South Dakota Politics

Insiders Criticizing Daschle

From the The Hill:

Some Democratic aides say Daschle’s organization became too focused on home-state concerns as Daschle’s own Senate seat became increasingly in peril.

“The way Daschle press shop was set up, it was too slow,” said one Democratic press secretary. “It was too narrow. They just didn’t do enough for other members. The message always just seemed to be Daschle’s message — as opposed to the message of the party.”

One Senate Democratic aide said Daschle’s press shop became more disciplined and active with the arrivals of communications director Todd Webster and policy adviser Phil Schiliro. But, “The perception is it probably all happened a little late,” said the aide.

An aide close to Daschle declined to provide a comment on suggestions that Daschle’s press aides could have communicated the Democratic message more effectively.

Over the last year, Daschle’s staff focused on building and coordinating a Democratic message between the House and Senate, and between various Senate Democratic offices, many of which failed to agree on policy and tactics. One Democratic Senate aide pointed to passage of the controversial prescription drug law — an issue the aide said the GOP had “stolen.”

“If the caucus had stuck together in opposition to the Republican plan, it wouldn’t — shouldn’t — have happened,” said the aide.

Reader Comments on "inferiority complex" Theory

Here are a couple of representative comments from the mailbag on the post this morning about an alleged South Dakota "inferiority complex" causing Daschle's defeat:

Secularists/adherents of naturalism will use ANY way they can to discount
non-material reality such  as love, morals, principles, justice, etc.  The
commentaries you cited all resort to this device.  It is so prevalent in the
post-modern era we sometimes fail to notice it.  I would guess that the
majority of South Dakotans are decidedly inhabitants of a world that rejects the presuppositions of postmodernism.  So, when Uncle Tom identified more closely with his DC postmodernist buddies more than with his constituents, South Dakotans felt the mismatch and decided to line things up more the way they had been (or seemed to have been) when Daschle was first elected. Thune did a good job revealing Daschle for who he is.

Here is another from a reader who farms near my parents' hometown of Winfred, South Dakota (more on Winfred here):

Since when do we assign inferiority complexes to people who demand honesty and forthrightness from the politicians they send to represent them in Washington.  I have a big problem with those who say we have an inferiority complex when we simply want integrity.  Daschle became a liberal Democrat, whether by intent or not, as he moved up in the Democrat party ranks.  He did get “too big for his britches” in some people’s minds as shown by his lifestyle in Washington DC and his sometimes condescending attitude.   But most simply felt that Daschle now embraced ideas and values contrary to theirs and was not the same person as they elected 20+ years ago.  To want a senator with views similar to mine and the majority of South Dakotan’s does not mean we have an inferiority complex.  We are an intelligent, reasonable people in this state and deserve credit for such in this election.

Democrats to Rely More on Bloggers

From today's edition of The Hotline:

Incoming-Sen Min Leader Harry Reid (NV) "is forming a communications 'war room' to promote Democrats' messages and respond to Republican criticism." The "center will be launched" 1/4/05. Jim Manley, press secretary for Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), "has been hired as a staff director for the center" that will be located on Capitol Hill. Phil Singer, ex-media adviser to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), "will be communications director, handling 'rapid response.'" A "15-member message team will include press aides who will publicize Democratic activities to Internet news organizations and bloggers," Reid said. Reid press sec., Tessa Hafen, "will focus on Nevada media and regional news outlets" (Tetreault, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 11/30).

New dictionary term: "blog"

CNN is reporting:

A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops U.S. dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 words of the year.

Merriam-Webster Inc. said on Tuesday that blog, defined as "a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks," was one of the most looked-up words on its Internet sites this year.

Eight entries on the publisher's top-10 list related to major news events, from the presidential election -- represented by words such as incumbent and partisan -- to natural phenomena such as hurricane and cicada.

Springfield, Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster compiles the list each year by taking the most researched words on its Web sites and then excluding perennials such as affect/effect and profanity.

The company said most online dictionary queries were for uncommon terms, but people also turned to its Web sites for words in news headlines.

"That is what occurred in this year's election cycle ... with voluminous hits for words like 'incumbent,' 'electoral,' 'partisan,' and, of course, our number one Word of the Year, 'blog,"' Merriam-Webster President and Publisher John Morse said in a statement.

Americans called up blogs in droves for information and laughs ahead of the November 2 presidential election.

Freed from the constraints that govern traditional print and broadcast news organizations, blogs spread gossip while also serving as an outlet for people increasingly disenchanted with mainstream media.

Washingtonian

From the December issue of the Washingtonian comes an article entitled "Driving a Jag and Making a Million or More a Year":

Watch for Washington kingmaker Bob Barnett to play a key role in finding a new position for former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle.

