Welcome to the Forum Mr. Howie.

Wanna look Gordo straight in the eye?

Click his picture for a closer encounter.

Nice to see Senator Gordon Howie pop in unexpectedly earlier today, huh? I say "unexpectedly" because I've been getting ready to start an interview with him here, had the first installment ready, and then he waded into Mike Sanborn's post below with a kindly suggestion that Mike subsequently honored. (see the Money vs Life post below.) Glad we got that straightened out, guys. ANYWAY, here's the first installment of my interview with Senator Howie:

So, Gordon, you and I have known each other since way back in the Shakey's Pizza days when my company did some ads for you. We've always gotten along pretty well, probably because we both have a pretty good sense of humor. For instance, did you notice that I've already stolen your joke about the guy trying to have a positive attitude, but doesn't think it'll really do him any good? I'm sorry, I should have given you credit for it, but I didn't know if it was ok with you if I told people we'd been talking about politics and the governors race together lately. Do you want to fill the "Forumpians"in about that a little to get the ball rolling? You said you wanted to make a video or something, right? Bill, As I have met with, talked and listened to the candidates who are currently running for Governor, I have been considering what South Dakota needs. Some people have encouraged me to run. While I do not have plans in place for a campaign, I have not ruled it out at this point in time. I believe the most important thing is not WHO sits in that chair, but rather what they will do, and what they are committed to. Our next Governor, and our State Legislators must be willing to draw a line in the sand, and protect State's rights. Let's have some discussion about that issue so we see where all of these candidates stand. We need "bottom up" government, not "top down". The government that works best is the one closest to the people. Federal control does not make for good government. From government run health care to Federally mandated animal ID programs, we have to say NO. That will take a State leadership team with real conviction. Real estate taxes are too high, and going higher. We need someone committed to finding a better way to fund K-12 Education, other than on the backs of property owners. School funding continues to be problematic every year. We need to create an environment of excellence and effeciency through competition. School vouchers would allow parents to choose the best schools and create incentives for new and better solutions to educate our kids. We need to refuse to spend more on next years State budget than we spent in our last one. If revenues continue to fall, we may need to consider accross the board cuts to reduce spending even further. The attempts during last session to pass "revenue enhancers" was little more than an all out attempt to raise taxes on those who were least likely to mount an effective defense. That is not the way to run state government. We need to cut spending, not raise taxes. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with you. There is a lot more to discuss, but I didn't want to dump the whole load on you at one time! Thanks Gordon! So Forumpians (love that word, Bob, did you coin it?) ...any questions for Senator Howie before we continue?