Paid Family Leave? State-Funded Child Care? Noem Evades Direct Answers on Practical Pro-Family Policy

Dana Bash’s first question to Governor Kristi Noem on CNN Sunday was, “Would you support, for example, South Dakota providing paid parental leave and state-funded child care, so mothers can work and care for their children?” Read Noem’s response and Bash’s follow-ups and see if you can tell what Noem’s answer is:

BASH: And I want to start with something that I have heard you say many, many times over the past few weeks, which is you are going to walk alongside mothers and their children after this decision.

I want to ask you what that looks like. Would you support, for example, South Dakota providing paid parental leave and state-funded child care, so mothers can work and care for their children?

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): Well, family leave policy is something that I addressed as soon as I became governor in South Dakota.

I do think it’s important that we walk alongside people when they enter into a situation where maybe they have an unplanned pregnancy. And many women feel as though, when they get — have a pregnancy that’s not planned, that it’s a crisis situation. And we need to do a better job of supporting them.

I launched a Web site called Life.SD.gov that makes those connections, helps with medical care, financial services, connects them to nonprofits or even adoptive parents that may choose to parent their child, if that’s the choice that they make [Gov. Kristi Noem, interviewed by Dana Bash, transcript, CNN: State of the Union, 2022.07.03].

As seems usual, Noem’s first response is not to respond. Bash opens with a hard policy question, and Noem’s coach has told her not to talk policy (because she can’t talk policy honestly or correctly). Corey Lewandowski gets her gigs to fire up the base with chants of Life™! (and to make sure she mentions the website of the week).

Read more: https://dakotafreepress.com/2022/07/05/paid-family-leave-state-funded-child-care-noem-evades-direct-answers-on-practical-pro-family-policy/