One of the issues that led to Daschle's defeat in South Dakota was the recent purchase of a $2-million Foxhall Road mansion plus his wife's blue Jaguar that sits in the driveway. Now that he has been defeated, friends say, he might finally be able to pay for his family's new toys.

Barnett spent much of the preelection season shopping one of Daschle's colleagues, retiring Louisiana senator John Breaux. Asking price for Breaux was said to be $1 million to $1.5 million a year.

Showing lots of interest in Breaux was the law/lobbying firm of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz. One of Baker Donelson's most sought-after lobbyists is aviation expert Linda Daschle, the one-time beauty queen and wife of Tom Daschle.

Unlike Breaux, Daschle is not an attorney--so he might not attract offers quite as high as for Breaux, whose wheeler-dealer Louisiana persona is tailor-made for lobbying.

Daschle is more cerebral than your average politician, and he has a keen interest in writing and history. One possibility, friends say, would be to succeed Lawrence Small as head of the Smithsonian. But he might well be recruited to head Common Cause or some other good-government group.

Breaux received a yearly Senate salary of $158,100; as leader, Daschle got $175,700. The tears Daschle might be shedding over his November defeat may be dried by Barnett, who negotiated a book advance of $500,000 for Daschle in 2002, when he was still considered a prospect for the presidency.

The Great Seal

A reader sent along the following image:

SDP becomes a group effort

Professor Lauck has closed up shop at DVT, and will continue blogging here at SDP.  Be sure to read his inaugural post immediately below.  Other new bloggers will be joining up, too, so keep coming back here for your daily Dakota Alliance dose.

Meanwhile, legendary KELO anchor emeritus Steve Hemmingsen has another great new contribution up at his "Weighing In" website (or is it a blog?) headlined "The Opera Ain't Over."  I've never met Hemmingsen, but my instinct has always been that he's a good guy (which I thought would come across in past posts I've written about him), so I'm a bit puzzled by his comment to the effect that the Dakota Alliance is "mildly anti-Hemmingsen."  Anyway, read Hemmingsen, and welcome aboard, Professor Lauck!

Psych 101

Ah yes, the view is quite nice over here at SDP.  Now to that question I'd like your thoughts on. 

Some Senate race commentators closely adhered to a psychological theory of the election, claiming that an "inferiority complex" explained the result.  Daschle supporter Sam Hurst said that when politicians “lose touch with the soil,” South Dakotans vote them out, which “fits our insecurities.”[1]  The editor of the Argus Leader only half-jokingly cited the “lutefisk factor,” noting that “back here in South Dakota, the idea that our senior senator drove a Jaguar and lived in a $1.9 million house in Washington– the in-your-face message of relentless ad campaign in the final weeks before the election – took root.”  Daschle had embraced “a lifestyle that appeared to be flamboyant and, in the end, un-Norwegian.”  He cited the comments of the Mobridge Tribune editor that “We’ve got this inferiority complex in South Dakota.  We think that when somebody gets too big for their britches, we have to knock them down.”[2]  Chuck Raasch, a former South Dakota reporter then with Gannett News Service in Washington, found in the “Daschle and McGovern defeats the double-edged complex of inferiority and superiority” in the South Dakota, which “produces a culture that rewards the conflicting traits of modesty, industry and success against the odds, while punishing inattention, self-importance and distance.  Call it the ‘Big Britches Syndrome.’”[3]  Dave Kranz also concluded that “voters said [Daschle] was getting too big for his britches.”[4]  Doug Grow, a former South Dakotan who went to work for the Minneapolis newspaper, said that “Daschle got too big for his britches.”  From the Twin Cities, Grow sneered: “Modesty is the state’s No. 1 value.  Mediocrity is all South Dakotans feel they deserve. … Real South Dakotans don’t join country clubs.  They buy their suits at Penney’s and sit down to dinners of roast beef and mashed potatoes.”[5]  Such commentaries, it seems to me, do not adequately address the inherent conflict between Daschle’s increasingly liberal record and the conservative tendencies of his state.  Moreover, what they see as an “inferiority complex” seems to be good old-fashioned Dakota populism, a questioning of a man’s commitments to his state when he had been gone so long, rubbed shoulders with too many movie stars, and seemingly enriched himself with the benefits of power.  Such commentaries also miss the enormous changes in Daschle's voting record since he was first elected to office, which caused people to question what he actually believed in and eroded his credibility.  Such pop-psych Freudianisms as "inferiority complexes," one could argue, are simply devices for avoiding cold hard truths.  But hey, what do you think?  Comments welcome.

---

[1] Rapid City Journal, November 17, 2004. 

[2] Argus Leader, November 7, 2004. 

[3] Argus Leader, November 14, 2004.

[4] Argus Leader, November 7, 2004.

[5] Minneapolis Star-Tribune, November 7, 2004.

