Chamber breakfast quiet with pre-screened questions
One possible reason for the quiet, news-less legislative Q&A held this morning by the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce became evident about two-thirds of the way through, when Sen. Tim Rave livened things up slightly by wandering around the room during his response and bantering with the moderator, Mark Lee of the Chamber.
But before answering Lee's question about the budget, Rave cracked a joke about the morning's format.
"I'm actually a little uncomfortable this morning," Rave said. "For 12 years it's been a constant in my life in January: I come to this breakfast, and Jack Marsh grills me with questions -- that aren't given to me in advance."
Indeed, Lee had told each lawmaker what he'd ask them before the event.
"The way we approached this event was to provide as much meaningful information to legislators in advance as we could, to give them a sense of the topic we were going to ask them about," Lee said near the end. "We wanted them to be well-prepared, so you could be well-informed. It may not be as fun, Sen. Rave, but we'll fix that next year. We're happy to do it."
Two recently appointed lawmakers, David Anderson and Kris Langer, spent most of their question time saying little more than that they wanted to learn a lot about being a legislator. Others focused their responses on providing basic explanations of issues, rather than making the case for why they adopted their particular positions.
The event was a stark contrast to last year, when Marsh, a former Argus Leader editor, put legislators on the spot about hot-button issues, including the then-current controversy about calls from the Minnehaha County Republican Party to pull out of the Chamber's legislative coffees. Marsh asked follow-up questions, and put everyone on the spot by asking lawmakers who supported the legislative coffee revolt to stand.
It's unclear why Marsh, who was present today, was not moderating.
As a journalist, sources constantly ask for me to give them questions in advance so they can prepare responses. I always refuse, at most telling them in the vaguest possible manner the topic I'll ask about. That's because reporters aren't looking for rehearsed answers. We want the truth, not spin, and that comes best from spontaneity.
