Reuters: If Dems lose seats, Daschle "could be challenged"

Reuters has an interesting article today headlined "Two Top Lawmakers Face Pivotal Election Day." Excerpt:

Daschle faces even more "if's."

If he wins re-election, he seems certain to keep his leadership spot -- provided Democrats lose no more than a few seats. If Democrats pull off an upset and capture the Senate, he would certainly rise from minority to majority leader.

"But if we lose six or more seats, which is not expected, Daschle could be challenged," a Democratic aide said. "Some would think it's time for a change."

South Dakotans need to know that if the sole reason they're voting for Daschle is because of his leadership status, it's not a lead-pipe cinch he would retain his leadership status even in the event he is reelected.

Dems anticipating a vacancy?

The AP is reporting: "Jockeying for Top Senate Job Under Way." Excerpt:

Among Democrats, the topic of new leadership is rarely discussed openly, since it presumes that the incumbent minority leader, South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle, will lose his race for re-election Nov. 2.

Still, a Daschle defeat at the polls would quickly make Reid, 64, and coasting to a fourth Senate term this fall in Nevada, the front-runner to succeed him. Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut looms as his only potential rival at present, according to several party sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Daschle's leadership in jeopardy?

DVT has the complete text of a portion of today's Political Diary from the Wall Street Journal regarding the slim likelihood that Daschle will retain his leadership post on the off chance he gets reelected. Excerpt:

An article in The Hill newspaper over the summer noted that "fault lines of a potential leadership struggle within the Democratic Caucus are already visible." Members who are upset with Mr. Daschle's leadership style will not be forgiving if Democrats lose more seats in the Senate. If he wins re-election but Democrats are still a minority in the Senate, Mr. Daschle may well decide to leave to take a top spot on the Appropriations Committee.

DNC chairman upset with Daschle

Terry McAulliffe was on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Mathews yesterday, and had this to say about Senator Daschle:

TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: No, Zell Miller is the Darth Vader of the Democratic Party. He went to the dark side a long time ago. He ought to leave the party. He's never gone to the Senate caucus meetings. He supports Republicans. He's been with George Bush from day one. Chris, this is about him selling books. If he left and went over to the Republican Party he wouldn't sell any books. This is a material deal for Zell Miller. He ought to get out. Quit selling books and move on.

MATTHEWS: Why don't you tell that to senator -- Senator Daschle the leader of your party in the Senate and tell him to skip calling himself a Democrat?

MCAULIFFE: I agree. My message to Tom Daschle and everybody else, Zell Miller, he supports George Bush. We're here, we're supporting John Kerry, and if you're not with us, then get out and go to the other party where you belong.

You can read the entire transcript HERE.

It seems that the Democratic base is none too happy with Daschle cynically tying himself to President Bush. That's why, even if Daschle were to win re-election, it's likely he'll be ousted from his leadership post.

Via DVT: Reporter hints at rumors Daschle will relinquish leadership

Joshua Green, a senior editor for The Atlantic, who broke the story on William Bennett's highroller gambling habit, recently made the following comment on the Chris Mathews Show:

MATTHEWS: Josh, what do you got?

Mr. GREEN: Win or lose, Tom Daschle will not stay on as Majority Leader.

There's a rumor going around the Hill that if he wins he'll cut a deal, step

down, become appropriations chairman, and Chris Dodd, Harry Reid or maybe even

Hillary Clinton will step in.

MATTHEWS: Well, you're betting that he'll get re-elected, right?

Mr. GREEN: Well...

MATTHEWS: Don't.

Kudos to DVT for catching that one.

Dodd-gate morphing into Daschle-gate?

I'm back. Sorry, I didn't realize I'd have access to the internet. Happily, I do. Anyway, see the latest:

Andrew Sullivan has coined the term "Dodd-gate" to describe the uproar over Senator Chris Dodd's remarks praising Senator Robert Byrd, an old segregationist. The remarks are reminiscent of Senator Trent Lott's remarks about Strom Thurmond that eventually toppled Lott from his leadership post. Byrd "would have been right during the great conflict of Civil War in this nation," said Dodd.

Now Tom Daschle has leapt to Dodd's defense, according to a story in today's Washington Times headlined "Dodd praise for Byrd hit by GOP." Excerpt:

Sen. Tom Daschle said there was "no parallel" between Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's praise of Mr. Byrd and Republican Sen. Trent Lott's praise of former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond.

The piece continues:

But Mr. Daschle of South Dakota said Mr. Dodd's speech was not comparable to the remarks that cost Mr. Lott his leadership post.

"I wasn't on the floor when Senator Dodd made his comments," Mr. Daschle told reporters yesterday. "I don't know what he said. But I would think even he would tell you there's no parallel."

Why is Tom Daschle injecting himself into this? Making these statements only jeopardizes his leadership position.

