South Dakota's one and only Representative

[RandomVariable]

Introduction
Beautiful South Dakota
Representative Kristi Noem
Candidate Corinna Robinson
One Fair Vote
Conclusion

Introduction
South Dakota is having an election in which its one and only Representative will be decided. Either the incumbent Representative Kristi Noem will be reelected or the challenging candidate Corinna Robinson will be given the opportunity to represent the state of South Dakota for the next two years. The choice is about more than just two candidates. It is about South Dakota. South Dakota is a land of many things and a Representative must be willing to accept responsibility for being a part of each and every one of those. There are two candidates who are seeking to be next the Representative for South Dakota. Representative Kristi Noem has been elected twice and has over three a years of activity to exhibit her performance. Robinson has not served in public office before so her merits will have to be gauged on other past achievements. The election process will provide the final decision on the next Representative and the process should give each candidate a fair chance at success. The center of all this attention is none other than the great state of South Dakota.

 

[RandomVariable]

Beautiful South Dakota
What makes South Dakota so great? It is her people of course. The people of South Dakota live in cities, in towns, and on Native American reservations. While South Dakota is very sparsely populated, or perhaps because she is very sparsely populated, each environment provides a unique contribution to the state. While cities might not be as many and the population of these cities might not be great the three largest cities of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Arbeen, are familiar names to people in all parts of the country. The people in these cities are creative and hardworking and make the service industry the largest economic sector in the state. Also in these cities are health care professions. South Dakota is the home to the University of South Dakota's Sanford School of Medicine. Some of its graduate go on to work at the state's first specialty hospital, Avert Heart Specialty Hospital. Health care is the third largest industry in the state. South Dakotan in the rural areas make agricultural a major contributor to the economy. Corn, soybeans, and wheat are the main crops. The forth largest producer of ethanol in the U.S. is South Dakota. One of the largest industries is not found in the thriving urban areas nor in oceans of waving grain but in the natural beauty inherent in the land of South Dakota. People from locations far and wide, and Dakota natives themselves, make tourism the second largest industry in the state. The natural beauty and wonders they come to see are places such as, Wind Cave National Park, Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Jewel Cave National Monument, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Missouri National Recreational River, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Some South Dakotan have lived in the state for several generations, experiencing the coldest of winters and the hotest of summers and all the other trials and wonders of the South Dakota landscape. What would South Dakota be without the Native American tribes who live upon her soil. The name “South Dakota” means “friendly” or “allied” in the Siouan language. Today eight unique tribes live in South Dakota: the Cheyenne River Sioux, the Crow Creek Sioux, the Flandreau Santee Sioux, the Lower Brule Sioux, the Oglala Sioux, the Rosebud Sioux, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux, and the Yankton Sioux. These Native Americans are a part of America that goes back hundreds of years. Just as the warrior Crazy Horse knew protection of what is loved sometimes comes at great sacrifice so do the people of the Ellsworth Air Force Base, also one of the largest employers in the state. An Armed Forces presence reminds one that Dakota is not alone when it comes to being part of something larger. One such example is the United States government. While South Dakota's sparse population gives South Dakota only one Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives it only means that its Representative must be all the stronger to represent South Dakota with the endurance and determination that the state deserves. The state's incumbent Representive, Kristi Noem, has been at this task for over three years now.

 

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Representative Kristi Noem
South Dakota's incumbent Representative is Kristi Noem. As Representative of South Dakota she is charged to work diligently for the interests of all that is South Dakota and all it can become. Unfortunately she has fallen far short of the opportunity the citizens of South Dakota have bestowed upon her. Not only has she not done everything in her power for South Dakota in many instances she has acted in ways which were harmful to the state. The reason is not that she does not have the attention and the voice to achieve results for the state. The reason is just the opposite. Rep. Noem has become a Representative chosen to be one of the Republican elite in Washington. She is included in meetings with the senior party members. She is given committee assignments hand picked to increase her influence and her chances of winning reelection. This form of maneuvering can be seen in her two previous election wins and the run-up to the next election. In 2010 she rode in with what could be described as an uprising against big government's waste. Rep. Noem was then assigned to two Committees: the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Natural Resources. She was assigned to six Subcommittees: the Subcommittee of Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education; the Subcommittee of Workforce Protections; the Subcommittee of Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions; the Subcommittee of Indian and Alaska Native Affairs; the Subcommittee of National Parks, Forests and Public Lands; and the Subcommittee of Water and Power. In 2012 these Committees and Subcommittees probably looked great to voters of South Dakota. Rep. Noem might have made suggestions that being on these Committees and Subcommittees she could get things done in Washington for people who care about these issues. After being elected in 2012 she was assigned to a completely different set of Committees. She was assign to two Committees: the Agricultural Committee and the Armed Services Committee. Her new set of Subcommittees are: the Subcommittee of General Farm Commodities and Risk Management; the Subcommittee of Conservation, Energy, and Forestry; the Subcommittee of Readiness; the Subcommittee of Seapower and Projection Forces; and the Subcommittee of Military Personnel. If she is elected she will probably get a whole new set of Committees and Subcommittees. Perhaps she will be assigned to the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Rules Committee. Rep. Noem has voted for or in other ways support many bills or policies which seem contrary to the Committees and Subcommittees she has or is serving. Although she was on the Committee for Natural Resources she has just voted for several bills which came out of that Committee which would allow industries to do great harm to the environment. She was on the Subcommittee of Workforce Protections; the Subcommittee of Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions and yet she is against raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance benefits, and bringing immigration reform to the Floor of the House for a vote. She was also in favor of adding and keeping across the board cuts to food aid for low income families. Rep. Noem is in Washington for Kristi Noem despite any campaigning she might do to suggest otherwise. There are people who would do better. There is even a candidate running opposed to Rep. Noem in this election who would do better.

