, Racota Valley Ranch, received nearly $3 million in federal farm subsidies. As of 2009, Noem’s stake in the ranch was 16.9 percent. She said her mother and brothers bought her out in 2009. [Argus Leader, 3/4/10]

Noem Received More Subsidies than Her Neighbors, Outpaced her Neighboring Farms by $2 Million.

According to the Environmental Working Group’s farm subsidies database, Noem’s farm received the most farm subsidies between 1995 and 2009 in her zip code. Her farm received $3,058,152.22 and beat out 127 other farms. The next closest farm received $1,130,087.10. [Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database, 7/6/10]

Noem’s Ranch in the One of the Top 20 Farms to Get the Most Subsidies in South Dakota. According to the Environmental Working Group’s farm subsidies database, Noem’s farm, the Racota Valley Ranch, received the 18th most subsidies between 1995 and 2009 in South Dakota. [Environmental Working Group, Farm Subsidy Database, 7/6/10]

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Kristi Noem Launches 11th Hour Desperate Attack

Wednesday, Noem Decries Personal Attacks; Thursday, She Authorizes and Pays for False Negative Attack on Stephanie’s Family

(October 28, 2010) – Less than 24 hours after saying her campaign won’t engage in negative personal attacks, Kristi Noem is doing just that, filling South Dakota television screens with a false attack on Stephanie Herseth Sandlin’s family.

“Unleashing a false negative attack the weekend before Election Day is straight out of the desperation political playbook,” said Betsy Hart, Deputy Campaign Manager for Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.  “Kristi Noem has only been a politician for four years, but she’s a quick learner when it comes to making false negative attacks to try to further her own political ambitions.  While Stephanie is fighting to change Washington, Kristi Noem’s recklessness and lies make it pretty clear she’d fit right in.”

Under even basic scrutiny, Noem’s attacks on Herseth Sandlin’s family fall flat.  Her ad attacks Herseth Sandlin for cosponsoring two bills that are good for South Dakota.  The first is strongly supported by the South Dakota Broadcasters Association, and the second helps protect the Second Amendment rights of South Dakotans.  Both pieces of legislation are also cosponsored by Senator John Thune.

Hart added, “Noem is attempting to smear Stephanie with even more lies in order to change the subject from her record of arrest warrants and her support for cutting Medicare benefits.  Stephanie has a proven record of putting South Dakota first and in the final days of the campaign, she will be talking to voters about her ideas to move forward in a constructive, bipartisan way to confront the challenges we face as a state and a nation.”

Kristi Noem at KELO debate, 10/27/10 (emphasis added):  “I think it’s important when you have an election and we’re talking about character, and we’re talking about personal negative attacks, we need to make sure that we look at both campaigns and know that my campaign, my ads on TV, have reflected the issues that South Dakotans care about.”

“…[The Herseth Sandlin campaign] focused on negative, personal attacks, character attacks. That is something that I don’t think is what should be the main goal here.”

Noem has Just Five Days to Promise She Won't Vote to Privatize Medicare and Social Security

76 Days and Counting Since Noem Refused to Sign Pledge To Protect South Dakota Seniors

October 28, 2010, Sioux Falls – With five days left to go until Election Day, South Dakotans are still waiting for an answer from Kristi Noem on her support for privatizing Medicare and Social Security. In May before the June primary, Noem said in a live chat with the Rapid City Journal that the “Roadmap” budget proposal authored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) was the “right direction for our country to go.” The Ryan Budget is widely recognized for its revival of proposals to privatize Social Security and Medicare.  

Noem has hailed Paul Ryan as a good Speaker of the House.  She accepted contributions from Ryan’s Prosperity PAC and is an NRCC “Young Gun,” a program founded by Paul Ryan to provide support and fundraising assistance to Republican Candidates.  Noem has refused to back off from her support of Paul Ryan's budget, which would privatize Social Security and Medicare. 

By the Numbers:

·         169-The number of days since Noem said that the Ryan ‘Roadmap’ was the “right directions for our country to go.”

·         78-The number of days since Noem claimed never to have taken a position on privatization of Medicare and Social Security.

·         76 Days-The number of days since Noem refused to sign a pledge from South Dakota Seniors to oppose the Ryan Budget and all efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare. Herseth Sandlin signed this pledge.

·         2,500- The size of the contribution Noem’s campaign received from Rep. Paul Ryan’s Prosperity PAC.

·         22,867-The amount of financial assistance Noem has received from Rep. Paul Ryan’s Young Guns program.

·         5-The number of days Noem has left to pledge to oppose the Ryan ‘Roadmap’ and assure South Dakota voters that she will not support privatization of Medicare and Social Security.

The pledge put forth by South Dakota seniors that Herseth Sandlin signed, and Noem refused, reads:

If elected to Congress I will work to protect South Dakota seniors by opposing and voting against efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare, including the Paul Ryan budget as well as any efforts such as the proposals put forth by President George W. Bush in 2005, and any other attempt to privatize either Social Security or Medicare.

