At least when I go to federal court, I do it to protect our First Amendment rights. Governor Kristi Noem just sues Uncle Sam over fireworks so she can shoot B-roll for her Presidential campaign… and now she has seventeen state Attorneys General getting in bed with her attention ploy:
A federal judge has ruled to allow the Attorneys General of 17 states to join in support of Governor Kristi Noem’s lawsuit against the federal government, filed after the National Park Service (NPS) rejected her permit for July 4 fireworks at Mount Rushmore.
…The amicus curiae brief was led by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Now approved, the list of Attorneys General which have joined, along with Schmidt, in support of Noem are as follows:
- Steve Marshall, Alabama
- Mark Brnovich, Arizona
- Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas
- Christopher Carr, Georgia
- Theodore Rokita, Indiana
- Daniel Cameron, Kentucky
- Jeff Landry, Louisiana
- Lynn Fitch, Mississippi
- Eric Schmitt, Missouri
- Austin Knudsen, Montana
- Douglas Peterson, Nebraska
- Dave Yost, Ohio
- Mike Hunter, Oklahoma
- Herbert Slatery, Tennessee
- Ken Paxton, Texas
- Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia [Jacob Newton, “Here Comes the Cavalry: Governor Kristi Noem Gets Out-of-State Help in Rushmore Fireworks Lawsuit,” KELO-TV, 2021.05.24]
Note that these seventeen attorneys general are helping while South Dakota’s killer A.G. Jason Ravnsborg is not, since Noem recognizes that having a lawyer who can’t cinch up his own necktie, not to mention a public official who killed a man while reading political blogs behind the wheel, wouldn’t look good in the campaign clips. But while Noem isn’t availing herself of her own AG’s legally prescribed services, she is happily spending state tax dollars to support her campaign:
The growing case comes with an accompanying tangle of attorneys. Representing the State of South Dakota and Governor Noem are Katie Hruska and Mark Miller, both state employees, as well as Brian Weir and Jeffrey Harris of the Virginia based law firm Consovoy McCarthy.
KELOLAND News has made a request to the Governor’s Office for the amount which the attorneys from Consovoy and McCarthy are being paid by the state. A final fee has not been determined, but according to an email from Noem’s communications director Ian Fury, “there is a contract with the law firm for hourly rates of $600 for partners and $450 for associates. The contract has a cap of $150,000.” Fury says the funds will be paid from the Extraordinary Litigation Fund, which has a budget of $301,973 [Newton, 2021.05.24].
Wow—as much as Governor Noem and her allies tell us they don’t want out-of-staters interfering in our politics, she sure likes having their help in her political campaign.
Adding to the smell of hypokristi in the morning is the rationale the seventeen Republican attorneys general give for sticking their noses in this Rushmore fireworks business. These Republican AGs complain to the court that the National Park Service and the Department of Interior denied Noem’s request to shoot firecrackers on federal property with “any evidence or reasoned explanation.” They accuse Interior of “erratic decision-making.” Such complaints are hilarious and ignorable, given the erratic and evidenceless nature of management we got for four years from the last guy Noem and her friends put in the White House. The only people ignoring evidence in this lawsuit are the plaintiffs who want us to believe that shooting fireworks in a dry national forest is a good idea.
In addition to granting amicus status to these Republican pilers-on, Judge Roberto Lange has also allowed the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to intervene on defense, since the tribe holds the Black Hills sacred and since the tribe contends Noem and her daughter are lying about consultations held with the tribes prior to the application for this year’s Rushmore fireworks. But hey, Kristi let some Indians hang around her fort in Pierre last Thursday and dance on her yard, so the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe will probably back off now, right?
The only thing more embarrassing than kristi noem being our governor is the fact that she has any supporters at all. Unreal.
Yeah, that suit has zero chance, but, Noem certainly has a gift for grift. Raising campaign money off this is right up there with the Trump University con.
Noem is so embarrassing! With all the problems in this state she chooses fireworks as her battle cry of the month. Instead of working on important issues she chooses frivolous, non-existent issues and who pays for all of it….the people of South Dakota.
$150,000 is big money anywhere in SD except for a few elite rich guys. And for CRST, this is money that has many other needs. But leave it to RAGA and Noem to piss away other Americans’ money on trivial pursuits to own the libs. And the tribes. Kudos to courageous and righteous Cheyenne River Indians!
It would be funny about Ravnsborg if it wasn’t so tragic and impotent of Noem to continue to pay this top law enforcement officer of the state as her political doll. Republicans—its only about politics, never the people’s general welfare.
Who solicited the republican Attorneys General to join this lawsuit? Is it the narcissist herself, a staffer, a political operative, her east coast attorneys? And who wrote the brief that these 17 Attorneys General joined? Who was paid and by whom to write that brief? When this political grandstanding lawsuit is concluded, what will be the total bill that has been paid with South Dakota tax dollars? And who came up with the idea that the narcissist’s pursuit of the presidency would be bolstered by pursuing a firework’s show? So many questions and another sad example of self-promotion at the expense of South Dakota citizens.
