By Ed Randazzo
In the first week available to U.S. House members to spend time in their constituencies, our freshman Congresswoman Kristi Noem has been here in Rapid City and available to the people. She attended the Black Hills Stock Show on Sunday, engaging any and all who wished to speak to her….no microphones, staged events or fanfare, just out among the people.
Last evening I had the pleasure to attend an event at which she spoke to the group of about 100 about her first days in office and the challenges before her and her commitment to the conservative values on which she was elected. She spoke of the commitment of the freshman class to present a deficit reducing measure each week, her significant participation in the leadership of the House and her thoughts on upcoming issues. She took questions from the floor and answered each with great honesty and sincerity.
On my way home last evening I reflected on how refreshing it was to have our Congresswoman available and engaging the people in her huge at-large district, a marked contrast from our previous representative.
Thank you, Congresswoman Noem for your service and commitment to conservative South Dakota values and your accessibility to us.
It has been interesting to observe Kristi during and after the election. While she has kept a distance from the National and SD TEA party movement, she has spoken reassuringly to them. The party thrust her into a high profile position. I would have been more comfortable if she would have joined Bachmann (Minn) in the TEA Party Caucus. Our country is at a crossroad and we need strong Conservative leadership Now. But, she seems to get it as much as Republicans can. That’s OK if she is true to Conservative solutions. Anyway she is far and away superior to the last Rep we had. I am not much on style, but big on substance. So I will continue to watch her and send her my views.
I think she’s coming across as a brass naive rookie. “Better to remain silent, and be thought stupid, than to speak and remove all doubt.” Noem needs to listen, observe and learn for a while. She’s going off half-cocked and is impressing no one. It’s going to be a long two years, until we can replace her.
She was not elected to remain silent. Remaining silent and aloof and inaccessible to constituents was the path chosen by Mrs. Sandlin. Mrs. Noem is carrying out her pledge to us in admirable fashion and I appreciate her. It will likely be a long 2 years for those who will sit back and permit the further deterioration of our great country.
Noem is contributing to the deterioration of our great country. You don’t see it because of your extreme partisanship. And by the way, she was elected to represent all South Dakotans, not just conservatives. Not just fundamentalist extremists either. All South Dakotans.
What I see is a God-fearing, highly principled, professional Congresswoman genuinely standing for the South Dakota values for which she was elected. Your angst is sour grapes because you lost the election and now you want to wail and complain about partisanship. She is representing all South Dakotans, even you. Doesn’t that just torque your……
I don’t take political elections personally. Regardless of who wins or who’s is in office very little of it has a direct impact on the average American’s life. Noem won’t make any difference in the big picture. And who cares if she’s afraid of God? Maybe if she was living right she’d be able to see the beauty in God, as opposed to living in fear of Him. And perhaps she’d stop talking long enough to learn how to effectively represent all the people of her home state, instead of just the Republicans who share at least some of her religious beliefs. There is a learning curve to the job she was elected to do, and she needs to slow down.
NEWSFLASH: ELECTIONS ARE PERSONAL AND THEY HAVE CONSEQUENCES. How is that you know whether or not Kristi Noem is “living right?” Kristi Noem was elected. Were you elected to office? How many votes did you get? Her charge is to represent us. But since you don’t agree with her, you want her to be quiet. The voters of South Dakota chose her to represent us in Congress, not you.
I’m goin on what you said about her, that she’s in fear of God. You have nothing to fear if you live right, right? Noem squeaked out a victory, that means she is opposed by almost half our population. Instead of immediately pandering to the conservative half of our population she should settle down, learn her job, and represent all of us. Right now she’s only representing half of us, and doing a very poor job at that because she won’t take the time to learn how national politics function before shooting of her mouth.
Touched a nerve, did she? You anti-fundamentalist, progressive losers are such whiners.
I told you I don’t take politics personally. Sticks and stones……