Background on Rep. Ryan’s Budget:

Senior Citizens Journal: Privatize Social Security, Medicare Into Voucher Program

According to the Senior Citizens Journal, “Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently proposed a “Roadmap for America’s Future:  2.0”.  In it, he suggests (among other proposals) the ‘sane’ way to proceed into the next decade would be to privatize Social Security and turn Medicare into a voucher program.” [Senior Citizens Journal, 2/6/10]

Washington Post: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are Privatized

“To move us to surpluses, Ryan's budget proposes reforms that are nothing short of violent. Medicare is privatized. Seniors get a voucher to buy private insurance, and the voucher's growth is far slower than the expected growth of health-care costs. Medicaid is also privatized. The employer tax exclusion is fully eliminated, replaced by a tax credit that grows more slowly than medical costs. And beyond health care, Social Security gets guaranteed, private accounts that CBO says will actually cost more than the present arrangement, further underscoring how ancillary the program is to our budget problem.” [Washington Post, Klein,  2/1/10]

“Proposal Would Abolish Medicare in Its Current Form”

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “The Ryan proposal would abolish Medicare in its current form for everyone currently below age 55. In other words, the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program would be eliminated for everyone becoming eligible after 2020…Overall, CBO estimates that the Ryan proposal would reduce projected Medicare expenditures by 37 percent by 2040, and 76 percent by 2080. (In other words, expenditures for the vouchers that would replace today’s Medicare would, in 2080, equal 24 percent of what Medicare expenditures are projected to be under current law.) Since the proposal does little to slow the growth of provider charges for health care services or insurance company charges for premiums, most of these reductions in Medicare spending would have to be borne by elderly and disabled beneficiaries themselves or their families.” [CBPP, 3/10/10]

Plan Eliminates the Entire Children’s Health Insurance Program

The roadmap would eliminate the Children’s Health Insurance Program and convert it into a voucher program that loses value over time. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “The Ryan plan would eliminate traditional Medicare, most of Medicaid, and all of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), converting these health programs largely to vouchers that low-income households, seniors, and people with disabilities could use to help buy insurance in the private health insurance market. Under Ryan’s plan, the value of the vouchers would fall further behind the rising cost of health care with each passing year, so they would purchase less health coverage over time… The Ryan proposal thus would sharply reduce or eliminate all major forms of health insurance that spread risk by pooling healthy and less-healthy people together on a large scale. It would do so without taking significant action to create viable new pooling arrangements. Most Americans — including the poor and the elderly — would largely be left to purchase insurance on their own with a voucher or tax credit in an insurance market that would remain largely unreformed.” [CBPP, 3/10/10]

Center for American Progress: Republican Plan Would Eliminate Medicare

In a piece titled, “House GOP Medicare Elimination Plan Puts Conservatives in a Pickle,” Matthew Yglesias of the Center for American Progress wrote that “GOP budget chief Paul Ryan’s plan to balance the budget by eliminating Social Security and Medicare is putting some of his colleagues on the hot seat.” He continued, “The House GOP budget, by contrast, just goes after Medicare with a chain saw. Right now, the rapidly rising cost of health care implies rapidly increasing Medicare costs. Ryan doesn’t have a plan to control those exploding costs. Instead, his plan is to refuse to pay the bill. This saves a ton of money.” [Center for American Progress, 2/8/10]

  

Thompson: “Gradual Extermination” of Medicare

Derek Thompson, a staff editor at the Atlantic, wrote that, “There's a bit of a debate about whether Ryan's proposal is so honest it's crazy, or so crazy it's not serious. I think it's extremely serious -- not as a budget proposal, but as a dystopian parable. It's like reading 1984 for the next century, but with graphs… Six months after the Democrats' proposed Medicare savings made Republicans shout bloody murder (literally: Death Panels), Rep. Paul Ryan is now proposing the program's gradual extermination.” [The Atlantic, 2/2/10]

NCPSSM: Plan Would ‘Destroy’ Medicare and Social Security

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare discussing the Ryan/Republican plan wrote, “In short, it is a budget plan which decimates Social Security and Medicare in the name of deficit reduction.  The only thing new about this strategy, is the fact that Rep. Ryan isn’t shy about acknowledging that he believes seniors should foot the bill for our current economic nightmare…Destroying Social Security and Medicare, under the guise of deficit reduction, isn’t about creating sound economic policy it’s just more of the same old privatization politics, rewrapped, repackaged and rejected by the American people just two years ago.” [NCPSSM, 2/3/10]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tucker: Medicare is Eliminated

Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that, “It might not be popular, but at least Rep. Paul Ryan, the highest-ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, has had the honesty to make a solid proposal to bring down the deficit. He wants to eliminate Medicare and Medicaid. He also proposes deep cuts to Social Security.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/8/10]

