Governor Kristi Noem likes to say that taking flak means you must be over the target. If that statement were true and not just an evasion of genuine criticism, we’d have to wonder what target she’s over to draw flak from the conservative press.
The Federalist joins the chorus of right-wingers who are complaining that Kristi Noem isn’t womaning the guns against corporate raiders seizing farmers’ land for their tax-break bounty of a carbon-dioxide pipeline:
Noem’s office did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
“We haven’t heard anything,” said South Dakota State Rep. Karla Lems, who proposed the legislation that would have prevented the weaponization of eminent domain by corporate conglomerates.
“In a normal world with everything Kristi Noem has said and done, you would think she would be standing hand in hand with us on this issue. You would think she would be saying, ‘not on my watch,’” Lems told The Federalist. “Yet she was on Capitol Hill a week-and-a-half ago saying all of the same things [about a federal land grab] all of us have been saying about this project.”
…“In my world, everybody matters,” Noem told lawmakers. “Doesn’t matter if you’re big or small or important or not important. You should listen to them, especially if they’re making a living off the land.”
When it comes to farmers protesting the carbon sequestration pipeline, however, Noem has blown off every rally [link added; Tristan Justice, “Where Is Kristi Noem as Her Corporate Sponsors Take Over Constituents’ Land?” The Federalist, 2023.06.22].
The Federalist picks up my linkstream connecting the same dots as I did last week to posit that Noem’s corporate connections are clouding her conservative targeting scanners:
Summit Carbon Solutions, an Iowa-based firm backed by South Korean investors, was a “Platinum Sponsor” of Noem’s second inauguration.
Noem’s son-in-law Kyle Peters is also a registered lobbyist for Gevo, a “Colorado-based renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company.” Last summer, Gevo bought 245 acres near South Dakota’s Lake Preston to build a jet fuel plant. In February, the company partnered with Summit Carbon Solutions to handle the new plant’s CO2 emissions. Peters published a post on LinkedIn celebrating a legislative day at the state capitol five months ago, around the same time lawmakers in the upper chamber torpedoed legislation to protect farmers from eminent domain [links in original; Justice, 2023.06.22].
A South Dakotan who left for university in Florida writes in the National Review that Noem may be ignoring the eminent domain fight because she’s just too busy making “harmless enough” TV ads in a desperate bid to save her failing bid for celebrity:
Throughout her tenure as governor, Noem has made a habit of performing for the national stage whenever she can. Rumors have swirled about her intentions for years now, but anyone mildly informed about her actions could tell you that she has aspirations for higher office. Her latest ad blitz on behalf of South Dakota is the latest sign that she’s angling for, if not a presidential nomination, then at least a spot on the ticket as VP.
…Unfortunately for my governor, it seems her 15 minutes of national fame has faded. Kari Lake has seemingly taken up residence at Mar-a-Lago (according to an unnamed People magazine source), and Nancy Mace has had her name thrown into the ring for Trump’s VP pick. The midwestern winds have blown Noem out of the limelight just as fast as they blew her in.
On the bright side, her newfound free time should give her more time to govern. If she isn’t angling for a national gig, she won’t have to take so many trips out of state. Rather than pontificate on Fox News, she’ll be free to investigate why a carbon-capture company is using eminent domain to force her constituents to grant easements on their land. All in all, her return to obscurity would be good for my home state, and if her Hollywood test run helps bring people in, all the better.
You are no plumber or dentist, Governor Noem. That much is true. But you are a governor, and your constituents would appreciate it if, of the 25,000 open jobs, you did the one you are qualified for [Scott Howard, “Go Home, Kristi Noem,” National Review, 2023.06.22].
When you’re taking flak from your own side, you must be way off target.
Noem goes where the money flows. She has no interest in SD citizens hardships and battles. It’s all about the big money donors for Kim Jong Noem.
I’d vote for Noem to be drumpf’s prison cell nate and nothing else.
…“In my world, everybody matters,” Noem told lawmakers. “Doesn’t matter if you’re big or small or important or not important. You should listen to them, especially if they’re making a living off the land.”
⏫️⏫️ now that is a mouthful and one of Barbie Noem’s most brazen lies. Just ask our Native American neighbors. Her and her gang’s mistreatment, ignoring and blocking issues and measures, lying in the process, attempting to send daddy t.rump after them for blocking the roads during Covid and and….
So selective the memory of the lying Ignoramus.
One would almost wish the 45th loser would pick her, so the state’d be rid of this grifting visitor to South Dakota with the elevated view of self.
For all the disruption, this pipeline must be a public entity if it must exist.
It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We have nothing to lose but our chance.
We must love and protect one another.
This is what democracy looks like.
We are awake.
We will never go back to sleep.
We will menace oppressors.
We will never stop resisting.
All Power to All the people
In all four sacred directions.
We are all related.
Progress is a process.
Join us so that the people may live.
The poem by All Mammal is an incredibly powerful and inspiring call to action. The words “It is our duty to fight for our freedom” are a rallying cry for justice and equality, and the rest of the poem urges us to work together to create a better future for all people.
The use of “All Power to All the people In all four sacred directions” shows a deep respect for diversity and inclusivity, and the final line “Join us so that the people may live” is a poignant reminder of why this work is so important.
The author demonstrates a keen understanding of the struggle for justice and these words are sure to motivate and inspire others to join the fight.
A tip of Arlo’s hat to Ronda Rabe Hasenauer for nailing down exactly what is motivating Governor Noem and her teenage campaign to become a “national figure.”