So, by now you are likely fully aware of the implosion of the vice presidential chances of the current governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem.

Noem wrote a book, which proudly proclaims on its cover it is a New York Times best seller. Now, given that her Svengali, a certain former president, has declared the New York Times to be “out of control” reporting false information, it seems odd Noem would choose to proclaim her status with that “enemy of the people,” but I guess sales are what counts. More on that in a minute…

A recent Colorado Politics story reported on Noem’s on again/off again invitation to speak to the Jefferson County Republicans at their fancy annual event, called the Lincoln Day Dinner. Both parties hold these events, and they can help to pump up the party’s base and get volunteers excited about upcoming elections. I have been to more than a few of the Democratic Party’s version, and the goal for both parties is to get a nationally prominent speaker who will help sell tickets (they are not cheap) and get people excited about November.

So, it made a lot of sense, at least at the time, when Jeffco GOP chair Nancy Pallozzi invited Noem and she accepted, that there was much rejoicing in the county party. Noem’s publisher had even sent hundreds of copies of her new book — you know, the one on the NYT’s best seller list — to the Jeffco GOP to distribute to attendees.

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As an aside, this is an old trick some publishers do. I’m guessing somehow those hundreds of copies ended up being credited as “sales” in the tricky bookkeeping of publishing houses. Donated books can create the illusion of a bestseller. I recall years ago when I was teaching at the AF Academy, a very prominent former high-governmental official was going to give one of the big annual talks at the academy. His publisher sent a copy of his most recent book for every cadet, all 4,000 of them, which, again, I am sure ended up counting as sales. We stacked them in storerooms by the crateful, and they were still sitting there when I retired a few years later.

But I digress…

The aforementioned Jeffco chair, Nancy Pallozzi, is working hard to bring the GOP in Jefferson County back to at least some level of significance. In recent years, the GOP there has taken a pounding in a number of elections, and Pallozzi thought, quite reasonably at the time, an invite to Noem would be just the ticket to, well, sell tickets. And she was right! The event sold out, as many likely attendees may well have thought they would be hearing from the next GOP nominee for vice president of the United States.

Then, someone read the book.

And likely everyone knows about the dog murder and goat assassination she conducted on her farm. The puppy was untrainable, she has stated, and so she took it to the gravel pit near her home and, well, killed it. As she wrote, “I hated that dog” because it was, she claimed, dangerous and “less than worthless.” So, she killed it.

There was also a goat on her property, and the goat liked to, as goats do, butt things, including Noem’s kids. Now, it makes a lot of sense to protect your kids from rude goats, and thinking of my grandparents farm in Iowa, where I spent many summers growing up, Noem clearly needed to do what my grandparents did with dangerous animals: put them in a fenced field and tell the kids (or grandkids) to stay out of that field.

Well, Noem chose a different path. Yup, it was back to the gravel pit for the goat, whom she only wounded with her first shot, and she had to go back to her truck to get another shell to finish it off. Had she reflected a bit on her shooting plans, I’m pretty sure there are nice GOPers in South Dakota, with big farms, which would have been happy to take the dog off Noem’s hands. But she decided just to kill it. And the goat.

Now, I get how lots of people are upset. Heck, President Joe Biden was the owner of a couple of dogs that were, well, jerks. Both Major and Commander, in that order, were living with the Bidens in the White House when they started nipping and biting people. Though the Bidens loved the dogs, the biting couldn’t stand, so Joe took them to the Rose Garden and shot them dead.

No, of course he didn’t.

The Bidens sent both dogs to live with others, far away from the hustle and bustle of the White House, where, apparently, they are both happy and romping around.

And though the dog and the goat are getting all the attention, there is a much more important confession in the early versions of Noem’s book. I say early because her publisher removed the story from additional printings. What story you may well ask?

Well, the one about how the gutsy South Dakota governor took on the dictator of North Korea, where, according to her book, she bravely stared down the man, though she offered no proof the event actually happened. Her publisher pulled the story from subsequent printings, and Noem has acknowledged “errors” in the book, including the fantasy regarding Kim Jong Un. Can you imagine how the GOP would respond if, say, Biden had made up such a story? Sheesh.

Anyway, Pallozzi made the tough but likely correct call to cancel Noem’s invitation to speak. Of course, being a loyal GOPer, she blamed liberals, claiming Progress Now was behind at least some of the threats the organization received regarding Noem. People would get hurt, she asserted.

And when challenged to document such actions by liberals, Pallozzi basically had to admit she too had no evidence tying Progress Now to the threats. So she said, “Hurt doesn’t necessarily mean physical hurt, it could be emotional hurt. There’s lots of yelling and screaming in people’s faces.” You know, feelings might get hurt. Double sheesh.

So, the GOP in Jeffco canceled the invitation of a flailing national GOP figure, not because of her actions, but because some of her folks might get their feelings hurt if she came. Right…

Stay tuned for the next self-inflicted GOP wound.

Just look for where they blame the liberals.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.