Plan Risks Federal Bailouts of Social Security Private Accounts

Ryan’s plan privatizes Social Security which could require a federal bailout of private accounts if the market declined. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “Under the Ryan plan, individuals who divert a portion of their payroll tax contributions to private accounts would be guaranteed that they would receive back in retirement at least as much as they contributed, plus an adjustment for inflation. In essence, they would be given a federal guarantee against stock-market losses…This guarantee could require a major federal bailout of private accounts during periods when the stock market performs poorly. The cost of this guarantee, unlike that of traditional Social Security, could escalate rapidly and add suddenly and unpredictably to the federal deficit. Providing a federal guarantee for stock-market investments also could encourage risky investment decisions by individuals, as well as misguided attempts by policymakers to shore up weak or falling stock prices in response to pressures from constituents who are relying on these accounts to support them in old age.” [CBPP, 3/10/10]

Plan Fails to Control National Debt

Despite the claims of Rep. Ryan, his plan fails to control the growth in the national debt. His claims have relied on an incomplete analysis based on assumption’s provided by Ryan’s own staff. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “As a result of its costly new tax cuts for the wealthy, the Ryan plan would allow the federal debt to continue rising in relation to the size of the economy for at least four decades. Even in CBO’s analysis of the Ryan plan, which assumed — as Ryan’s staff specified but the Tax Policy Center has found to be incorrect — that revenues would not fall below their projected levels under current tax policies until after 2030, the federal debt would grow as a share of GDP until 2043, and the budget would not reach balance until 2063. Under the much more realistic revenue estimates that the Tax Policy Center has prepared, the budgetary outlook under the Ryan plan would be substantially worse.  Using TPC’s new revenue estimates, we estimate that the budget deficit under the Ryan plan would reach about 7 percent of GDP and the debt would grow to 90 percent of GDP by 2020. TPC estimates that revenues under the Ryan plan would average 16.3 percent of GDP over the period from 2011 through 2020.” [CBPP, 3/10/10]

Herseth Sandlin: Noem Running Dishonest Campaign Designed to Mislead Voters

Holds Press Conferences in Sioux Falls, Rapid City to Expose Noem’s Series of Mailings That Lie to SD Voters

Deceptive Campaign Causes Voters to Question Whether They Can Trust Noem

October 25, 2010 – U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin held press conferences on each side of the state today, exposing Kristi Noem’s dishonest campaign, which is spreading lies to thousands of South Dakota voters.   

Herseth Sandin said, “Kristi Noem is running a dishonest campaign purposefully misleading voters about my record.  That’s unacceptable and indefensible.  South Dakota voters deserve better.”

Herseth Sandlin highlighted two recent mailers paid for and authorized by Kristi Noem, sent to South Dakota voters’ homes, one that misrepresents Herseth Sandlin’s record on guns, and another baseless attack about Ellsworth Air Force Base.  Herseth Sandlin said she had talked to numerous voters who were disappointed and offended by Noem’s deceptive mailers.

Herseth Sandlin added, “South Dakota voters don’t deserve to be lied to, and they don’t deserve our lone voice in Congress to be someone who will so easily put her own personal self-interest ahead of the truth or ahead of what’s best for the state.  If voters can’t trust what she says in campaign mailings, why should they trust she’ll put South Dakota first if she’s elected?  These two mailers clearly demonstrate that she’s reckless with the facts and she’s willing to lie about my record in her campaign. “

Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI), the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said, "Action on the Defense Appropriations bill is far from complete.  I expect that there will be many changes in Subcommittee drafts before final decisions are actually made.  Suggestions that funding levels have been finally decided are misinformed and misleading.  The Appropriations Committee has made no final decisions, nor has the House.  And, in fact, I would be surprised if, in the end, the program in question is actually cut."

Jon Goodwin, Federal Liaison for the National Rifle Association said, "Stephanie Herseth Sandlin earned her 'A' rating and endorsement from the NRA-PVF by consistently supporting gun owners and hunters.  Anyone who says otherwise is trying to mislead South Dakota voters."

NRA

Noem sent out a mailing trying to fool voters into believing that she received the NRA endorsement and that Rep. Herseth Sandlin has an F rating from that group. However, the NRA has endorsed Herseth Sandlin in this race, not Noem, and given her an A rating. This mailer is so false and deceptive that the NRA condemned Kristi Noem’s mail piece and her deceptive attempts to convince South Dakotans that she had received the endorsement.   

B-1

Just last Saturday, South Dakota voters received another mailer from Kristi Noem falsely telling them that funding for the B-1 Bomber has been cut, and blaming Rep. Herseth Sandlin for the supposed "cut."  Noem cites an unreleased, unavailable leaked report as her source – but no such report has been made public and no such cut has been made.  Moreover, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee calls her claim "misinformed and misleading."  Noem's attempts to use Ellsworth Air Force Base for partisan political gain run in stark contrast to the acknowledgment of many, including Governor Rounds and Senator Thune, that we have been successful in advocating for EAFB precisely because the effort has been bipartisan.

