Pelosi, health care are hot topics during House forum

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Democrat Stephanie Herseth Sandlin speaks at a U.S. House candidates forum Tuesday at Dakotafest in Mitchell. Also pictured, from left, are moderator Jerry Oster, independent candidate B. Thomas Marking and Republican candidate Kristi Noem. (Chris Huber/Republic Photo)

Talk about it

Dakotafest is an agriculture-based event, but ag issues were rarely discussed during a congressional candidates forum Tuesday.

Instead, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., state Rep. Kristi Noem, her Republican challenger, and independent candidate B. Thomas Marking mostly discussed voting records, the 2010 health-care reform law, Medicare and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the opening day of Dakotafest in Mitchell.

Herseth Sandlin stressed her bipartisan voting record and attacked Noem for what she claimed were extreme positions, including the privatization of Social Security and Medicare.

“I’m for protecting and preserving Medicare,” Herseth Sandlin said.

That drew a sharp retort from Noem.

“Stephanie, stop scaring seniors,” she said.

Noem’s comment drew cheers from her supporters, who waved pom-poms and wore white and orange “Kristi” T-shirts.

Herseth Sandlin’s supporters wore “Stephanie” T-shirts and cheered for her during the debate.

Nobody in the crowd had a “B” or “Thomas” T-shirt, and Marking had few supporters evident. He did draw some applause during the forum, which lasted slightly more than one hour.

The blue and white South Dakota State University tent where it was held was jammed full of people, and the crowd overflowed to the area outside the tent. Some estimated the crowd at more than 300.

Medicare and health care were constant themes, with Noem saying Herseth Sandlin is out of touch with South Dakotans and the incumbent congresswoman claiming Noem is an extremist who doesn’t understand the political process.

Health-care reform surfaced at the start when the candidates were asked how the law’s changes in healthcare policies would impact farmers and ranchers who self-insure.

Herseth Sandlin said while she voted against the “deeply flawed” bill, she sees positive elements in it.

“Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water,” she said twice.

Big drug companies got a sweet deal and that needs to be corrected, Herseth Sandlin said. There are several other areas that merit attention as well, she said.

Herseth Sandlin also said Noem had flip-flopped on the issue, telling a Yankton newspaper early this year she didn’t favor repealing the law but then changing her tune to get conservative backing in the GOP primary and in the general election.

Herseth Sandlin also asked Noem why she opposed providing health care to people with pre-existing conditions.

“I’ve always been in favor of that,” Noem replied.

Noem said the new law was “terrible” for farmers and ranchers and a danger to the country.

“The costs of that bill are continuing to rise,” she said.

She said Herseth Sandlin didn’t hold town-hall meetings or seek public input while the bill was being debated. Herseth Sandlin denied that.

Marking, after first declining to discuss the topic, later said he “applauded” farmers and ranchers who self-insure.

Herseth Sandlin also said the claim that she has voted with Nancy Pelosi 95 percent of the time, which Noem repeated during her opening statement, is a distortion. Herseth Sandlin’s staff handed out a flier that stated Herseth Sandlin has gone against the Democratic leadership more than 90 percent of all House Democrats.

“Let’s get the facts right,” she said. “The facts matter.”

Still, Noem repeatedly tried to link Herseth Sandlin to Pelosi, the San Francisco liberal who is the first woman to serve as speaker of the House.

“This is the people’s House,” Noem said. “It’s not Nancy Pelosi’s House.”

Herseth Sandlin pointed out that she voted against “Nancy Pelosi’s cap-and-trade bill because it wasn’t right for South Dakota.”

Marking said he is the right choice, because he wouldn’t follow the GOP playbook, which he said Noem would, nor would he follow along with congressional leaders, which he said Herseth Sandlin had.

He said he has the right “skill set” to serve in Congress based on his years in government service.

“That skill set is exactly what we need right now,” Marking said. “I’m independent. I think you should be, too, this year.”

Noem said while Herseth Sandlin had voted against the cap-and-trade bill, she had sided with Pelosi to bring it to the floor.

“This is a terrible bill,” Noem said.

Cap-and-trade is the popular term for a government limit on the amount of pollution an industry can emit into the atmosphere. Emissions above that level result in fines. Companies that are under the cap can trade or sell credits to companies that exceed it.

Both Noem and Herseth Sandlin said they oppose capand-trade and called it bad for the state.

