South Dakota Politics

House whip criticized for having lobbyist family members

Gannett News Service had a story published yesterday headlined "Blunt denies conflict over lobbyist wife." Excerpt:

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, who wed a tobacco lobbyist in October, has not stepped aside from voting on tobacco legislation and continues to accept campaign donations from the industry....

Blunt also is among the top recipients of campaign donations from the tobacco industry, including Philip Morris, the nation's largest cigarette company and one of the 10 biggest campaign contributors to members of Congress. Campaign contributions from the tobacco industry are likely to increase during this election year, particularly as the debate over tobacco heats up....

Blunt is not the only lawmaker who has a spouse who lobbies Congress or is employed in a business that has legislation before Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle's wife, Linda Hall Daschle, lobbies on aviation issues and represents 11 clients on behalf of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, a law firm. Linda Daschle's spokeswoman, Julie Goldberg, said the senator's wife does not lobby the Senate and did not lobby the House when the senator from South Dakota was a House member.

American Airlines, one of Linda Daschle's clients, gave Tom Daschle $4000 this election cycle.

The American Association of Airport Executives, one of Linda Daschle's clients, gave Tom Daschle $3,500 this election cycle. Tom Daschle is the top recipient of campaign donations in the Senate from the AAAE for this cycle.

Boeing, one of Linda Daschle's clients, gave Tom Daschle $5000 this election cycle.

Northwest Airlines, one of Linda Daschle's clients, gave Tom Daschle $7,500 this election cycle. Tom Daschle is the top recipient of campaign donations in the Senate from Northwest Airlines this cycle.

Lockheed Martin, one of Linda Daschle's clients, gave Tom Daschle $10,000 this election cycle. Tom Daschle is tied with John McCain for the top recipient of campaign donations in the Senate from Lockheed Martin.

All told, Tom Daschle has received $89,200 in campaign donations from the air transport industry this cycle.

Linda Daschle counters all of this by saying that she doesn't lobby the Senate, as noted in the Gannett story cited above. But Stephanie Mencimer of the Washington Monthly responded to this assertion in a piece she wrote back when Tom Daschle was the majority leader:

[W]hen it comes to lobbying Congress, does it really matter whether a congressional spouse lobbies her husband? The House Democrats on whom Daschle focuses her attention aren't likely to ignore calls from the majority leader's wife. And given the soft currency of Washington's access business, it's awfully hard to separate influence in such concrete ways, especially when many of Daschle's clients are lobbying both her husband and the Senate as well.

WSJ's Political Diary on Tim Giago

The Wall Street Journal chimes in with its own analysis of Tim Giago's third party bid for the U.S. Senate, under the headline "Wildcard Enters the Daschle Race":

South Dakota Democrats may have just got their very own Ralph Nader. But unlike the overblown candidacy of that consumer rights activist, this one might actually play a role in whether Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle keeps his seat.

Tim Giago, who grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and publishes the Lakota Journal, announced last week an intention to challenge Mr. Daschle in the state's Democratic primary. This week he changed his mind: Now he'll run as an independent in the general election. This is terrible news for Mr. Daschle. Instead of being a purely symbolic candidate, now Mr. Giago could have a real impact on the race between the incumbent and his Republican opponent, John Thune, a former U.S. congressman who lost South Dakota's 2002 Senate race to Democrat Tim Johnson by the slimmest of margins.

Mr. Giago, an Oglala Lakota, plans to focus his insurgent campaign on issues for American Indians, one of Mr. Daschle's core strongholds. In 1998, Mr. Daschle sailed to an easy victory helped by an 88% margin in Shannon County, an area populated almost entirely by Native Americans. South Dakota has been trending steadily Republican since then. By 2002, his protégé Mr. Johnson managed to win his statewide race by a mere 528 ballots -- and would have lost but for strong support from Shannon County Indians, who voted for the Democrat by a margin of 2,856 to 248. Did we mention that Shannon County is the home of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and Mr. Giago's influential newspaper? Bottom line: In a close race, Mr. Giago's candidacy could easily cost Mr. Daschle his seat and give Mr. Thune the win.

The real question now is whether Mr. Giago plans to stay in the contest to the end. Some suspect he merely intends to fire a shot across Mr. Daschle's bow, extract a few promises on Indian issues, then drop out and pledge his support to Mr. Daschle. For now, however, the publisher seems more focused on his own campaign than on whether it will hurt the longtime senator from South Dakota. Asked if he's bothered by the prospect of being Mr. Daschle's spoiler, he shrugged, "That is the chance you take."

(Emphasis added.)

Word on the street

DVT relates a rumor that Tom Daschle made a phone call to Tim Giago yesterday in a last-ditch effort to stop Giago's third-party candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

Giago candidacy suddenly on the DC radar screen

Tim Giago, the Native American journalist who recently announced his run as an independent in the U.S. Senate race in South Dakota, is starting to turn some heads in Washington. Today's edition of Roll Call has a piece headlined "Independent Could Sway Dakota Senate Race." Excerpt:

In the immediate aftermath of Giago’s announcement this week, the campaigns of both Daschle and former Rep. John Thune (R) sought to spin the development in their favor, although an initial analysis would seem to indicate Daschle’s campaign will be more heavily impacted....

Although Giago is given little chance of winning in November, because of the expected closeness of the race between Daschle and Thune and the size of the Indian vote in the state, his candidacy is being taken much more seriously than longshot candidacies in other Senate races.

In the 2002 contest between Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Thune, Johnson won by 524 votes thanks in large part to the presence of a conservative Libertarian candidate on the ballot and an increased voter turnout on the state’s nine Indian reservations.

Libertarian Kurt Evans dropped out of the race days before the November 2002 election, saying he was worried that he could hand the election to Johnson. His name remained on the ballot, however and he received 3,070 votes — the vast majority of which would likely have gone to Thune.

Speaking of Kurt Evans, the AP had a story yesterday headlined "Attorney general's office represents SDSU student in appeal."

