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Rounds, Thune, Noem Avoid Public Meetings in South Dakota

Name three things South Dakotans didn't see last week....
Name three things South Dakotans didn’t see last week….

Last week’s Congressional recess just flew by! Senator John Thune barely had time to catch the state wrestling tournament and some college hoops in his hometown before jetting back to D.C. Representative Kristi Noem worked on her gubernatorial campaign and dodged rich capitalists’ questions. Senator Mike Rounds was mostly incommunicado (his Twitter account offered some updates about March events but no mention of public appearances last week). Somehow none of them found time to meet with the public that pays their salaries.

Of course, the GOP spin machine is now portraying its sponsors’ hermitage as fine and dandy and portraying citizens’ efforts to arrange such public meetings as “fake” “scheme[s]” and “hate rallies”.

Hate rallies? No, no, no, Pat. You don’t get to co-opt the language that properly describes Klan rallies, Nuremberg, and maybe editorial confabs at Breitbart to describe regular citizens’ vocal opposition to bad Cabinet picks and the unraveling of health coverage.

South Dakota Forward is no hate group; they are just politically engaged South Dakotans hosting a town hall for Senator Rounds tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at the Pierre Senior Center, 401 W Pleasant Drive, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is ill-timed, since Rounds and friends are back in Washington confirming Wilbur Ross for Commerce and reading Washington’s Farewell Address today and who knows what tomorrow. Senator Rounds can’t make it to Pierre, of course, but he could send some field staff to take notes for the boss and promise to call or write back with answers by the end of the week.

The Senator could also phone in, as he plans to do for Pierre’s KCCR Radio “Ask the Senator” program Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. But I suppose answering one round of questions is plenty of work. Responding to citizens twice in one day might just be too taxing for Senator Rounds.

21 Comments

  1. Charlie Johnson 2017-02-27 12:30

    If they cared they would seek out public input ! But they have all the answers they want in the form of polls, surveys, and out of state donations !

  2. mike from iowa 2017-02-27 13:08

    If they cared. You are correct.

  3. jerry 2017-02-27 13:17

    I can name several things that we did not see from these three, healthcare for veterans has been severely cut back with the hiring freeze. Next time you hear one of these traitors (Putin lovers) speak of their love for vets, you know that his not factual.

  4. moses6 2017-02-27 13:40

    Amazing how long photo op Thune has been in and cant get amandatory fundig health care for vets.He has plenyy of time for basketball games though.Slick Mike to busy right and the subsidy queen counting her money.

  5. Roger Cornelius 2017-02-27 14:00

    South Dakota voters don’t care either, if they did we would not be represented by the likes of these three. There are times when I think voters like being a glutton for punishment.
    Jerry, today 45’s White House announced a $54 billion hike in military spending with an equal amount cut in domestic spending.
    Tomorrow the circus ringmaster will deliver another of his leftover campaign speeches to a joint session of congress, should we listen in or do we already know what his lies will be.

  6. jerry 2017-02-27 14:21

    Here is the new plan for the trump infrastructure advancement. The new public transportation model is presented with air comfort riding. NOem, Thune and the other guy loved it and called all of this a huge breakthrough in technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VlrDLHAbnQ The 54 billion in military spending will help to insure that these new plans are where we are now going.

  7. Francis Schaffer 2017-02-27 15:47

    Maybe they have someone tracking local sales of pitchforks, feathers and wax.

  8. Joe Nelson 2017-02-27 16:59

    Rep. Noem will not be able to avoid public meetings after she is elected as South Dakota’s first female Governor. I was thinking Herseth-Sandlin would have been the first, but she took a different job.

  9. mike from iowa 2017-02-27 17:14

    Noem certainly has the chops to be the guv- doesn’t accomplish anything and some people say she looks good on a horse. An added bonus is her years supping at the public trough.

    Didn’t voters years ago have some expectations of the pols they elected?

  10. mike from iowa 2017-02-27 17:17

    Drumpf is taking credit for the Oscars flub saying they all concentrated on him. No conceit in this guy’s family. He has every bit of it.

  11. grudznick 2017-02-27 17:19

    Mr. Mike, beings you are from Iowa and I am not, can you elaborate on what “chops” means in your comment about Ms. Noem looking good on a horse?

  12. Monty 2017-02-27 18:26

    So who will show up at the Summit League tourney and risk getting booed?

  13. owen reitzel 2017-02-27 19:09

    How are they going to take on ISIS when they’re afraid to talk to their own people?

  14. Greg 2017-02-28 07:43

    Monty, Thune and Noem will get standing ovations at the Summit tourney. They are always well received by SD fans as they are very popular. Mike Rounds, not so much.

  15. Porter Lansing 2017-02-28 10:34

    OBAMACARE CAUSED THIS!!! If those Democrats hadn’t passed Obamacare and given the people something that helped them, these protests and angry crowds demanding answers never would have happened. BLAME OBAMA!!!
    “What needs to be done is a return to the good ‘ol days when sick people lost their houses to foreclosure and poor folks knew their place.”

  16. Clyde 2017-02-28 10:53

    Roger and Greg, I’m afraid you are right. I just can’t understand the deaf, dumb and blind voters of So Dak. I will never forget being west river and passing a beat to pieces old pickup driven by an equally beat up looking old cowboy. The only thing holding the pickup together was Bush Cheney and Rounds stickers which it was covered with. Wish I had had a camera because I’m afraid it would have been a picture of the average So Dak voter. To think this was the state that started Initiative and Referendum. Sigh…

  17. Paladn 2017-02-28 12:39

    Geez gang — Thune took time to have an article in the RC Journal! What da ya want? Oh yeah, that was probably written by a staff member.

  18. moses6 2017-02-28 14:05

    So Noem voted for us not to see president trumps O mean draft dodger Trumps tax returns is that right.

Comments are closed.