South Dakota Politics

AL must disclose its newsroom processes

What is going on at the Argus Leader? When a lengthy negative story about John Thune appears in Roll Call, the very next day the AL has a follow-up story on the very front page of the paper (1A). When a lengthy negative story about Tom Daschle appears in Roll Call, the Argus Leader NEVER publishes so much as a paragraph about it. Compare the following four stories that have appeared in Roll Call, two negative stories about Tom Daschle, and two negative stories about John Thune:

Negative stories about Thune in Roll Call
- February 10, 2004 - "State account helped Thune" - 922 words
- January 26, 2004 - "Thune Will Keep Lobbying; Criticism of Daschles May Wane" - 1184 words

Negative stories about Daschle in Roll Call
- February 26, 2004 (yesterday) - "Daschle's Five-Year, $9.5M Spending Spree" - 1463 words
- August 18, 2003 - "Daschle Hit On Tax Break; Wife Claims 'Homestead' Exemption" - 1101 words

Now look at how quickly the Argus Leader followed up the Roll Call stories reflecting negatively on Thune (namely, the very next day):

- February 11, 2004 - "Thune spending questioned" - 1035 words
- January 27, 2004 "Candidate Thune plans to continue lobbyist job" - 753 words

But the AL has yet to write a follow-up to the Roll Call piece on Daschle taking advantage of the homestead exemption, and of course, there is no follow-up at all in today's edition of the AL about the mildly negative story on Tom Daschle that appeared yesterday in Roll Call.

These facts lead one to ask what, exactly, is the follow-up policy at the AL? Apparently, the policy now is that the AL only follows up negative stories about Thune in Roll Call, and ignores negative stories about Daschle in Roll Call. That is grossly unfair, and is just another example in a long line of examples of the AL violating the rules of objective journalism.

It is because of blatantly biased journalism like this that the internal machinations of the AL's editing, reporting and decisionmaking processes need to be exposed. The editors at the AL constantly like to talk about "full disclosure," and have yet another editorial about it today. If the AL's editors are serious about full disclosure, they should start with themselves. Why should full disclosure stop at the newsroom door?

For a glimpse into the internal machinations of the AL, see this piece written by executive editor Randell Beck to his corporate masters at Gannett. In the piece, Beck talks about the "Real Life, Real News principles" his paper tries to follow. What is "Real Life, Real News?" Romenesko has linked to an internal memo regarding the initiative (scroll down to "Memo re Gannett's REAL LIFE, REAL NEWS initiative"). Intriguingly, this initiative is accessible via the web, but is password protected and hidden from public view, accessible only to Gannett newsrooms. Apparently there's even a "best-practices" section, and it would be interesting to know what the "best practice" is for doing follow-up stories.

Fundamentally, though, since the AL continues to pull stunts like the one I document above, there has to be a full airing of the decisionmaking processes at all levels of the AL hierarchy. Since the AL is so gung-ho about "full disclosure" this shouldn't be a big deal.

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.

Daschle and "Laci and Connor's Law"

NRO has a transcript of a press conference held today by Sharon Rocha, the mother of Laci Peterson, a pregnant woman who was murdered over a year ago. Rocha is advocating a bill that would treat a crime on a fetus like a crime on any other person, dubbed "Laci and Connor's Law." Earlier today, the House passed "Laci and Connor's Law," and now it moves to the Senate. Excerpt from the statement made by Sharon Rocha:

In the summer of 2003, I wrote Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle a letter urging him to support the bill. Shortly after that, Senator Daschle said publicly that the Senate should consider this issue quickly. Since then, members of his party have been holding up a vote. I ask Senator Daschle, as their leader, to urge them to enact Laci and Conner’s Law as soon as possible.

Will Daschle use his vaunted clout to get the Senate to consider this issue quickly, and stop the members of his party from holding up a vote?

Daschle blows warchest, comes up empty

Today's edition of Roll Call has a story headlined "Daschle’s Five-Year, $9.5M Spending Spree." Excerpt:

From Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2003, Daschle spent $4.6 million from his personal campaign account, the highest total of any of the 34 incumbents up for re-election in November.

He also disbursed roughly $4.9 million during that time period — $870,000 in 2003 — through Dedicated Americans for the Senate and House, his leadership committee. ...

Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for former House Member and current Daschle challenger John Thune (R), however, questioned whether the Senator’s spending has yielded any tangible results.

“It must be embarrassing to have spent $4.6 million even before we got into election year 2004,” said Wadhams. “The poll numbers remain remarkably the same as they have for a couple of years.”

...

Overall, Daschle spent $813,000 on direct mail and phone bank efforts from 1999 through 2003.

Daschle spent another $687,000 on consulting fees to a variety of companies including Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, the campaign pollster; Struble Eichenbaum Communications, Daschle’s media consultant; and Media Strategies, the firm that places television buys for him.

Media Strategies received $350,000 in 2003 and another $78,000 between 2002 and 2001.

Karl Struble, who has handled media strategy for Daschle since 1984, received $218,000 for production costs last year.

Recall that Karl Struble is the author of a piece that appeared in Campaigns & Elections magazine discussing how he manipulated the local media to print negative stories about the opposing candidate and then using the headlines generated as "validators" for their attack ads. It looks like it's going to happen again.

Recall also that Daschle had Greenberg Quinlan do some polling and focus groups in the state a year ago to measure how bad the damage was after his infamous comments on the eve of the Iraq war, as reported in the New York Post.