Base closings may present opportunity for Ellsworth

The LA Times recently published an article about the next round of military base closings in 2005, under the headline "The Race to Steal Bases Heats Up." Apparently, California is seen as the most vulnerable state in terms of base closures. The main premise of the article is that other states are circling like vultures to grab the remains of whatever is left of the bases that end up closing. It seems that, contrary to what the Daschle campaign was saying about Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City being vulnerable to closure, Ellsworth is in a position of strength, because it may have a mission added to its role that was formerly the mission of a base closed in California. Then there's this passage in the LAT article:

But key states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and Texas that voted for Bush are not supposed to get any favors. And liberal states such as California are not supposed to be punished. Indeed, politics and lobbying will play no role in the evaluations, said Raymond DuBois, the Pentagon's chief architect for the coming base closures. The agency has sealed off lobbyists and consultants from the secret analytical work being done by the military services and seven specialized cross-service teams inside the Defense Department. Their recommendations are expected in a few months. "Anyone who wants to trust us can appreciate the fact that we have wrapped this process in a pretty tight seal," DuBois said in an interview. In February, the Defense Department published a list of eight official criteria it would use to evaluate base closures, nearly all of them involving military or economic issues. DuBois added that cities that hired lobbyists or promised lavish spending programs to keep bases were just wasting their money. "We cannot take into account promises of future investments," he said. "I don't want wealthier states outbidding other areas."

It has been reported that the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce plans to spend $1.3 million on lobbyists to protect Ellsworth.

Sen. Cornyn: Red state Dems an "endangered species"

The Washington Times has an article today headlined "For Democrats in red states, 2006 daunting."  Excerpt:

"They have something to worry about, and they need look no farther than Tom Daschle," said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, referring to this month's defeat of the Senate minority leader from the red state of South Dakota, which Mr. Bush won by 22 percentage points.

"Any Democratic senator running for re-election in a state where the president did extremely well has got to know they are an endangered species," he said.

Dems hold grudge against Frist

An editorial from yesterday's edition of the New York Times headlined "Senator Frist Tightens the Screws" discusses the ramifications of Frist's visit to South Dakota to campaign for John Thune.  Excerpt:

But nastiness is in the air as the new Congress limbers up. Democrats vow to never forget Dr. Frist's foray into South Dakota to help unhorse his counterpart, Tom Daschle, the minority leader, whose farewell speech was boycotted by a victorious, decidedly unsentimental majority. Dr. Frist, who many expect to run for president next time, seems beyond the range of minority Democrats, but not G.O.P. moderates seething at the rules change.

The Economist mentions Dakota Alliance

The Economist has an article in this week's edition headlined "Dropping the Anchorman" about the effect of the blogs in this election year.  Relevant graf:

All through the recent election campaign, the new media outsmarted the old media when it came to setting the news agenda. Republican strategists admit that the Swift Boat veterans' attacks on John Kerry, largely ignored by the old media, would never have got anywhere without the online Drudge Report. Drudge was also instrumental in turning the “60 Minutes” story into an embarrassment for the Democrats, not Mr Bush. Local bloggers also had an effect; in South Dakota, for instance, they repeatedly highlighted Tom Daschle's partisan record in Washington, DC, something that the Democratic Senate majority leader's friends in the local print media had never laboured to expose.

UPDATE: DVT points to an article in World Magazine that also mentions the effect of the Dakota Alliance under the headline "Year of the Blog."  Excerpt:

Not only nationally oriented blogs have an influence. In South Dakota, local blogs took on Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in his reelection bid. Their scrutiny of his record and their championing the cause of his opponent, Republican John Thune, made him the second Senate leader to be brought down by bloggers.

The Hill

The Hill, a Washington, D.C. publication, has an article today headlined "Daschle aides get parting gift."

Brokaw

Here's what NBC's Tom Brokaw, a South Dakota native, had to say on Imus the day after the election:

IMUS: Daschle lost, is that final?

BROKAW: Yes.

IMUS: He did? You`re saying yes, you say no.

MATTHEWS: I`m saying yes. It hasn`t been called yet, but I guess we stopped calling.

BROKAW: Yes. But he did lose and Thune is going to win there. He ran a very strong campaign at the end. I think Tom Daschle has been an excellent senator from South Dakota. He`s devoted a lot there. He`s a great retail politician.

But John Thune was a strong candidate. Former basketball star, ran strongly against Tim Johnson.

MATTHEWS: Yes.

BROKAW: He came back this time. And Tom Daschle and his wife filed for the homestead exemption in the District of Columbia, which meant that they had to say we`re residents of D.C., and in South Dakota, that doesn`t go over well.