Fraud, waste, and abuse…
“smell of hypokristi” booyah! That’s one good zinger man.
This is fun and educational from Saint Molly Ivins back before dumbass dubya drop the reins on taxcuts for the wealthy.
https://buffalonews.com/news/in-politics-business-as-usual/article_87b43d63-2369-58b5-aff6-c63fc690b144.html
I don’t know the Cosmos Mystery might disappear in smoke and whoever lives at the bottom of the stratobowl might be in for it. The Reptiles should be ok however. Let the girl do it, whats a little forest fire on the fourth. I’m sure she would finance rebuilding with federal disaster money, she is a socialist you know.
Well…it isn’t firecrackers we are speaking of, its hundreds of thousands of dollars of Chinese pyrotechnics that will go up in smoke and flame along with the National Monument and the State and National Forest plus any private property that gets in the way of the Governor’s patriotic display of adolescent impulse. Is the State posting a bond for damages to government and private property or are the Governor’s $600 dollar an hour attorneys just saying “bill South Dakota later”. A bond must be in the amount of millions of dollars.The entire exercise has nothing to do with the future of the people of South Dakota, nor is it a benefit to their children, nor an enhancement of the natural splendor of the Black Hills. Its just another episode of Governor Noem in “La La Land”.
What Jerry said …
Sheldon Whitehouse
@SenWhitehouse
18h
A few weeks ago, the Senate debated Vanita Gupta’s nomination for Associate Attorney General. Republicans set their hair on fire trying to take her down. Now we’re back on the floor, with Republican hair aflame again, this time over Justice Department nominee Kristen Clarke.
***
I’m starting a new series of Senate floor speeches (with a brand new chart) exposing the scheme by right-wing donor interests to capture the U.S. Supreme Court and achieve through the Court’s power what they cannot through other branches of government.
…Tune in now for the first of my speeches tracing the decades-long special-interest scheme to capture the Supreme Court. Today, I look at where this all began. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mAplGu1RxPg
Will these states provide fire fighting equipment and personnel for the “just in case” scenario?
Hoping they cancel fireworks in the north central area of S.D. After last years fiasco in our town, many don’t want fireworks AT ALL!!!!
Who pays if someone loses a house? Or more?
This is the very essence of a “power grab” by Mitch McConnell and the Federalist Society that prevented reporting Russian election interference to the American people right before the 2015 election; all the while preventing Obama from replacing Merrick Garland and denying the Senate’s advice/consent leaving Justice Scalia’s seat vacant for 9 months; and then rushing in to seat Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Cony-Barrett by using Trump as his puppet.
Thune is at McConnell’s right hand. Every wish is his command. Cheney (not the daughter) was no Darth Vader, but merely a Col. Custer, it turns out. Thune is Darth Vader. And of course McConnell is Insidious.
Trump has merely been Putin’s puppet. Two thugs.
So my question is: if McConnell will do anything, say anything for Republican power, will he sacrifice our constitutional democracy? It sure looks like it. Its what Putin wants.
There has been something very sinister going on as both the Republican Party, and Vladimir Putin struggle to survive and continue their reins of terror. This is an evolving 50 year scheme, born by both the KGB and the GOP.
And interestingly, Trump’s money laundering business is much like SD’s new wealth industry in downtown Sioux Falls. They have a lot in common.
Can we accomplish enough in this brief window before the next election to save it? The lawyers serving McConnell, and the horsepower of RAGA state attorneys general, are the engine behind this Republican power grab. This is publicly financed. And unlimited dark money is at McConnell’s disposal.
And dumb politicians like Trump and Noem. EVERY elected position in SD is up for grabs by these new disrupting Republicans. Trump gave them the weapon of incivility.
As second largest city, RC has become a heated political battleground at city hall, the school board, and boards like West Dakota Water Development District (Tea Party types attempted a political power grab there in the last few years);
and nationally it looks like a Cheney/Romney ticket may compete too!
All hands on deck, Dems, or it won’t just be Paha Sapa burning this summer.
Cory: what is this on your blogsite?
There is a noncopyable warning under WHAT YOUR SAYING.
I’ve noticed it recently.
Chokelahoma’s AG who filed to support Noem resigned because he was bopping a state employee and got caught. Another upstanding, party of fauxknee family values and phony kristian liars and drumpf supporters is gone.
Other neat news, fortmer CEO of Overstock,Com is bankrolling the Arizona fraudit and claims the FBI asked him to have an affair with Maria Butt in a Sling before she and Paul Erickson did or did not do mattress mambo like crazed wolverines.