Anyway, back to today's Roll Call piece:

Details aside, the fundamental question regarding Daschle’s expenditures is whether the nearly $10 million he has spent has significantly changed his standing in the race against Thune.

Daschle spent all of this money in an attempt to bluff John Thune out of running. It didn't work. Now the Daschle campaign is reeling and casting about for a new strategy in light of the latest polling. Watch for them to go viciously negative very soon.

The two Tom Daschles

To better understand the stark contrast between the Washington Tom Daschle and the South Dakota Tom Daschle, click on the links to the following photos:

The Washington Tom Daschle seen here yukking it up with Kofi Annan.

The South Dakota Tom Daschle, trying not to look out of place amidst a group of good ol' boys.

Daschle opposes constitutional amendments

The AP is reporting that Tom Daschle opposes a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, under the headline "South Dakota political leaders split on gay marriage ban." Interestingly, last week, the AP reported Tom Daschle's incoherent position on a constitutional amendment prohibiting flag burning under the headline "Daschle: Flag amendment not necessary." Apparently, Daschle believes that a constitutional amendment prohibiting desecration of the flag would "interfere" with the First Amendment, but somehow a mere law prohibiting the desecration of the flag would not:

Sen. Tom Daschle says he would support a law prohibiting desecration of the American flag, but he doesn't think a constitutional amendment is needed to protect it....

Daschle, a Democrat, told the group of mostly veterans he has two concerns: An amendment would interfere with freedom of speech allowed in the First Amendment, and desecration of the flag could be hard to define.

Huh?

Diedrich raises $300,000 in 3 weeks

The Hill is reporting that Larry Diedrich, Republican House candidate for the special election in South Dakota on June 1, says he has raised a cool $300,000 in three weeks, under the headline "Post-Ky., S.D. takes GOP’s center stage." Excerpt:

Diedrich said he has raised nearly $300,000 in the three weeks since the state Republican Party chose him as the candidate. Some of this money has come from the NRCC and Hill lawmakers. He said he does not know who has given the money, or exactly how much. With the Kentucky race over, House members and the national committee would now focus more on his race, he said.

Last week, Diedrich traveled to Washington to meet Republican members and garner additional support. He was pleased with his reception, saying, “The commitment has been, ‘You tell us what you want.’”

He intends to return to Washington this month to continue campaigning and raising money.

For some interesting discussion of this story, click HERE. (Thanks to Cory Skluzak for pointing this out.)

Daschle cool to new energy bill

It looks like Tom Daschle is once again not completely exercising his vaunted clout to get the new, slimmed down energy bill passed. This also happened last fall. According to a Washington Post report this past Sunday, Daschle spokesman Todd Webster had the following to say about the new Republican approach to slim down the energy bill (which was done at Daschle's demand!) among others:

The new approach "just means the special interests they are rewarding are fewer and more narrowly focused, and they'll look even more irrelevant to ordinary Americans who are concerned about jobs, health care and education," said Todd Webster, communications director for Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.).

Sen. Johnson to undergo surgery

The AP is reporting that Senator Johnson has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next week, under the headline "S.D. Sen. Johnson Diagnosed With Cancer." Fortunately, a complete recovery is expected. Best wishes to the senator and his family.

Daschle delivers -- for the special interests

Tom Daschle led his party in blocking a bill curbing medical malpractice lawsuits today, delivering another victory to his trial lawyer contributors. The AP has the story under the headline "Democrats Block GOP Bill on Malpractice." Trial lawyers are at the very top of the list of contributors to Tom Daschle's campaign.

The White House takes notice

The White House has taken notice of the fact that Tom Daschle is trying to have it both ways on the Iraq war. Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, asked White House press secretary Scott McClellan about it during a press conference yesterday:

Q This is on Iraq. Last week, Senator Tom Daschle told an audience in South Dakota, "I give the overall effort real credit," in talking about the war in Iraq.

MR. McCLELLAN: Right, I saw those remarks.

Q Would you interpret his statement as a significant endorsement of administration policy, considering his own party and most of the media coverage says that the war in Iraq is going so badly?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there is a growing recognition that a free and peaceful Iraq is vital to our nation's interests. A free and peaceful Iraq will help bring about stability and peace in a very volatile region of the world. This is a generational commitment the President is making to the Middle East, and Iraq can be an important step in moving toward freedom and democracy throughout the greater Middle East. And the President is strongly committed to making sure that we stay the course and finish the job in Iraq, for that very reason.

Q Don't you think Daschle's breaking ranks with his own party to essentially praise the war effort in Iraq is significant?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, I don't want to interpret everybody's remarks, but I did see those remarks. We are making important progress in Iraq. It's very work that we are -- have undertaken. We are working closely with the Iraqi people and leaders in Iraq to bring about a peaceful, democratic and free Iraq.

Also, George W. Bush's official blog comments on the story.

Charlie Cook in South Dakota

Charlie Cook, arguably the premier political analyst in the country, has a piece today headlined "Power Struggle," in which he briefly discusses the U.S. Senate race in South Dakota. Relevant graf:

The lone vulnerable Democratic incumbent is Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. In January, Republican former Rep. John Thune announced that he will challenge Daschle. Thune lost his state's 2002 Senate contest by 524 votes. He was considered the only Republican who could give Daschle a very competitive race.