Coasties cringe at pheasant hunting

Bryce Lambley, a guest columnist for the Fremont (Neb.) Tribune makes the following observation in a column headlined "Politicians seek votes from outdoorsmen":

That might also put the majority of media on both coasts in the awkward spot of having to give hunting legitimate coverage. A post-election interview with Senator-elect John Thune, who unseated Tom Daschle in South Dakota, seemed to catch MSNBC's Chris Mathews off-guard when Thune said his next order of business was to go pheasant hunting. Mathews wanted to know what he did with the birds and Thune replied, "We clean them and eat them. You should try it some time."

Quote of the Day

"In some of [Daschle's] ads it sounded like South Dakota wouldn't be able to function without him.  It was like somehow the state would fall apart, and we owed him our votes. There was something patronizing about the way Daschle ran his campaign, like he was saying, 'You people need me in order to survive out there in the sticks of South Dakota.'" - Northern State University political science professor Jon Schaaf, quoted in an AP story today headlined "Daschle's political demise also marks the end for others."

Local lefties compare Thune to Hitler, KKK

First, it was Senator Tim Johnson who compared Republicans to the Taliban.  Then it was Argus Leader executive editor Randell Beck, known to frequent the local yuppie coffeehouse with Tim Johnson, who said "If Hitler were alive today, he'd have his own blog."  In response, one wag noted that "According to Godwin's Law, an Internet discussion-group dictum that long predates blogging, when one side in an argument invokes Hitler, it proves he's lost."  Well, today we're seeing abundant proof that the liberals in South Dakota have lost the argument.  Dailycaucus.com, touted as the left's answer to the Dakota Blog Alliance, has posted a cartoon comparing Senator-elect John Thune to Hitler and Ku Klux Klan.  The cartoon is below: 

From Taliban comparisons to Hitler comparisons, I think the Democrats and their fellow travelers in the local media in this state are headed for a steep decline, and apparently have no wish to be taken seriously any time soon.  Of course, David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, who eagerly reports on those who say stupid things about Stephanie Herseth, will no doubt studiously ignore this development.

UPDATE: More at DVT, Ryne McClaren, and Q.

Democratic interpretation of Daschle's defeat

Heritage Foundation scholar Michael Frank was quoted in a piece about newly minted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid today regarding how the Democrats will interpret Daschle's defeat.  Relevant graf:

"The test there," he said, "is what lessons did the Democratic Caucus as a whole take from Daschle's defeat. If they can rationalize to themselves that his loss has nothing to do with blocking and obstructing judges then they will behave the same way."

But if Daschle's defeat is viewed as a "political referendum on the obstructionist strategy, then [Reid] may be a little more cautious about picking his fights," Franc said. He said it is too early to tell how Daschle's loss is being interpreted by Democrats.

Karl Struble, Daschle's media consultant, claims that Daschle's defeat is something of an aberration.  Here's what Struble was quoted as saying in Roll Call recently (Via DVT):

“You can overanalyze South Dakota, because in this case you had somebody who was a national leader,” said Democratic media consultant Karl Struble, who handled the television strategy for Daschle. For someone like Daschle, it is “easier to ascribe the national party agenda” to them.

It seems Struble is saying that it's harder for red-state Dems to lie about their positions when those red-state Dems are national leaders, who for some strange reason are easily ascribed with the national party agenda.  (Gee, maybe the national party agenda was easily ascribed to Daschle as a consequence of him wholeheartedly embracing that agenda.)  Ultimately, it seems the Dems are interpreting Daschle's loss as an aberration.  Hopefully, they'll keep kidding themselves like this.

Nofziger analysis

DVT points to a recent New York Times op-ed written by Lyn Nofziger, in which Nofziger discusses the ramifications of Daschle's defeat.  Nofizeger's piece is headlined "Bush's Trouble Ahead."  Excerpt:

In reality, the president can thank Republican gains in the Senate and House for giving credibility to his claims of a mandate. The defeat of the Senate minority leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, was, next to Mr. Bush's own win, the Republicans' most significant victory. For all his soft-spoken ways and claims of wanting to work with Mr. Bush, Senator Daschle was a consistent, effective and highly partisan obstructionist who blocked not only legislation but also presidential appointments, primarily those of conservative federal judges.

With Mr. Daschle gone and with the addition of four Republican senators giving the party a 10-vote margin in the Senate, Mr. Bush will probably no longer have to contend with Democratic filibusters preventing the Senate from voting on his judicial appointees.

This is especially significant because during the next four years many expect three or perhaps four Supreme Court vacancies. It is a stretch, however, to think that the Senate will view the election results as a mandate for Mr. Bush to appoint whomever he wants to the courts. For one thing, the new Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee will be the liberal and unpredictable Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. And while some may think that Senator Daschle's loss will serve as a warning to Democrats hoping to defy the president, it seems clear that he lost not because of his record of opposition but because he lost touch with his constituents.

