Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Rounds is telling the press that federal stimulus dollars made South Dakota highways better. Rounds is emphasizing that South Dakota needs big government because it depends on nearly $300 million dollars every year to maintain its roads. And the Republican is saying he wants more big government help for South Dakota in the form of replenishing the Highway Trust Fund... because when he was governor, he knew darn well that depletion of the Highway Trust Fund would mean South Dakota would have to spend more of its own money, and Rounds never supported that kind of self-reliance.
Alas, Rounds says, Congress is struggling to pass that vital legislation because "nobody" trusts President Obama:
You can't give 'em more money until you know how they're going to spend it, and I think that's the biggest problem we've got in D.C. is, is nobody trusts that the Administration will spend the money the way they say that they will [Marion Michael Rounds, audio interview, "Rounds Supports Highway Funding Bill," KJAM Radio, 2014.07.24].
Hold on, Mike—I think you're projecting. You don't trust President Obama. You took stimulus dollars that President Obama and Congress intended for education and then spent those dollars on other budget items.
But hey, suppose Rounds is right. Suppose the problem with highway funding is that Senators don't trust President Obama.
Since President Obama isn't on the 2014 ballot, there's one obvious solution: elect Senators who trust President Obama. Elect Rick Weiland.
Thanks for the advice, Mike!
Good grief, what Mikey is saying is "the gutless do nothing Congress is not to blame for their own inaction, it's all the fault of that black man over in the corner!"
Squirrel!
The flagrant hypocrisy of the SDGOP is stunningly vertiginous.
Larry, that is a beautiful word man. Appropriate in this case as well. The republican party is the party of prostitutes that not only want you to pay for services, they want you to pay for the bed as well.
What has always struck me as funny as hell is when the South Dakota republicans bitch and moan about socialism to go along with the rest of the hate for the black man. They say this while driving down the public roads and are dependent on other socialistic moolah to put out the fire on their north 40. What a bunch of clever dumbasses.
Rounds already sounds like a wholly owned subsidiary of korporate amerika. They don't want critical thinkers,they want parrots to spew talking points in favor of the wealthy. You start to think you might get dangerous ideas about the status quo.
mike from iowa, Not only korporate amerika but also of the The AIPAC. Rounds went to Israel to get his marching orders. Through out of state money and Jewish funding, Mr. Rounds sits on 9 million in cash to further his needs as a corrupt corporate stooge. Damn good work if you can get it, but first, you need a mentor.
Jerry, I'll add to the mentor, "and no soul."
I always laugh when Rounds and Daugaard say they do not trust the federal government, but they certainly trust the federal government when the feds send the checks to SD.
Rounds has complained about the federal debt, but he willingly accepted the stimulus money that help increased the federal debt. Unless, I missed it, I have never read the Rounds believes that SD should reimburse the federal government for the monies he accepted.
Maybe this would be an appropriate line for Rounds and Daugaard, "I don't like you, and I don't trust you, but I love your money, so give me more!!
Me Rounds you left the state with a structural deficit. How are we supposed to trust you with our money in Washington?
When Rounds was governor he used money that the state was supposed to use for state transportation to buy that fancy airplane that he used to fly his family and friends all over the country, including his kids sporting events.
Whoa!! Is common sense conservative Mike Rounds wanting to add millions more to the $18 trillion debt that he and other Republicans= is consistently blaming President Obama for?
If Mike Rounds was consistent in his criticism of big government and the nations debt he should be saying, I left Daugaard enough in state reserves for South Dakota to take care of itself.
Glad to see our SD candidate got the national talking points memo.
Republicans leave democrats all kinds of stuff to talk about on the campaign trail, I wonder why they don't.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/25/1315303/-A-Republican-Bestiary
Rounds suffers from the same lack of transparency that the president does. That EB-5 thing is not being investigated as it should be. That means that I cannot vote for him.
I'm heading to the Madison all school reunion this afternoon. It'd be nice if Rounds would show up for some campaigning
Michael B, there is a difference between the head of state's transparency and the head of a state's transparency. I do not want a president to disclose everything behind the curtain. In Rounds case, his corruption has been pretty clear from the onset. The one party rule here means that it was fully disclosed to the corrupted legislature as it has unfolded. It does not take a very smart person to figure out the corruption. Now, what it will take are smart ones to figure the depth of it.
As someone who has been born and raised here, I never thought that I would see the day that such a corrupt regime, in its entirety to include the governor today, go unpunished. That tells me that the majority of South Dakotans have no moral compass, but I can be surprised.
Owen, enjoy the reunion... and put in a good word for me! I'd enjoy being there. I'd also enjoy the chance to get the subset of old Bulldogs still registered to vote in South Dakota to see and share Rounds's hypocrisy and get their neighbors talking and acting on it!
Jerry, how do we get the majority of voters to realign their moral compasses and keep Rounds from taking his hypocrisy and corruption to Washington? Do we need to print copies of the Madville Times and dlever to everyone's doorstep?
Cory-South Dakotans need to elect an AG that is not beholden to political party in power and is not afraid to ask the fed to step in and monitor the corruption and act on it. OTOH,I'd hate to see you forced to defend the crooks at trial. Maybe you could recuse yourself. :)
Cory, I think the first thing would be to get involved. Talk to your neighbors seriously about what is going on. Canvas and speak out. If I personally see someone actively campaigning for Daugaard, NOem or Rounds, I ask them what are their feelings about corruption and decency. Then you can have a whole conversation with them about what is going on here. That helps them to change their adamant feelings about who they are supporting by giving them less enthusiasm to proceed. It also helps that people overhear you in this case and are less inclined to support them any further. It is true grassroots. Each mind you change is a vote you win, simple stuff to change the moral compass, without bringing in religion. We all must figure a way to get this done or we will be stuck in the muck ourselves. If they are voted in, it means we the people support the corruption and the crooked deals we all know about.
Jerry, excellent answer. This is where it starts, by talking to neighbors, friends, and strangers, I do it all the time.
And we have the internet and most importantly the Madville Times, we cannot share Cory's investigations enough on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.
And the good conservatives in Rapid City want a few hundred thousands from state and federal governments so they can convert a tennis court to a parking lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwUJH70ubM
Joanie Mitchell...Yellow Cab (parking lot song).
The Governor and Kristi Noem have weekly Op-Eds in the RC Journal. Why aren't the Democrat Candidates submitting their own?
barry, not sure the RCJ would print them, they have become much more of a right wing rag over the last 10 years or so. Might explain their constantly declining readership.
Highway 34 east of Howes is closing. The only access road north of New Underwood to the interstate has collapsed. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think our infrastructure done got destroyed. Now if this were in the Dakota Dunes, all of these guys would be falling on their swords to see who could provide the most and the quickest. In west river, you are just a rancher who has a horse, get used to riding it.