I have to admit I'm a bit red-faced about the fact that Charlie Cook himself was in Pierre, South Dakota last week, and I didn't find out about it until I read Rapid City Journal political reporter Denise Ross' latest column this morning, headlined "Major political players descend on Pierre." And what a column it is! Excerpt:

There will be differences this time, [Charlie Cook] said, and two on which Cook dwelled are likely to Thune's benefit.

First, Thune's campaign team will be better this time around, Cook said.

"The Thune campaign, technically speaking, will be a lot better than it was two years ago," Cook said.

Thune has hired political warrior Dick Wadhams as campaign manager, a choice the Capitol Hill press has described as a nice matchup with the equally extolled Hildebrand.

Second, Daschle is no longer Senate majority leader, and, perhaps worse, the Democrats are expected to lose Senate seats in 2004.

"Last time, they said a vote for Tim Johnson was a vote to keep Tom Daschle as majority leader. The choice was, do you want the majority leader or do you want a Republican senator," Cook said.

In 2002, GOP momentum tipped the balance of power to Republicans but left Daschle a strong minority leader with 48 of 100 seats in the Democratic caucus plus one independent who associates with that caucus.

In 2004, Democrats are expected to slide further in the Senate, Cook said. Republicans are losing two of their incumbent senators compared to five incumbent Democratic senators who are retiring. And four of the Democrats are from what Cook calls the "real South." The other is from Florida.

Cook expects most, if not all, of those Democratic seats to flip to Republicans due to the GOP's advantage in that region.

"Those are very, very hard places for Democrats to defend," Cook said.

With the Daschle-as-power-broker argument diminished, South Dakota voters might make different choices than they did two years ago, Cook said.

"That takes a pretty strong arrow out of the Democratic quiver," Cook said.

(Emphasis added.) I find it incredible that David Kranz, the so-called dean of South Dakota political reporters, despite the presence of so many political players in one place, did not report these events that took place in Pierre last week in his Sunday column, particularly the fact that Charlie Cook himself was in South Dakota. Kranz normally loves to quote the Cook Political Report and often quotes its writers in his pieces.

On January 5, 2004, the day Thune announced his candidacy for the Senate, Kranz quoted the Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy in his report on the event. On January 4, 2004, Kranz also quoted Duffy regarding the prospective Thune v. Daschle race. On December 10, 2003, Kranz quoted the Cook Political Report's Amy Walters in a story regarding whether Thune would run for the vacant House seat. On September 21, 2003, Kranz again quoted Walters. On September 14, 2003, Kranz cites the "Cook Report analysis" of a "handful of potentially close Senate races next year." On September 7, 2003, in one of his Sunday columns, Kranz wrote the following:

Senate analysis

Charles Cook, a well-respected national political analyst, assessed the South Dakota Senate race last week and said there are two ways to describe Sen. Tom Daschle:

"He is a tireless advocate for his state, has the kind of seniority in the Senate important to a small state and keeps in close touch with constituents, visiting each of the 66 counties every year.

"Or, he is a liberal Democrat and national spokesman for his party who works to obstruct President Bush's agenda in the Senate, opposed the war with Iraq, and is fundamentally out of step with the state's voters."

But when Charlie Cook himself is IN SOUTH DAKOTA to assess the South Dakota U.S. Senate race, we have yet to hear anything from the dean of South Dakota political reporters about it, or for that matter from any reporter at the Argus Leader. Why is that do you suppose? Could it be because what Cook had to say is damaging to the "Daschle as power-broker" message that is the very foundation of Tom Daschle's campaign? Just asking.

Rush discovers the latest Daschle flip-flop

Rush Limbaugh has a piece on his website headlined "Daschle Praises Bush on War" with his take on Tom Daschle's dissonant comments on the Iraq war, as reported in the Rapid City Journal.

Kranz Watch

Jay Rosen has an interesting piece about the "Adopt a Campaign Journalist" method of blogging, where a blog is devoted to watching the work of a political journalist. Excerpt:

Adopting a campaign reporter, and writing a weblog about the work that reporter does, is involving yourself in the press. And you can never predict how involving things will evolve. But that's not why I love it. I love it because it's one-to-one. That cosmic abstraction, The Media, which has no earthly address, is reckoned with by reduction to a single journalist, somebody who, far from the news wars, might be eating a sandwich when you are eating your sandwich. This gives the activity human scale, even if it's antagonistic. Our expanding culture of complaint about Big Media could use more of that-- a human scale.

Here at SDP, I've been monitoring the writing of David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, for over a year. I've documented many of the more egregiously biased reports of his, but it may come as a surpise to some that I've frequently pulled my punches (I've sometimes ignored pieces of his that deserved analysis). The reason I've sometimes pulled my punches is because my blog is not dedicated solely to keeping an eye on David Kranz's reportage. I also try to make my blog a place where South Dakotans can get news about Tom Daschle that they're unlikely to see elsewhere in the local media, and conversely, for those outside South Dakota to get news that otherwise doesn't travel beyond the borders of South Dakota. It's no secret that my agenda is to help Republicans get elected in South Dakota, and to expose fake Republicans like Tom Daschle and Stephanie Herseth. By contrast, Dave Kranz's agenda is to help Tom Daschle and Stephanie Herseth get elected. The problem is, he holds himself out to be an objective observer of the South Dakota political scene. I don't pretend to be objective.

I dedicate many hours of the day to blogging about South Dakota politics in part because many South Dakotans appreciate what I'm doing. But the bottom line is that I operate this blog because I want to make a difference, and I believe that I am making a difference.