South Dakota History

Be sure to read a fascinating article in the South Dakota History journal written by Jon Lauck, John E. Miller and Edward Hogan entitled "Historical Musings: The Contours of South Dakota Political Culture." 

Frum on Daschle

The National Review's David Frum has the following commentary on Daschle's exit:

Tom Daschle headed the majority party in the US Senate from the summer of 2001 until the 2002 elections. Under his leadership, the Senate voted “aye” for two major military actions, one in Afghanistan and then another in Iraq. If memory serves, no other Senate leader in American history has twice been called on to make the momentous decision for war or peace. Daschle spent hours in consultation with the president over war strategy; his own office was targeted by the still-mysterious anthrax terror attacks. Except for the last, his speech referred to none of these grand and historic events.

Instead, Daschle spoke only of how moved he was that Americans “came together” in the wake of the attacks. And indeed, those moments of national solidarity were moving. But precisely because they were so moving, they forced the question: Now what? Daschle’s speech suggests that he was never very interested in the answer to that question. And that in short form is his party’s problem: For all that Dems insist that they have overcome their dovish and isolationist history, it remains the case that the defense of the nation remains a subject about which they prefer not to speak.

Apologies, apologies

Reader Blaine Wilson of Sioux Falls sends along his apologies for voting for Thune:

TO ALL DASCHLE SUPPORTERS

I would like to apologize for the following:

1.) I was not aware that Tom Daschle's Senate seat was his birthright.  I was under the impression that the Constitution required him to stand for election every 6 years against anyone willing and able to run.

2.)  I did not realize that I was supposed to just blindly go in and fill in the circle by Tom's name.  I held the obviously unreasonable assumption that it was my responsibility to reasearch and evaluate each candidate's positions and voting records and choose a candidate whose beliefs were most consistent with my own.

3.)  I had not heard that "clout" and the ability to bring truckloads of money back to the state were the only true measures of a Senator's ability. I just thought maybe the ability to keep some of my own money in my own pocket would be kind of nice.

4.)  I didn't know that I was supposed to leave my faith at home when I went to vote.  It's just that nagging detail about my beliefs (see apology #2)being based on them. 

5.)  I had no idea that my intelligence or levels was derived from my voting patterns.  Silly me.  You mean it isn't from my education, training, or other experiences?

6.)  No one had ever told me that South Dakota's image or sense of
self-worth as a state was directly proportionate to Tom Daschle's stature. Boy, am I glad I know that now.  I used to think it came from me and the other hard-working folks of South Dakota.  Does this mean I have to move?

I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.  I swear I'll try to do better next time.

Citizens' media

Jeff Jarvis, the creator of Entertainment Weekly, has an interesting article headlined "The news as conversation" about blogs, or what he calls "citizens' media."  The most intriguing passage is about the effect of blogs at the local level.  Relevant excerpt:

...I believe the real and lasting political impact of citizens' media will be felt locally, as town and state candidates use these tools to raise money, and get supporters out on the stump, and talk with voters. I don't know my state and county officials; do you know yours? A simple blog will help turn a faceless local pol into a neighbor and a campaign into a conversation.

Nationally and locally, candidates will continue to use blogs to get their messages to voters - bypassing the old gatekeepers of the news media. When enough candidates are elected because of blogs, we'll find this new medium creeping into government, too. I recently sent letters to my senator and congressman protesting the Federal Communications Commission's censorship of TV, and I waited weeks to get back letters explaining their positions. How much more efficient, informative and interactive it would be for those lawmakers to post their stands and responses on blogs for all their voters to see.

Prof: Dems "can't be obstructionist"

The AP has a report headlined "Democrats' Choice: Dig in or Work With GOP."  Excerpt:

"Once they get out of the fetal position, which is what they're in right now, the Democrats in Congress are really going to have start catching the pitches that are thrown by the president," said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.

"They can't be obstructionist," Baker said, but should capitalize on the fact that President Bush's second-term proposals to overhaul the tax code and add private accounts to Social Security "are fairly radical things" that could be troublesome for Republican lawmakers seeking re-election in 2006.

Daschle farewell

The AP has published this photo taken at the conclusion of Senator Daschle's farewell remarks.  You can access a transcript of the tribute to Tom Daschle by his colleagues by clicking HERE.

Lalley: Blogs affected Argus Leader's election coverage

The National Journal has published an article on the Dakota Blog Alliance headlined "Bloggers Targeted Daschle and the Press."  You can read it in full below:

South Dakota Republicans opened a new and potentially powerful front in the war over public opinion during their successful bid to oust Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in the November 2 election. Not only did they orchestrate a highly effective, Internet-based campaign against Daschle, but they also targeted the state's largest newspaper and primary news source, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

GOP activists in the state -- several of whom were paid thousands of dollars by Sen.-elect John Thune's campaign committee for research consulting -- launched an unprecedented assault on the Argus Leader. Through an alliance of South Dakota-based Web logs, or blogs, and a pseudo-news Web site, the activists hammered away continuously at the paper's coverage of Daschle and raised persistent questions about the objectivity of its writers.