Herseth Sandlin said she has promoted a multi-pronged approach on energy production, including wind, “clean coal” and biofuels while also promoting energy efficiency.

Clean energy is the ultimate answer, she said, and will also mean jobs for South Dakota.

Herseth Sandlin said she opposes the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to enforce environmental policies that are wrong for South Dakota and would damage its economy.

She said Noem misunderstood the congressional process.

Noem called for EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to resign and asked Herseth Sandlin to join her in that call.

Noem said Jackson is doing “terrible work” that is harming South Dakota. She later issued a press release renewing her call for Jackson to step down.

The Democratic incumbent declined and noted she had not called for the resignation of Mike Johanns, who served as Agriculture Department secretary during the George W. Bush administration.

Herseth Sandlin said she would “stick to the issues” and not “demonize people.”

She said Noem favors extreme causes and is not in the mainstream. Herseth Sandlin said Noem was “acting like ‘no’ is a viable governing strategy.”

She said Noem favors repealing the estate tax, and that would deeply damage the economy and government. Herseth Sandlin said Noem should release a list of spending cuts she favors if the estate tax is dropped.

“You can’t have it both ways,” she said. “We have to have tax reform, and we have to have estate tax reform.”

Noem pointed out that when her father was killed in a farming accident, her family was forced to pay a great deal of taxes through what she termed “the death tax.”

They were forced to take out a 10-year loan to hold onto their land, she said. If the estate tax isn’t reformed, and if changes in it are allowed to expire in January, many South Dakota farm and ranch families will feel the pain, Noem said.

“We can’t let that happen by letting them be taxed off the farm,” she said.

Noem and Herseth Sandlin also sparred on the healthcare reform law that passed this winter.

Herseth Sandlin voted against it, but Noem said she has betrayed that vote by pledging not to repeal the law.

Noem said she would work to repeal the law or de-fund it if she is elected.

The Republican and Democratic candidates agreed for the most part on agricultural subsidies and said there remains a need for government support for agriculture.

They both said they want to see the process continue to evolve and provide more riskmanagement support and less direct payments.

Noem said she also favors making the process “less complicated” and ensuring direct cash payments are made to farmers and ranchers, since cash flow is vital.

Herseth Sandlin said she helped write and pass the 2008 farm bill.

She said she wants to see federal government policies focus on a “whole farm program” rather than crop-based payments. It is getting difficult to defend direct payments to ag producers during a time of economic disarray, she said.

Enhancing renewable energy and promoting modern farming methods are the future and need to be embraced, Herseth Sandlin said.

“This is the answer,” she said. “This is the answer to South Dakota agriculture.”

Marking said he was studying ag issues and has learned that when price supports were created in the 1920s, onefourth of Americans lived on farms. Now, only about 2 percent do, he said, so the system needs to continue to evolve.

Marking said he would rely on input from South Dakotans based on online votes he would receive.

“You’re going to actually maintain control of me in Congress,” he said.

Marking also spoke in favor of the so-called “fair tax” system, which he said would boost the economy, and called for sweeping congressional reform.

He said it took people with independent spirits to tame the Great Plains, and he hopes voters hold onto that heritage on Election Day.

Noem said she was the best choice for South Dakotans because she was born here, works here and will stay here.

“None of that is going to change,” she said.

She also vowed to bring “transparency” and South Dakota values to Congress. “I tell you I will do that,” Noem said.

Herseth Sandlin said she has deep roots in the state and resents Noem’s comments that she is not a true South Dakotan.

Such a statement is “the furthest from the truth I can imagine,” she said. “I am a proud South Dakotan.”

Herseth Sandlin said she has worked with leaders on both sides of the aisle and has charted a pragmatic course to get things done for the state.

“That’s why I ran for Congress in the first place,” she said.

Merlin VanWalleghen, of Letcher, watched the forum closely and said he was impressed by both Herseth Sandlin and Noem.

VanWalleghen said he felt Marking raised some good points but appeared “outclassed” by his opponents.

“I thought it was a good forum,” he said.

But VanWalleghen said he wasn’t ready to say who he would vote for on Nov. 2. “It’s a decision I’ll make in the voting booth,” he said.

Tags: election 2010, stephanie herseth sandlin, b thomas marking, kristi noem, news, state, local, politics, dakotafest, fccnetwork