Heidepriem defends Rounds against CREW

Well, Scott Heidepriem certainly is calling 'em as he sees em, I guess:

RCJ: Democratic candidate for governor defends Rounds' ethics

Democratic state Sen. Scott Heidepriem defend the ethics of Gov. Mike Rounds on Thursday, in response to a report by a liberal Washington, D.C., watchdog group listing the South Dakota governor as one of the nation's worst.

Heidepriem, a Democratic candidate for governor, said he didn't pay much attention to the report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington once he realized the political leanings of the group.

Of course CREW is citing many of the very same concerns (resistance to open records, closed spending decisions, etc, etc.) that Heidepriem is talking about, but, okay. I agree with Heidepriem that rating systems (livable cities etc) leave much to be desired, especially if you don't read beyond the headline to what the rating is actually based on.

I absolutely disagree with Scott's characterization of CREW, since they have gone after plenty of folks on the left.... but the Rep's perception issues on how they run Pierre are real, and the Republican candidates are going to have to address them if they are going to make headway against Heidepriem, who has good cred from R's and Dems.