Dakota Alliance of Blogs firing on all cylinders

The Dakota Alliance is really starting to hit its stride this week. First, see Sibby Online's new Typepad based blog. Then read the latest tour de force at DVT responding to Joshua Micah Marshall's post on the Daschle v. Thune race. Sioux Falls radio personality Greg Belfrage has also been demonstrating his customary wit and insight on the web of late. These guys are all way ahead of the curve on all the political goings-on in South Dakota. No matter what the Yankton Press & Dakotan thinks.

Excellent article by Mercer

I would be remiss if I didn't echo DVT's praise for the recently published article by Bob Mercer headlined "Anti-abortion group criticizes Daschle; Senate minority leader under fire for voting both for, against fetal rights." As DVT states, this piece by Mercer is analytical journalism at its finest.

Daschle: "I don't miss the limelight"

The Argus Leader had a piece this past Sunday headlined "Kerry nabs Daschle's status as spokesman." Excerpt:

For Daschle, Kerry's emergence as the party's new face means a less prominent role nationally....

For his part, Daschle said he doesn't mind the lower visibility.

"I don't miss the limelight," said the senator, who came within hours last year of making his own run for the presidential nomination that Kerry now has locked up.

Wait a minute. What about all that "using my position to put South Dakota on the national agenda" talk? Tom Daschle is happy that he now has "a less prominent role nationally?"

Daschle and Eugene McCarthy

The Washington Post has a blurb on the celebration of Eugene McCarthy's 88th birthday this past Friday. McCarthy, of course, was the man who posted a strong showing in the 1968 Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire because of his anti-war stance, instigating President Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek another term as president. Thus the WaPo:

Former senator and liberal political icon Eugene McCarthy turns 88 today, but the celebration began Friday night at Teatro Goldoni with some 50 friends. In honor of his 88 years, guests offered almost as many toasts. "When you hear someone question the reasons and the costs of war, you hear his voice," hailed Tom Daschle. But the Senate minority leader yielded the floor to the guest of honor, who recited several of his poems.

(Emphasis added.) I guess Senator Daschle is back to his position of "questioning the war" now that he's in the friendly confines of DC, amongst his intimate liberal friends, although when he's in South Dakota he says he has no concerns about the war, as a recent DVT post pointed out.

Back in 1968, when Daschle was attending South Dakota State University, he was a big fan of Eugene McCarthy, as a story in the SDSU Collegian indicated, which I cited in a post written last September.

More on Giago from UPI

The UPI has a story on Tim Giago's run as an independent, headlined "Independent complicates Daschle re-elect." Excerpt:

As a bloc, South Dakota's Indians tend to heavily favor the Democrats. In 2002, they provided Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., with enough votes to let him eke out a narrow victory over Republican John Thune. Now that Giago, a newspaper publisher and Oglala Indian, has decided to run as an independent in the general election rather than challenge Daschle in the primary, as previously announced, could alter the landscape in an already nationally significant race.

Quote of the Day

"EMILY's List is not a pro-abortion organization." - a direct quote from Stephanie Herseth, according to today's edition of the Rapid City Journal.

Disunity among South Dakota Dems starts to emerge

Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, has a piece today headlined "Daschle, Herseth Split on Gay Marriage Amendment." Excerpt:

A month ago, the Associated Press quoted Herseth as saying, "I agree with the president on this issue. Marriage should be between a man and a woman."

Her statement produced a strongly negative reaction from some Democrats, especially from inside the Daschle campaign. The Rapid City Journal reported that Steve Hildebrand, campaign manager for the Senate minority leader asked for a refund of his contribution to the Herseth campaign.

It's interesting that this rift between the two campaigns has emerged, particularly in light of the fact that Linda Daschle encouraged Herseth to run for congress in 2002, according to a story in the American Prospect at the time, headlined "Civil Offensive." Excerpt:

When she was encouraged to run by Linda Daschle -- Tom Daschle's wife -- Herseth had no idea whom she would be up against.

South Dakota's own Ralph Nader

My apologies for the lengthy period of dormancy here at SDP. My grandmother's funeral was yesterday, and I've also been scrambling to find time to prepare and submit my application to take the bar exam, which I finally mailed to Pierre this afternoon. So now it's back to blogging.

Tim Giago, who had planned to run against Tom Daschle in the Democratic primary in June, is now planning to run as a third party candidate on the ballot in November. Undoubtedly, the Daschle camp is not pleased, as Giago is likely to peel off sorely needed votes for Daschle. David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, has a piece in today's Argus Leader headlined "Giago's independent run expected to remodel race." Kranz's piece also appears as an AP story headlined "Giago plans run as independent."

Now watch for the Daschle intimidation tactics to begin with Tim Giago. You see how vitriolic the Dems are with a Nader candidacy nationally. It will be interesting to see how vitriolic local Dems get with Giago, particularly if they see Giago garnering a substantial amount of Native American support.

As always, see DVT for more.

Bob Mercer's latest

Be sure to read a piece by Bob Mercer published in today's St. Petersburg Times (Fla.) headlined "South Dakota wanderlust."

Daschle's day of cynicism

See this press release from Tom Daschle's office. Then see the rest of the story.

Daschle blocks all nominations

Howard Bashman has a roundup of the latest developments in the battle over judicial nominations.

Senator Daschle made the following howler on the Senate floor yesterday:

Democrats have sought to participate in the nomination process and work together with the administration and the majority in a bipartisan fashion to confirm public servants in the highest traditions of our Nation.
Regrettably, the administration has chosen to reject the course of bipartisanship, even though Democrats have tried to accommodate the President’s goal of filling judicial vacancies.

Senator Cornyn responded by noting that Senator Daschle has been blocking a BIPARTISAN majority who would confirm these judicial nominations, were it not for the funny math in the Senate where 41 is more than 59 (as Zell Miller notes in his book):

[N]ever before in the history of the United States of America have a handful of Democrats—handful of any
party—been able to successfully block a bipartisan majority from confirming President Bush’s highly qualified judicial nominees.

(Emphasis added.) Clearly, it is Senator Daschle who is really rejecting the course of bipartisanship.