The effort, which could test the limits of federal campaign finance
regulation of Internet activities, played a crucial role in shaping the news
coverage of the race. Commenting on the bloggers, Argus Leader Assistant Managing Editor Patrick Lalley said, "I don't think there's any way to say they didn't" affect the paper's coverage of the election.

The use of blogs to help shape media coverage and force issues to the front of a campaign has not gone unnoticed. A blog called DaytonvKennedy recently sprang up in Minnesota in advance of the expected 2006 race between Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton and GOP Rep. Mark Kennedy. Republican strategists said the blog phenomenon could be duplicated in many other states, particularly ones with smaller populations and just one or two dominant media outlets.

Thune's campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, called the blog's influence in the South Dakota race a "continuation of the diffusing of information
sources.... My first exposure to these blogs was in this campaign. And I don't think they're going to do anything but get bigger."

South Dakota Republicans have long chafed at the Argus Leader's political coverage, complaining among themselves that the paper has too liberal a slant for an outlet covering politics in a heavily conservative state. Their anger was magnified by the fact that the newspaper is the proverbial
800-pound gorilla in South Dakota's media room; virtually all of the state's other, smaller newspapers and television outlets essentially follow the paper's lead.

Almost every election cycle in South Dakota over the past two and a half decades has spawned its own media-bias complaints, including charges during the 1990 Senate race that led to a spate of stories, including items in the The New York Times and Roll Call, questioning the Argus Leader's objectivity.

With the rise of the "blogosphere" as a cultural phenomenon over the past two years, GOP activists seized on the use of blogs in the Daschle-Thune race as a solution to what they saw as their Argus Leader problem. In December 2002, state activists launched their first such blog, SouthDakotaPolitics. [No "state activists" launched SDP.  I launched SDP on my own, without consulting anyone. I was a nobody law student at USD when I began my blog, and basically started it on what can best be described as a whim.-ed] In his inaugural posting, site operator Jason Van Beek fired the first shot in the war against the Argus Leader."One of the themes of this blog will be the lazy journalism practiced by South Dakota's flagship newspaper, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader," Van Beek wrote. For the better part of the next year, Van Beek was the state activists' primary blogger, as he maintained a running critique of the paper's political coverage and of its top political reporter, David Kranz. Van Beek even started a "Kranz Watch" on the site and tracked not so much what Kranz wrote about Daschle, but rather the stories that Van Beek and other Republicans thought the paper should have covered but didn't.

Within a year, Van Beek was joined by a handful of other GOP bloggers, most notably University of South Dakota history professor Jon Lauck, who started DaschlevThune in January 2004. Lauck, like Van Beek and the other bloggers, made criticism of the Argus Leader a central aspect of their blogging.

Lauck, who quickly became one of the most public figures in the state's
blogger community, said he and others began writing about the race in hopes of starting a "populist prairie fire" that would challenge not only Daschle but also the newspaper. "There was all this stuff out there that was negative about Daschle ... that the Argus refused to run," Lauck charged, pointing to stories that ran in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and other outlets, and that predated stories in the Argus Leader, about Daschle's role in resisting the GOP agenda in the Senate.

Lauck, Van Beek, and other conservative activists in the state also tout a series of stories written by Jeff Gannon, the Washington bureau chief for TalonNews.com, as their ultimate proof of bias at the Argus Leader. The series, penned in summer 2003, alleged that Kranz, who went to college with Daschle, was not just sympathetic to his friend but was an actual part of Daschle's larger campaign machine.

However, TalonNews is not the independent news source it purports to be. It's run by GOPUSA, a conservative political publishing and consulting firm. While the Bush administration has provided Gannon with press credentials, the nonpartisan U.S. Senate Daily Press Gallery has rejected Gannon's repeated requests for congressional press credentials because of TalonNews' financial ties to GOPUSA.

But then, this past spring, Van Beek unearthed a series of memos from the 1970s that, according to Van Beek and Gannon, showed that Kranz had consulted on press strategy with aides to former Rep. James Abourezk, D-S.D. In the memos, aides refer to Kranz as a "good Democrat" whom Abourezk's office should work with.

The publication of the memos, as well as growing attention to the
Daschle-Thune race by national bloggers and conservative media outlets, prompted an angry response from Argus Leader Executive Editor Randell Beck. On a radio call-in show, Beck defended Kranz, called the memos "crap," and accused the bloggers of being part of an organized right-wing effort looking to damage the newspaper.

