Sioux Falls Mayor tweets that he believes strongest coronavirus leadership is coming from the ground up

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken was tweeting yesterday what he’s observed about the leadership that’s come from the coronavirus pandemic.

63 thoughts on “Sioux Falls Mayor tweets that he believes strongest coronavirus leadership is coming from the ground up”

  1. What a joke—he begged Kristi for a stay at home order for a month; then went for it himself only to get a tsunami of a backlash where he then backed down within days….

    Kristi took the right road Paul did not.

    1. You are exactly right. While he was busy blaming the state he could have been coming up with a solution for the city.

  2. “Hey, hey, look at me. I’m loved with all the other shelter-at-home fanatics even though nobody would let me do it. I wanted to. They love what I did to the hog farmers too!!!!”

    Quite the company to keep in the article. All liberals whose instincts were to ignore the data, shut down, and throw more people into long-term unemployment by destroying employers.

    Since he was refused his stay at home order, active cases are down and people in the hospital is under 70, way less than the 700 he said we’d have if we didn’t do his stay at home order.

  3. Oh Oh. DWC turns on PTH. How about his hand picked MiniMe with the $10k Daaugard establishment PAC contribution ? It’s almost getting hard to see the between them !

  4. Well that didn’t take long for you to turn on Paul. To think, you guys were working together not that long ago for the Rounds campaign to unethically dox anonymous criticizers. Kristi must have upped her payments while Paul canceled his ad buys from you.

    1. Prepare for your comment to be deleted. We don’t talk about the tools in the toolbox around here.

  5. Article is laughably inaccurate. No mention of Inslee in Washington who clearly has been the best. No mention of Cuomo sending patients to nursing homes. Deadly.
    That being said TenHaken >Noem, even on his worst day

  6. I will be voting for Ten Haken if and when he runs in the future. Great mayor and a good person.

  7. After reading the tweet and the article several times, I have three comments.

    1) History was not kind to Neville Chamberlain who panicked after looking into the eyes of Hitler. But, reveres Winston Churchill who said “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”

    2) I absolutely could not be prouder Governor Noem isn’t mentioned in this article said this citizen of the Harrisburg School District and Lincoln County.

    3) By tweeting this, it is clear he has learned no lessons in humility (He must still be reading Rahm Emmanuel’s book “Why Mayor’s are now running the world.”). Three weeks ago, he was calling for a Shelter-in-Place Order for three weeks of which we’d still have a week left. Today, without an order, we have less active cases and 75% less in the hospital.

    I’m sure it is too much to hope to have the city council tomorrow to have the courage to get out of being big brother. It’s not like everyone will go back to normal right away but if we start now, we might be able to preserve some businesses and jobs.

    What we need is a leader who says “We still need to wash our hands, practice good hygiene and especially protect and accommodate the elderly and vulnerable.” Not one who says, “you can’t be trusted to do the right thing so I’m going to coerce you.”

    2020 in Sioux Falls: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (guess the book from which the quote was taken)

    BTW: The parking ramp is still empty and destroying Phillips Avenue isn’t going to help.

    1. To be clear: Less active cases than projected and 75% less in the hospital than projected.

      1. Trying to do too much: Less active cases and 75% less in the hospital than projected. Our Active Cases is actually down. Hospitalizations are up from about 50 to 69 (statewide). But, those in the hospital were projected to be around 300 (Minnehaha & Lincoln Co) on the way to 700 (minnehaha & lincoln Co.).

        1. Sheesh: Active cases three weeks ago were over 1,000. Today they are 817.

          I’m sorry. Busy Monday. Trying to do business and do this at the same time. Not so good at multi-tasking.

    2. Making comparisons to Chamberlain and Churchill? Get a grip guy. You might want to tone down the worship of one and the vilification of the other as the story of Covid is far from written. As in the 1918 pandemic we may see an even bigger surge this fall/winter. The majority of people I talk to in Sioux Falls and Lincoln County believe PTH was advocating for the safety of the people, nothing more nothing less. You may feel he was/is being weak but most see protecting the young, middle and seniors as showing strength in the face of assured criticism. I know you have formed your opinion of the man and made up your mind, just as I have so I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I just want others out there to know that many in Lincoln County support PTH and will again at election time.