Daily Kos ridicules Glodt

This AP story about Stephanie Herseth's "secret website" ignited a firestorm of scorn from Daily Kos, aimed at state GOP executive director Jason Glodt and his mental abilities. Thus Kos:

So... when you clicked on Herseth's public ad, on the public Daily Kos, on the public Internet, taking you to a public website, that can be accessed by the public -- you were actually visiting a secret web site.

Got that? Idiotic Republican logic at its best.

The point is that Stephanie Herseth does not have a link on her main website to the "secret site." Now why would that be? Could it be because Herseth would rather not have curious South Dakotans, trying to find out her views, come across links to the Berkeley-based Daily Kos, where they might find posts like this?

I know Jason Glodt. Jason Glodt is a friend of mine. And Jason Glodt is dumb like a fox.

Daschle almost killed the UVVA

The AP has a report reflecting on the passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act yesterday headlined "Conservatives Win Big With Fetus Bill." Excerpt:

[The UVVA] earlier in the day came within one vote of failing, when the Senate voted 50-49 to defeat an amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Tom Daschle voted to kill UVVA by supporting the Feinstein amendment, and then voted to support UVVA when it came up for a vote. It was a classic case of Tom Daschle having it both ways. Note that Senator Tim Johnson voted to defeat UVVA. It's amazing how these two show their true colors when an election is many years away.

Jeff Gannon reports

Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, has a new story published today headlined "Daschle Losing Native American Support." The piece discusses the candidacy of Tim Giago, Tom Daschle's opponent in the Democratic primary, who officially announced his candidacy this week, as this AP story reports.

DVT has more on the dissipating Native American support for Tom Daschle.

AP exposes Herseth's secret website

The AP's Chet Brokaw has an intriguing report on political blogs headlined "GOP criticizes Democratic House candidate's Internet fund-raising." Excerpt:

Republicans have accused Democratic U.S. House candidate Stephanie Herseth of maintaining a secret Web page to receive campaign donations raised from ads on liberal groups' Internet sites.

But a Herseth campaign official scoffed at the charge, saying the Web page is not secret and can be found easily with a standard search of the Internet....

Jason Glodt, executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party, said the Herseth campaign arranged the special Internet donation site to prevent most South Dakotans from knowing about Herseth's relationship with such liberal groups....

The supposedly secret Web site is one of the first results when an Internet user does a standard search for the terms "blog" and "Herseth" on the Google search engine, [Herseth spokesman Russ] Levsen said.

You can access Herseth's "secret site" HERE. Note that there's no link to the "secret site" via Herseth's main website. None. The "Contribute" link on the main site leads HERE (Note the slight difference; there are no links to Daily Kos and Democratic Underground). That's why Glodt is calling the page WITH links to Daily Kos and Democratic Underground a "secret website."

A photo you won't see on Daschle's campaign website

This Reuters photo was taken today after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new DNC headquarters in Washington.

UPDATE: Ryne McClaren dubs them "the three amigos."

Daschle votes for two poison pills to UVVA, then supports UVVA

As predicted, after voting FOR the Feinstein "single victim" poison pill amendment to the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA), and FOR the Murray poison pill amendment to UVVA, Senator Tom Daschle then voted to support the UVVA, which he had been working all afternoon and into the evening to undermine (note that the junior senator from South Dakota, Tim Johnson, voted for both poison pills and AGAINST UVVA). Once again, Tom Daschle is trying to have it both ways on a controversial issue, as he has done on guns, and on the Iraq war.

The AP is reporting: "Senate Passes Fetus Protection Bill."

Daschle votes for Feinstein poison pill amendment

The Feinstein "single victim" substitute amendment, which would have killed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, has failed 50-49, no thanks to Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle voted FOR the poison pill Feinstein substitute. Tom Daschle is wrangling to kill the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and then will cynically vote for the UVVA when it comes up for a vote (just a prediction). If he truly supported the UVVA, he would have voted against the Feinstein poison pill amendment. He did the same thing on the gun manufacturer immunity bill. Note that he followed Feinstein's lead back then, too. It's a classic case of Tom Daschle having it both ways.

UPDATE: See Tom Daschle's letter to a constituent (pdf) last year regarding the UVVA.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The AP is reporting: "Fetus Protection Bill Nears Passage." Excerpt:

The Senate cleared the way for passing the Unborn Victims of Violence Act by defeating an amendment, backed by abortion rights lawmakers, that would have increased penalties but maintained that an attack on a pregnant victim was a single-victim crime.

(Emphasis added.) Daschle voted for the amendment, making him, as the AP asserts, an "abortion rights lawmaker."

DVT on a tear

DVT is on a tear today, particularly regarding Senator Tom Daschle's latest flip-flop on the war. Daschle really does say one thing in South Dakota and its 180 degree opposite in Washington. Start HERE and keep reading.

Debate begins on Unborn Victims of Violence Act

The Senate has begun debate on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. A vote is expected later today. The AP has a story headlined "Senate Takes Up Fetus Protection Bill." Excerpt:

On the other side, NARAL Pro-Choice America delivered more than 130,000 petitions to senators urging defeat of the bill because the group said it would allow judges to rule that humans at any stage of development deserve protection, even when that protection trumps a woman's interest in ending a pregnancy.

"This would be the first time in federal law that an embryo or fetus is recognized as a separate and distinct person under the law, separate from the woman," said NARAL president Kate Michelman. "Much of this is preparing for the day the Supreme Court has a majority that will overrule Roe v. Wade."

On October 29, 2002, shortly before the mid-term elections, Tom Daschle sent out a mass fundraising e-mail on behalf of NARAL. You can access the e-mail by clicking HERE and scrolling halfway down the page. The e-mail is headlined "Last Chance to Keep Pro-Choice Leadership in the Senate." Excerpt:

I’ve seen the difference NARAL can make, and I believe you and countless others can help Senator Carnahan and other pro-choice candidates facing tough races. If you make an urgent donation to NARAL’s Save the Senate Campaign today, it will make an important difference for these candidates....

