July 2010

Ironic Johnny Worries DNC Executive The Most Among 2012 Presidential Prospects (H/T – Helga)

It will probably make Thune’s day, but really it is not a compliment He has done nothing to make himself stand out in the crowd of repug wannabees. They don’t even vote for them at their own repug conventions;

Offering an earnest assessment of the 2012 landscape, DNC Executive Director Jennifer O’Malley Dillon acknowledged on Friday that among a field of generally flawed (in one way or another) Republican presidential candidates, there is one who genuinely scares her.

“This is personal but John Thune is somebody that I am worried about. I’ve worked in South Dakota with Tom Daschle,” she said. “[Thune] just a guy who’s just doing his work… who not everyone is following.”

O’Malley Dillon didn’t elaborate much further. But her take on Thune, while broadly shared both in Republican and Democratic circles, was a bit more rare and candid than DNC officials generally make. And it would be curious to see what the chatter of Thune as the dark horse of the Republican field does for both his standing within the party and his own internal deliberations about his political future.

Speaking on a panel at Netroots Nation about the current electoral landscape, O’Malley Dillon addressed issues more pressing to the 2010 elections than the next presidential cycle. But in addition to her comments on Thune, she did acknowledge that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush stands out from the rest of the GOP field for his nuanced position on immigration reform — a policy platform that could win him kudos from Hispanic voters.

Meet SD’s Attorney General; Marty Jack-bagger

It has been blatantly obvious for a long time that our new AG has had political motivations, especially of the teabagger affiliation, and this letter writer nails it;

Third, these three elected officials have found a perfect way to titillate the imagination of the electorate, get a few votes and distract them from those depressing issues that I mentioned earlier. Everyone needs a mental vacation and a new target for their frustrations, right?

Even the sometimes brain-dead editorial board at the Gargoyle Leader gets it;

Top state and law enforcement officials here say there’s no large illegal immigration problem in South Dakota. And what issues are present certainly are quite different than those in Arizona and other border states.

I didn’t always agree with Larry Long, but I will say this about him as our past AG, he was fair on most issues and didn’t turn things into political fights. Marty, stop teabagging and start working to take on REAL issues facing our state.

Councilor Jamison has a great idea; give the money back.

(KELO-TV SCREENSHOT)

Not sure if that is what he meant while talking about the city budget, but I like the idea.

Jamison is asking whether that’s the case with this budget. He wants to know if the economy improves next year and sales tax revenues turn around, what the city should do with the extra money.

“Some might think do we really need to keep that money, should we give it back?” Jamison said.

Well, Greg, I think we have been overtaxed for a long time. Maybe instead of rebates, we should just cut taxes. But before we commend Huether for finding $30 million in cuts, we need to look at what he is cutting;

• Non-profits that provide vital services to the city

• Libraries

• Police

• Snow removal

And while he brags about ‘cutting’ these services, he increases general fund spending;

Huether’s proposed $117.7 million in general fund spending is a 0.7 percent increase over the $116.9 million in the 2010 budget after the spending revisions were made.

So what are these cuts you speak of? Especially when you are proposing a cool million for an Events Center plan WE DON’T need since we already have a good one with the Downtown proposal. While I agree we can provide some city services on the cheap why would we cut public safety and libraries first? I believe a 5% across the board cut makes the most sense, then go back and delve into individual cuts. The first place I would start is cutting back on all of these ‘assistant’ directors. Each major department should have ONE director, that’s it. If they can’t handle the job without an assistant, fire them.

If you want to cut essential services for the ‘good people of Sioux Falls’ – Fine, then cut our taxes or pay down our debt, or do both.