They like South Dakota’s own Kristi Noem at CBS This Morning.
Noem gets noticed for earning degree
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Author Archives: Denise Ross
Thune at center as Jon Stewart pillories GOP over Buffett Rule
South Dakota’s own John Thune took a little Daily Show heat as host Jon Stewart noted that, according to Republican Senators, the $4.7B the treasury would gain each year by taxing million-dollar earners more is a pittance while the $300M that goes to Planned Parenthood is a huge sum.
Click below to play the video:
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., takes some Daily Show heat.
Thune VP buzz buzzing buzzily
He’s not at the top of the list. We can’t all hail from Ohio, after all. But South Dakota’s own John Thune is in the mix as the quadrennial Veepstakes speculation enters the frenzied stage.
South Dakota's own John Thune is in the Veepstakes mix. Huzzah!
With Mitt Romney’s GOP nomination all but wrapped up, we have a few months ahead of us of media obsession over this potential game-changer.
I’ve seen Thune on various lists over the past weeks, heard his name escape the lips of TV pundits and even seen his photo in a montage while he got no mention in the accompanying article.
The latest to catch our attention here at the MDR is this piece from a Virginia paper that lists Thune as a fourth-tier(!) contender and labels him “a whitebread sandwich.” Well, I never.
He gets more prominent mention in this WaPo blog post.
My take – worth what you’re paying for it – is that he’s an attractive choice. Very unlikely to gaffe it via a live mic, knowledgeable on the requisite range of issues, comfortable with crowds of all income levels, not a bad bio and “impeccable conservative credentials,” according to another Washington Post assessment.
But my gut tells me he’d rather not. Not this time, anyway. It seems to me the upside is limited in an uphill race he wouldn’t control. The downside seems to have too much potential. Romney could gaffe it in a contagious way that would be difficult to recover from. A landslide defeat, not probable but possible, would hang over his head indefinitely. The rabbit hole has already proven a wild ride. Who knows what misadventures await?
Perhaps more interesting is that none of the pundits seems to think Thune will be Romney’s choice, but they all feel the need to include him in the mix. If that doesn’t say rising star, I don’t know what does. And there aren’t too many places left for a fella to rise to.
Iowans still pining for SD’s John Thune
As Iowans cast a wide net in attempting to launch the GOP nominating process, a South Dakota senator was on the minds of more than one leading Iowa Republican.
While the names Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels and Chris Christy fall off the lips of many a TV pundit, it was John Thune who was mentioned by key members of the GOP in our neighboring state. One even said he was “in mourning.”
South Dakota's own John Thune continues to get mentioned as a GOP presidential contender.
This from a CNN report:
One Iowa GOP insider said he’d welcome Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota or Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to the fray: “All three are more palatable to the American people than the current slate of candidates.”
…
Said another insider, who remains undecided over whom to vote for in the caucus: “I’m still in mourning over the fact that John Thune didn’t jump in.”
The Iowa GOP’s inability to coalesce around a clear front-runner could be a harbinger of what to expect in other states. If so, expect Thune’s name to continue to be bandied about as one who got away.
SD Dems want your help
South Dakota Democrats are wasting no time generating interest in the 2012 ballot. In an email from earlier this week, they are asking folks to help them name Referred Law 14.
South Dakota Democrats want your help naming a ballot measure for South Dakota's 2012 election.
This from the email:
The Secretary of State has just announced that your referral of HB 1230, Governor Daugaard’s bill to take millions of dollars from our schools and nursing homes for huge corporate giveaways, will appear on the 2012 ballot as “Referred Law 14.”
The party officially supports passage of the referred law, which is to say they support repealing the law passed by the Legislature earlier this year.
So, the naming competition is officially open here at Republic Insider, too. Whatever entries we get, we’ll forward on to the Dems. (To read their spin on the issue, click the image above.)