As the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, I’ve stood up for a woman’s right to choose, and the pro-choice leadership of the Senate has made a difference by safeguarding women’s rights from the anti-choice agenda of the Bush administration. Please give to NARAL today, so NARAL can mobilize the resources to get out the pro-choice vote on Election Day.

To get a glimpse of how NARAL feels about the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, click HERE.

Also, Michael Meehan, one of Tom Daschle's top advisers, is NARAL's vice president for politics, campaigns and strategy, essentially overseeing all of the organization's political operations, according to a report last year in Roll Call.

Stay tuned to C-Span 2 for developments as the debate progresses.

CORRECTION: It looks like Michael Meehan has moved from NARAL to become John Kerry's spokesman.

Unborn Victims of Violence Act debate begins

The Senate has scheduled the Unborn Victims of Violence Act for debate tomorrow. There are two poison pill amendments that will be introduced, the Feinstein "single victim" substitute, and an amendment by Senator Patty Murray that would effectively kill the bill. Watch Senator Daschle's voting behavior on these two amendments, as well as on the Act itself. Will he try to have it both ways, as he did on the gun manufacturer immunity bill a month ago?

Daschle donor only gives to those "who share his values"

Knight Ridder has a story headlined "Political donor generous with his trust, opinions and money" discussing Peter Buttenwieser, one of Tom Daschle's closest friends. Excerpt:

For a decade, [Buttenweiser] has been one of the top individual donors in America to political campaigns - ranked by some as No. 1. He gives away millions. Famously to Democratic candidates who share his values. Reliably to organizations that advance women's interests, such as Planned Parenthood and Emily's List. ...

(Emphasis added.) According to opensecrets.org, Buttenwieser has given Daschle's 2004 campaign $4000. The Knight Ridder piece then quotes Senator Tom Daschle regarding Buttenwieser's lack of cynicism:

"We've talked about that many times," says Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, one of Buttenwieser's closest friends. "His lack of cynicism, that's a gift ... . Peter remembers the victories and forgets the losses. You have to be somewhat of the eternal optimist - and he is."

Daschle calls Buttenwieser an idealist. "I believe that Peter appreciates he is making a big difference," he says. "And that's all he wants."

One wonders whether Buttenwieser will pressure Daschle to kill the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which will be debated in the Senate tomorrow. After all, the man thinks Emily's List, a radical pro-abortion PAC, is great, and so for that matter, does Tom Daschle (See this link where Daschle praises Emily's List).

Daschle curries favor with Buzzflash

Tom Daschle sent Buzzflash a copy of the statement he made on the floor of the Senate yesterday, blasting the Bush administration for "attacking good people for telling the truth." He also e-mailed the statement to those on his DASHPAC e-mail list, and the DSCC's blog has the statement. The "Buzzflash Note" is a priceless backhanded compliment:

BuzzFlash readers know that we have been highly critical of Tom Daschle's performance as Minority Leader in the Senate. In fact, we have repeatedly called for his resignation in editorials and headlines. However, his Senate office sent us the following statement that Daschle made on the Senate floor this week, and we want to say, finally, "Good job Senator Daschle!"

We hope that this indicates a new trend in Daschle's stance, and that we will see fewer comments that end up being used on the Bush/Cheney weblog to indicate that Daschle supports many of Bush's policies, including his conduct of the Iraq War.

But we are open minded and glad to give credit where credit is due.

As far as the following statement by Senator Daschle, BuzzFlash says, "Keep it up, Senator! Nicely said, indeed."

(Emphasis added.) Could this be an indication that Daschle's people are frequently reading the Dakota Alliance of blogs?

Of course, Daschle has his own problems with attacking good people for telling the truth.

Family member lobbying in Kentucky

A situation has arisen in Kentucky that bears a striking resemblance to the situation Tom Daschle finds himself in with regard to his lobbyist wife. The story, appearing in the Louisville Courier-Journal, is headlined "Senate leader's spouse is lobbyist."

Interestingly, Larry Sabato, an expert on politics who is frequently quoted by Argus Leader reporters, had some scathing comments about this situation. Excerpt:

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said, "I see conflicts galore in this relationship."

"When she speaks to the executive branch officials, surely these officials and the governor know she's married to the president of the Senate. And what she says to the president of the Senate really matters on their agencies' funding and other pending legislation," Sabato said. "It would be awfully difficult to say no to her I would think."

An AP report headlined "Watchdog Group Questions Senate President's Wife's Job" also mentions Saboto's comments.

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, most recently quoted Sabato in a story published February 9. Kranz quotes him frequently. As spousal lobbying will inevitably come up as an issue in the Senate race here in South Dakota, it's reasonable to expect Kranz to get a quote from Sabato regarding Linda Daschle's lobbying.

Giago to announce tomorrow

Tim Giago, the Native American journalist opposing Tom Daschle in the Democratic primary, will make his candidacy official at an event tomorrow in Kyle, SD. It will be interesting to see if there will be any mention of the event in the Argus Leader either tomorrow or Thursday.

Daschle makes excuses for bungling energy bill

The Black Hills Pioneer publishes a letter by Tom Daschle today under the headline "Removing Protections for Polluters in Energy Bill Will Boost Ethanol Production." Excerpt:

Some say that the energy bill would have become law if two more senators had voted to end debate, but that is not the case. One of the leaders of the opposition, Senator Gregg recently announced, "We actually had a lot more than six [Republican votes]...If they had won the cloture motion, we would have killed the bill on a point of order [CQ Today, 11/26/03, p. 12]."

But what about the comments of Senator Chuck Grassley regarding Daschle's failure to deliver on ethanol? Grassley takes a back seat to no one in being a champion for ethanol, and said the following:

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who often is complimented by Sen. Daschle for bipartisan work on legislative measures, said the Senate vote "was plain and simple a Democrat filibuster. This bill could pass if Democrat leaders would help. The Democratic leadership has clout, and if he had tried, Sen. Daschle could have gotten a few more votes for ethanol. Only 13 Democrats voted to stop filibuster. That's hardly more than one-fourth. But almost 90 percent of Republicans voted to stop the filibuster."