Kranz, who declined to talk during the race about the blogger attacks,
acknowledged in an interview that he has known Daschle for many years. "I'm not going to sit here and say that some of the connects on me didn't have some truth to them," Kranz said of the blog postings. "But a lot of them didn't." [Surely Kranz isn't attempting to claim the Bombshell Memos didn't have some truth to them, is he?  It would be nice to know which ones supposedly didn't.-ed]

Kranz also said he was approached during the campaign by some state
Republican officials who felt he was being attacked unfairly. He says he
rejected an offer from these GOP officials to try to quiet down the
bloggers. Although he refuted many of the accusations against him, Kranz said it would be inappropriate for a reporter to try to silence a critic.  [Really? Kranz refuted many of the accusations against him? This is the first I've heard of it. Which one of the Bombshell Memos did he "refute"?-ed.]  "That is what our job is all about -- protecting freedom of speech," Kranz said.

Shortly after the spat over the memos, Thune campaign manager Wadhams offered to pay Lauck and Van Beek as research consultants to Thune's campaign. The two men agreed, and, according to Lauck, they assisted in conducting research on Daschle and helped Republicans prepare for a series of candidate debates. According to documents that the Thune campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission, the campaign paid the two men $35,000-- $27,000 to Lauck and $8,000 to Van Beek -- between June and October of this year.

An August 9 Argus Leader story discussed Lauck's financial relationship with the Thune campaign, and Lauck later mentioned the relationship on his site. But neither DaschlevThune nor SouthDakotaPolitics included a disclaimer or other standing mention during the election that Thune's campaign was employing the authors.

Wadhams, Lauck, and Van Beek maintain there was no connection between the bloggers' research duties for Thune and their blog postings. They also say that the FEC has received no complaints alleging wrongdoing. Lauck, though, admits that his blogging benefited from the relationship. "I wouldn't have had access to a lot of the information if I hadn't been with the campaign," he said in an interview.

Reporters at the Argus Leader and other outlets, however, say they
recognized a pattern, beginning in the summer, that showed how the campaign and the blogs put out their message. First, the blogs would pounce on a particular story, and conservative radio talk shows would pick it up. Thune operatives would then weave the issues into their attacks on Daschle. Wadhams even hired the polling firm Public Opinion Strategies to conduct a poll on voters' opinions of the newspaper -- a poll that, according to Lauck, found that 55 percent of respondents saw the paper as biased.

"What it came down to was a disinformation campaign waged by the Republican Party in concert with Dick Wadhams," charged an Argus Leader source, who asked not to be identified. "The strategy seemed to be to use the Internet to disseminate the message and manipulate public perception under the guise of some sort of public groundswell, and then affirm the message in debates and other public pronouncements." [It's understandable why this person did not want to be identified, because then that person would have to explain what "disinformation" he's talking about.  My hunch is that the blind quote here was made by AL executive editor Randell Beck, who has been blog-swarmed in the past for falsely claiming that the AL had covered Daschle's fundraiser in the Hamptons "at least twice."-ed]

Argus Leader reporters said the pressure from the blogs increased until a "siege mentality" took over at the paper, according to one source. Complaints flooded the paper's office, and anti-Argus Leader pieces became a regular feature of the letters-to-the-editor section.

As the election entered the homestretch, Thune was clearly making inroads with the help of his campaign's relentless attacks on Daschle's ties to official Washington. The blogs and conservative pundits took Daschle to task over his wife's lobbying activities in the House, and they accused the Argus Leader of ignoring the story -- despite the fact that the newspaper's Washington reporter, Mike Madden, had written a lengthy front-page piece months earlier on Linda Daschle, a lobbyist in Washington with the firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. Still, the Argus Leader published a second story on Linda Daschle -- a story that, sources say, was a result of the bloggers' criticisms.  [The chronology here is wrong.  The blogs did not accuse the AL of ignoring all of Linda Daschle's lobbying activities after Madden's report in June of 2003.  The blogs did consistently criticize the AL for consistently burying a report that Linda Daschle had lobbied on behalf of Schering-Plough, while Kranz falsely implied that John Thune lobbied for pharmaceutical companies in one of his columns.  In a telling example of the AL's pro-Daschle bias, the AL published a Los Angeles Times report on relatives of lawmakers being lobbyists as a companion piece with Madden's report on Linda Daschle.  The AL's editors actually changed the text of the LAT story to make it less damaging for Daschle.  Furthermore, the AL needed no prompting to publish two front page stories about Thune being a lobbyist, and in the waning days of the campaign, Daschle relentlessly attacked Thune for "getting rich" from lobbying, and falsely implying that Thune lobbied for pharmaceutical companies.-ed] 

Then, when TalonNews ran stories on Sen. Daschle's decision to claim a special tax credit on his home in Washington, the Argus Leader decided it had to write its own story, too. Because the tax credit applies only to a
primary residence, it fit perfectly with the "out-of-touch" theme that
dominated bloggers' criticism of Daschle. Earlier Argus Leader stories had mentioned the issue [That statement is patently false-ed]. Said an Argus Leader source, "I didn't think where he lived deserved its own headline, but I also don't think we ignored it." [Well, the simple fact is that it was ignored for over a year until Thune issued a press release on the matter-ed]  Still, the TalonNews piece "forced our hand. I can't deny that," the source said.

