Republican Congressman Jim Nussle is attacking democrat Governor Tom Vilsack’s ideas and outlining his own vision for state government. “People and families make better decisions about their daily lives than the government can for them,” Nussle says. Nussle says state government is too big and is collecting too many taxes, he says you can’t address the tax problem without addressing the size of government.And Nussle opposes Vilsack’s idea of handing out big state grants to businesses that promise to build or expand in Iowa. “Picking winners and losers may sound good if you want to go get your picture on the front page of the paper and say ‘Look what I brung you and look at the ribbon I get to cut,'” Nussle says of Vilsack’s Iowa Values Fund. He says the state needs to focus instead on creating an environment where small businesses can thrive and turn into big businesses like Maytag. Nussle spoke to the Iowa Federation of Republican Women yesterday (Monday) and while his speech focused on state rather than national issues, Nussle says he’ll wait ’til spring to formally announce whether he’s running for Governor. “There’s a long time between now and not only this spring, but between now and next year,” he says. Nussle says Iowa Republicans need to pick a winner to run for governor, and Nussle says he has a record of winning in democrat areas of the state — like the 32 counties John Kerry won this past November. Nussle says at one time he has won in and represented 19 of those 32 counties during his time in Congress. Nussle, who is from Manchester, is in his 15th year in Congress, where he serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee. Only one republican candidate, Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City, has formally announced he is running for Governor. Vander Plaats held an economic development summit this past Saturday in LeMars.