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Noem Agrees with Glenn Beck: Evolution is Ridiculous, Abolish the Department of Education

(October 24, 2010)-“Kristi Noem says she agrees with (Glenn) Beck's analysis" reports the British newspaper The Daily Mail in a profile today.

By this point, we all know Beck's extreme take on America. It's the same fringe analysis that says public education is against America's core values and wants to abolish the Department of Education.

It's the same analysis that calls evolution "ridiculous," equates life-saving stem cell research to eugenics, and concludes that the Federal Reserve - not Wall Street excess - is the cause of our financial crisis.

And Kristi Noem agrees, alright. "'His overall concept… is right,' she says."

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Noem Supports more Transparency from Third-Parties...Except When They're Helping Her

 (October 23, 2010)-As South Dakotans are subjected to more and more negative advertising from secretive, out-of-state third-parties, Kristi Noem told The Argus Leader Editorial Board that she believes that third-party advertising needs to be more transparent. However, South Dakotans have yet to see Kristi Noem take a principled stand against third-party groups that are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in South Dakota on 100% negative advertising without having to disclose their donors. Noem claims that she has "no control" over third parties and isn't even legally allowed to converse with them.

Noem said, "Well I've always supported more transparency and I think when we talk about outside money being spent on elections, I think it's good to be transparent to know who's spending the dollars, who's coming in and playing. However. I can only speak on behalf of my campaign, because I certainly have no control over 3rd parties, and it would be illegal for me to even converse or talk to them."

 "Kristi Noem claims to believe in transparency, however, we have yet to see her ask shadowy out-of-state groups who don't have to disclose their donors to stop their 100% negative ad war on the airwaves in South Dakota," said Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. "It’s clear that these negative ads are meant to distract voters away from Kristi Noem’s record of warrants for her arrest and failures to appear in court. South Dakotans deserve to know who is trying to influence their election. If Kristi Noem truly believed in transparency like she claims, she would take a stand against this negative advertising from secretive out-of-state groups."

 In South Dakota, the third party groups currently running 100% negative advertising without having to disclose their donors include:

·         American Future Fund (Tied to racially-tinged Willie Horton ads  during the Bush-Dukakis election, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the Bush-Kerry election)

·         American Action Network (Founder implicated in Watergate, Organization Shares Office Space with Karl Rove's 'American Crossroads')

·         Common Sense Issues (Tied to the Abortion Ban referendums in South Dakota in 06 and 08)

Read the article here.

Proof from MDR that Kristi & her campaign can't be trusted.

More proof from the Mitchell Daily Republic that Kristi Noem and her campaign will lie about the facts to get elected, and can't be trusted:

"Though Shields said Herseth Sandlin has a "D" grade from Gun Owners of America the organization's website showed a "B-" grade for her as of Thursday afternoon."

 Read it here.

Noem Says She Hasn't Had Time to Understand Issues Important to Veterans

Falsely Claims that Health Care Bill Affects TRICARE

(Sioux Falls, SD)-Yesterday, during an interview with the Argus Leader Editorial Board, Kristi Noem responded to a question asking what she would do for our nation’s veterans by saying “you know that’s not something I’ve had a whole lot of time to go back and to look at.” After four years in the state legislature and nine months on the campaign trail, Kristi Noem has not made understanding veterans issues a priority.

“Veterans gave the time to serve our country. In fact, they gave much more than their time,” said Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. “South Dakota has one of the highest rates of veterans in the country, so it's disappointing that Kristi Noem hasn't made time to study these issues.

During her interview, Noem also falsely claimed that the new health care legislation would affect TRICARE, even though Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates who was appointed under both President Bush and Obama, has issued a statement reassuring “servicemembers and their families that the legislation won't have a negative effect on TRICARE, and that their health and well-being are his highest priority.”

Herseth Sandlin added, "Instead of offering ideas and solutions, Noem simply repeats false national partisan talking points that mislead voters about health care for our veterans."

 To see the military’s website regarding TRICARE and the new health care reform bill, including Secretary Gates’ statement, click here.

As a Member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Chairman of its Subcomittee on Economic Opportunity, Herseth Sandlin has made serving veterans a top priority in Congress. She was instrumental in crafting the Post-9/11 GI Bill that provided the largest increase in veterans’ education benefits since World War II. Herseth Sandlin has also long advocated for Advance Appropriations for the VA to ensure that critical resources for veteran health care are not held hostage to yearly budgeting battles. This legislation was signed into law this year. In addition, Rep. Herseth Sandlin’s Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act was signed into law this year, recognizing the growing number of women entering the VA health care system and the importance of updating facilities and policies to meet their needs.

Transcript of Question on Veterans:

INT: We just have a couple questions that have come up. What can you do, referring to health care again, what can you do for veterans? You know, what can you do?

