According to debate watcher, Ben Birks, it seems Peters thinks Native Americans are born to fail;
Rep. Peters towed the party line on the state budget, the voter feeds on reservations, & South Dakota’s ‘good business climate.’ Rob consistently emphasized that he wants to be senator for all of District 9, focusing on education, trimming the fat in the state’s budget, and keeping good, high-paying jobs in South Dakota.
Though it’s not specific to District 9, one spectator’s question asked how candidates felt about Indian country in South Dakota. Rob’s answer was cogent & to the point, acknowledging the complex problems our neighbors on South Dakota reservations face & the need for practical solutions. Rep. Peters ignored such complexities, saying that Native Americans on South Dakota’s reservations were “genetically pre-disposed” to many of the problems they face such as alcoholism and diabetes.
She even reiterated it later in her response, (i’m paraphrasing) essentially saying that part of the solution for problems facing our reservations is working w/ Native Americans to make them aware of the problems they’re genetically pre-disposed to.
Knowing the history of our relations with American Indians in this country and the ways in which some settlers used alcohol as leverage to exert power over their Indian neighbors, I was taken aback by Rep. Peters’ statements.
This in particular, along with Rep. Peters repeated refusal to acknowledge the failings of current budgeting practices in Pierre, demonstrated for me that Rob is the clear choice for District 9 Senate.
While I have often thought of Peters as your typical do nothing Republican in Pierre who is simply there to protect her own interests as a business person, I never knew she was so insensitive to Native Americans, and what is so surprising is she would show that prejudice in a public debate. But I guess nothing should surprise me anymore, and we will see if our ‘diligent’ local media covers it. Doubt it. Republicans in our state say stupid shit all the time and their supporters love it.