By all accounts, Noem was sick of the weird stuff coming from the Legislature, in particular the House, when she summoned legislative leaders to her second-floor offices last week. Her message was simple: Cut it out.
There was the issue with the prudish dress code drawn up by House leadership, the one that several Republican women objected to. There was the spat between House Speaker Steve Haugaard and longtime lobbyist Yvonne Taylor, where Haugaard banned her from the House floor because she wrote something in May that he didn’t like
Ellis also reports that Governor Noem was as mad about the rash of secret hoghouse bills as I am, for all the right reasons:
And she wanted to know why there were more than 40 bills that had been introduced without meaningful content. These bills – vehicle bills or hoghouse bills – are used by lawmakers to spring surprise legislation late in the session before anyone has had time to review them. They are the antitheses of open government [Ellis, 2019.02.08].
Putting her mojo where her mouth is on transparency, Governor Noem then sent her team out to tell lobbyists and journalists like Ellis all about the royal butt-chewing.
Gee, Speaker Haugaard, if you really wanted a stronger Legislature, maybe you should have voted for Billie Sutton last fall. If just a few of you Republicans had spoken up for the Democratic candidate for Governor, you would not now have a Republican Governor cutting off your nutty ideas.
In his quest to illuminate Princess Kristi to her rightful Queenly status, he used an anecdote of an alleged showdown between Kristi and the Democrat Senate Leader:
“During a committee hearing, she confronted then-Sen. Scott Heidepriem, questioning whether Heidepriem had a conflict of interest for sponsoring a bill to expand casino gambling. It was a memorable exchange because Noem was pretty much a newcomer taking on one of the finest minds and best speakers ever to serve in the Legislature, and she showed no fear.”
Here’s what’s wrong. She did not confront him.
The incident was before House State Affairs. Heidepriem testified on a bill he felt would stop Iowa from building a casino across the state line east of Rowena. He proposed building one on the South Dakota side. He finished his testimony and asked if anyone had questions. (It was recorded. You should still be able to hear it.) He then excused himself, thinking the Committee chair Rep. Bob Faehn, R-Watertown, (also GOP House Leader) was done hearing the bill and announced he had to rush to a dental appointment. A little while after Heidepriem left the room, Kristi (then assistant committee chair and assistant GOP House Leader) piped up she wanted to talk about Heidepriem’s bill. She accused Heidepriem of a conflict of interest (which was a lie) and said passage of the bill would somehow enrich Heidepriem (another lie). The attack was a violation of legislative rules on two points:
1. The attack was made against Heidepriem personally, and not on the content of the bill.
2. The attack was made deliberately after the Senator left the room. This is more commonly called a knife in your back, a feat any coward can accomplish.
To spread some glory on the House Majority Leader, when the violation of rules was brought, ol’ Bob overruled the objection and made sure Kristi could complete her backstabbing without further interruption.
So, before somebody wants to commit Ellis’ sloppy writing to a time capsule, let’s all agree that it was far from “a newcomer taking on one of the finest minds and best speakers ever to serve in the Legislature, and she showed no fear.”
It was a cowardly, creepy hatchet job to undermine any pretensions Heidepriem might have had about running for governor.
grudznick
Mr. Tears, I too remember that exchange, except Ms. Noem was right about the sliminess of the high-browed former Republican.
96Tears
Yes, grud. Paybacks are hell, especially when it sickens you to remain a Republican. Especially in a state where it pays to be a Republican and there are punks everywhere willing to ambush you.
Certain Inflatable Recreational Devices
Nice shot, 96. Excellent aim!
Rorschach
And in retrospect, wasn’t Heidepriem right? Wouldn’t it be nice to have that casino on the South Dakota side of the border instead of the Iowa side of the border? By killing Heidepriem’s bill SD gave up a lot of tax money that the casino generates. This is as glaring an example of Kristi Noem and Republicans being wrong on an issue as there ever has been.
And why were Republicans so willing to be wrong on this issue? Because Heidepriem’s bill would have helped a South Dakota Indian tribe (Flandreau Santee Sioux), and South Dakota Republicans only want to take from Indian tribes – not give anything back. Any time that tribe has done anything to try to generate revenue the Republican state government has fought them.