Ed Schultz Watch

Drudge links to the latest AP story on Ed Schultz, headlined "North Dakota 'Liberal' Starts Radio Show."

Robert Moran on Tom Daschle

National Review Online has a piece analyzing Tom Daschle's motivations in trying to have it both ways on controversial issues headlined "About Face! Forward March!" Excerpt:

The strategy is clear. Daschle knows that he's in a conservative state. He knows, given party-registration numbers, that he has to peel away at least some Republicans. His team has already done the math and realized that if Bush wins 60 percent of the vote in South Dakota again, Daschle will need to get 17 percent of these Bush voters to vote for him and not Thune in order to win. That's some tough math.

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.

Ross' column "contagious"

Rapid City Journal political reporter Denise Ross' piece on Tom Daschle's latest comments regarding the Bush administration and weapons of mass destruction is ranked 13th on the Blogdex rankings of the most contagious information currently spreading in the weblog community.

Daschle's schizoid politics

Denise Ross' column in the Rapid City Journal regarding Senator Daschle's dissonant statements on weapons of mass destruction is garnering attention from the blogosphere beyond South Dakota. Instapundit has a post on the piece, as does NRO's Jonah Goldberg. The Daschle v. Thune blog also has more excellent analysis on Daschle's schizoid politics, which you can access HERE and HERE.

UPDATE: Power Line weighs in too.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The Man Without Qualities blog has commentary, asking if Tom Daschle thinks South Dakota voters are too dim to see through this ploy.

Anthony Perez-Miller writes that Daschle's comments are "transparently opportunistic."

Pejmanesque says Tom Daschle is the latest afflictee of "Kerryitis," a condition "that strikes Democratic Senators who are trying to have it both ways when it comes to describing their position on Iraq."

The blog "Ace of Spades HQ" writes:

Jeepers! You'd think [Daschle] was running for re-election in a Republcian leaning state this year or somethin'!

And that's part of our problem with Democrats. It's not just that they're anti-war.

It's that they're willing to claim to be pro-war or anti-war as political circumstances dictate. They don't have a position on the war; they have, rather, positionings, designed solely for electoral gain.

The blog "Lapsus calami" writes: "Of course, Tom is in re-election mode, so he's probably just saying what South Dakotans want to hear."

Ed Schultz Watch

John Fund of the Wall Street Journal's Political Diary (subscription) has written some paragraphs today on Ed Schultz, the North Dakota radio personality touted as the liberal Rush Limbaugh:

Liberal When It Pays

Liberal donors have helped create a nationwide talk radio network called Democracy Radio to combat what they view as the overwhelming dominance of the medium by conservatives. Democracy's flagship host is Ed Schultz, a former football hero who merrily bashes President Bush on the half-dozen stations that pick up his Fargo, North Dakota-based based program. But the donors who have put Democracy Radio on the air might be surprised to know that just a few years ago the 50-year-old Mr. Schultz was a red-meat conservative who sometimes put Rush Limbaugh to shame with his critiques of welfare recipients and the homeless. He used to refer to three Democrats who represent North Dakota in Congress as "the Three Stooges." Now he says, "I've learned a lot from our guys in Washington" and frequently has them on as honored guests.

Mr. Schultz credits his change of ideology to his new wife, Wendy, a nurse who introduced him to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Ryan Bakken, a local newspaper columnist, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he thinks Mr. Schultz's shift might be pinned to ego. "I know of none bigger," he says. "So when he goes from the right to the left, I'm suspicious. Ed knows that no radio talk-show host gets any attention -- or listeners -- by being in the middle."

Put me down as giving Mr. Schultz the benefit of the doubt regarding the sincerity of his conversion. Even so, some of his attempts to reconcile his old and new self seem peculiar. He told the Minneapolis paper that even though he's "always been pro-life," he's "never done a show on abortion. I don't think it would be good radio." That's clearly not the case, as any number of talk show hosts can attest. More likely, Mr. Schultz's new liberal patrons just wouldn't appreciate his mixing liberal economic populism with social conservatism. Many Democrats used to embody those values, but in recent years they've either been driven from the party or silenced.

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 has it both ways on WMD

Rapid City Journal political reporter Denise Ross has an excellent piece of hard-nosed journalism today under the headline "Daschle satisfied with war progress." Excerpt:

Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., on Thursday praised the Bush administration's war and nation-building work in Iraq and said he has no serious concerns about the lack of weapons of mass destruction....

Daschle took a different tone when he and other congressional leaders met with Bush in late January to discuss the intelligence snafu.

"I think it is critical that we follow up and find out what went wrong," the New York Times quoted him as saying just before the meeting.

"Daschle noted that congressional leaders had depended on sound intelligence in voting on the war," reads the New York Times story from Jan. 27.

Only ten days ago, Tom Daschle was quoted in Time magazine as saying the following about the Bush administration and weapons of mass destruction:

"There is a credibility chasm," declared Senate minority leader Tom Daschle on Friday, "whether it is weapons of mass destruction, whether it is the budget, whether it is so many things that emanate these days from this Administration, its credibility has eroded dramatically."

(Emphasis added). Clearly, Tom Daschle is trying to be a liberal in Washington and a conservative at home. He's trying to have it both ways, and as long as reporters like Denise Ross continue to produce quality pieces like the one today, Daschle will not get away with it. Kudos to Denise Ross.

