Daschle said he "reluctantly" supported energy bill

Last November, Tom Daschle said on the Senate floor that he "reluctantly" supported the energy bill, and would "understand and respect my colleagues who oppose this bill." This bill would have more than doubled ethanol production. You can read the relevant portion of Daschle's floor statement contained in the Congressional Record HERE. Excerpt from the CQ piece:

I understand and respect my colleagues who oppose this bill. There is much in this conference report that is objectionable.

Despite secrecy, the partisanship and the shortcomings in this bill, I will vote to invoke cloture—reluctantly— because America needs to improve its energy situation, and I think this proposal takes a few small steps forward.

(Emphasis added.) The next day, the Congressional Quarterly Weekly published an article headlined "Regional Issues Leave Energy Bill A Hair Too Unwieldy for Senate" discussing Senator Tom Daschle's reluctance to support the energy bill, due in part to his desire to defeat one of the Bush administration's top domestic priorities. The energy bill died due to a Democratic led filibuster. Excerpt:

The cloture vote was a major victory for New York Democrat Charles E. Schumer, whose filibuster threat over MTBE was dismissed by Republicans earlier in November as insignificant.

The vote was a challenge for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was forced to cast a vote on a Republican bill that most of his Democratic colleagues opposed but that included provisions on ethanol--the fuel additive made from corn--that most of his constituents support.

Daschle, who is up for re-election in 2004, handled the issue gingerly, saying he "reluctantly" supported the bill and quietly voting to end debate even as a majority of Democrats voted to sustain a filibuster.

Despite the final total, GOP leaders were actually just two votes shy of the 60 needed to end the filibuster....

To secure the 60 votes needed to win Senate passage, Republican leaders included generous provisions for ethanol to win votes from Daschle and other Midwestern Democrats.

The bill would require a more than doubling of ethanol production by 2012, providing a major economic boost farm states....

Schumer's victory on the cloture vote certainly strengthened Daschle's hand on Capitol Hill, dealing Republicans in the White House and in Congress a stinging rebuke. But the victory in Washington could weaken Daschle in his home state if the bill and its ethanol provisions are sunk.

"The ethanol provisions [in the bill] are the best thing for American farmers that we will ever see," Domenici warned....

Agricultural lobbyists--who represent South Dakota's leading industry--said Daschle could suffer from political backlash if Republicans do not succeed in passing the energy bill. That would especially be true among corn farmers, who would see their profits soar under the bill as the price per bushel increased.

Those affiliated with the state's burgeoning ethanol industry may also take their anger out on Daschle if an energy bill is not enacted this year, said Lisa Richardson, executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association. She ticked off a number of statistics to underscore her point.

The state currently has seven ethanol plants, and five more are in various stages of development, she said. More than 8,000 farm families have invested in ethanol production in the state. And the industry provides 400 direct jobs at plants and thousands of indirect jobs in rural areas of the state.

"It will be hard to come back to South Dakota without it," Richardson said. "As leader of that side, people expect" him to deliver his party's votes....

Jason Glo[d]t, executive director of the South Dakota Republican Party, said Republicans would "absolutely" use the issue against Daschle in his bid for a fourth term, especially in light of news reports that he did little to pressure his colleagues to support the bill.

"He's basically running his campaign on his ability to deliver for South Dakota," Glo[d]t said. "This energy bill goes directly to the issue of whether or not he can deliver for South Dakota, whether or not he has any clout."

...

Less than one year out from his next contest, [Daschle] is considered the clear front-runner. He has drawn no top-tier challengers, has a sizable treasury and is already airing campaign ads on television -- the first of which touted his longtime advocacy for ethanol.

But Daschle could falter if a certain Republican -- popular former Rep. John Thune (1997-2003) -- were to jump into the race....

Thune spokesman Ryan Nelson said Daschle's failure to enact ethanol legislation would factor into his boss's decision on whether to mount a Senate bid and also said Thune would "absolutely" make it an issue if he runs.

"If he can only convince less than a quarter of his caucus that ethanol is a good thing for America, I think that is a failure," Nelson said. "He's not lifting a finger to convince his caucus that this is the right thing for his country."

Daschle validated that claim to some extent the morning of the cloture vote, when he took to the floor to notify his colleagues that he would vote for cloture but that he understood their choice to mount a filibuster and respected them for it.