In the “No Need to Burn Either Bridge Yet” Department, GOP House candidate Dusty Johnson tweets from the Hughes County Republican dinner with non-committal equanimity:
150+ at the Hughes Co Lincoln Day Dinner. It was fun to talk to my hometown crowd. Both @martyjackley & @KristiNoem gave great speeches. pic.twitter.com/WMt88EpMDW
— Dusty Johnson (@DustyJohnson) February 22, 2017
Dusty’s nice-guy tweet came hours after Congresswoman Kristi Noem fired a law-and-order broadside at her gubernatorial opponent, Attorney General Marty Jackley. Over a year from the primary, there’s no need for Dusty to choose sides yet. But given that he and Noem are both subsidizing the GOP spin blog and Jackley isn’t, and given that the GOP spin blog may harbor some animus towards Dusty’s likely opponent, Shantel Krebs, the woman who unseated the GOP spin blog’s great bumbling patron Jason Gant, I speculate there is a 75% chance that Dusty and Kristi will seek some synergy pre-primary.
But what about us non-Republicans? If the election were held today, with no Democrats announced and Mike Huether equivocating and yucky, should we pick a favorite between the two Republicans?
For the moment, I’d pick Jackley over Noem. Jackley has allowed corruption to run rampant in state government (he was there when the state was dealing with its first EB-5 lawsuit, before Benda and Bollen inked the crazy privatization deal), but he also has executive experience in the Capitol. Kristi Noem looks nice, but she doesn’t have to run anything as one meager voice among 435 in the U.S. House. I won’t like Jackley’s leadership, but at least he’d provide leadership.
But Dems, don’t stick me with that choice! Get Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, get Joe Lowe, get me a Democrat who can ride the anti-Trump wave and take the Second Floor in 2018!
We have a lot of good candidates but they need to get started. Stephanie would be very good. Also, how about Billie Sutton, Bernie Hunhoff or Troy Heinert. The independent mayor of Sioux Falls won’t win west of Tea. But it is time for our guy or gal to kick it.
“Kristi Noem looks nice” …one of the more sexist comments I’ve seen on this forum
Ryan Deplorable- if that is one of the more sexist comments on this forum than I guess you are just complimenting the forum.
As a follower of The Donald, I would think you would applaud characterizations based upon looks. Doesn’t Trump size up every woman he meets based upon their visual appeal to him?
The misogynist in chief:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/donald-trump-said-a-lot-of-gross-things-about-women-on-howar?utm_term=.xck32PYp2#.qpeWBr4DB
The GOP spin blog will always be influenced by it’s leader’s emotionally vacant relationship with his FBI agent father. As a “holster sniffer” of the highest level, Powers will be a devoted “Jackley Jackal”, with neither a doubt or a dissent.
Ryan, you wouldn’t sexism if it grabbed your crotch.
For the record, Marty Jackley also looks nice. He has absolutely luscious eyelashes.
And Dusty? He’s a cute little firecracker. Mm mm mm!
I have some reservations about Kristi’s fashion choices, but that does not change the fact that she looks nice, just like her competitor looks nice. The difference is that Noem doesn’t have much more to offer than looks. She would be a figurehead governor. Limited to this binary choice, I would vote for Jackley, based on my confidence in his greater executive and intellectual abilities.
So what now, Ryan: are you going to turn to every Republican primary voter who picks Marty and call them sexist, too? Tsk, tsk, tsk.
I agree with Mr. H. Ms. Noem looks nice, and so does Ms. Sandlin but she has a different job now. Dr. Bos looks nice. Ms. Hubbel looks nice. So what?
Only Ms. Noem out of that list of women has a chance to be Governor. Unless Ms. Hubbel picks Mr. Nelson as her running mate.
I also thought the Noem comment about her looks was a bit awkward. I remember some early talk about her rising prominence in SD politics was focused on her physical appearance, and it also seemed to demean and dismiss her because she is “attractive”. I disagree regularly with Rep. Noem’s politics, but I think she is smart and articulate.