For more analysis on Tom Daschle having it both ways, see the Daschle v. Thune blog's latest post.

McGovern in the NYT

George McGovern has a letter to the editor in today's edition of the New York Times under the headline "Advice to Kerry on Exiting Iraq," and in it makes a jaw dropping statement:

Replacing Saddam Hussein with Ahmad Chalabi would be comparable to replacing Jack the Ripper with Al Capone.

Wow.

Read the Man Without Qualities blog

I've been remiss in linking to the Man Without Qualities blog's latest commentary on the Daschle v. Thune race. You can access the commentary HERE and HERE.

More insight from the Daschle v. Thune blog

Be sure to read the latest analysis over at the Daschle v. Thune blog regarding all of the polls to date in the South Dakota U.S. Senate race. The bottom line: Daschle has blown $5 million and is slipping in the polls.

Ed Schultz Watch

Ed Schultz, the North Dakota radio personality touted as "the anti-Rush," gets a long piece in tomorrow's edition of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune under the headline "Liberal talk radio finds a voice in North Dakota." Excerpt:

Ryan Bakken, a columnist at the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald who often spars with Schultz, admires the tactician but wonders about his motives.

"Even I have to agree that he is an excellent talk-show host," Bakken said. "I know just about every radio in every tractor in North Dakota is tuned toward him.

"He does his homework. He's well-informed on more issues than anyone I can think of in the state. And he gives callers a chance to make their point, even if he disagrees with them. He doesn't shout them down . . . like so many others do."

But what drives Schultz, Bakken said, is ego.

"I know of none bigger," he said. "So when he goes from the right to the left, I'm suspicious. Ed knows that no radio talk-show host gets any attention -- or listeners -- by being in the middle."

Schultz's conversion coincided with Democrats waking up to the influence of talk radio, Bakken said. "Did Ed see that opening? He's certainly smart enough."

The notion that Big Eddie has cynically changed ideologies to advance his career won't go away. It's no wonder Tom Daschle, who cynically portrays himself as an ultra-liberal sharpie operator in three thousand dollar suits when in Washington and a conservative when he's back home in South Dakota, thinks Ed Schultz is great.

John F. Kerry's book

Bill Hobbs has posted an interesting photo of the cover of a book written by John Kerry that was published in 1971. The photo shows protesters holding an American flag upside down. How nice.

Daschle has it both ways on campaign finance "reform"

Today's edition of the Washington Post has a story headlined "FEC Chairman Backs Organizations' Use of 'Soft Money'." Excerpt:

Defying Republican Party demands to rule illegal the plans of a network of pro-Democratic political committees, Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley A. Smith now argues that these committees should remain free to raise and spend large contributions known as "soft money."

Smith's argument, spelled out in a 37-page proposal to his five FEC colleagues, sharply increases, but does not guarantee, the likelihood that new pro-Democratic groups with multimillion-dollar budgets will become significant forces in the 2004 election and become what amounts to a "shadow" Democratic Party.

...

Smith's position was supported in a letter to the FEC from eight Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.).

...

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) have taken the opposite view. In Senate floor statements, the two called for tough regulation of the 527 organizations. McCain declared: "It is time for the FEC, rather than being an enabler to those who want to subvert the laws, to be a true enforcer of the law."

So now Tom Daschle thinks Bradley Smith's positions are just peachy. Back when campaign finance reform was a great rhetorical bludgeon to pound Republicans with, Tom Daschle was not nearly so keen on Bradley Smith, as the Wall Street Journal opinion page points out today in a piece headlined "Campaign Finance Follies; Democrats owe Bradley Smith an apology." Excerpt:

The supreme irony in all this is that Mr. Smith's consistency has suddenly made him the darling of every pro-Democrat organization in Washington. No fewer than 324 liberal groups have warned the FEC not to restrict 527s, including Ralph Neas's People for the American Way, the abortion rights lobby and the Sierra Club. Many of these groups not only supported campaign finance reform but also tried to block Mr. Smith's nomination to the FEC in 2000.

At the time Mr. Smith was variously denounced as a "nihilist" (Illinois Senator Dick Durbin), a throwback to "the dark days of Watergate" (Common Cause), and a "flat-earth society poobah" (Atlanta Constitution, where they need fresher metaphors). Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle was quoted at the time saying that giving Mr. Smith the job was "not just asking the fox to guard the chicken coop," but "inviting the fox inside and locking the door behind him." Apparently these worthies are only in favor of regulating free speech when the speakers at issue are their political opponents.

As the piece points out, Tom Daschle's reversal of principle on the issue of campaign finance reform is amusing and embarrassing. It is just one more indication of Tom Daschle having it both ways on controversial issues.

New poll: Daschle 48%, Thune 45%

A new poll conducted by Rasmussen last Wednesday on the U.S. Senate race in South Dakota indicates that Senator Daschle has a three point lead over John Thune, within the poll's +/- 4.5% margin of error. The UPI has more.

Conventional wisdom holds that it is death for an incumbent to poll at 50% or less in an election year.

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.

Elsewhere in today's NYT

Today's edition of the New York Times contains a story headlined "South Dakota Is Dealt a Setback After Hanging Hopes on a Science Project." It's interesting that Tom Daschle isn't mentioned or quoted at all in this article, even though he was involved in this political fight long before Governor Rounds.

NYT on lobbying by congressional family members

The New York Times has an editorial in today's edition headlined "Kith & Kin Inc." Guess who doesn't get mentioned a single time.

