Tickets are still on sale to a MAGA fundraiser Saturday at 6pm in Golden, Colorado. Local Republicans have invited South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to give a speech, and $2,750 VIP ticketholders will be given a copy of Noem’s new book in which she boasts about shooting her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer Cricket, a dog she said she hated.
The local MAGA chapter is hoping Noem’s visit will be a hot item. In “Kristi Noem to headline Jefferson County GOP event amid puppy-killing controversy”, Kyle Clark of Channel 9 News writes:
An organizer for the Jefferson County Republicans fundraiser leaned into the controversy, teasing that Noem “will share her perspective on the animal killings” at the dinner event, adding “Don’t miss out.”
However, despite their hopes, the event has not sold out. Colorado Times Recorder’s Erik Maulbetsch writes in “Puppy Killer Kristi Noem Still Headlining Jeffco GOP Dinner”:
The Jefferson County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner is being held at the Denver Marriott West in Golden this Saturday evening. Tickets, which start at $150 and range as high as $12,000 for VIP table sponsors, are still available.
It’s a private event — no reporters allowed — and I cannot help being curious about what will happen at Saturday’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Jefferson County, Colorado. Will attendees cheer as Noem tells her story about killing the dog that her young daughter liked? Will they take selfies of themselves and Noem, hoping to be on a first-name basis with someone they hope will eventually become President?
In short, will attendees all be professional, coldblooded and self-serving? Will no one speak up for Cricket’s memory and say that what Noem did was wrong?
UPDATE: Noem has canceled her appearance. So now we’ll never know what attendees would have done (though we can guess). Oh, and true to form the Jefferson County organizers did not respond to media requests as to whether the ticket money would be refunded. See Kyle Clark’s “Jeffco GOP cancels Kristi Noem event amid dog-killing controversy” in Channel 9 News.