I find no sexual allusion in the phrase “Kiristi Noem looks nice,” but rather a reference to the carefully tended image she chooses to project, as in this report from Sept. 5, 2010, from NPR.
BEIAN NAYLOR: Down the midway from the sheep barn, past a couple of corn dog and funnel cake stands, Kristi Noem stands in front of the Republican Party’s booth, wearing her signature red cowboy boots, jeans and a red and white flannel shirt.
And yes, the record of her actual performance is still maintained should anyone ever care to check it.
Dr. Newquist, you look nice tonight, too.
It’s laugh out loud funny how defensive the libs just got after being called sexists. “I think Jackley and Johnson are good looking too!!” You can comment on your own article all you want saying Jackley and Johnson are “good looking”, but you showed your true colors in the original piece. I have no skin in the game with regards to who wins the gubernatorial race, I was simply calling out the comment for what it is. You chose to describe the lone woman in the article on her looks first and foremost. No need to become defensive. Realize what you did and make the proper corrections in the article.
Enough with the buzzfeed articles, seriously.
Deplorable is clearly sexually confused which is typical of his party. Nothing to be ashamed of, come on out and seek the daylight. BTW, NOem wears that lumberjack shirt and you do not seem to mind that, what gives?
Jerry, what are you talking about? Complete lack of composure you are displaying.
A lot of republicans are sexually confused these days it seems. Cory’s comment was not sexist and he doesn’t have a history of making sexist comments about women either.
I guess with what the ‘pubs have for a leader with Trump, they just don’t know what to say and not say anymore. And ‘pubs certainly can’t come out of the closet if they’re gay, in SD anyway.
Well “None” of your hopes will win any of these races so I’m just going to sit back and smile at your frustration.
And for the record, Dusty didn’t say they give great speeches. He commented on those of that day. It’s important to report actual wording. Kind of like how the Urban Radio journalist has taken Trump’s speech and turned it into racism.
“Kristi looks nice” is hardly a sexist comment, in fact it is perfectly acceptable comment to gve a lady. What woman wouldn’t want to be told she looks nice.
It is nothing like the new republican motto, “grab ’em by the pu**y”.
Cory didn’t lead off with the Kristi comment, it is far down in the post therefore showing it was not the first thing on his mind.
What is important in this post is that just prior to this dinner, Kristi hit Marty in what Cory calls a “broadside” about law and order in South Dakota by going to 45’s new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.
Ryan Deplorable Trump supporter: You should know sexism when you see it. Here is a tour de force of sexism and mysogyny from your crotch grabbing el presidente’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq2zibeZ-xw
Typical troll: doesn’t really care about fighting sexism, just wants to distract us from the real topic, which is my contention that Jackley is more qualified to govern South Dakota than Noem… a contention Ryan finds too complicated to address, much less refute.
Pete at least checks in with an opinion that Noem is smart and articulate. I have apparently seen less evidence of that than Pete.
I stand by my statement, as supported by David: Noem looks nice. She has cultivated an appealing image ever since her pageant days. But she is not executive material.
Cory, you’re doing an astonishing service with this website and blog. Bravo. My comments about Representative Noem are based on my witnessing her in a number of public meetings and also witnessing her giving an assortment of speeches. Despite disagreeing with her politics on many issues, especially her ongoing ridicule of EPA , I felt she was never anything but smart, articulate and civil in those meetings and speeches. I’ve felt that whenever someone demeaned her and included noting her “looks” it was inappropriate. I may have misinterpreted your comment, and that may be because I have noted so many others commenting in a backhanded way about her appearance. I apologize.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/homeland-security-intelligence-report-disputes-premise-of-tr?utm_term=.ps902g9mD#.ciynVdogW
U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, supported Trump’s executive order. http://www.argusleader.com/…/01/30/…between-wall-and-travel-ban/97254602
Pete, thank you. You are right to be sensitive about comments about public officials’ looks. Such comments quite often indicate superficiality, sexism, and other yucky things.
But even smart, articulate, and civil in public appearances and meetings have not translated into a record of notable achievement, have they? She may look the part in a meeting, but her performance does not convince me she can deliver as an executive.