Audit Required of Icet's Budget Spin

Icet explained his sober approach to auditing at the Poplar Bluff 'Patriot Rally' in January

GOP Auditor candidate Allen Icet believes the legislative budget he oversaw as House Budget Chair spends too much money.  But he'd rather you didn't say that the General Assembly failed to pass a balanced budget for FY2011, thank you very much. 

To be clear, Icet agrees that Gov. Jay Nixon needs to cut about $350 million from the budget bills passed last month. And no one can argue that Icet and GOP leaders failed to pass the legislation required to achieve $89M in efficiencies included in their budget bills.  Furthermore, Icet has little room to complain about the reduced revenue projection for next year, seeing how he signed on to the consensus revenue estimate with the Governor and Senate Budget Chair Robert Mayer back in January. 

Icet just doesn't want anyone talking about the legislature's "inadequate" budget while he's out there telling voters about his alleged "fiscal sanity and common sense conservative values."

Unfortunately for Icet, this horse is already out of the barn.  No one is describing the FY11 budget as balanced, except for incumbent legislators trying to avoid criticism.  Even Icet's fellow "rank-and-file Republicans" are undermining his spin, the Star reported as the legislation session ended. 

Two weeks later, it isn't even a real matter of debate.  "The recently passed state budget is already $350 million out of balance," Steve Kraske states matter-of-factly in today's Star. 

"The assembly finally passed a budget hundreds of thousands out of balance, and now Gov. Jay Nixon ponders where to make additional cuts," wrote Hank Waters in The Tribune on Thursday. "Before too many of us get angry at Gov. Nixon for his final budget tweaks, let us remember he is cast into this onerous role by our esteemed solons who did not step up to the plate."

Nevertheless, Icet says "I feel comfortable in continuing to say that" the General Assembly's budget is balanced. 

No word yet on whether Icet plans to take officials' "feelings" into account if he's elected Auditor.