Democrats See a Smoke Screen Related to State Soothsayer
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels declared a statewide weed emergency Saturday, saying his administration could not keep up with the state’s burgeoning weed crop. He called on all Indiana residents above the age of six to pull at least six weeds per day until the emergency is over, probably in late September.
Daniels, a Republican, stopped short of calling out the Indiana National Guard, noting that most of the state’s National Guard members are in Iraq, including the elite Weed Patrol Commando Squad. The group has won the National Weed Chopping Fiesta six times since 1998 and has been a powerful force for most of the last decade in the state’s weed control program.
“We cannot afford to let weeds overwhelm our fine state,” Daniels said at a news conference where he announced the weed emergency. “Indiana has six million Hoosiers, and if each one of them over the age of six would pull just six weeds a day, that will translate into, uhmm, probably thirty million weeds every day. At that rate, we can beat this problem.”
Democrats were quick to accuse Daniels of using Indiana’s admittedly severe weed infestation as a smoke screen to deflect attention from a burgeoning budget deficit and the resignation of the State Soothsayer. Francine Jones stepped down from the soothsayer post last week after news reports linked her to a scheme to sell sooths to private individuals rather than dispensing sooths at no cost to any state resident who asks for one, as the Indiana state constitution dictates.
“The governor knows perfectly well that when the National Guard was called up for service in Iraq he could have ordered the Weed Patrol Commando Squad to remain behind and fight weeds,” Art Ligget, Democratic state chairman, said after Daniels’ announcement. “But he chose to let them go and now we are paying a severe price in an avalanche of unwanted weeds.”
“What Mr. Ligget has failed to mention — and he knows it perfectly well, by the way — is that the Governor did appeal to the Pentagon to let the Weed Patrol Commandos remain behind because of Indiana’s weed problem and the national security implications should Hoosier weeds get out of control,” said a Daniels staff member, who asked not to be identified because he has a severe weed problem in his back yard.
“The Pentagon, a Pentagon controlled by a Republican president, by the way, refused to let the weed commandos remain at home. Now we are paying a price,” the staff member said.
At his news conference, Daniels said he also planned to order all Indiana school districts to bring the current school year to an end on on June 21, rather than June 22, and have all public school students in grades four through twelve spend the last day of school pulling weeds in their communities.
The Indiana State Teachers Association applauded the move to end the school year a day early, but noted that their collective bargaining agreement specifically states that association members are exempt from any weed pulling duties, regardless of the circumstances.