      1. It was the Mayor who tweeted an article that compared himself to “the strongest leadership” on the pandemic in the entire nation.

        P.S. Did I miss his review of Rahm Emmanuel’s book? He tweeted he’d give us a review.

        1. Yes he compared himself to the strongest leadership on the Pandemic. Key word is Pandemic, not on leadership in late 1930’s European diplomacy. I’m sure you follow his Tweets so you’ll know when the rest of us know.

  8. That graphic is appropriate.

    It looks like Lilliputians trying to tie down Gulliver.

  9. Cuomo is praised in the linked article but failed to shut down the mass transit system where most of the contagion was happening, and ordered nursing homes to admit residents who were infectious. Epic fail.

  10. Good guy. Horrible Mayor. He has provided terrible leadership the last 4 weeks of the covid crisis. He is more interested in being on CNN and trying to get the governor to cover his a**. He should have been on contact with the packing plant much sooner. Misstep maybe, but once they had a case, he should have went to the council with the stay at home ordinance so it could have passed and only needed a second reading if things got serious (which it did). History will Judge this Mayor as unprepared as it relates to handling a pandemic. He is wishy washy, wants the credit, but doesn’t want any responsibility for hard decisions. Paul is about Paul. As long as Paul benefits, Paul is happy. We don’t need any more Paul’s in politics..

    1. Unfortunately I have to agree with you. I originally voted/supported PTH but, he lost my vote and respect for 2 reasons
      1- Bunker Ramp fiasco, anyone who voted on this should be out on their @ss
      2- His self gratification and unholy video he did with Pastor in 60k car. Nothing screams “show Christian” in flaunting your wealth. I was really turned off by it

      His wanting to lock us down in the state goes against that pesky 1st amendment and he will NEVER get another vote from me no matter what office he runs for. Feels like a Democrat!

      1. Ummm PTH had very little to do with the bunker ramp. That was your man Mike.

  11. I looked at the article. The one that mentions Emperor Tenhaken has this sentence: He enacted a measure that “strongly encourages” people to stay at home, but decided against an order. It does not mention WHY he decided against the order. I thought I might have been the only one to write to my city councilors about that order. He backed off when he saw the writing on the wall. Tenhaken was hoping to be able to flex a little muscle.
    As for future votes, the mayor panicked at a time of crisis. When we needed leadership, he brought panic. Instead of leadership, he tried to pass the buck. There was a choice between two people in the last runoff. I think we made the best choice of the two, but I will be hoping for a better field in the future.

    1. The difference that you cant seem to understand is “strongly encouraging” vs “ordering”. “Ordering” means you have to do it or there will be consequences…something that Tenhaken wanted and Kristi refused to do.

      1. Not my understanding, they are both encouraging you to stay home and if you do go out, social distance. What were the consequences going to be for the shelter-in-place?

        1. It’s like using the phrase “back to normal” and re-opening up for business. Back to normal is just a politically correct phrases that doesn’t sound as harsh. Being shut down or not shut down, well sorry to say but SD was pretty much shut down. I don’t know how you can say they weren’t?

        2. Tara – DUDE you can’t ever seem to get this topic correct. Stay at Home “order”. An order implies it has teeth and there will be consequences, i.e fine, jail, arrest, etc. The rest of this words on this are just him asking folks to stay put, aka there were no teeth in it

          Paul wanted us “ordered” to stay home but, the word on the street is the council was 8-0 against him so he “rescinded” it to save face. This is one time his Rubber Stampers abandoned him

  12. Can’t wait to watch the meltdown on here when he’s our next Governor, after Noem is term limited. 👍

  13. Being listed along with the most liberal Governors and anti-freedom power-mongers is not something he should be proud of.

  14. This is utterly ridiculous. Pass the blame, but take the credit. He wanted Kristi to shut everything down for him because he feared the backlash even though he thought it was the right thing to do. If that’s not the exact opposite of leadership I don’t know what is.

  15. His instincts are always self serving. He follows others he admires not because because it’s based on reason and principle but because he admires that they come from big states and craves their approval and the limelight. He believes CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times have our best interests at heart but they don’t.
    I supported him, gave him money.
    A good person but I’ll suited for leadership. He’s wrk in the face of tough choices and follows the crowd.
    I’d still vote for him over Jolene.