Grassley also had this to say:

“If a Democrat leader can deliver 46 out of 49 votes to keep the president’s good judges from being approved,” Grassley said, “he surely ought to be able to deliver 15 out of 49 votes for the energy bill when it’s so important to South Dakota.”

Also, see this.

Daschle blasts Bush's "abuse of power"

Senator Tom Daschle was on the Senate floor this morning blasting the Bush administration for its "abuse of power" in countering the allegations of Richard Clarke, according to a Reuters story headlined "Clarke Denies Playing Election-Year Politics." Excerpt:

On Capitol Hill, Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota took to the Senate floor to accuse the White House of "abuses of power."

He equated the effort to discredit Clarke to a similar move against former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill over a tell-all book in January and the leaking of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame when her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, accused Bush of hyping pre-war intelligence on Iraq.

"I think the people around the president crossed into dangerous territory. We are seeing abuses of power that cannot be tolerated. The president needs to put a stop to it right now. We need to get to the truth and the president needs to help us do that," Daschle said.

Of course, Daschle has his own problems with "abuse of power" back home, as Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, has detailed.

John Thune lobbies for ethanol

The Hill has a blurb today on John Thune's lobbying activity for Broin Cos., a South Dakota ethanol company important to South Dakota's agricultural economy:

Lobbyist and former Rep. John Thune (R-S.D.), who is running for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s (D-S.D.) seat this fall, is representing the Broin Cos. on “improving EPA support and regulation of the ethanol industry,” lobbying records show.

It's nice to know somebody is working to help the ethanol industry in South Dakota, unlike a certain someone who goes off to sign books when the ethanol industry needs him most.

Daschle and judicial nominations

Tomorrow's edition of The Hill has a report headlined "Daschle: Move Dem nominees." Excerpt:

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is threatening to stall President Bush’s judicial nominees if the president does not take action soon to appoint more than a dozen Democrats to government boards and commissions. ...

“There has to be a reciprocal treatment of nominees,” Daschle said in a brief floor statement last week. “It will be very, very difficult for us to move forward on nominations in the future if the matter isn’t resolved.”

So Tom Daschle filibusters nearly all of the nominations to the federal appeals court by President Bush, and expects to be taken seriously when he demands that his Democratic cronies be appointed to federal offices. You have to hand it to the guy for his ability to make the statement above with a sraight face.

Rep. Katherine Harris in Rapid City

Katherine Harris, the former Florida Secretary of State who became famous during the 2000 post-election fiasco, was in Rapid City yesterday to support Larry Diedrich. The Rapid City Journal has a story headlined "Harris stumps for Diedrich."

Interestingly, during the post-election fiasco in 2000, Tom Daschle urged Harris to recuse herself because of "problems of perception" according to a story in the LA Times at the time.

"She has a very tough job to do, but I wonder if it may not be time to recuse herself," Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said earlier this week. "I certainly wouldn't allege any wrongdoing, but I think there is a very serious problem of perception."

Abourezk v. ProBush.com lawsuit moves forward

According to a blurb in Saturday's Argus Leader (not online), the case of Abourezk v. ProBush.com has survived a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Former U.S. Senator Jim Abourezk of South Dakota, Tom Daschle's mentor, sued the editor of ProBush.com for defamation after the site put the senator on a list of "traitors." The case has garnered interest from constitutional law scholars Eugene Volokh and Glenn Reynolds. To read the briefs and motions filed in the case, go to ProBush.com and scroll about halfway down. For more background, click HERE.

UPDATE: The AP has a report.

Stuart Smalley a Daschle Speechwriter?

According to a story in today's edition of the New York Times Magazine, headlined "Al Franken, Seriously," uber-liberal "satirist" Al Franken has helped Tom Daschle with speeches:

The great political satirists -- Dick Gregory, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce -- have all worked from a depth of emotion. But few if any have had the opportunities that Franken is enjoying, thanks both to his establishment sensibility and the fact that he's living in an era when the lines between politics, entertainment and media are blurred. He and his family were regulars at the Renaissance Weekend retreat the Clintons made famous during their years in the White House; he counts Bill and Hillary Clinton as friends and has helped Hillary Clinton and Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader, with speeches.

The photo above is found in tomorrow's edition of the Washington Post with a story headlined "'Deadwood': HBO Opens a Harsh New Frontier." The story covers the new HBO series about Deadwood, South Dakota back in the days of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane, which premieres tomorrow night. Excerpt:

["Deadwood" creator David] Milch's raw, revisionist western, with muddier streets and grubbier lowlifes than most of its like-minded predecessors, is more than a shockfest of violence and profanity, though one is tempted to saddle it with an alternate title like "The Sopranoats" or "Rauncho Grande." It's a grim, evocative look at some of this country's ruggedest but most disreputable roots -- a meticulously detailed portrait of a time, place and people that makes even today, with its punishing headlines about suicide bombs and other terrorist atrocities, seem almost safe and sane.

Tomorrow's edition of the New York Times Magazine also has a piece about the new HBO show, headlined "True West." Excerpt:

The latest attempt to resurrect the western by making it darker, stranger and, perversely, more contemporary, is HBO's new series ''Deadwood,'' which tries to do for frontier dramas what ''The Sopranos'' has done for gangster stories. Set in the mid-1870's in a bloody Dakota Terrritory settlement where prospectors rush to claw the gold from sacred lands belonging to the Sioux, ''Deadwood'' is relentlessly obscene, overwhelmingly pessimistic and meticulously depraved. It's the brainy, complex feel-bad series of the year, and every year needs one, at least on cable TV. Its good guys are bad, its bad guys are good and its medium guys are both and neither.