Herseth hires ND campaign manager

The North Dakota blog "Flickertail" reports that Stephanie Herseth has hired Tessa Gould, a former staffer for Congressman Earl Pomeroy, to be her campaign manager.

Kranz Watch

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, has subtly changed the lede in his piece this morning to read that Daschle "has slightly increased his lead."

Still wrong, of course.

Last night, Kranz wrote that Daschle "continues to gradually increase his lead over former Rep. John Thune."

The sample was two polls. You cannot have a gradual increase with a sample of two.

This is just basic poll reporting. Editors and reporters know this, or should. Which leads one to conclude that bias is a problem.

Kranz Watch

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, purported to be an objective observer of the political scene in South Dakota, is appallingly and purposefully misleading in his "PM Update" on the latest poll of the South Dakota Senate race, headlined "Daschle gradually increases lead over Thune." Excerpt:

Sen. Tom Daschle continues to gradually increase his lead over former Rep. John Thune as the two likely U.S. Senate candidates prepare for what is anticipated to be the most-watched race in the nation.

The assertion is not followed by the facts:

Daschle's percentage of support remains the same as the last test in November 2003, but Thune has dropped one point.

That's not a gradual increase, that's a dead flat no-change. One percent is within the margin of error.

Disgraceful.

Daschle has to be disappointed

The Argus Leader/KELO poll of the Senate race will show Senator Daschle at 50% and Thune at 43%. After spending $4.6 million and running ads since last summer, Tom Daschle absolutely cannot break 50 percent in the polls. By contrast, Thune has not done anything so far except announce. The AL will release the poll on Friday, and hopefully they'll post all of the data, including cross-tabs, online. Poll info via Daily Kos. Note in the comments to the Daily Kos post how disgruntled rank and file Dems are with Tom Daschle.

UPDATE: I can't believe some of the comments being made about Tom Daschle (some more vitriolic than you'll find anywhere on this blog) in the Daily Kos post cited above. One Daschle partisan from Madison, SD even thinks Daschle may lose!

You can find one of the more vitriolic comments about Tom Daschle HERE. Keep in mind, Daily Kos is not exactly the Club for Growth. There's another vitriolic comment HERE.

Some of the more intriguing comments posit booting Daschle as leader after the election, should he win, which you can access HERE,HERE and HERE.

So much for a positive, upbeat campaign

As predicted, the Argus Leader nimbly follows up a report in Roll Call yesterday about John Thune's campaign finances. The AL headline reads "Thune spending questioned." It's interesting that the Roll Call story never once used the words "Thune" and "break the law" in the same sentence in their story on the matter. By contrast, the AL story puts the words "Thune" and variations of "break the law" in three different sentences. Do you come away with the impression that Thune broke the law when you read the AL story? Good. That's the impression you're supposed to get.

Daschle on Tavis Smiley show

Tom Daschle appeared on Tavis Smiley's late night television show on PBS last night. You can read the transcript HERE. During the show, Tom Daschle brought up the issue of President Bush's National Guard service in a typically partisan effort to impugn President Bush's military record:

"We also don't know the circumstances involving his time in the National Guard, and I think that has to be clarified as well."

Argus Leader polling

The word on the street is that the Argus Leader conducted a poll this past weekend of the Senate and House races in South Dakota. It is received wisdom to beware of surveys done over the weekend, because of skewed samples. If any reader has been contacted by a pollster over the last few days, please e-mail me.

Daschle has it both ways on disclosure

Watch the Argus Leader turn on a dime in following up a report in Roll Call today headlined "State Account Helped Thune." Excerpt:

Former Rep. John Thune (R-S.D.) spent roughly $50,000 from a long-dormant state campaign account to fund travel, staff salaries and consulting fees in 2003, leading Democrats to call on him to fully disclose the nature of those expenditures....

"JohnThune should provide full disclosure of what he spent this soft money on," said [Daschle campaign manager Steve] Hildebrand. "He should say what consultants got paid, what travel was used for what and come clean in a very specific way as to how this money got spent."

[Thune campaign manager Dick] Wadhams shot back: "If the Daschle campaign wants to wrap their arms around full disclosure we are going to give them ample opportunity to disclose a lot in the coming months."

...

At issue is whether Thune's activities in 2003 qualify as "testing the waters" for a political race.

Under a guide written by the Federal Election Commission for potential federal candidates, an individual in this stage "does not have to register or report as a candidate even if the individual raises or spends more than $5,000 - the dollar threshold that would normally trigger candidate registration."

"Nevertheless the individual must comply with the contribution limits and prohibitions," according to the guide.

A reader shares the following insight:

There's a familiar technique afoot.

1. Start campaign by warning opponent will go negative.

2. Find some technical matter of the campaign finance law that is too abstruse for the public to understand or reporters to get accurately.

3. Charge your opponent with illegality or ethical missteps.

4. If criticized in return, claim the campaign is going negative.

Of course, if Tom Daschle were really interested in full disclosure, he would release his tax returns, which for some strange reason he doesn't do anymore, although he did release his tax returns back in 1982. Last year, Power Line chimed in about Daschle's refusal to release his tax returns. Even Senator Schumer discloses his tax returns. Why won't Senator Daschle? The issue of tax returns has an impressive topicality, as April is approaching. Watch for Daschle's acrobatics as he tries to weasel out of disclosing his tax returns again this year.