    We need a leader.
    I was wrong about Gov Noem. She has been very impressive.

    1. I have to say I was wrong as well. I was not a Noem fan and held my nose when voting for her over Corrupt Jackley. It was easy over Billie (Bernie) Sutton. The fact she went against 80% of the US governors and left things open shows me at a minimum she will defend our rights. She has some room to improve in her marketing department (meth were on it)

  16. Mayor Paul has mentioned sf union leader Caraway multiple times in his press conferences and articles have given the impression that theyve been working closely together. They’ve both been on national and international news covering almost all channels. While I’m not sure if caraways politics (other than he turned down the dem nomination for Lt governor) is it possible they’re planning some kind of “business/labor unity” ticket in 2022?

      1. Is that why wages are lower than they were in the 80s? Republican capitalists love cheap foreign labor.

        1. Educate yourself on economics. Cheap labor and an abundance of it coming illegally from Central America as well as immigration from other parts has kept wages down. Supply and demand economics. Market determines pay.

    1. THey may pay Union dues but, no power at all. The union is just bilking these foreigners for cash like all good unions do. This is one of the reasons unions have largely died, corrupt, unreasonable, and you can never fire an underperforming employee.

      1. I dont agree with unions. But south Dakota is one of the few states in the country that has seen an increase in union density over the past few years. Sf alone has over 30 different unions and last report I read there are around 20,000 union workers in the state, probably more now. Like I said I dont agree but it seems like everytime I turn on the news I see that young union leader and mayor Paul’s close work with him is the only thing that makes me nervous about a challenge to Kristi

        1. Including police unions, I presume? Those often get a pass for some reason.

  17. Lest anyone be so absolutely stupid to buy the lie Smithfield is generous when they pay their employees while the plant is closed, their daily payroll is roughly $20 a pig they slaughter or 10% of the cost of the pig.

    Thus, when you consider both the lower prices Smithfield will have to pay to the hog farmer for months ( maybe a year) AND the higher prices Smithfield will get for pork from the grocer (and ultimately we the consumers), they are likely going to have double or triple their normal margins and making a killing (pun intended) by paying the employees to stay home.

    In other words, every day this plant is closed the hog farmer and the consumers are paying the price and will do so for at least six months and maybe over a year.

    I’m grateful the President and the Governor are pushing Smithfield to get open and not giving them a pass “for paying their employees while the plant is closed.”

  18. Man, one disagreement with one of this blog’s sponsors and you’re one of the bad guys, eh. I thought the GOP was a family. I know you can’t call out a member for being drunk on the job without admonishment.

  19. I would say he’s trying to be the Mayor for all. Wow, an R working with a union leader during a health crisis at a factory. Shocking! Revoke his membership. Was Smithfield open to anything? Even your Kristi hasn’t been real happy with them.

    Compare PTH’s trying to work for the whole electorate with what your Dear Leader in Washington is doing.

    And, yeah, maybe there is a swipe at your Kristi there. At least PTH has the courage to go on CNN, not just get all prettied up for Dear Leader’s fave network.

    1. Please!!!! CNN was a Liberal rag LONG before DJT showed up on the scene and going on there anymore is almost embarrassing and a waste of time. What most of you Libs refuse to acknowledge is the Media is 90+% Liberal and are so biased and refuse to even tell both sides. The fact that Joe Biden is getting a pass for molesting about every female and on F@cking camera, especially young girls for years, yet they blasted Kavenaugh about an allegation 30+ years ago with no proof should be enough to open your eyes if you want to see. Even Fords best friend refuted the allegation, a guy came forward and said it was him, yet the medial kept it up is hypocrisy at its best.

      The problem is Republicans and Conservatives in office want to get a long with the other side and frankly most of us are past it and we like people to take the fight to them and not back down to their crap. The Left never fights fair and the last 3 years of outright lies, slander, and falsehoods are enough. Yes Fox news is no better either, its all crap anymore

      I am all for common sense Dems but, they don’t seem to exist anymore and what I wouldn’t give for the Blue Dog type Democrats from the 80s to come back but, we are stuck with AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Omar types. Hard core Communists so no thanks, your side are a bunch of Bolsheviks anymore.