Like most examples of the New Western, ''Deadwood'' wants to be both realistic and allegorical. First, its realism. The show includes unvarnished portraits of historical figures like the legendary gunfighters Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. It presents the old West as a creepy-crawly human sewer, wholly unworthy of nostalgia. In one scene, a corpse clad only in soiled long johns is dumped over a fence and eaten by hogs -- to no particular outcry from anyone. The girls at the local house of ill repute are rarely shown without copious cuts and bruises given to them by their drunken, moronic patrons. Just about every business transaction is crooked and every noble utterance a lie. The ongoing slaughter of humans and animals amounts to little but background noise. And addiction, real pathological addiction, is everywhere -- to dope, to sex, to gambling and most of all, to money, money, money.

You can read more about the new series HERE and HERE.

The Daschle Squeeze

[Note: Correction Appended.]

In 1995, Senator Tom Daschle got into some hot water after some of his Sopranos-like intimidation tactics came to light. The 5/7/1995 edition of the New York Times sets the scene:

Senator Daschle began working to remove the Forest Service’s authority over air safety after its inspectors had consistently complained that a carrier in Rapid City, S.D., B&L Aviation, was shoddily run and should be barred from obtaining government contracts. B&L is owned by Murl Bellew, a friend of the Daschles who taught the senator how to fly.

According to a February 13, 1995 AP report:

Daschle started pressuring the Forest Service in 1992 to end its inspection program and leave the job to the Federal Aviation Administration. Daschle’s wife, Linda, is the FAA’s deputy administrator.

A Forest Service memo refers to Tom Daschle’s effort as the "Daschle squeeze."

Earlier that February, Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes first reported the existence of the Forest Service memo describing Daschle’s tactics as the “Daschle squeeze,” and discussed it with Bill Dickson, an aviation inspector with the Forest Service. Excerpt from a transcript of the February 5, 1995 segment of 60 Minutes:

WALLACE: (Voiceover) [Daschle] then took his case directly to then Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, whose department oversees the Forest Service, and persuaded him to reduce the role of the Forest Service inspections. And that wasn't the first time Senator Daschle came to the aid of Bellew. In 1993, he personally met with federal officials to complain about what he called the 'dictatorial attitude' of Forest Service inspectors. On one occasion, an internal Forest Service memo referred to the senator's efforts as the 'Daschle Squeeze.'

What was the Daschle Squeeze?

Mr. DICKSON: Well, the effort was to--to close down the inspections that we did.

WALLACE: And you've said that you'd never seen political influence as strong as this ever before in your career?

Mr. DICKSON: No, I haven't.

(Footage of B&L Aviation)

WALLACE: (Voiceover) Now if Forest Service inspectors were so concerned about using B&L, why didn't they advise the agency to stop using the company? Well, Bill Dickson says he tried to warn his Forest Service superiors against hiring B&L, but he says that he received a warning in return.

Mr. DICKSON: It was a telephone conversation with a person who's since retired...

WALLACE: Who said?

Mr. DICKSON: ...who said that if you fight the senator, you'll lose.

WALLACE: Don't fight the senator.

Mr. DICKSON: Don't fight the senator.

(Emphasis added.)
Another occasion of the application of the "Daschle Squeeze" is reported in a piece headlined "Senator Blasted for Abusing Office, Seeks IRS Probe of Conservative Group." Excerpt:

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the tax-exempt status of the Rushmore Policy Council. The South Dakota-based organization has run advertisements that publicized the voting record of Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) on abortion and other family values issues.

What makes Daschle's activities in trying to crush dissent in his home state more ironic is his quote in a story headlined "Kennedy fuels Senate furor over Iraq." Relevant graf:

"Any time somebody speaks out criticizing this administration or its policies, there is this orchestrated concerted effort to attack those who criticize," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. "Criticizing those who are vocal in their personal criticism, their approach, their concerns, is McCarthyesque."

On another issue that seems relevant to the "Daschle Squeeze" recall my post a month ago regarding former Daschle staffer Amy Sullivan. Subsequent to that post, I received the following e-mail from Sullivan:

Hi,

While strolling around on the web I noticed this post of yours -- http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/2004/week8/index.html#a0000938544 -- and wanted to give you a little more background. I'm a bit embarrassed, actually, that the post I wrote about the Daschle office has gotten picked up by a number of people as evidence of supposed "shady" tactics of Daschle and/or his staff. In fact, I wrote that piece in a fit of pique (of which I am not proud) after a long discussion with one of his senior aides. His advisors simply wanted to streamline his message during the campaign (a perfectly reasonable goal for any political office) and I disagreed with their assessment that my attempt to cheerlead for Daschle on my own might inadvertently hurt the effort when people like some bloggers (ahem) assume that I am working in cahoots with the Daschle office. That's all. I got miffed, wrote about it, and wish I hadn't.

I'd be much obliged if you'd correct the record -- I still adore everyone in his office and strongly believe that there's no one in politics I'd rather work for than Tom Daschle. One of the many dangers of the internet is that if you throw a written hissy-fit, it can get picked up and spread around, and I'd like to take this particular hissy-fit back if I could.

many thanks,

Amy Sullivan

I never responded to her e-mail, believing that "correcting the record" was her responsibility, as all I did was link to what she said. But she can't "correct the record" because the post she wrote has completely disappeared from her website. In fact, the entire archive of her posts over the past year has disappeared. You'll note that all of my links to her blog in the post of mine she complains about lead HERE. I'm not at all surprised that everything she has written about Tom Daschle has disappeared. I think it's clear that the Daschle people applied the "Daschle Squeeze" to her. To my mind, "streamlining the message" in this context is a euphemism for making damned sure South Dakotans don't know how liberal Tom Daschle truly is.

CORRECTION: I guess the archive CAN be found by clicking HERE and which I would have found, had I bothered to read the error page. My sincere apologies for my mistake. I made a cocky statement at the end of the post above which I've deleted, and which I regret.

Political advertising on blogs

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has an interesting story about political advertising on blogs, headlined "Low cost and high impact: Web ads score a political hit." Some political figures in South Dakota get mentioned. Relevant excerpt:

South Dakota has become a hotbed of political blog ads, with two candidates for statewide office launching them. Former Republican Rep. John Thune, who's trying to unseat Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, did a test run on libertarian/conservative InstaPundit.com and is likely to buy more time, said spokesman Dick Wadhams.