Ed Schultz Watch

The New Republic's cover story this week, headlined "The coming rise of liberal talk radio," briefly discusses Ed Schultz, the North Dakota radio personality touted as the left's answer to Rush Limbaugh, as well as Tom Daschle's role in the coming rise of liberal talk radio. Excerpt:

Moreover, the desire to create viable liberal talk radio programs goes all the way up to the top of the Democratic Party. "[I]f we're going to try to break through as Democrats, we have to have the same edge that Republicans do," Tom Daschle said of the need for liberal talk radio shows shortly after the 2002 midterm elections.

Which is why, last November, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu hosted a fund-raising lunch for Democracy Radio at her Capitol Hill home. Together with about 20 other Democratic senators--including Stabenow, Daschle, and Hillary Clinton--Landrieu fêted Rhodes and a North Dakota liberal talker named Ed Schultz, both of whom Democracy Radio hopes to syndicate nationally.

I like G. Gordon Liddy's response to Democratic whining about talk radio, as quoted in the LA Times last week:

Conservative hosts say their fans turn to talk radio for views they can't find in the rest of the media. "Network TV and the New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times axis is totally dominated by the left," said G. Gordon Liddy, whose talk show airs on 178 stations.

"Now the left, never satisfied with 9/10ths of the pie, has gotten its knickers in a twist about talk radio. It's a free country. They're certainly welcome to try," Liddy said. "But I'm inclined to think … listeners will say, 'Look, we can get all that stuff already.' "

AL covers Daschle-Clinton fundraiser

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, does a reasonably fair job of reporting on the Daschle-Clinton-Mellencamp fundraiser going on tonight. There is one atrocious bit of writing or editing at the end of the article though:

Dick Wadhams, Thune's campaign manager, is intrigued by one line in the fund-raising letter on Daschle's behalf from Clinton:

"When we tried to make meaningful progress on tough issues like health care and tobacco reforms, special interests clogged the airwaves with attack ads. But no matter what battle I faced, I always knew there was one friend I could count on, Tom Daschle."

There is no doubt that the event will help Daschle's finances, said Wadhams.

"But it certainly comes with a cost. President Clinton comes with baggage with voters of South Dakota," he said.

OK. WHY is Wadhams intrigued by that passage from the Clinton letter? Kranz never explains.

As I reported last week, an out-of-state reader e-mailed me a copy of the joint fundraising letters sent out by Daschle and Clinton. You can access the Daschle letter HERE. The following is the text from the letter written by Bill Clinton regarding raising cash for Tom Daschle:

Dear Friend,
There are those who say that values like hard work, loyalty and friendship don't count for much in Washington.

They don't know my friend Senator Tom Daschle.

During my time in the White House, the Republican Congress kept my desk piled high with ill-advised legislation. When we tried to make meaningful progress on tough issues like health care and tobacco reforms, special interests cloggcd the airwaves with attack ads. But no matter what battle I faced, I always knew there was one friend I could count on -- Tom Daschle.

Today,Tom could use a few friends of his own. He's running for re-election to the Senate, and the Republican Party has labeled him as Public Enemy #1.

But before I tell you more about his campaign, I want you to know Tom the way I do --as a friend.

Our partnership started as soon as I got to Washington, when Tom was instrumental behind-the-scenes in shoring up support for my economic plan.

As you may recall, that plan passed without one single Republican vote, but it finally tamed the endless budget deficit and unleashed eight straight years of record economic growth. And if it hadn't been for Tom's work, it wouldn't have passed at all.

After the 1994 elections, when Republicans won control of Congress, the pundits were ready to give up on Democrats. They figured our fight for America's working families was a lost cause.

Not Tom. He ran for Democratic Leader in the Senate, won and quickly became one of the most effective public servants ever to hold that position.

Tom doesn't exactly fit most people's stereotype of the high-powered political leader.

Tom is as kind and quiet a person as you'll ever know. He leads by listening. He possesses an extraordinary talent for bringing people together and finding common ground.

And Tom is just as down-to-earth as can be. In fact, every August -- around the time most members of Congress are headed off to vacation -- Tom gets in his car, without staff, and drives around South Dakota to hear from his constituents.

But don't be deceived by his gentle demeanor. Tom Daschle is absolutely tough-as-nails. And the one place you do not want to be is between Tom and the working families he's fighting for.

As Democratic Leader, Tom has single-handedly blocked some of the most extreme proposals of the Bush Administration.

He single-handedly led Democratic efforts to keep right-wing ideologues off the federal bench. He forced Republicans to scale back the White House's reckless tax cuts. He maneuvered campaign-finance reform through the Senate.

Tom is leading the Democratic fight to preserve the economic progress we made during my Administration. But with new tax cuts and enormous spending packages coming out of the White House every day, he very much has his work cut out for him.

And the toughest battles may be yet to come.

The White House and the Republican majority in Congress are only one or two Supreme Court justices away from being allowed to end a woman's right to choose. With the nation's attention diverted by the crises we face overseas, they are quietly rolling back environmental protections at home.

Meanwhile, on issue after issue -- from education to health care to our senior citizens' needs -- the Bush Administration has refused to back up its rhetoric with real policies.
And they know their most formidable opponent is Tom Daschle.

President Bush has made it very clear that he considers Tom to be the foremost obstacle to his agenda. And as you have probably noticed, this is not a White House that deals kindly with those who refuse to get with its program.

