dontjerkit

While I found the campaign partially clever, I guess I would not have used that particular phrasing. But this is not the first time a government agency has come up with a silly motto. Remember the Downtown parking motto, Look for the Gold ‘P’? And who can forget Kmart’s “I just shipped my pants.”

I challenge my readers to come up with ‘other’ phrases in the comment section that don’t refer to bodily fluids, poop or masturbating. I don’t think it should be too hard.

What I find troubling though is that $100K of tax money was spent on an ad campaign that won’t even be launched. Does that mean we will get a refund? Or will Lawrence and Schiller do a new campaign at no cost?

As you remember, L & S is famously known for getting No-Bid contracts with the state for marketing campaigns, millions of dollars of them. I also find it ironic that one of the founders of the company, Craig Lawrence, a self admitted ultra conservative and chair of the SD Republican party wouldn’t have a little pull in getting L & S to come up with better ad campaigns that don’t reference masturbating, peeing or pooping your pants.

Talk about getting caught with your pants down, but not behind the wheel of course.

As South DaCola has reported in the past, Lawrence and Schiller has had their fair share of handouts from SD Republicans in the form of our taxdollars;

No bid contracts for campaign buddies, including the exclusive no-bid contract for $11 million to Lawrence & Schiller; (We also learned that Daugaard’s daughter worked for L&S while the public learned of the under-the-table wheeling and dealing in the Governor’s office.)

Well, it seems the gift’s keep coming (Argusleader);

Gov. Dennis Daugaard has asked a former advertising executive in Sioux Falls to lead the state Republican Party through the 2014 election cycle.

Craig Lawrence is a co-founder of the advertising firm, Lawrence & Schiller.

I guess after years of sucking off the taxpayer’s tit in the form of no-bid contracts, it is time to reward Craig with a job where he can really go out and turn the spin up a notch. Denny Doogard is going to get the ball rolling;

“Right now, our party needs to reinforce the rightness and relevancy of its principles and the record of its performance to new generations of voters,” Daugaard said in a release.

You mean the 35 year iron grip you have had on South Dakotans due to closed government and lack of transparency you have been so good at maintaining? But it doesn’t stop Lawrence from claiming something else;

Lawrence said he hopes comunicate Republican principles of smaller government in a “compelling and alluring” way to both Republicans and independents.

 . . . trying . . . to . . . catch my breath.

Lawrence was receiving some of the largest no-bid advertising contracts in the history of our state from governor Rounds during his administration. Rounds actually expanded government and paid back the people who helped get him elected (Lawrence) with numerous lucrative no-bid contracts. I’m not sure what ‘smaller government’ Lawrence is talking about, but it certainly isn’t the one ran by our state Republicans.

My friend Joy Crane wrote an interesting letter to the editor today about the ‘actual’ costs and revenue of tourism in our state;

A subsection under Goal 1 includes Progress Indicators, which list the actual monthly tourism and Deadwood gaming tax revenues collected from April 2007 to April 2008. A footnote states that these monthly deposits of revenue are used to fund the South Dakota Office of Tourism. The total 13-month tax revenue added up to $9,228,592.

The Jan. 11 Argus Leader article about South Dakotans feeling the money pinch in regard to Gov. Mike Rounds’ new budget contained the following: “Heidepriem, though, suggests there are notable savings to be realized. While the state Constitution ‘doesn’t say a word about tourism, we are spending $12 million this year promoting tourism in a no-bid contract with Lawrence and Schiller. Is it more important to fund K-12 education or tourism? I know what the founders tell us,’ he says.”

It appears Rounds is spending more on the annual Lawrence and Schiller no-bid contract than the total annual tourism and Deadwood gaming tax revenues collected to fund the Office of Tourism.

Well it seems Lousy & Shister are at it again, sucking off the taxpayer tit.

The Mitchell Daily Republic also did a story about it, I would have a direct link, but their site is having issues today.