 

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Candidate Corinna Robinson
Corinna Robinson was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. She is a third generation South Dakotan. Like many South Dakotan she wanted to do everything she could for South Dakota and for her nation. As every service member on Ellsworth Air Force Base decided to do at one point or another in their life she signed up for active duty in the United State Armed Forces. Her Army career took her to many places and had her facing many challenges. She met those challenges and exceeded expectations in every environment she found herself. She volunteered for air borne training. Upon earning her jump wings she was assigned to an combat infantry unit. Later in her career duties lead her to Afghanistan where she was working 15 hour days 7 days a week. While not easy by any stretch of the imagination as a true South Dakotan she kept going through the even most difficult of trials. After 25 years of meeting and exceeding any challenge and expectation she incountered she retired from active duty. Those many years of service kept her way from her children entirely too much. While she wanted to return to her home in the great state of South Dakota she decided to take some time to spend with her children. The time spent in D.C. was not spent sitting idly by of course, not for Corinna Robinson, native South Dakotan. She took on a security job overseeing 100 facilities in the D.C. Area. While these responsibilities were challenging enough she experienced the sequestration first hand. She had to provide all the security services as before but with a greatly reduced staff. The sequestration turn out to be only a practice run for what she would face next, a government shut down. A shut down which was part of none other than South Dakota's own Representative Kristi Noem's doing. Without pay for herself and her team she maintain vigilance and security for all that she was responsible for. While Corinna Robinson had planned to stay in D.C. a little longer and return to run in 2016 the lack of qualifications of the current Representative from South Dakota brought Robinson to the realization that the time was now and the place to be was South Dakota. The next flight she took was not to some far off country to face the dangers of war but to South Dakota to fight the most important battle she had yet faced. Some people spend their entire life preparing for something which they do not see. They do not know will come but when it does all the pieces fall in place, the training which seemed specific to a specialized field, and the skills learned keeping a nation or a city safe now become what is needed for a new challenge. Given the opportunity Corinna Robinson will rise to the challenge and perform as she has always done, with selfless dedication and relentless determination. Robinson has experienced life where not everything is fair, where bad things happen to good people, just as we all have, but the one event which should always be fair and equal to all is the public election.

 

[RandomVariable]

One Fair Vote
One the most basic rights of a U.S. citizen is to be able to participate in a fair and honest election. An election where there is no manipulation or suppression of the vote. In the election between Rep. Noem and Candidate Robinson there is not going to be a fair election. The most barefaced violation of the right to vote as equals is being denied to Native Americans. The people who add the cultural diversity to South Dakota, the people who add a depth of understanding to South Dakota, and, if for no other reason, for the people who add to the tourism industry of South Dakota. Their voting opportunity is being curtailed and they have restrictions on voting that no other citizen of South Dakota has. For anyone who is a citizen of South Dakota this should be quite alarming. Even if they themselves are not Native American they should feel the injustice in such an act. If this act goes unchecked others might be subject to the same treatment should their votes be deemed a threat to those in power. Quite ironically Rep. Noem served on the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs in her first term as South Dakota Representative. Another challenge to getting an informed vote is students in South Dakota are not receiving the education they need to make decisions about national and international matters. While the state might have the some of the lowest tax rates in the nation South Dakota also has the lowest average teacher salary in the nation. Another irony that Rep. Noem served on the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. A third way the vote is being manipulated is an intentional attempt to sour the opinion of national politics in the urban areas. By overstating the problems in Washington and claiming that everyone there shares equal blame apathy develops and voters do not turn out to cast a vote for any candidate and their interests are not represented. All three of these challenges present an added level of difficulty for those in South Dakota to chose Corinna Robinson to represent them in Washington. All these challenges and more can be overcome. Corinna Robinson has the determination as a candidate to meet these challenges head on but she need the voters of South Dakota to also overcome these challenges. If this happens South Dakota will send a new Representative to Washington, one who will fight for South Dakota like no Representative from South Dakota ever has.