KN: Well, the first thing I would do is repeal the health care bill. Because I think one of the things that people don’t really, aren’t talking about, don’t realize yet is that the cuts that come into the Medicare program the Medicare Advantage program translate into cuts to TRICARE as well, which is benefits that our veterans depend upon. So that’s going to be very detrimental to our veterans. As I visit with them on this campaign, they feel, many of them feel that they’re promised a certain set of benefits when they sign up and they aren’t being followed through on, and that they aren’t getting everything that they felt they were entitled to when they signed up, and you know that’s not something I’ve had a whole lot of time to go back and to look at and to make sure and do that research, but that’s certainly one of those things that I would pursue that the commitments we’re making to our military men and women when they sign up to serve out country, that we follow through on that too, and take care of them, because it’s extremely important that we don’t come in and fix an individual case by case basis, but that we’re providing all of them with quality care, and what they feel like they were agreed to.

Check it Out: Republic Insider: Noem and Hannity

Tom Lawrence reports that Noem "hasn’t done a lot of interviews with South Dakota journalists lately and declined to take part in a debate with Rapid City TV station KOTA."

Read it here.

State's Attorney Statement on Noem Attempt to Downplay Arrest Warrants, Failures to Appear, Habitual Speeding

October 20, 2010 – Mike Moore, State’s Attorney for Beadle County, released the following statement in response to Kristi Noem’s recent television ad, which seeks to dismiss the controversy surrounding Noem’s driving record, failures to appear in court and arrest warrants.  Noem’s ad describes her record as simply “speeding tickets” “that were all paid” and “dating back almost 21 years when Kristi was a teen.”

Statement from State’s Attorney Moore:

As a South Dakota prosecutor, it is both disappointing and troubling to see someone, especially an elected official and candidate for federal office, seek to dismiss such a serious record.  Kristi Noem’s record of numerous speeding violations, six failures to appear in court and two bench warrants issued for her arrest is not easily dismissible. 

Noem has received 20 speeding tickets, often for traveling at very high rates of speed.  Her most recent ticket was not far in the past, as her ad suggests.  It was last February – shortly after Noem announced her candidacy, and was for driving 94 miles per hour.

But to me, even more troubling than the speeding are the failures to appear in court and the arrest warrants.  A failure to appear in court reflects disregard for law enforcement and the judicial system, one of our three branches of government. 

Warrants for failure to appear cost taxpayers money: the prosecutor, court reporter, clerk, judge and the deputy who goes to serve the warrant are paid salaries by taxpayers. A failure to appear increases the workload in the judicial system and wastes already scarce court docket time and resources. 

Noem’s effort to dismiss the seriousness of her record is disappointing and irresponsible.  Noem is not above the law.  There is not one prosecutor in the state who would dismiss Noem’s record as easily and carelessly as she is.  That’s because all citizens have a responsibility to follow the law, and to hold themselves accountable when they don’t.  Noem when asked about the speeding tickets smiled and said it’s in her nature to “be in a hurry.”  That sends the wrong message to all law-abiding citizens and to those citizens that make mistakes but own up to them by paying their tickets on time.  

#  #  #

Check it Out: Rapid City Journal: Challenger Noem back out of only Rapid City debate

October 19,2010
by: David Montgomery

Rapid City will complete the entire election campaign without a debate between Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Kristi Noem after a planned debate at KOTA-TV was canceled.

The two candidates had been tentatively scheduled to face off Oct. 12 in Rapid City for an hour-long debate, half broadcast on TV and the rest streamed on KOTA’s website.

The Herseth Sandlin campaign confirmed their attendance at the debate Aug. 22, according to internal e-mails released by KOTA. The Noem campaign indicated in July that it could do a debate between Oct. 11 and Oct. 13 but never confirmed Noem’s attendance. On Sept. 21, Noem campaign manager Joshua Shields told KOTA that Noem wasn’t available for the Oct. 12 debate after not replying to at least two e-mails over two weeks.

Shields said a conflict with a Siouxland Republican Women event in Sioux Falls prevented Noem from appearing.

Herseth Sandlin cited a scheduling conflict in declining a proposed debate at the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association meeting in early September.

But Herseth Sandlin accused Noem of “hiding out” because her “debate performances in August demonstrated she has little to offer when it comes to policy specifics” in a news release.

Shields dismissed the charge.

“Kristi and Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin have debated five times. They’ll debate at least two more times,” he said. “Kristi has consistently shown the clear differences between her and Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin’s record.”

KOTA news director John Petersen declined to comment.

Gary Aguiar, a professor of political science at South Dakota State University, said the sight of an incumbent criticizing a challenger for not debating is somewhat unusual -- and a possible reflection of polls showing a tight race.

“In general, when incumbents are ahead, they prefer not to debate a challenger because it gives additional publicity to what usually is a relative unknown,” Aguiar said. “When incumbents feel threatened, we have seen in other races that they will debate because they feel like they have to show the differences between themselves and their challenger.”

Debates generally have little impact on a campaign, Aguiar said, but can help change voters’ perceptions of candidates.

