Cricket Cost Kristi Noem Her VP Spot. She Could Lose Even More in November.

     This week marks two months since The Guardian reported that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem had admitted in her autobiography to killing her 14-month-old puppy, Cricket. What followed was a firestorm that Noem herself poured fuel on by doubling and tripling down, accusing her political opponents of spreading the story to attack her when she wrote about it freely in her book; being caught in lies about meetings with world leaders; and skipping out on interviews when the going got tough.

     One FOX interviewer shared my assessment of Noem's situation: two months ago, she was probably near the top of potential VP picks for Trump. Then she shot herself in the foot with her own pen. Noem, as she did with all other honest criticism and doses of reality, dismissed the claim and publicly begged Trump to pick a woman for his ticket, ostensibly for the good of the campaign. Her real motivations were pretty obvious: she wanted power. That misguided lust is what prompted her to include puppy murder in her book in the first place.

     Now, that presumption of a political coma has been confirmed by Trump and his insiders. Trump has reportedly chosen his nominee to be VP on his ticket, and it is one of three men: J.D. Vance of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Doug Burgum of North Dakota. It is NOT Kristi Noem. This book and the following tour were designed to boost Noem's national profile, and it instead seems to have blocked any chance she has at attaining higher office for the time being.

     This is a good first taste of justice for Cricket, who from the grave got a form of revenge on her cruel owner. This should just be a first taste, however. While she has lost the chance for a promotion in 2024 and very likely won't have an opening to slip back into her state's congressional delegation anytime soon, she will still be governor of South Dakota for another two years. For Cricket's sake, they need to be two miserable ones, and that means politically spaying Killer Kristi.

     This November, voters in South Dakota will be given the chance to legalize recreational marijuana, protect access to reproductive healthcare, reject attacks on Medicaid, and boost women's rights, among other initiatives. These are the sorts of things that Kristi Noem is on the wrong side of. A vote to legalize marijuana, a vote to protect reproductive healthcare, a vote against Medicaid restrictions, and a vote to boost women's rights are all votes against Kristi Noem.

     Noem has shown no remorse for her cruelty, her lies, her victim mentality, her countless scandals, and every other rotten apple growing on her tree. That leaves only one choice to ensure justice for Cricket. When people are asked 20, 50, or 100 years from now about Kristi Noem, there should be only two responses: "Who?" and "the lady who killed her puppy." Kristi Noem deserves it.