Kristi Noem shot a dog. Democrats kill babies.

OPINION:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem shot a dangerous dog. Democrats demand the right for women to abort their babies whenever they want, however many times they want, for whatever reason they want.

These two things, while both resulting in deaths, are not mutually comparable. This is not a potatoes, potahtoes moment.

Could we please stop pretending as if Noem has committed the crime of the century?

In her yet-to-be-released book, Noem acknowledged that she once upon a time, i.e. 20 years ago, shot her 14-month-old German wire-haired pointer because the dog went on a tear and took out a neighbor’s chickens then turned and attacked her.  This is not “gruesome,” as The Hill put it. This was not “puppy-killing,” as South Dakota Searchlight wrote it. This is not even a “slaying,” as Politico termed it. As a matter of fact, this is more in line with state laws about dogs that attack.

From the South Dakota Legislature page, under Codified Laws, 40-34-1 — this: “It shall be lawful for any person to kill any dog found chasing, worrying, injuring, or killing poultry or domestic animals except on the premises of the owners of said dog or dogs.” Right?

So after 14-month-old Cricket wrecked a pheasant hunt, then turned and killed the neighbor’s chickens, then “whipped around to bite me,” Noem said — and all that, after the dog’s past shows of “aggressive behavior toward people by biting them,” she added — the decision to shoot him came down to one of safety.

“It was a dog that was extremely dangerous,” Noem said, during an interview on Fox News.

“[It was between] keeping my small children and other people safe, or a dangerous animal, and I chose the safety of my children,” Noem said, during this same Fox interview.

OK. 

Seems simple.

Sounds reasonable.

And in the larger scheme of things, who really gives a flip?

If we’re all that disturbed about Noem’s taking out of an aggressive dog, let’s remember the huge free passes Anthony Fauci received — from these very same Noem critics, no less — when he funded scientific research on dogs that weren’t even aggressive. And talk about the research! 

“Past federally-funded experiments on dogs under Dr. Fauci included cutting their vocal cords out, infesting the dogs with ticks and placing dogs in cages with infectious sandflies,” Sen. Joni Ernst wrote on her government webpage. 

Fauci apologists swooped to deny and defend. Where are they now for Noem? Crying crocodile tears for a dog they didn’t know, don’t care about, and didn’t even know existed until the opportunity presented to use it as a weapon against a Republican Party political enemy.

“Kristi Noem’s VP chances appear as dead as the dog she killed,” Politico wrote in a headline.

“Kristi Noem Colorado event canceled amid dog-killing controversy,” 9News wrote.

And how ‘bout this — from today’s paper of communists, The Nation: “I’m Sad for Kristi Noem’s Daughter, Not Just Her Puppy.”

Anything to score political points.

Anything to tear down conservative figures.

But let’s put some context and substance into this wildly spun and hysterically drummed story of a shot dog: “Guttmacher says that in 2020 there were 14.4 abortions in the U.S. per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44,” Pew Research wrote. 

“The CDC says that in 2021, there were 11.6 abortions in the U.S. per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44,” Pew Research wrote.

“The last year for which the CDC reported a yearly national total for abortions is 2021. It found there were 625,978 abortions in the District of Columbia and the 46 states with available data that year, up from 597,355 in those states and D.C. in 2020. The corresponding figure for 2019 was 607,720,” Pew Research wrote.

Then this question, from Gallup, for 2023: “Do you think abortions should be legal under any circumstances, legal only under certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?” Only 8 percent of Republicans said “legal under any circumstances.” Compare that to Democrats; 60 percent said “legal under any circumstances.”

One dog — one savage dog. A conservative’s tally.

Six-hundred and twenty-five thousand, nine-hundred and seventy-eight dead babies. A largely Democrats’ tally.

It’s amazing what context can do. If only Democrats cared as much about the lives of the unborn as they did the 20-year-old memory of Noem’s dog. To put in language even a radical Dem could understand, there’d be hundreds of thousands of potential dog-owners around today if only they hadn’t been killed in the womb.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE  or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.