Contact David Montgomery at 394-8329 or david.montgomery@rapidcityjournal.com

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_56a7c162-dbda-11df-b158-001cc4c002e0.html

More than 200 Republicans Announce Support for Herseth Sandlin

Republicans for Stephanie Appreciate Her Moderate, Bipartisan Approach, Commitment to Doing What’s Right for South Dakota

October 19, 2010 - More than 200 registered Republicans across South Dakota announced their support for Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today, citing her moderate, bipartisan approach and her commitment to work across party lines to stand up for our state’s priorities, regardless of partisan politics.

Three of these Republicans for Stephanie hosted a conference call with South Dakota media earlier this morning:

• Frank Brost, former Chief of Staff to Republican South Dakota Governors George Mickelson and Walter Dale Miller
• Casey Murschel, former Republican state legislator, Sioux Falls
• David Hersrud, owner of Hersrud's Family Dealerships in Belle Fourche and Sturgis
  

Frank Brost said, “I appreciate Stephanie’s willingness to stand up to her party’s leadership to do what’s right for our state.  We need more people like Stephanie in Congress.”

The list of Republicans for Stephanie is below – 207 and growing.

Casey Murschel, Sioux Falls

Jan Nicolay, Chester

Frank Brost, Rapid City

Maris D. Williams, Aberdeen

Pudge Ellwood, Aberdeen

Sharon Paranto, Aberdeen

Tina Belden, Aberdeen

Diane Giblin, Aberdeen

Lila Kostboth, Canistota

Arleen Honeycutt, Brandon

Calvin Honeycutt, Brandon

Ardyce Bremer, Colton

Trisha Sampson, Sioux Falls

Nancy Hansen, Aberdeen

Heather Burkman, Sioux Falls

Katherine Anderson, Garretson

Donna Dauman, Aberdeen

Larry Franklin, Mina

Diane Kreimann, Rapid City

Velma Austad, Elk Point

Darci Hustrulid, Sioux Falls

Kim Stackenwalt, Rapid City

Dave Stackenwalt, Rapid City

Branden Stackenwalt, Rapid City

Nancy Gowen, Rapid City

June Julius, Milbank

Lois Junker, Aberdeen

Michelle M Lavallee, Sioux Falls

Thomas Wendt, Belle Fourche

Linda Wendt, Belle Fourche

Thurlo Jensen, Spearfish

Billie Cornell, Spearfish

Lisa Irion, Spearfish

Alisa Folden, Mitchell

Linda Pelton, Avon

Elise Schilling, Clear Lake

Cindy Ibis, Mitchell

Ginger Peschl, Tyndall

Peggy Foltz, Rosholt

Constance Steiger, Mobridge

Delores Kurvink, Pierre

Gloria Benn, Rapid City

Carol Shoup, Onida

Tiffany Campbell, Sioux Falls

Darwin Unzelman, Sioux Falls

Alan Thorson, Sioux Falls

Deanna Helgeson, Sioux Falls

Donna Reiter, Sioux Falls

Jill Spiers, Sioux Falls

Mary Hinkle, Holabird

Michael O’Connor, Rapid City

Georgia O’Connor, Rapid City

Rose Fix, Aberdeen

Bonnie Locken, Aberdeen

David Zahn, Aberdeen

Jody Parsons, Columbia

Patricia Kneupfle, Herried

Doris Hasler, Clark

Joyce Fredrikson, Vermillion

Wanda Young, Wakonda

Jeffrey Gates, Watertown

Bill Jones, Rapid City

Renee Jones, Rapid City

Alyce Ellingson, Forestburg

Gene Ellingson, Forestburg

Rolland Petesch, Forestburg

Cornelius Clemens, Northville

Ruth Clemens, Northville

Dennis Wieker, Chancellor

Bill Aeschlimann, Hurley

Violet Ness, Lennox

Stanley Hagen, Parker

Virginia Kaufman, Parker

Gene Kaufman, Parker

Darrell Hubert, Beresford

Beverly French, Sioux Falls

Betty Hansen, Sioux Falls

Patrick Johnston, Sioux Falls

Tom Krause, Sioux Falls

Kay Krause, Sioux Falls

Neil McNaughton, Presho

Pat McNaughton, Presho

Donald Richey, Sioux Falls

Evelyn Starns, Sioux Falls

Beatrice Wentworth, Stickney

John Wentworth, Stickney

Tom Hitchcock, Huron

Keith Rearick, Huron

Lois Sundvold, Sioux Falls

Dorothy Byrum, Sioux Falls

Sharon Hofstad, Sioux Falls

Randy Lund, Sioux Falls

Rachelle Palmer, Sioux Falls

Kathleen Yttreness, Sioux Falls

Dennis Andachter, Sioux Falls

Marilyn Peters, Sioux Falls

Donna Stenberg, Brookings

Raymond Slechta, Sioux Falls

Pamela Pfeifer, Sioux Falls

