After her theatrics about Fourth of July fireworks at Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota's ambitious, radical Trumpist Gov. Kristi "KOVID Kristi" Noem, who deliberately ignored the COVID-19 pandemic in her state, is on a new mission to stay relevant with the Trump cult. In a obvious stunt, she's sending 50 of her state's National Guard to the southern border in Texas, responding to the call by that states's corrupt and incompetent Governor, Greg "Abbadabba" Abbott. It's hardly a coincidence that the announcement was made a day before Dear Leader is visiting the border to spread lies about the immigration situation.
What makes Noem's action particularly dangerous and ominous is that a GQP megadonor is paying for the deployment. While Noem hasn't disclosed the amount of the private funding, her action hero-named spokesperson did disclose the name of the right-wing sugar daddy:
"Ian Fury, a spokesperson for Noem, said the undisclosed amount was paid to the state of South Dakota by Willis and Reba Johnson’s Foundation, a Tennessee-based nonprofit that donates to various groups, including churches and the National Rifle Association, according to 2018 tax filings. Willis Johnson has donated to GOP campaigns for decades, including at least $550,000 to Trump in 2019 and 2020, filings show.
In a brief interview, Johnson said his donation '100 percent' was meant to fund the border deployment. He declined to say how much he paid the state, or whether Noem approached him or he acted on his own accord.
'I want to protect America and that’s it,' Johnson said."
Sending privately-funded National Guard troops to another state has the obvious look of a mercenary operation, as noted by military experts:
"Privately funding a military mission is an affront to civilian oversight of the armed forces, said military and oversight experts, describing the move — a Republican governor sending troops to a Republican-led state, paid for by a Republican donor — as likely unprecedented and unethical.
'You certainly don’t want our national security priorities up to the highest bidder,' said Mandy Smithberger, a defense accountability expert at the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog. [snip]
"...the mission’s political overtones, underscored by the growing speculation that Noem may consider a run for the White House, poses a significant problem for civilian-military relations, said Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert at Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank.
If Noem had decided it was a national-security priority to augment border operations, she could have found a lever to federalize her troops to support the DHS-led mission, Kuzminski said. Moreover, the governor’s method — using a private donation rather than taxpayer money — sidesteps potential questions from her constituents about the deployment’s cost and purpose."
Noem could have offered the guardsmen to the Department of Homeland Security under Federal control, but of course this isn't about border security. It's about who can stir up enough dust at the border to please Dear Leader and to jockey for position for 2024. She's shown numerous times that she's willing to cross any line to advance her political career, and that she's one of the most dangerous demagogues out there.
(photo: Pointing out the Great Seditionist. AP pboto / Susan Walsh)
