TheChat: Peter Kinder rips Gov. Jay Nixon’s decision to cut spending

Let’s do this.

▪ “These $46 million in withholdings are unnecessary, given that the state has seven times that amount in a budget surplus.” — Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder on Gov. Jay Nixon’s decision to cut nearly $50 million in spending.

Nixon, a Democrat, made the move after a court ruling that said tobacco companies don’t have to pay Missouri $50 million this year. Kinder, a Republican, is a candidate for governor next year. Some Democrats rallied to Nixon’s side, saying he did what he had to do. (link via johncombest.com).

▪ “I was a little bit alarmed over how much people knew about our constitution.” — presidential candidate Ben Carson on why he wrote his book, A More Perfect Union.

Carson, who’s running second in the polls to Donald Trump, will appear in Springfield on Thursday.

▪ “It is clear that this administration intends to raise taxes on citizens in order to cover their lack of management skills in the next session.” — Steve Anderson, who served as Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director from 2011 to 2013, on his disappointment with the administration.

Anderson’s chief beef: Brownback and his team needed to cut spending more to avoid big tax increases. Said Anderson: “Donald Trump is right, although slightly over the top, when he says ‘stupid people’ are running government. Inexperienced and uncommitted individuals were running government in Kansas.”

▪ “No one ever doubted that when Fritz spoke, he spoke for you. President Obama empowered me the same way.” — Vice President Joe Biden speaking to former President Jimmy Carter about his relationship with his VP, Walter Mondale.

Biden said the Carter-Mondale team set a new standard for presidential ties to their vice presidents, and it’s one that he and President Barack Obama tried to follow.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 12:13 AM.