      1. So as a lover of liberty and true blood conservative, I’m sure you’re a follower of The Lincoln Project and are just laying low until Dear Leader is out of office. This guy you seem to support, with his massive spending, autocratic tendencies, and anti-free trade policies is the most socialist POTUS we’ve seen ever.

        1. I am pro American. I think Free Trade is “great in theory” but, its killed our jobs. We cannot compete with cheap 3rd world labor paying Chinese kids 10 cents a day to make stuff. All treaties like NAFTA did was export our jobs. Any American can see that perfectly. Trust me there are MORE than enough RINOs that really should slap a D on their chest but, I digress. If you look at what has happened to our country in the last 30 years both parties and utterly destroyed the Middle Class.

          -Dems want to keep importing voters illegally
          -Reps want to allow all our jobs to keep disappearing via “free trade” or H1 type visas
          -Dems want to keep everyone on the govt dole by subsidizing sitting on your @ss, freebies, etc
          -Reps want to keep subsidizing businesses
          – Dems want to take away my gun rights, kill babies, and give everyone free everything
          – Reps wont enact sensible legislation to rain in polluting companies (no not global warming BS) but, stop dropping chemicals in our rivers and water, etc

          Neither party will ‘truly” look out for the common man and make common sense. Donald Trump has a Sh!tload of flaws and I cringe sometimes at some of the crap he has said and done but, the reason I know he is the right man for the job in OUR TIME is both parties hate him, hollywood hates him, the media hates him, etc. All the elites are lined up against him because no matter what people say its one big uni-party and one big club and guess what, you and I ain’t in it. The idiots in the media have shown their hands as underhanded scoundrels as we know they have been for covering for the establishment politicians instead of going after all of them, yet Trump farts and we hear about for 3 weeks straight. Pedo Joe molests kids on stage over and over and silence. Our politicians are bought and paid for a long time ago and I am so disgusted with 98% of them I could puke.

          On a small note, while the president signs the bills, congress makes them, so this massive spending is the creation of your good friends in congress. The autocratic tendencies you speak of, the last guys famous quote was “I got a pen and I got a phone” so lets be real. That clown just fired up his own immigration act, come on bro.

          Your not going to get much argument out of me about the Republican party but, the Dems are full hook line and sinker Anti American period. If we brought JFK back from the dead he was be an uber Conservative Republican. Such a large shift in the Democratic party over the last 50 years, even larger than the Republican party. I could talk about this topic all day as I am just furious as to what has happend to our jobs, our families, and our freedoms. This is why I never understand why people want more government, they suck at everything they do.

          1. Wow, cynical much?

            So you’re obviously not a fan of Dear Leader, he who claimed he had ultimate power a few weeks ago, then walked it back. He also takes “no responsibility at all” for any of this mess, despite it having happened on his watch and got out of control while he was golfing and doing his rallies. No real POTUS with a pair would not have said that.

            So when was the last time you actually voted for a POTUS whose polices you truly support? Or have you only just picked the lesser of 2 evils in your cynical view?

        2. The most socialist POTUS we ever had was Lyndon Johnson who gave us Welfare, Medicare, and Medicaid, its not even CLOSE. Next right in line behind him is FDR who gave us Social Security which is nothing but a giant Ponzi scheme.
          Obozo tried to give us all Socialized Medicine but, that has all but, been gutted, thank goodness.

          All this “free shit” came from Democrats and in theory it SHOULD work but, in practice it does not.

          Teach a man to fish and he eats forever, give a man a fish he eats for a day.

        3. You can’t be serious. it is your Governors who’ve dictatorially controlled people’s lives, expropriated businesses, and ruined livelihoods for the past two months. AND, all the greatest burden you thrust on the voiceless poor.

          These might count as arguments in your circle where the IQ’s cumulatively can’t total 100 but here it is just makes you look pitiful.

  20. When we needed strong – sound leadership TenHaken turned to Bill Clinton! Instead of standing firm – he caved and ran for cover over and over again. I will not vote for him again. He’s a gutless wonder.

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