96Tears
Rorschach, Heide was looking to protect the city of Sioux Falls from Iowa’s heavy handed gambling insurgencies, and I think he overestimated the threat to the city. Check the place out some time. The golf course is lousy. The games are the same as you would find in Deadwood or Flandreau. The casino food offerings do not compete with downtown Sioux Falls. I think you’d be hard pressed to prove that the Iowa casino poses any threat to any economies on the South Dakota side of the state line. But that’s not the issue here.
What still matters is the backstabbing and cowardice on full display by Kristi Noem 10 years ago. And what matters is Ellis’ attempt to shower the backstabbing coward in glory today.
Ellis. Ellis. Ellis.
He got it wrong. Again.
In his quest to illuminate Princess Kristi to her rightful Queenly status, he used an anecdote of an alleged showdown between Kristi and the Democrat Senate Leader:
“During a committee hearing, she confronted then-Sen. Scott Heidepriem, questioning whether Heidepriem had a conflict of interest for sponsoring a bill to expand casino gambling. It was a memorable exchange because Noem was pretty much a newcomer taking on one of the finest minds and best speakers ever to serve in the Legislature, and she showed no fear.”
Here’s what’s wrong. She did not confront him.
The incident was before House State Affairs. Heidepriem testified on a bill he felt would stop Iowa from building a casino across the state line east of Rowena. He proposed building one on the South Dakota side. He finished his testimony and asked if anyone had questions. (It was recorded. You should still be able to hear it.) He then excused himself, thinking the Committee chair Rep. Bob Faehn, R-Watertown, (also GOP House Leader) was done hearing the bill and announced he had to rush to a dental appointment. A little while after Heidepriem left the room, Kristi (then assistant committee chair and assistant GOP House Leader) piped up she wanted to talk about Heidepriem’s bill. She accused Heidepriem of a conflict of interest (which was a lie) and said passage of the bill would somehow enrich Heidepriem (another lie). The attack was a violation of legislative rules on two points:
1. The attack was made against Heidepriem personally, and not on the content of the bill.
2. The attack was made deliberately after the Senator left the room. This is more commonly called a knife in your back, a feat any coward can accomplish.
To spread some glory on the House Majority Leader, when the violation of rules was brought, ol’ Bob overruled the objection and made sure Kristi could complete her backstabbing without further interruption.
So, before somebody wants to commit Ellis’ sloppy writing to a time capsule, let’s all agree that it was far from “a newcomer taking on one of the finest minds and best speakers ever to serve in the Legislature, and she showed no fear.”
It was a cowardly, creepy hatchet job to undermine any pretensions Heidepriem might have had about running for governor.
Mr. Tears, I too remember that exchange, except Ms. Noem was right about the sliminess of the high-browed former Republican.
Yes, grud. Paybacks are hell, especially when it sickens you to remain a Republican. Especially in a state where it pays to be a Republican and there are punks everywhere willing to ambush you.
Nice shot, 96. Excellent aim!
And in retrospect, wasn’t Heidepriem right? Wouldn’t it be nice to have that casino on the South Dakota side of the border instead of the Iowa side of the border? By killing Heidepriem’s bill SD gave up a lot of tax money that the casino generates. This is as glaring an example of Kristi Noem and Republicans being wrong on an issue as there ever has been.
And why were Republicans so willing to be wrong on this issue? Because Heidepriem’s bill would have helped a South Dakota Indian tribe (Flandreau Santee Sioux), and South Dakota Republicans only want to take from Indian tribes – not give anything back. Any time that tribe has done anything to try to generate revenue the Republican state government has fought them.
Rorschach, Heide was looking to protect the city of Sioux Falls from Iowa’s heavy handed gambling insurgencies, and I think he overestimated the threat to the city. Check the place out some time. The golf course is lousy. The games are the same as you would find in Deadwood or Flandreau. The casino food offerings do not compete with downtown Sioux Falls. I think you’d be hard pressed to prove that the Iowa casino poses any threat to any economies on the South Dakota side of the state line. But that’s not the issue here.
What still matters is the backstabbing and cowardice on full display by Kristi Noem 10 years ago. And what matters is Ellis’ attempt to shower the backstabbing coward in glory today.