Kristi Noem was on my shortlist for superstar Republicans that would run for president in 2024, 2028, or 2032. She has been doing a phenomenal job as Governor of South Dakota and she's super conservative. When I was first asked about her, I said, "Kristi Noem is like Sarah Palin without the Crazy."

Unfortunately, according to the Daily Mail, I perhaps would have been more accurate if I said "Kristi Noem is like Sarah Palin without pants."

According to the shocking report; which seems well sourced and has not been denied by either party; the Governor Kristi Noem has been having an extramarital affair with the sexually deviant on-again, off-again Trump political advisor Corey Lewandowski. Both Noem and Lewandowski are married to other people and have children with them; which makes this even more disgusting and heartbreaking.

I have to admit, my first reaction was to try desperately to defend Noem in my own mind and blame all of this on Corey Lewandowski. It was just another example of Donald Trump and his minions ruining everyone they touch (except Mike Pence, apparently). However, it's not fair to put all of the blame on the man. Kristi Noem is not some dumb broad who can be that easily manipulated that she would be tricked into having a multi-year extramarital affair with a Trump advisor for years, even after he is fired for sexually harassing a high dollar donor (that wasn't Kristi Noem). Kristi Noem is complicit in this affair and should be held accountable for her betrayal of her husband, her family, our God, the family values she's made herself a posterchild for.

What's particularly alarming about this to me is the frequency in which Republicans and so-called conservatives are ignoring these affairs. I find this alarming for two reasons, one practical and one spiritual.

Practically, why should anyone who can't stay loyal to and represent their family be expected to be loyal to and take care of and represent the voters?

I don't by any means intend to justify or defend Democrat Susanna Gibson for creating a career for herself making pornography, but at least she apparently did it exclusively with her husband. Trust me, I have thoughts on Susanna Gibson and the Democrats rallying behind her, and they are not in any way positive.

Spiritually, I'm concerned that Donald Trump's philandering ways have made sexually deviant behavior acceptable by the majority of Christian conservatives. What right does a Christian have to say homosexual marriage is wrong if they simultaneously support candidates engaging in years-long extramarital affairs, having sex with porn stars, and other forms of anti-marriage heathenry? The answer is none.

I want to be clear, I'm not saying there is no room for redemption for Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, Susanna Gibson, Lauren Boebert, or Donald Trump. However, as Christians, we should at least expect them to acknowledge their actions were intrinsically evil and accept their heartfelt apology when they acknowledge it. We all mess up and we all deserve redemption. And while it might be tempting to say some of us mess up more than others, the truth of the matter is that, in the eyes of God, we all mess up pretty equally. As sickening and heartbreaking as Kristi Noem's fall is, we should all be rooting for her to find a way to repair her family. The same goes for Corey Lewandowski.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be happening. Instead of denying the affair, Noem's team instead accused The Daily Mail of running this story only because Governor Noem endorsed Donald Trump earlier in the week. To be honest, we all should be thanking The Daily Mail because an American outlet would have waited until Kristi Noem was the Vice Presidential candidate and dropped this story on October 15th, 2024. Likewise, Lewandowski didn't bother the deny the affair. They're not denying or addressing the scandal because they know there's no use lying and they are hoping Republicans will defend Noem regardless of whatever evils she's engaged in because there's simply an (R) after her name.

Kristi Noem should resign as Governor, apologize to the citizens of her state for her embarrassing behavior, and focus on restoring her family and marriage. Governor Noem is young enough to do that and make a political comeback of somekind, and I hope she does!