"We got a good response to something that didn't even exist two years ago," he said. "We're wading into what's clearly a new dimension of political campaigning."

Democrat Stephanie Herseth, who's trying to win a special election to replace former Rep. Bill Janklow, is advertising on several liberal blogs.

Since the ads began in early March, the ads have pulled in nearly $2,000 - more than the ads cost, said campaign spokesman Russ Levsen.

Kranz Watch

DVT offers a clarification of the reasonableness standard regarding the reportage of David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters:

SDP is advocating a civil reasonableness standard, i.e. would an ordinarily prudent person believe that Kranz could not be impartial given his past associations with Daschle, as opposed to a criminal-like standard of bias beyond a reasonable doubt.

Yes, obviously a civil standard is the way to go, and perhaps the best way to describe the standard is whether a reasonable person can be more than 50% certain that Kranz cannot be impartial in covering the Daschle v. Thune race given his close association with Democratic political figures past and present. A "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard is relevant only to criminal law and hence is irrelevant to the weighing of Kranz's impartiality.

In the context of the reasonableness standard, DVT also cites a piece written by Noel Hamiel, publisher of the Mitchell Daily Republic, headlined "Disclosure healthy, even for reporters, but college activities irrelevant." Hamiel basically sets a standard by which to weigh Kranz's impartiality, and states that Kranz's college activities are irrelevant to weighing Kranz's impartiality. Hamiel does essentially say, however, that the standard by which to weigh Kranz's impartiality should be applied to Kranz's post-college years. Hamiel says there should always be disclosure by the reporter of the nature of his relationships with specific political figures, and also discusses when a reporter should NOT cover someone. This is where the reasonableness standard comes into play. Could a reasonable person come to the conclusion that Kranz cannot be impartial given his close associations with Democratic political figures past and present? Stay tuned.

Daschle and Kerry

This Reuters photo was taken March 11, at the conclusion of a press conference in which John Kerry said he stood by his comments referring to President Bush and his advisers as “the most crooked ... lying group I’ve ever seen.”

What was that again about Tom Daschle supporting President Bush 75% of the time?

You can read the AP story regarding John Kerry's calumny HERE, where you can also find the photo below:

Does Herseth plan to endorse John Kerry?

The Hill carries an interesting article headlined "Some Dems to run away from Kerry." Excerpt:

A handful of House Democrats who look vulnerable in November’s election, plan to run away from their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), and will not endorse him.

The holdouts are a minority of the 17 “frontliners” selected by the party leadership for member-to-member cash infusions, but their attitude reflects varying levels of comfort with how the New England senator will play in their districts.

Here in South Dakota, Democrat Stephanie Herseth, currently the frontrunner against Republican Larry Diedrich in the campaign for South Dakota's lone House seat, recently had this to say about her party's presidential candidate (according to an excellent report by Bob Mercer):

Now that U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts is the apparent Democratic nominee, Herseth was asked Thursday if he might be coming to campaign for her before the June 1 election.

She laughed. "I just don't see that there would be any interest from my campaign or the national party," she said.

Perhaps the better question to ask Herseth is whether she plans to endorse John Kerry.

UPDATE: Although Herseth seems hesitant about supporting John Kerry, Senator Tom Daschle has pledged to help raise $10 million for Kerry by March 25, according to a story in the Washington Times headlined "Clinton supports Kerry fundraiser." Excerpt:

According to a statement by the Kerry campaign Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, Democratic strategist James Carville, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards and several former Democratic presidential candidates have signed on to a 10-day push to raise $10 million online to fight against the Republican incumbent.

Kranz Watch

DVT says it's unclear what standard of judgment I have in mind for concluding that David Kranz, the Argus Leader political reporter known as the dean of South Dakota political reporters, is too closely associated with Democratic figures past and present to report objectively and credibly on the 2004 Senate race in South Dakota. DVT suggests a "reasonableness" standard: whether Kranz's impartiality might reasonably be questioned. This reasonableness standard is henceforth adopted. I would argue, in view of the careful documentation of Kranz's bias by myself (link is to Kranz Watch archive) and others, that this standard has been met.

We know about Kranz's collaboration with Daschle on a mock Democratic Convention while both were in college in 1968; Daschle organized the convention, and Kranz wrote a purportedly unbiased report for the college newspaper on Daschle's involvement in organizing the convention, without disclosing his affiliation with Daschle. In 1976, Kranz wrote a piece for the Mitchell Daily Republic fondly recalling the convention. In 1986, then lieutenant governor Lowell Hansen wrote a guest editorial for the Argus Leader excoriating Kranz's biased coverage of the governor's race that year. Roll Call indicated that the AL's hysterical and vituperative bias in the 1990 Senate race was instigated by then managing editor David Kranz. And of course, over the past year, Kranz's biased reporting has been documented through the "Kranz Watch" feature on this blog. All of these instances described above indicate that the reasonableness standard has been met. Kranz's impartiality can reasonably be questioned.

Investigate Daschle's crushing of dissent

DVT says the Aberdeen American News editorial today, headlined "Investigation into drug bill numbers needed" is a move in the right direction for the newspaper's investigation of intimidation tactics on both sides of the political spectrum, including those a little closer to home.

FLASHBACK

It was a year ago today that Senator Tom Daschle, making a speech to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees shortly after meeting with President Bush, said that he was "saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war." As one can observe from the posts on my blog a year ago (scroll down), the country responded with outrage. Michael Barone supplied an interesting analysis of Daschle's comments.

In the days before the Iraq war, Steven Den Beste observed:

After we fight and win, a lot is going to come out about just how dreadful and brutal Saddam's government truly is. Relieved of fear of Saddam's secret police, we're going to see a flood of reports coming out of Iraq containing interviews with individual Iraqis who will describe personal horror stories. We're going to see shambling hulks of men maimed and broken by torture; crying women describing how they had to watch their own children be tortured to death. We're going to see photographs of terrible scars and disfigurements. We're going to hear about people being "disappeared". We're going to hear about mass graves, and public executions, and a lot else.

