Posted on by Californiacontrarian

My New Hero


CPAC was held this year in Florida, and after listening to a few of the speeches, I think I have a new hero. Yes, Donald Trump spoke and yes, he gave a good speech. He is still my hero, but he is not a new hero of mine.

My new hero is Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota.

Although Governor Noem did not appear to be an accomplished speaker, she received multiple standing ovations – not for her fire and brimstone delivery, but rather for the content of what she was saying. At the end of her speech she referenced the importance of her dad as an example of hard work and perseverance, and the tremendous effect that he had on her life.

Obviously to speak at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) a speaker must be a conservative, and Governor Noem indeed spoke a bit about the conservative principles of lower taxes and less government, but the best part of her speech had to do with how South Dakota dealt with Covid. She related how she was on one of the Sunday morning talk shows and the host, George Stephanopoulis, paradoxically suggested that perhaps his other guest, Governor Cuomo of New York, could give Governor Noem some tips on how to handle Covid in her state. In retrospect Governor Noem could have and should have given advice to both Governor Cuomo and Stephanopoulos as in the end her approach and subsequently the outcomes in South Dakota ran rings around not only those in New York, but also those in multiple blue states. In fact perhaps the eminent Dr. Fauci could have learned a bit from Governor Noem, as he cautioned her that if she continued her plan for dealing with Covid the hospitalizations for Covid in South Dakota would exceed ten thousand . . . at the peak in South Dakota the hospitalizations were just over six hundred. Oops! And at present South Dakota has the lowest state unemployment rate in the country.

In her own words the gist of her plan in South Dakota was that “public health policy needs to take into account people’s economic and social well being.” Governor Noem believed that the approach to Covid should be balanced, and not arbitrary. She stated, “to be clear, Covid didn’t crush the economy; government crushed the economy.”

SoDak never ordered a single business or church to close.

SoDak never instituted a shelter in place order.

SoDak never mandated that people wear masks.

SoDak never defined what an essential business was, because Governor Noem did not believe that a governor had the authority to tell anybody that their business was not essential.

Likewise Governor Noem believed that “no governor should arrest, ticket, or fine anyone for exercising their freedom.”

In September the students in SoDak were back in the classrooms as “priority was given to the students and their education.”

Her speech only lasted about twenty minutes and she was given her final standing ovation when she finished. 

Watch it, as it is well worth it!

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