Buzzflash: 'Daschle can't be minority leader'

Once again, Buzzflash, the liberal version of the Drudge Report, argues that Daschle's re-election priorities conflict with his leadership priorities, and for that reason should step aside as Democratic leader. Buzzflash links to this NYT story and states "Once Again, Buzzflash Says Daschle Cannot be a Red-State Bush-Lite Dem Senator and ALSO Minority Leader; In this Case, he is CO-SPONSORING an NRA Bill to give the Gun Industry Unprecedented Immunity from Lawsuits to Please the NRA Guys in South Dakota." Last night, this statement was at the top of the page; now you can find it on the left column of the Buzzflash website.

BOMBSHELL

The political fallout from Senator Daschle's dissonant comments regarding the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (in Washington, Daschle says Bush has a "credibility chasm" on WMD; in South Dakota, Daschle says he has no serious concerns about the lack of weapons of mass destruction) has begun. Now former Daschle staffer Amy Sullivan is blogging under a post headlined "CAN DASCHLE STILL LEAD THE DEMOCRATS?" that Daschle "may need to decide whether he can defend his seat and work to defeat Bush at the same time."

Liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias also questions Tom Daschle's viability as Democratic Leader.

Elsewhere on her blog, Sullivan has a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of Tom Daschle having it both ways on the partial birth abortion ban:

We had worked for almost a year to craft a piece of abortion legislation that would thread the needle of reducing abortions while providing protections for women's health and provide an alternative to the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban" clogging up the abortion debate. One week after our bill's ignoble failure in a Senate floor vote, although Daschle had previously voted to oppose the so-called PBA bill, he felt he had to change his position and cast a vote in favor of the ban. Exhausted from months of doing nothing but thinking about abortion during waking and sleeping hours, we staffers sat at the back of the Senate chamber as our boss voted to support a sham of a bill.

(Emphasis added.) But hey, Tom's still a great guy in Sullivan's view, even if he did cut her off at the knees.

More fascinating yet is the fact that Sullivan seems to be approached quite frequently by the press, wondering what Daschle's motivations are in having it both ways on a series of controversial issues. And that she's been emphatically told by the Daschle camp to quit talking about him.

Buzzflash takes Daschle to woodshed -- again

Buzzflash, the liberal version of the Drudge Report, is not happy with Tom Daschle's comments regarding the Bush administration and WMD as reported by Denise Ross in the Rapid City Journal today. Buzzflash links to the RCJ piece on their main site (see the first column of links, the fourth one down), and say it is another reason "why Daschle is counterproductive as minority 'leader.'" So much for Daschle being "ready to mix it up" with President Bush. (Thanks to reader Cory Skluzak for pointing out the Buzzflash item.)

UPDATE: Previously, Buzzflash took Daschle to the woodshed for boasting that he votes with President Bush 75 percent of the time.

Daschle ready to "mix it up"

Time magazine has an interesting piece on how, two months ago, Tom Daschle was "under fire" from Senate Democrats. The piece is headlined "Ready To Mix It Up." It appears that Tom Daschle has been told to lead or get out of the way. Excerpt:

In a private meeting with Senators on Jan. 20, Daschle warned it was time to "put the past behind us. If we don't hang together, we'll hang separately." He has hired Phil Schiliro, an aggressive and seasoned House Democratic operative, to craft a more combative legislative strategy. Instead of going along with bipartisan compromises, the plan is to introduce more "message" legislation to rally the Democrats' base and force Republicans into unpopular votes.

The problem is, Daschle can't "rally the Democrats' base" while simultaneously boasting about voting with President Bush 75 percent of the time. The only way he can get away with doing so is if the Argus Leader refuses to report the schizoid political behavior of Tom Daschle. And given the AL's track record, that's a likely possibility.

Daschle's "path to 51" disintegrates

This week, Tom Daschle struck out in his efforts to recruit a candidate to oppose Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in Colorado. As a press release from the National Republican Senatorial Committee notes:

Just last week, Tom Daschle and the DSCC were talking up their chances this cycle, with Daschle reportedly telling his caucus that, “we have a path to 51 seats.”

“It looks like Tom Daschle’s ‘path to 51’ has taken another turn for the worse. It’s looking more and more like the long and winding road,” Timmons added. “Tom Daschle and his Senate Democrats have failed to land their top choices in Colorado as well as in Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa and Pennsylvania. Their recruiting failures, and the strong position of our incumbents, give us the ability to be on offense and focus our attention and resources on strengthening our majority in 2004.”

Daschle leadership in jeopardy?

The house of cards is beginning to collapse around Tom Daschle's ears as he tries to portray himself as a Bush supporter at home and as Bush's chief nemesis in Washington, as seen by a story in The Hill headlined "String of losses stirs Dem grumbling as talk of Dorgan challenge subsides." Excerpt:

“There’s no question that it can be very difficult for someone from a very small state,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), referring to Daschle in particular. “I don’t think Tom has ever let his responsibility to his state diminish his leadership position.”

Is this what Tom Daschle tells his Democratic colleagues? Not to worry because he won't let his responsibility to his state diminish his leadership position? If so, what's all that talk about putting South Dakota's agenda on the national agenda? I guess in Tom Daschle's world, the DC liberal agenda trumps the interests of South Dakota.