The White House has already sent chattering heads all over Washington to call Tom an "obstructionist" --just for having the audacity to raise his voice in objection to this
Administration.

The Republican Party has declared that defeating Tom for re-election next year is one of their very top priorities. Right-wing groups masquerading under names like the "Club for Growth" plan to run attack ads against him.

And from HMOs to polluters, there are some very powerful interests gunning for Tom.

Just how far will they go? Last year, one group ran ads in South Dakota comparing Tom to Saddam Hussein.

His offense? He dared to oppose the Administration's plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Tom will have a very serious battle on his hands in this campaign. Here's why.

First of all, television ads in South Dakota are very inexpensive -- which means the Republicans' special interest millions can buy a lot of attack ads. It's likely that South Dakota's airwaves could be saturated with attacks against Tom for a full year.

Second, the state has been trending Republican in recent years. In fact, in the last Senate race, Democratic Senator Tim Johnson was barely re-elected-- winning by just 524 votes against Congressman John Thune. Now Thune is challenging Tom and this will likely be
the biggest Senate race in the country.

Here's the good news: Tom is a proven vote-getter. He has a broad base of support. And if friends like you and me get in his comer, he will win.

That's why I'm asking you to make a generous contribution -- $25, $50, $100, $500 or even $1,000 if you can -- to Tom's re-election campaign. Please respond today. You can make a real difference for a truly decent man who's made an extraordinary difference for America's families.

Sincerely,
Bill Clinton

P.S. The Republican Party would relish nothing more than defeating Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle for re-election -- and they are more than willing to pull out the big guns. .. and the big bucks. .. to put this notch in their belts. In order to fight back, Tom must be able to count on the support of committed Democrats like you.

Kranz Watch

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, discusses John Thune's appearance on "Jeff Gannon's Washington" in his column today. Jeff Gannon is the DC resident expert on South Dakota politics, and you can read his insights HERE.

Jeff Gannon has also reported on his radio show that there is a possibility that Hillary Clinton may visit South Dakota on behalf of Stephanie Herseth.

Daschle's Diary

The blog "From the Roots" seems to be a message board for Senate Democrats, so keep your eye on it. Senator Daschle himself has written a few posts, which are definitely worth reading, and which can be accessed HERE. Interestingly, Daschle's comments appear under a banner that reads "Pulling the Bush Out!" which leaves one wondering why Tom Daschle boasts about supporting President Bush 75 percent of the time if he wants to "pull the Bush out."

The South Dakota section of "From the Roots" is also worth reading closely, although "Cara" uses the same talking points for all of her "Political Backdrops."

In one of his posts, Daschle claims to be "troubled" by Halliburton's activities in the Persian Gulf, implicitly accusing Vice President Cheney of corruption. I myself am troubled by the fact that Tom Daschle voted to add billions in bailouts to the airline industry (which his wife lobbies for) in the recent passage of the pension bill. Now Tom Daschle is holding up the pension bill until he gets a guarantee from Republicans that he can participate in conference committees on all legislation this session. But the pension bill wouldn't have to go to conference if Tom Daschle had not added billions of dollars to the bill to help out the airline industry. In one fell swoop, Tom Daschle has delivered a bailout for his wife's clients, and is trying to gain political advantage on the backs of workers and their pensions.

Daschle on "imminent threats"

Glenn Reynolds notes a quote by Tom Daschle in 2002 regarding the "imminent threat" of Saddam Hussein, and asks the Bush-bashers where the beef is in the "Bush lied" argument. Perhaps the professor should ask John Mellencamp that question when Mellencamp headlines a fundraiser for Tom Daschle on Monday.

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 and Mellencamp

As most SDP readers are aware, Bill Clinton and singer John Mellencamp are headlining a fundraiser for Tom Daschle next Monday, which is expected to raise $2 million for his re-election campaign here in South Dakota.

I wonder how Tom Daschle feels about John Mellencamp's Bush-bashing "protest" song "To Washington," particularly in light of the fact that Daschle boasts about voting with Bush 75 percent of the time? To read more of Mellencamp's Bush-bashing, see his piece published last fall headlined "An Open Letter to America: It's Time to Take Back Our Country." Conversely, I wonder how willing John Mellencamp would be to headline a fundraiser for Tom Daschle if he knew that Tom Daschle boasts about supporting President Bush 75 percent of the time? John Mellencamp is certainly entitled to bash President Bush. But people in South Dakota who voted for President Bush by a margin of 60% in 2000 deserve to know that Tom Daschle is trying to have it both ways, cavorting with Bush-bashers when he's in Washington, D.C. while simultaneously boasting about supporting President Bush when he's at home.

Daschle takes credit for bill he opposed

Once again, another local newspaper publishes a Tom Daschle press release in which Daschle takes credit for a bill he voted against. This time it's the Lennox Independent.

NYT on AIM trial

Today's edition of the New York Times has another report on the trial of Arlo Looking Cloud for the murder of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash headlined "In Court, AIM Members Are Depicted as Killers."

To listen to coverage of the trial by South Dakota Public Broadcasting, click HERE.

Russell Means backs Thune

Native American activist Russell Means has endorsed John Thune in his campaign to unseat Tom Daschle. This is the second major development affecting Daschle's support in the Native American community. Last month, Native American newspaper publisher Tim Giago announced his plans to challenge Tom Daschle in the Democratic primary. For more information on Means' announcement, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.