And Daschle and the rest of the Democrats who are now trying to take a stand against war are going to have to explain why it was that they opposed ending all that.

Den Beste's observations are remarkably prescient, particularly in light of a report last month in the Rapid City Journal headlined "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 told state chamber of commerce representatives meeting in the South Dakota capital that he is satisfied with the way things are going in Iraq.

"I give the effort overall real credit," Daschle said. "It is a good thing Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. It is a good thing we are democratizing the country."

He said he is not upset about the debate over pre-war intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, an issue that has dogged President Bush as Democratic presidential contenders have slogged through the primary season.

Today, Tom Daschle is hoping that his constituents have forgotten the furor over his comments a year ago. We haven't.

UPDATE: DVT has a more cryptic explanation of the 2003 Tom Daschle compared to the 2004 Tom Daschle.

Unborn Victims of Violence Act to be placed on Senate calendar

DVT is reporting that the Unborn Victims of Violence Act will be debated and voted on next week when the Senate reconvenes. Tom Daschle is facing pressure from his caucus to kill the bill, an act that would be unpopular with his constituents. Once again Daschle must keep his colleagues happy by assisting their efforts to kill the bill, and simultaneously appearing to be vigorously supporting the bill (a highwire act discussed at length HERE). And apparently, Daschle's Democratic caucus is already conspiring to slip two poison pill amendments into the bill in an attempt to kill it. The same thing happened to the gun manufacturer immunity bill a few weeks ago, courtesy of Tom Daschle, who voted for two poison pill amendments that made the immunity bill a raw deal.

So the question to ask Tom Daschle at his appearance in Rapid City tomorrow is whether he's going to pull the same stunt with the Unborn Victims of Violence Act as he did with the gun manufacturer immunity bill.

Giago to explain why he's running

Tim Giago, the Native American journalist who is running against Tom Daschle in the Democratic primary, will be holding an event this Saturday, March 20, at the Little Wound High School Auditorium in Kyle, SD to explain why he's opposing Tom Daschle. So much for the rumor that Giago was dropping out of the race, a rumor that the Daschle v. Thune blog indicates may have been triggered by Daschle operatives, yet another example of Daschle's crushing of dissent. Will David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, report on this event?

In other news from the town of Kyle, SD, John Thune was spotted there last week. A reader reports:

"[John Thune] wound up at Kyle talking to the Elders, going to a senior center for lunch, talking on KILI, then attending a feed at Pine Ridge and talking to the people who came in. He finished up shooting hoops with the "Thorpes" - the boys basketball team in Pine Ridge that is going to State. He's a really decent player."

It's fascinating to watch how vigorously Thune is reaching out to Native American voters. To my mind, playing basketball with the Thorpes is an ingenious method for connecting with the younger generation in the Native American community.

To influence the headlines is to influence public opinion

A few months ago, I expounded on how newspaper editors manipulate public opinion through the use of headlines. For a more recent example of a local newspaper attempting to influence public opinion through the use of headlines, read Mark Steyn's latest piece, headlined "Iraqi spy case shows media at it again."

Daschle's recess appearances in SD

The Senate is in recess this week. That means Senator Tom Daschle will be making campaign appearances around the state, pretending to be a Zell Miller Democrat rather than the John Kerry Democrat he truly is. And that means constituents have the opportunity to ask Daschle about certain issues he won't take a position on, or that he takes a number of positions on, depending on whether he's in Washington or South Dakota. Hopefully, members of the press will be present to record the conversation.

The last time the Senate was in recess, the Rapid City Journal reported that Daschle told a Chamber of Commerce gathering in Pierre the Bush administration's inability to find weapons of mass destruction was of little concern to him. These statements contradicted statements Daschle had made 10 days earlier in Washington, according to Time magazine, that President Bush had a "credibility chasm" on WMD.

So if you happen to be at a Daschle event this week (He's holding a free dinner at Central High School in Rapid City this Wednesday at 5:30PM, for example), there are a couple of issues to ask him about:

1) The Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Laci and Connor's Law). As an excellent guest editorial reported in yesterday's Argus Leader, Tom Daschle has yet to take a final position on a bill that would make it a federal crime to kill or injure an unborn child. South Dakota law already makes it a crime to kill or injure an unborn child. Given the Daschle campaign's penchant for accusing John Thune of lacking leadership because of his indecision on whether to run for the Senate, it's unseemly for Daschle to be dithering on an important issue like this. If you get an opportunity to ask Daschle about this, demand a commitment one way or the other. If Senator Dianne Feinstein of California can demand a commitment from Tom Daschle, a constituent certainly can too.

2) Ethanol. Be sure to ask Tom Daschle why he was out signing copies of his book when he should have been rounding up votes for the energy bill. As Senator Chuck Grassley stated, that was the one shot the ethanol bill had at becoming law. And Daschle blew it. If he says the revised ethanol bill is coming up again for a vote in the Senate, point out that it won't pass in the House, and won't become the law of the land. The ethanol bill had one shot at becoming the law, and Daschle didn't exercise his vaunted clout to muscle the thing through, when South Dakota farmers needed him most. And don't forget that Daschle's trial lawyer contributors wanted the ethanol bill dead because it gave liability protection to MTBE manufacturers. That might have been the reason Daschle voted for the bill, but didn't hang around to exercise his purported clout to get the extra votes necessary to pass the bill.

3) Gun control. Tom Daschle recently voted for stricter regulation of gun shows (to close the "gun show loophole"). But the entire state legislature almost unanimously supported a resolution "[r]ecognizing the substantial public contribution of gun shows and discouraging inappropriate attempts to regulate or restrict them." Why is Tom Daschle voting out of step with the near unanimity of the state legislature?

Word on the street

Word on the street is that Tom Daschle will be holding a fundraiser in Rapid City this week. The fundraiser will be held on March 17 at 7:30 P.M. at the home of Rapid City lawyer Doyle Estes, at a charge of $500 per person.