But boy, when it's a Democrat committing a moving violation, Dakota War College goes into a regular blog-orgasm of coverage, with seven posts in one day on the topic. When State Senator Sandy Jerstad hit a car in a parking lot and left the scene, DWC went mewling throughout February 2009, posting every little detail he could find about this one incident. He called multiple times for the Senate to investigate Jerstad's conduct under the Code of Ethics.
So what does that Code of Ethics say that might relate to Noem's crime spree and its relevance to the citizens of South Dakota?
1B-1. Maintenance of ethical standards. The people of South Dakota require that their legislators maintain the highest of moral and ethical standards as such standards are essential to assure the trust, respect and confidence of our citizens. Legislators have a solemn responsibility to avoid improper behavior and refrain from conduct that is unbecoming to the Legislature or that is inconsistent with the Legislature’s ability to maintain the respect and trust of the people it serves. While it is not possible to write rules to cover every circumstance, each legislator must do everything in his or her power to deal honorably with the public and with his or her colleagues and must promote an atmosphere in which ethical behavior is readily recognized as a priority and is practiced continually, without fail.
Boy, at least Sandy Jerstad showed up for court when she was supposed to.
Shoe, meet other foot.
Inevitably, what comes around goes around. It never tastes as good when the other chef is doing the cooking....
ReplyDeleteThe significance of this story is that it is consistent with the attitude Noem displays in the Legislature to her colleagues and the press. And that involves some aspects of character and a representative's ability to work for the people, not just her own alliances and personal gratification. There is a sharp contrast between the way she responded and the other politicians responded to their tickets.
ReplyDeleteDWC apparently got word from some friend in the DMV records division that reporters were nosing around. And then he tried to head the story off by claming it was all at the instigation of the SHS campaign. The campaign staff was working in Brown County all of last week and was deeply involved in policy issues. I don't think SHS or any of her staff would engage in that kind of personal politics. DWC seems to assume that all campaigns are conducted on the level of cheapness and petty meanness so abundant on that site.
DWC's obsession with SHS is pathological. He can try to condemn the publication of public arrest records but blithely publishes the title to SHS's house in Brookings, which she bought long before her marriage to Max Sandlin, as some kind of revelation.
People may decry the cause of the deadlock in Congress, when the real cause of it and the level of character that is reflected in our governance is demonstrated on the Internet daily. I wonder if we can ever rise above it.