South Dakota Governor and Puppy Killer in the News

We don’t have access to the precise discussion between Kristi Noem and the editor she hired to prepare the South Dakota governor’s new book for publication.  Yet it’s hard to imagine this happening too differently from the following:

Editor:  Apparently, you shot a dog you couldn’t train for a certain specific purpose, instead of finding it a new home.

Noem: Correct.

Editor:  To make such an entry in your book is to say that you’re not ashamed, perhaps even proud, of what you did.

Noem: Again, correct.

Editor:  But many readers are going to infer that you’re a cold and empty human being, with no real compassion for other living beings.  Are you sure you want to project yourself like that?

Noem:  Absolutely.  I suppose that, if this were some woke, sissy state, you’d have a point.  But this is South Dakota, a state that went for Trump by a margin of almost two to one.  These people have all the sentimentality of a freshly-sharpened chain saw.

Editor:  But you’re a member of the Republican party, and the choices you make reflect on the entire GOP.

Noem: You apparently haven’t noticed that this is precisely what the party stands for at this point.  We ban books, revoke women’s rights, align ourselves with world dictators, make groundless claims about a stolen election, make rich people richer and poor people poorer, and do everything possible to promote the consumption of fossil fuels.  Our voters adore us.

Editor:  Fair point.