Chris Hayes said South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is "making bad decisions," CNN's Don Lemon reminded his viewers about that supposed "super spreader" motorcycle rally in Sturgis, Rachel Maddow fumed that the governor "refused to order any statewide COVID restrictions." And we could go on. Gov. Noem has plenty of cable news critics.
It's true. In terms of COVID restrictions, Gov. Noem has been pretty laissez faire. Instead, she thought it might be wise to let citizens live their lives and keep their jobs. And so South Dakota has an unemployment rate that is the second lowest in the country at 4.1 percent. But the media has painted Noem as an enemy because she refuses to shut down the state and keep everyone indoors during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Noem told Fox News host Laura Ingraham this week that she's received no apologies from those pundits, but she doesn't care because her people "are happy."
Surprise surprise, the liberal media is attacking me AGAIN for not locking down my state. When will they learn, lockdowns DON’T stop #COVID19 from spreading. But they decimate the economy.
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) October 22, 2020
We are caring for those who need it and giving our people the Freedom to make ends meet. pic.twitter.com/byDuMlrrly
"They appreciated the fact that we didn't shut down their businesses, we allowed them to be flexible, take care of health and protect the public while still taking care of their customers and they're employees as well," the governor explained.
She went on to explain that she's found a way to both protect people's health, and keep their businesses open.
"We're doing really good in South Dakota," she added. "We're managing COVID-19 but also our economy is thriving. I think people are really recognizing that leadership has consequences. And what we're doing in South Dakota is Republican leadership."
Another fear mongering MSNBC analyst, Dr. Vin Gupta, told audiences that, "South Dakota, and its hospitals, its ICUs, are under surge." But the doctor failed to mention that South Dakota COVID patients only occupy 12.4 percent of hospital beds in the state. Gov. Noem has also rejected the non-peer reviewed reports that the Sturgis motorcycle rally led to hundreds of thousands of cases, calling it "science fiction."
"At one point, academic modeling also told us that South Dakota would have 10,000 COVID patients in the hospital at our peak," Noem shot back in September. "Today, we have less than 70. I look forward to good journalists, credible academics, and honest citizens repudiating this nonsense."
In conclusion, Ingraham says, those media talking heads "want South Dakota to fail" because Gov. Noem refused to lock down the state.