Noem failed to explain her record of inaccessibility, claiming baselessly that she did in fact hold town hall meetings in August. “We held over a dozen town halls, two of them just a couple of weeks ago,” said Noem. “We’ve been having town halls and having them all along.” Noem’s assertion flies in the face of the fact that Noem’s campaign has not publicized any public meetings at all during the August recess. Her official and campaign web sites list no upcoming town hall forums or listening sessions at all. In fact, as of Sunday her last public event was listed as March 2, 2012. In post-debate discussions, Noem campaign manager Tom Erickson could not list one town hall meeting to back up Noem’s claims. Erickson was pressed several times by Argus Leader editor Patrick Lalley on when Noem would hold a town hall in the Sioux Falls area. Erickson could not give an answer. “I will let you call her Congressional office and ask that,” he finally said.
