The District 31 Legislative candidates met Tuesday evening at a Tea Party forum hosted by the Northern Hills Patriots. To the local Tea Party's credit, their first question was not about fighting ObamaCare or Agenda 21 or abortion (that nutty stuff came later). The forum opened instead with a straightforward question about how to balance the budget and develop a reserve without raising taxes:
Rep. Fred Romkema hit this question out of the park. In a room full of voters whose party seems not to like incumbents, Rep. Romkema made his experience in Pierre sound as positive as possible. He noted that when he came to Pierre in 2009, South Dakota had been running a structural deficit around $25 million for eight straight years. That deficit ballooned to over $100 million as the recession took its bite out of revenues. Rep. Romkema took credit for solving the problem, saying that thanks to his support for Governor Daugaard's extreme, draconian 10% budget cuts last year, we have balanced the budget and restored our retirement system to full funding.
Rep. Romkema said we are now a fiscal model to other states. I find alarming the prospect of other states trying to emulate our anti-education budget. However, in front of this audience, Rep. Romkema says all the right things.
Rep. Romkema then spreads some practical jam on that just-right toast. Rejecting fiscal absolutism, Rep. Romkema says we may need to increase taxes to deal with emergencies. Things like last year's Missouri River flooding and the Black Hills pine beetle epidemic (and fires that may arise therefrom) cost money to fight; Rep. Romkema says we must be prudent and be ready to raise more money if necessary. Romkema is George H. W. Bush, not Grover Norquist.
On this same question, challenger John Teupel gives a weak swing and a miss. He tells the Tea Party that he was part of the budget problem. When he served in the House from 2001 to 2004, Teupel says he voted for the final Janklow budget, which created the structural deficit. He says he and other legislators thought they'd be able to rein the budget overrun back the next year under the new governor. When that new governor, M. Michael Rounds, arrived, he proposed a 3% increase for education and employees which Teupel says locked us into that structural deficit. Teupel says "we're back on track now" with conservative governor Dennis Daugaard; we just need more conservative legislators.
Note how in one question, Teupel strikes out with all sectors of the electorate. The ultra-conservatives in the audience hear Teupel saying he caused the problem that his opponent Rep. Romkema just took credit for fixing. The Rounds backers in the audience hear Teupel casting aspersions on the former governor. Voters in general hear Teupel admit to being a big spender who lacked the political courage to pay for that spending.
Tim Johns says some safe things about how maybe it's time to stop some of the growth in government. He waves the magic wand of economic development as a solution to revenue shortfalls.
That answer is at least more on point than Gary Coe's. Playing the local Steve Sibson, Coe covers up his lack of knowledge and experience on a big policy question by shoehorning it into his preferred talking points on ObamaCare. Elect this man, and you'll get nothing done.
At both Spearfish forums, we've heard the line that in Pierre, there are two issues: the budget, and everything else. On this major issue, Rep. Romkema shows the the most pragmatic budget approach and, at least from a conservative perspective, the best record. John Teupel admits to a failed record. Stressing what he considers his budget success is Rep. Romkema's surest route to keeping Teupel from taking his seat in Pierre.
Some ten years ago, John Teupel and this interested party were sharing a table at the Bay Leaf Cafe laughing over the old days until he abruptly snapped, loudly berated then reduced a server to a puddle of tears over some tepid soup.
We haven't spoken since.