Kathleen Gerdes, Sioux Falls

Delores Strang, Sioux Falls

Ruth Schemmel, Sioux Falls

Darhl Timm, Sioux Falls

Leo Skancke, Baltic

Marcella Skatvold, Dell Rapids

Ramona Brooks, Sioux Falls

Lloyd Leaders, Sioux Falls

Marlyce Kelly, Sioux Falls

Barbara McDowell, Sioux Falls

Joyce Kemp, Sioux Falls

Carol Madsen, Watertown

Susan Snyder, Lake City

Ann Melham, Watertown

Christina Allsup, Madison

DeLores Hausman, Brandon

David Hersrud, Sturgis

Anne Barlow, Rapid City

Clayton Gerken, Britton

Lisa Burling, Yankton

Sharon Fiedler, Yankton

Jessica Buhler, Onida

Dorothy Knoepfle, Lead

Jeff Joachim, Aberdeen

Pamela Boline, Mitchell

Kathleen Andersen, Hurley

Lowell Andersen, Hurley

Frederick Marso, Pierre

Marcene Gabel, Alcester

Darlene Lablanc, Eagle Butte

Todd Hubbard, Spearfish

Eileen Burrer, Aberdeen

Valerie Kavanaugh, Groton

Kim Heim, Madison

David Heim, Madison

Kristine Smith, Winner

Tammy Bechtold, Tabor

Margo Kronberg, Bison

Robert Kolb, Watertown

Rozann Krause, Watertown

Virginia Dejong, Aberdeen

Ruth Bierne, Aberdeen

William Bierne, Aberdeen

Sandy Wilkie, Aberdeen

Margaret Appl, Aberdeen

Roger Wilson, Aberdeen

Anita Bonen, Aberdeen

Richard Milbrandt, Aberdeen

Aleda Tollefson, Bath

Lee Grace, Watertown

Leona Vitalis, Pine Ridge

Roger Hallenbeck, Huron

Kenneth Daly, Columbia

Maxine Tessier, Pierre

Patricia Burg, Pierre

Ethel Fry, Pierre

David Merrill, Plankinton

Diane Sullivan, Mitchell

Darlene Juhnke, Parkston

Mary Salchert, Watertown

Jan Porter, Watertown

Joan Hakeman, Watertown

Pamela Berg, Watertown

Lynda Lawrence, Watertown

Carolyn Swenson, Volga

Michael Nelson, Langford

Jon Larsen, Spearfish

Grace Voeltz, Yankton

Helen Droppers, Yankton

Lucille Wysuph, Yankton

Ruth Erickson, Watertown

Katherine Svensen, Aberdeen

Waldemar Rutschke, Aberdeen

Shirley Ruml, Letcher

Christopher Gengler, Spearfish

Denise Stehly, Mitchell

Patricia Anderson, Mitchell

Gayle Goldin, Stratford

Gaylon Goldin, Stratford

Robert Miller, Watertown

Gerald Wiles, Watertown

Suellen Lutterman, Brookings

Avis Meyer, Brookings

Khristine Haensel, Brookings

Larry Lutterman, Brookings

Beth Gray, Sisseton

Betty Holida, Vienna

Barbara Hagen, Webster

Shirlee Blasé, Madison

Ruth Clemens, Northville

Linda Jackson, Watertown

Sharlene Wanttie, Aberdeen

Rita Gough, Salem

David Gough, Salem

Michael Bruggeman, Vermillion

Samantha Meyer, Vermillion

Susan Prentice, Wessington

Tasha Murphy, Rapid City

Kendra Ritchie, Rapid City

David Boehnke, Clark

Mike Eichelberg, Brookings

Sharon Darrow, Rapid City

Vynita Jacobson, Watertown

Meleta DeJong, Pierre

Margaret Gunderson, Mina

Georgia Meyer, Winner

Waren Muller, Yankton

Chris Madsen, Sioux Falls

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Kristi Noem a No-Show for First Televised Debate

KRISTI NOEM A NO-SHOW FOR KOTA DEBATE

Will she Commit to Other Debates With Kelo and SDPB?

(October 18, 2010)-A week ago, Kristi Noem was a no-show for the KOTA debate she and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin committed to in July. This will be the first election year since 1968 that KOTA will not host a Congressional candidate debate.  Noem provided South Dakotans living West River no reason for her withdrawal, and made no attempt to reschedule the debate.  That evening, she instead spoke to the Siouxland Republican Women in Sioux Falls.

"Kristi Noem's debate performances in August demonstrated that she has little to offer when it comes to policy specifics," said Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. "Now, instead of taking the tough questions from the media and the public, she's hoping hiding out and denying West River voters a chance to see both candidates discuss important issues like the future of Ellsworth and the pine beetle epidemic.  South Dakota only has one member of Congress, and voters deserve to have a firsthand look at the candidates."

