Senator Adelstein loves………..Stan Adelstein and taxes

By Ed Randazzo

Did you happen to read the excerpts from a live chat published by the Rapid City Journal on Friday, 2/25/2011?

I did.

Senator Adelstein, who never met a tax he didn’t like, is promoting his “soak the tourist” tax again. He says that 26% of the increase will be paid by tourists. I guess Stan thinks that if they step into his parlor that they should be taxed. His estimate also tells me that 74% of his new tax will be paid by South Dakotans. I don’t want to pay any of Stan’s new tax and I’m thinking most folks would say the same. Frankly, I find Senator Adelstein’s approach to deficit reduction too taxing.

Stan, the Tax Man also says that if we cut $25 million from the state’s budget for healthcare (I think he means Medicaid), that we will lose $40 million in federal funds. NEWS FLASH, STAN: The federal government is broke too. They are just acting like they aren’t. How long can they send money into South Dakota that they don’t have? The federal government has NO MONEY OF ITS OWN. The money that comes from Washington is our money, the taxpayer’s money or money they have “borrowed” largely from China which will have to be paid back by our children and their children. The federal government does not make money, it collects it from ……us.

Stan, the Tax Man also said he has support for his plan “everywhere” and even from the tea party. Really? I am a former Board member of Citizens fo Liberty (a tea party group) and of the South Dakota Tea Party Alliance and I have NEVER heard any tea party member support new or increased taxes.

NEWS FLASH, STAN: The t-e-a in tea party stands for Taxed Enough Already. To my knowledge, Stan Adelstein has never been to a tea party meeting or rally and I believe his statement regarding tea party support for his new tax to be false.

I attended the Rapid City Crackerbarrel on Saturday and challenged Senator Adelstein to reveal which tea party or tea party member that had indicated support for his new tax. He answered that his source was a Rasmussen poll (a push-poll he had financed) and when asked if he had actually spoken to even one tea party member, his reply was “no.”

Somehow David Montgomery of the Rapid City Journal who wrote an article about the crackerbarrel in the Sunday edition missed that little fact. Was this because it involved a column which was published in Saturday’s Rapid City Journal or perhaps it’s just another occurence of treating Senator Adelstein differently than others when he is caught stretching the limits of veracity.

Either choice is not flattering.