Conclusion
South Dakota is a beautiful state. Her industry and majesty rivals any other state in the nation, any other place on Earth. A special land deserves a uniquely qualified person. South Dakota is a sparely populated state and as such only gets one Representative. The Representative who will go to Washington with South Dakota a their primary objective. Corrina Robinson has proved herself in leadership and in combat. Give Corinna Robinson the opportunity to represent South Dakota and she will once again exceed all expectation. South Dakota gave Kristi Noem the opportunity but she has turned that into a chance for her own advancement. For far too long South Dakota has placed second in one and only state Representative.

 

[TheOldSchool]

?

 

[Mr. H.]

Wind Cave
Mount Rushmore
Devil's Tower

What's not to like?

 

[RandomVariable]

?

Wanted to make sure I grabbed 5 continuous posts. Miss counted by one.

 

[RandomVariable]

Wind Cave
Mount Rushmore
Devil's Tower

What's not to like?

My posts perhaps.

 

[TheOldSchool]

South Dakota is one of 6ish states where each citizen's vote counts for more than the rest of the country. They get 3 electoral votes. 2 for their 2 senators and 1 for their congressman. But the rules that determine the number of congressman per state do not apply to those states because they don't have enough people to support a single full fledged congressman.

Anyways... fun fact.

VA population as of 2010 - 8.1 million
VA # of congressman at 2010 - 11

That means 737,000 per electoral vote

Wyoming population as of 2010 - 563,000

That means 563,000 per electoral vote

 

[TheOldSchool]

That means a Wyoming citizen's vote counts for 1.24 people.

You can do the math for the other states if you feel like it.

 

[RandomVariable]

South Dakota is one of 6ish states where each citizen's vote counts for more than the rest of the country. They get 3 electoral votes. 2 for their 2 senators and 1 for their congressman. But the rules that determine the number of congressman per state do not apply to those states because they don't have enough people to support a single full fledged congressman.

Anyways... fun fact.

VA population as of 2010 - 8.1 million
VA # of congressman at 2010 - 11

That means 737,000 per electoral vote

Wyoming population as of 2010 - 563,000

That means 563,000 per electoral vote

I liked this one. Talk about the judge, jury, prosecuter, and the defense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/u...ay-to-fill-a-need-for-rural-lawyers.html?_r=0

MARTIN, S.D. — Rural Americans are increasingly without lawyers even as law school graduates are increasingly without jobs. Just 2 percent of small law practices are in rural areas, where nearly a fifth of the country lives, recent data show.

Here in Bennett County, which is situated between Indian reservations on the Nebraska border, Fredric Cozad is retiring after 64 years of property litigation, school board disputes, tax cases and homicides with no one to take his place. When he hung out his shingle he was one of half a dozen lawyers here. Now there is not a working attorney for 120 miles.

...

 

[jon_berzerk]

Capturing the House seat, by Corinna Robinson? « Politics in KELOLAND

 

[longknife]

You could've at least posted their pictures!!!

 

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You could've at least posted their pictures!!!

There were so many that I figured I would do a little gallery as a follow-up.

 

[Antares]

Kristi is hot too

 

[RandomVariable]

Kristi is hot too

So is Sarah Palin. Between the two I actually think Palin is a better person. At least Palin is who she is. Noem can walk from one room to another and change who she is in-between.

 

[RandomVariable]

This one is pretty funny. I hope they use it again this cycle.

[ame=http://youtu.be/YTMQyXk-Em8]Kristi Noem - The Millionaires - YouTube[/ame]

 

[RandomVariable]

Just a little update on the race. These are going to be kind of sparse for a few weeks yet.

Signs of life: Robinson campaign attacks Noem

... Noem announced the creation of the advisory board on March 26.

"Is Noem only creating this advisory board in 2014 because she knows her Democratic opponent is a veteran?" Robinson asked in her release. "Veterans should not be used as political pawns. If Noem had been listening to veterans from the start, instead of special interest groups, she would not have cast the votes she did."

The release criticizes Noem for her votes to cut spending – saying the cuts risk national security – and it quotes Robinson saying that if Noem "needs an advisory board after four years in office to tell her what issues are impacting veterans, she ought not be in the US House."

...

 

[Statistikhengst]

South Dakota is one of 6ish states where each citizen's vote counts for more than the rest of the country. They get 3 electoral votes. 2 for their 2 senators and 1 for their congressman. But the rules that determine the number of congressman per state do not apply to those states because they don't have enough people to support a single full fledged congressman.

Anyways... fun fact.

VA population as of 2010 - 8.1 million
VA # of congressman at 2010 - 11

That means 737,000 per electoral vote

Wyoming population as of 2010 - 563,000

That means 563,000 per electoral vote

Which is why we need an HOR of at least 1,000 and we need to use the Wyoming rule.

In other words, a CD would have be be at least as small as the population of Wyoming, or smaller.

317 million citizens / 1000 reps = ca. 317,000 constituents per rep.

in 1800, it was 30,000 constituents per rep.

I would be a start to fairer representation.