In addition to ducking debates, Noem has canceled other public appearances including:

·         Rapid City Citizens for Liberty Tea Party Rally with Ted Nugent

·         National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) meeting

·         Roosevelt High School Young Democrats and Young Republicans

·         Meet and Greet at Citibank in Sioux Falls

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Check It Out: KEVN: Herseth Sandlin call on Noem to take stand against outside funding

KEVN Black Hills Fox
By: Al Van Zee
October 17, 2010

According to an article in the New York Times, if the Republicans make big gains in the House and Senate on Election Day, they will owe part of their victory to the millions of dollars raised and spent as a result of the Supreme Court Decision last summer making unlimited corporate campaign contributions legal.

According to the Times, several groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Action Network and Crossroads GPS have committed to spending well over $150 million in Congressional campaigns this fall.

And Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's campaign says a chunk of that money is being directed against her. Campaign staffers say the American Action Network plans to spend $418 thousand here in South Dakota before Election Day, and the money is unaccountable.

The American Future Fund is another group that is spending $353 thousand, and still another group called Common Sense is spending $100 thousand.

Sunday, the Herseth Sandlin campaign called on Kristi Noem to take a stand against the outside funding, saying "South Dakotan voters have no way to know where this money comes from."

http://www.blackhillsfox.com/2010/10/17/Herseth-Sandlin-calls-on-Noem-to-take-stand-against-outside-funding

Check It Out: Augustana Mirror

Angles 10/15/2010: Race for House heats up

By Thad Titze
October 15, 2010


Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin            by Thad Titze
I helped campaign for Kristi Noem in 2006 for the District 6 seat she holds in the SD House of Representatives. Her work in the Legislature has been a complete disappointment.

Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin is by far the better of the two candidates to represent South Dakota's interests in Washington, D.C.

Stephanie is smarter and better prepared than her opponent. I attended a candidate forum in the beginning of September.

Representative Herseth-Sandlin was clearly more knowledgeable on not just the general issues, but how specific programs are funded, why they are funded that way, and why she voted the way she did.
Noem's responses demonstrated both an inability to think on her feet, as well as a lack of preparation.

Congresswoman Herseth-Sandlin recognizes that "when schools flourish, all flourish."
Students at Augustana have concretely benefited from her work. Stephanie voted in Congress to increase the maximum Pell Grant award.

In addition, she supports expanding the Pell Grant and Perkins Loan Programs. Kristi, as assistant majority leader in the House, voted for a state budget that denied South Dakota schools the increases they were promised.

At the same time, she voted in favor of wasteful state spending we all could have done without.

The most destructive thing in politics is building barriers and not bridges. Stephanie works with Republicans and Democrats to get things done.

She does what she thinks will be best for South Dakota. South Dakota and Washington do not need Kristi's partisan attitude.

Additionally, Kristi holds herself above the law and wastes taxpayer's money by failing to show up in court and having warrants issued for her arrest.

Now, perhaps more than ever, we need a strong, independent voice in Congress.

That is why I'm voting for Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin.

Herseth Sandlin Calls on Noem to Reject Campaign Support, Funding from Watergate Masterminds

Herseth Sandlin:  Noem Relying On Outside National Special Interest Groups to Do Her Campaign's Dirty Work

(Sioux Falls, SD)-Over the next 16 days, the American Action Network, an organization founded by a key player in the Watergate scandal and not required to disclose its donors, will spend $418,000 of completely untraceable money on TV advertisements against Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Fred Malek, who is most famous for working for the Nixon campaign during Watergate, founded the American Action Network, which has been spending heavily in South Dakota on Kristi Noem’s behalf.

The New York Times reported this morning that “…the fund-raising practices that earned people convictions in Watergate — giving direct corporate money to a campaign and doing so secretly — are back in a different form in 2010.”

Malek’s American Action Network plans to raise and spend $418,000 here in South Dakota - and every dollar is completely undisclosed, unaccountable, and free from transparency.   Two other shadowy groups, the American Future Fund and Common Sense are spending $353,000 and $100,000 respectively using the same kind of undisclosed, unlimited national special interest money.  A number of radio stations across South Dakota have refused to run advertising produced by Common Sense because they deemed it inappropriate and offensive. 

“Kristi Noem needs to take a stand against the masterminds of Watergate who are trying to influence the outcome of the race for South Dakota’s lone Congressional seat,” said Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. “South Dakotan voters have no way to tell where this money comes from or whether these organizations care about any South Dakota priorities.  This is the difference in this election:  I'm focused on doing what's right for South Dakota, while my opponent is tied to national partisan special interests.” 

In addition, Kristi Noem has received donations to her campaign from Roger Hunt. Roger Hunt is known for being a proponent of the abortion bans that South Dakotans defeated in 2006 and 2008 and garnered attention for refusing to disclose the donor of a large donation to his PAC, which appeared to be founded solely to funnel anonymous donations, that was working for the abortion bans.

To read the full New York Times story entitled “Return of the Secret Donor,” click here.

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