UPDATE: Another thought: There have been rumblings about Tom Daschle's leadership in various publications for some time now. Articles in Roll Call, the National Journal, The New Republic, The American Prospect, The Nation, and the liberal website Buzzflash all have addressed this. Typically, the only publication that has NOT addressed this is the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, South Dakota's newspaper of record.

Daschle leadership in jeopardy?

Roll Call contributing writer Stuart Rothenberg has a report today on the first ramification of Thune's run against Daschle, headlined "After 'Shotgun Marriage' Will New Blood Help Turn DSCC around?" Excerpt:

The announcement early last week that Andy Grossman would leave his post as executive director and be replaced by David Rudd, a former top aide to outgoing Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), wasn’t big news in Omaha or Orlando. But it raised more than a few eyebrows on Capitol Hill....

After the 2002 elections, Daschle picked Corzine as chairman and Grossman as executive director for the 2003-2004 cycle. Corzine didn’t have input in the choice of Grossman and didn’t have a close relationship with him....

Democrats familiar with the goings on at the DSCC present a picture of a dysfunctional family. Corzine and Grossman didn’t have a good working relationship, even though the executive director tried to get the Senator to work with him. While Daschle and a number of his top aides apparently tried to address the friction between the two men, they failed to improve things....

But things changed recently when former Republican Rep. John Thune entered the Senate race against Daschle on Jan. 5. Daschle found himself in his toughest political fight since he was first elected to the Senate in 1986, guaranteeing that the DSCC’s top fundraiser and Grossman’s strongest advocate would increasingly be spending more time in South Dakota and less on committee work.

The timing of Grossman’s announcement, coming only days after Thune’s entry into the South Dakota race, is hard to ignore.

Interestingly, another of Daschle's staffers, Jay Carson, left the leadership office to work in the Dean campaign, which seems to have imploded after coming in third in Iowa. It seems that Daschle, like Al Gore, is becoming the kiss of death for Democratic campaigns.

Daschle leadership in jeopardy?

More murmuring from the left about Senator Daschle's leadership can be found in the new edition of the American Prospect, in a piece headlined "Come Together." Excerpt:

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and his whip, Harry Reid (D-Nev.), need to do a better job of keeping their party together. This is no time to be a wishy-washy Democrat. Speaking recently about the energy and Medicare bills, Daschle told CQ Weekly that Democrats who supported Medicare reform "just felt that we had to take what we could get. … I found myself supporting the energy bill using the same strategy." The problem with Daschle's statement is that legislating on Capitol Hill is now a test of wills; as long as Republicans aren't willing to settle, Democrats shouldn't be, either.

Daschle leadership in jeopardy?

The Boston Globe carries a story today headlined "Minority party eyes a boost in discipline; Democrats urged to stand firmer" which has more rumblings that the Democratic rank-and-file are dissatisfied with Tom Daschle's leadership. Excerpt:

Daschle, facing a potentially tough reelection campaign in South Dakota, has been reluctant to alienate any in-state supporters, some of whom would benefit from the energy bill. While there is no official challenger to Daschle's leadership, some in the party worry that he's been more of a manager than a leader.

Meanwhile, the liberal website "Buzzflash" carries an editorial by Senator Ted Kennedy responding to Buzzflash's editorial position that Tom Daschle should step down as the Democratic leader. Interesting excerpt:

When Congress returns in late January, Republicans will try to muscle through an obscene omnibus appropriations bill that they wrote in a backroom to reward their supporters. Among other outrages, it would end overtime pay for 8 million American workers and gut reasonable restrictions on media ownership agreed to, over White House objections, by both the House and the Senate.

Gee, I guess a bill that gives millions of dollars to South Dakota Indian tribes is "obscene." The omnibus bill contains the following items that advance Native American interests in South Dakota:

- $2,000,000 for Wakpa Sica Historical Society in Fort Pierre, South Dakota for the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Center

- $275,000 is available for Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Eagle Butte, South Dakota to establish a nursing home

- $100,000 to InterTribal Bison Cooperative in Rapid City, South Dakota for member training.

- $400,000 to Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board in Rapid City, South Dakota for Northern Plains Healthy Start.

- $250,000 to Rosebud Sioux Tribe in Rosebud, South Dakota for rural ambulance service operations .

- $225,000 to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Eagle Butte, South Dakota for mental health services.

- $200,000 to Yankton Sioux Tribe in Marty, South Dakota for substance abuse treatment at Canku Teca.

- $200,000 to Children’s Village in Pine Ridge, South Dakota for foster care services.

- $60,000 to Kids Voting South Dakota in Pierre, SD to expand programming in tribal schools

- $3,000,000 to BIA Route 27 Reconstruction, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

- $2,250,000 to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe public buses and bus facilities, South Dakota

- $250,000 to Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Public Bus System, South Dakota

Tom Daschle and his party plan to block the bill that contains these provisions when the Senate reconvenes on January 20. Particularly ripe for criticism is the fact that Tom Daschle visited the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Center last summer as part of a reconciliation effort put forth by Governor Rounds. Now, Tom Daschle is using his clout to block the $2 million that will go to the center. Somehow, this is an obscene bill that rewards Republican supporters. Am I missing something?