Herseth Sandlin v. Noem: Let's Debate What's Voted For, Not Who Else Voted for It

Joel Rosenthal got me thinking. In his most recent blog post, Rosenthal mentions the Kristi Noem strategy of pointing out how often Stephanie Herseth Sandlin votes with Nancy Pelosi. Rosenthal wonders how many of those votes are really significant votes and not just procedural votes that even John Boehner would be voting for.

The Stephanie=Nancy meme is oversimplification for the inattentive voter. Instead of taking time to explain how specific policies supported by our Congresswoman doom the Republic, the Noem machine personifies the issue: Pelosi's evil, Herseth Sandlin votes like Pelosi, so Herseth Sandlin's evil!

Right. Pelosi likes chocolate ice cream, too. But that doesn't mean chocolate ice cream is coming to take our guns.

I don't plan to do a full analysis of every vote Nancy Pelosi and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin have agreed on. You can peruse a list of such votes since 2007 yourself at OpenCongress.org. But to give you an idea of the silliness behind the Noem strategy, here's a sample of some actual votes and how SHS compares with Pelosi and Boehner:

Bill	SHS	Pelosi	Boehner
Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act	Aye	no vote	Aye
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (2008 Wall Street Bailout)	Nay	Aye	Aye
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (Senate version)	Aye	Aye	Nay
CHIP Reauthorization, 2007	Aye	Aye	Nay
CHIP Reauthorization, 2009	Aye	Aye	Nay
Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery	Aye	n.v.	Nay
Small Business Tax Relief Act, 2007	Aye	Aye	Nay
Protect America Act, 2007	Aye	Nay	Aye
Extend Protect America Act 21 days	Aye	Aye	Nay
2007 Appropriations for troop readiness, veterans care, etc.	Aye	Aye	Nay
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Energy and Tax Extenders Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
FISA Amendments	Aye	Aye	Aye
Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Fair Minimum Wage Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Part D Medicare Drugs price bill	Aye	Aye	Nay
Designating Taunton River in Mass. part of National Wild and Scenic Rivers system	Aye	Aye	Nay
College Student Relief Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Jubilee Act, 2008	Aye	Aye	Nay
Renewable Energy & Energy Conservation Tax Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Ag Appropriations, 2008	Aye	Aye	Abstain
AIDS/TB/Malaria assistance, 2008	Aye	Aye	Nay
Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network	Aye	Aye	Abstain
Ensuring continued access to student loans	Aye	n.v.	Aye
Kennedy Serve America Act	Aye	Aye	Nay
Pay-Go 2009	Aye	Aye	Nay
Defense Appropriations, 2010	Aye	n.v.	Aye
Consolidated Land, Energy, Aquatic Resources Act	Nay	Aye	Nay
STEM Education Coordination	Aye	Aye	Nay
Offshore Oil & Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection	Aye	Aye	Nay
FHA Reform	Aye	n.v.	Aye
Solar Technology Roadmap	Aye	n.v.	Nay
Small Business Financing and Investment	Aye	n.v.	Aye
Idaho Wilderness Water Facilities	Aye	n.v.	Aye

Feel free to peruse that list and other votes. Identify exactly what about the legislation SHS voted for is so bad for South Dakota and the country. If you can do that, great. That's the kind of hard work a politician who wants to go to Washington needs to do: explain to the voters what's actually happening in Washington and how policies actually affect our lives. The personality politics of the Noem campaign are the lazy way out. They insult the intelligence of the voters and reflect poorly on the intelligence of the candidate.