The Minneapolis Star Tribune's editorial page staff elected to republish Republican strategist Liz Mair's column in the New York Times, Many Republican governors are quietly delivering results.
Among the "quiet" Republicans? Our governor Kristi Noem, who may have urged South Dakotans to put on our positive pants but has never been "quiet" as she flies around the country. Mair writes that Noem resisted lockdowns and shutdowns, but we've noted earlier that framing is overrated, in posts like Pants on fire at CPAC: Governor Kristi Noem claims "We kept kids in the classroom and Essential tweet about Noem's COVID record.
Friday morning at Dakota Free Press, Cory Allen Heiderlberger spotted another one in Noem Claims South Dakota Didn’t Take Elevated Unemployment Benefits During Pandemic:
Candidate Kristi Noem rode her Phony Express to Washington, D.C., yesterday to bore some young brownshirts and promote her book on national fascist TV. In her Newsmax conversation with Greta Van Susteren, Noem repeated her much-debunked lie that South Dakota has “the best economy in the country” (ah, now she shifts from strongest to best—is this another word game to dodge speaking of actual numbers that challenge her false superlative). But she also manufactured a new lie for her easily distracted national audience:
You know, during the pandemic, we were the only state that did not take those elevated unemployment benefits, and now everybody’s working [Gov. Kristi Noem, transcribed from interview with Greta Van Susteren, Newsmax, Washington, D.C., 2022.07.28, timestamp 5:00].
South Dakota took those elevated unemployment benefits during the pandemic. We were one of the states that made a show of ending that assistance early (although 12 states stopped suckling that teat before we did). We turned down the federal Lost Wages Assistance and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation in fall 2020. But for over a year, South Dakota accepted and distributed Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. In Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, South Dakota took nearly $88.7 million in elevated unemployment benefits from Uncle Sam to support our “Re-employment Insurance Fund”. South Dakota also accepted federal funding in the American Rescue Plan Act to “increase[…] the reimbursement rate from 50% to 75% for the amounts of compensation paid for weeks of unemployment beginning with the week ending April 10, 2021, and ending with week ending Sept. 4, 2021.” . . .
Jeepers. Math is hard.
The return of advisor Corey Lewandowski
While Heidelberger doesn't mention the presence of unsavory campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski at Noem's side in Washington, his name is on the DFP banner above.
David Smith was not so shy Friday in a Guardian article, Potential rival or running mate? Kristi Noem, the governor denying Trump a face on Mount Rushmore:
. . . Noem is widely seen as a potential rival – or running mate – for Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. This week she published a memoir, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland, and delivered speeches to the Heritage Foundation thinktank and National Conservative Student Conference in Washington.
At the latter event she was accompanied by former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, apparently working for her again after a brief hiatus, and she held an informal conversation with reporters where questions included the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed a woman’s right to abortion. . .
The link goes to a Politico Playbook newsletter from May 26, which noted:
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK —NOEM REUNITES WITH LEWANDOWSKI: Daniel Lippman reports that South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has reestablished ties with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski just months after severing them in the wake of accusations from a major GOP donor that Lewandowski had made unwanted sexual advances at a charity event. (Lewandowski has denied any wrongdoing.)
Three eyewitnesses spotted Noem and Lewandowski — along with several other people professionally associated with the strategist — on Wednesday morning at the Republican Governors Association meeting at the JW Marriott in downtown Nashville. One source told Daniel that Lewandowski was staffing or supporting Noem at the event. An aide to Lewandowski was seen fetching water for Noem at the hotel. He attended her panel at the RGA, according to a photo obtained by Playbook, and was also seen with her on a trip she made to California in April, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Lewandowski didn’t respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for Noem also didn't respond.
Prior to Noem cutting ties with Lewandowski last fall, he’d been a top adviser to the governor, who is widely seen as a potential 2024 candidate. In 2021, he traveled the country with Noem, introducing her to major Republican donors and power brokers. But after the sexual misconduct allegation last September, Noem spokesperson Ian Fury said that Lewandowski was “always a volunteer” and would “not be advising the governor in regard to the campaign or official office.”
The very next day, the Politico intell was picked up by Austin Goss at KEVN/Black Hills Fox in Governor Kristi Noem brings Corey Lewandowski back on:
In September, Governor Kristi Noem supposedly broke ties with controversial political advisor Corey Lewandowski. Lewandowski faced allegations that he sexually harassed a woman at a political event in Las Vegas, which Noem was present for.
Now, according to reporting by Politico, Lewandowski is back working with Noem. . . .
“He (Lewandowski) has resumed ties with Governor Noem, they were seen together at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Nashville this week,” said Politico reporter Daniel Lippman.
Lippman also reported that the two had been seen at a political function in California recently. Lippman’s sources told him that Lewandowski had been functioning in an advisor capacity to Noem at these political functions.
Beyond California and Tennessee, the two had been spotted together in a number of other states over the last several weeks, including Texas, Nebraska, and Washington.
“It is kind of interesting how they have resumed their ties, after Noem spokesperson Ian Fury said in late September they had cut ties because of the sexual misconduct allegation against Lewandowski in Las Vegas,” Lippman said.
It wasn’t the first time that Lewandowski had faced allegations of mistreating women. In 2016, the former Trump campaign manager briefly faced battery charges for yanking a journalist down at a Trump campaign event. That charge would eventually be dropped.
In 2017, Lewandowski was accused of touching a female Trump surrogate inappropriately.
Noem also vehemently denied allegations of an affair with Lewandowski last September.
Political analysts say Lewandowski, who remains close with many in former President Trump’s orbit, has helped open doors for Noem on the national stage.
“I think Lewandowski, by having been the campaign manager around the 2016 election, certainly knows the characters that are in Trump world,” said former University of South Dakota Political Science professor Michael Card. “I think that is likely what Governor Noem is trying to capitalize on by having him around.” . . .
Wonders never cease.
As for her Democratic opponent in the South Dakota gubernatorial contest, we've noted Jamie Smith will focus on South Dakota and shake hands with your dog while he's at it.
Banner: From the Dakota Free Press post, Noem Claims South Dakota Didn’t Take Elevated Unemployment Benefits During Pandemic.
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