Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds and Rep. Dusty Johnson proposed solidarity by resolutely recruiting moderates in the Senate and House of Representatives to fend off liberal policies, whether by raising taxes on million dollar inheritance or including them of improved “country of origin” beef labeling regulation in the coming operating account.
“We’re one of nine states that have more cattle than humans across the United States,” Rounds said at the 25th annual Dakota Festival in Mitchell, South Dakota. “If you look at the working group committees, 75% of the members do not come from these federal states.”
Johnson spoke of expediting Congress funding for natural disasters for agricultural workers.
“There will be urban interests that don’t really understand how these mechanisms work,” said Johnson.
South Dakota’s only member of the US House of Representatives, Dusty Johnson, speaks to a crowd at Dakotafest 2021 on Tuesday, Aug. 17 (Christopher Vondracek / Forum News Service)
Later, when trying to summarize his frustration with the federal government, Thune recalled how a decade ago a wildfire near Lemmon, South Dakota was mistakenly named (by an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) because someone got the word “Willow” misspelled.
“Washington, DC bureaucrats kind of miss what’s going on out here in the real world,” Thune said.
The three discussed a range of farm and ranch issues, inspired by Zippy Duvall, President of the Farm Bureau. On the agenda were drought-related foraging programs, possible changes to capital gains tax, and the recently passed Senate infrastructure package (which was rejected by both Rounds and Thune), which includes investments in rural and western water programs.
When Rounds found that he would be questioned about tenure limits for members of Congress, he redirected his frustration with the staff he believed to be running federal agencies in Washington, DC
“When will there be binding term limits for bureaucrats?” asked Rounds, who was governor himself for eight years and is now in his second term in the US Senate.
South Dakota’s Junior Senator Mike Rounds speaks at Dakotafest 2021 in Mitchell, South Dakota on Tuesday, August 17 (Christopher Vondracek / Forum News Service)
His hometown Congressman Johnson also unpacked some hits against political opponents on the hill, jokingly saying he was going to blow a bucket of popcorn to watch debates over the infrastructure bill in the US House of Representatives, where the progressive faction is threatening the Chamber to derail the deal, soft policies for climate and social justice programs.
“Speaker Pelosi has his hands full,” said Johnson to laughter in the audience. “The liberals and the moderates in their group can’t stand each other.”
But the congressional delegation – at home during the August break – also reflected nuances on a range of issues, from carbon sequestration efforts to combating climate change to supporting legal immigration, which is often considered to be the case for members across the aisle be classified as important.
After a bystander told the delegation that immigrants should not be portrayed as opposing American workers, Thune said, “We need a big fence and a big gate.”
South Dakota Senator John Thune speaks at Dakotafest 2021 in Mitchell on Tuesday, August 17 (Christopher Vondracek / Forum News Service)
Similar to climate change, both Rounds and Thune said American agricultural workers could economically benefit from private carbon markets, analogousing the sequestration efforts of farmers in North Dakota. Though Rounds found he was poking fun at US Senators who drive electric cars.
“I’m going to say, ‘How’s the coal car going anyway?'” Rounds said.
While the delegation did not ask questions about the big news from Washington DC – the collapse of the Afghan government and US-backed troop withdrawal and the emptying of the embassy – members asked about non-agricultural issues, including budget deficits and COVID-19 vaccines.
Audience attentively listens to a convention forum at Dakotafest 2021 in Mitchell, South Dakota on Tuesday, August 17. (Christopher Vondracek / Forum News Service)
One gentleman stood up and suggested that a new “civil rights battle” was brewing for unvaccinated Americans and said he could not go to a Broadway show in New York City because he had not been vaccinated. He then asked people who had COVID-19 to raise their hands, falsely claiming they had the same immunity as vaccinated people.
But his question received little support from the delegation.
“I think these antibodies have a shelf life for people who had it,” Thune said.
Rounds also spoke at length about trust in vaccines, adding that while he does not endorse “mandatory federal vaccines,” he trusts coronavirus vaccines.
“Please,” Rounds told the crowd. “Get the Vax.”
While Rounds won re-election in 2020, both Thune and Johnson appear to be intra-party challengers for the GOP nomination in 2022. The Democrats have yet to announce a nationwide candidate in either race.
