Smilin’ Mike Rounds is just full of ample advice;

For that to happen, Rounds told lawmakers at the opening of the 2009 legislative session Tuesday, the Legislature will need to resist the urge to spend more.

Thanks Mike. Good thing there wasn’t a mirror in front of you when you said that, cuz it would have freaking exploded!

Rounds held out hope that money from a federal stimulus plan could help South Dakota with some of its backlog in highway and bridge projects, but he said an increase in federal funding won’t solve all of the state’s problems. He asked lawmakers to review the situation with highway funding before proposing any increase in the state gas tax.

Cuz, God forbid I have to get on my hands and knees and kiss Obama’s ass. Well you better start puckering up.

Legislators are expected to consider fee increases for government services and licensing across a broad spectrum, including vehicle registration costs. He warned lawmakers that groups affected by fee increases would lobby them.

“These people and groups will argue they’re special and should continue to receive special treatment,” he said.

Like all of your campaign contributors?

“The State of the State is traditionally a time when the governor presents new directions – new initiatives,” Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem said. “There was none of that.”

What governor are you talking about Scott?

Rounds compared several areas in South Dakota from where they were in 2002 – the year he first was elected – to where they are now. He said schools have made proficiency gains in both reading and math scores. And fewer high school graduates than before require remedial math and reading classes when entering college.

Yeah, test scores go up, when you don’t have all those High School dropouts bringing down your averages. South Dakota has one of the highest dropouts rates in the nation.

But in the end, the main concern for lawmakers isn’t what might be, but what is. And Rounds told lawmakers they would have to make tough choices.

“We can’t spend more than what we have,” he said.

Can you let Mayor Munson know that, I think he didn’t get the memo.

8 Thoughts on “I suppose I better comment about this . . . blah.

  1. LEADERSHIP. Look it up Mike!

  2. When the going gets tough, the wimps give up.

  3. Ghost of Dude on January 14, 2009 at 1:05 pm said:

    Amazing how they don’t talk about actually cutting the budget until there’s no money left to expand it.

  4. Mark my words, Munson will do the same thing. He’ll wait until the city is flat broke in about August then go “A maybe we shouldn’t build those new arterial streets and levees.” What do you expect? Rounds was an insurance salesman and Munson was a desk warmer at a CC company – whadda they know about managing money repsonsibly when your job is selling air and and ripping off poor people.

  5. Ghost of Dude on January 14, 2009 at 1:34 pm said:

    I don’t know about “air”. My insurance policy paid 8% in dividends last year and will pay 6.5% this year. Not a bad deal at all really considering the dump my IRA took.

    I understand the point though. Munson’s claim to fame after Citi was warming a desk chair at the state legislature where he did nothing.
    Rounds wasn’t even the best Republican who ran for office in ’02. He simply had the advantages of not being from Sioux Falls and not being publicly connected to the disaster that was Janklow’s last term in office.

  6. Janklow – what a joke.

    I guess he called the county treasurer the other day wondering if he could pick his plates up at the back door instead having to stand in line with the rest of us working stiffs.

    A real man of the people.

  7. Ghost of Dude on January 14, 2009 at 3:51 pm said:

    For a guy with such a tough background, you’d think he’d have more of a populist attitude instead of his entitlement complex.

  8. It’s all a smoke screen, he’s no populist.

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