After collecting the bucks, Kiffmeyer passes them

The Big Question has Kiffmeyer's reaction to her misdealings as the Secretary of State.

Simply put, she passed the buck.

Former Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer said Monday that staff members in her office were responsible for overpayment's to staff and herself during her last two years in office.

Instead of taking responsibility, she pushed the blame on new staffers, in her office.

“I had a new staff person who miscalculated the [reimbursement] rate,” Kiffmeyer said. “It was something she did. I’m giving [the SOS office] clarifying information and will give them whatever they need so this will be acceptable.”

Her statement contradicts the findings of the Legislative Auditor, which stated

Kiffmeyer's travels and mileage, the audit found that she had been overpaid an
unspecified number of times by charging for trips from her home in Big Lake to
destinations, instead of from her office on the State Capitol campus.

The audit did not cite a rate issue, it cited inaccuracies in mileage.

And about those pay raises...

“She used that authority without telling me things were beyond the contract. She
didn’t inform me, verbally or in writing. There are so many rules, we’re
dependent on HR giving us advice. I acted on what I knew.”

The former Secretary of State complaining about "so many rules". Nice!

Glad to hear that the former Secretary of State, who's job entails being the keeper of the original chapter laws passed each legislative session and signed by the various officers of the Legislature such as the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House, Chief Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate as well as the Secretary of State and (in most cases) the Governor, gets bogged down by "so many rules".

You can't even make this stuff up anymore!

Whether Kiffmeyer knew about the pay raises or a rogue SoS employee played Santa to loyal employees, the issues at the SoS offices show Kiffmeyer's incompetence in leading an office as important as the Secretary of State.

It shouldn't surprise us though. Cases like this were status quo when Republicans were in control of both Houses of Congress and in control in Minnesota as well.

Passing the buck and stating "I cannot recall" have become strategic necessities for Bush era Republicans, and a detriment to the American way of life.