Although no one believes that the Argus Leader flap was the deciding factor in the race, the state's bloggers and media sources both said the campaign against the newspaper played a key role in the GOP's message-control effort to persuade voters to elect Thune over Daschle.

Daschle to deliver farewell on Senate floor this afternoon

Senator Daschle will deliver his farewell address to the Senate sometime this afternoon, which you can view on C-Span2.

Thune staff

The Rapid City Journal has a report today headlined "Thune names staff members."

The Magnificent Seven

A Knight-Ridder story headlined "Congressional freshmen confront traditions of their institution" accompanies the photo above.  Senator George Allen was handing out "game balls" to the new senators, embossed with each senator-elect's margin of victory.

Hartford Courant on Daschle's defeat

The Hartford (CT) Courant has an interesting report today headlined "Senate Voice Of Outrage Silenced By Defeat" (registration).  Excerpt:

How, Democrats are asking, should they move, not only philosophically, but stylistically? Should members match the Republicans in volume and, some would say, stridency? Or stick to the Daschle model of trying to have it both ways, of working inside the strange, complex system that is Congress while also speaking out - and alienating - the opposition?

[...]

Daschle is around Washington this week but he's not talking much. Reid and his team are the spokesmen, and Republicans are eager to work with them - though not for the reasons Democrats hope.

"Sen. Daschle was the chief obstructionist for so much of what we want to do," said Allen, who headed the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. "A message was sent, and usually after an election like this, people get the message."

MPR on Thune

"Thune sees victory as a mandate and a warning": Minnesota Public Radio has this report.

Thune's rock star status

Ryne McClaren:

"[C]ompare the coverage of Thune with those of the new Golden Child of the Democratic party and fellow Senate freshman Barak Obama. Besides us South Dakota wonks, who would have dreamed that the little state would produce a young Republican rock star with early Rookie of the Year credentials, and before his predecessor has even left office!

AP compares Daschle's defeat to Speaker Foley's defeat

"Foley Sees Parallels in Daschle's Defeat": The AP has this fascinating report.  Excerpt:

For Tom Foley, Election Night was a bitter replay of a moment he would rather forget.

Ten years after the former Democratic House speaker was turned out of office in a humiliating defeat, Foley watched as Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle was vanquished in a race with parallels to his own.

In each case, voters more conservative than the veteran lawmaker representing them punished a leader they perceived as more in touch with the capital than his home state.

If anyone understands Daschle's pain, it is Foley. His 1994 defeat made him the first sitting House speaker since 1862 to lose a bid for re-election. Daschle, D-S.D., was the first party leader in the Senate to lose re-election in more than 50 years....

Foley said Daschle, who lost to former Rep. John Thune, suffered from many of the factors that ultimately felled him: Voters either did not appreciate or understand the value of service as party leader, a role that sometimes caused both men to act in ways contrary to their own political survival.

"I think sometimes there's a difficulty in understanding what a state receives from having a majority leader in the Senate or a speaker of the House - or that those things viewed as not as important as they once were," Foley said....

The twin defeats - a decade apart - offer Democrats a sobering lesson, Foley said.

"When I lost the principal problem was in the rural counties," just as it was for Daschle, he said. "That's the thing that Democrats have to be concerned about around the country: the growing split between rural and urban.

"We need to examine how it was are responding to this division ... particularly the sense in some rural areas that the Democratic Party is not a party that respects faith or family or has respect for values. I think that's wrong, but it's a dangerous perception if it develops as it has," he said.

DVT's 26 factors in Thune's win

The indefatigable DVT lists 26 factors explaining how John Thune defeated Senator Daschle.

Transcript of Thune's appearance on "Hannity & Colmes"

Below is the transcript of Senator-elect Thune's appearance on "Hannity & Colmes" last night:

We're now joined by the man who sent Tom Daschle back home to South Dakota, Republican Senator-elect John Thune.

Senator, how are you?

SENATOR-ELECT JOHN THUNE (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: Doing well, Sean. Thank you.

HANNITY: You're not sworn in, but it's all right. I can say that, right?

THUNE: Well, Senator-elect, anyway.

HANNITY: Well, congratulations to you.

THUNE: Thank you.

HANNITY: What do you think happened here for Tom Daschle? Did he come -- did he lose touch with the voters of South Dakota? Did he, being an obstructionist, was it a combination? What happened?

THUNE: Well, I think a central theme in the campaign, Sean, was the - - the lack of activity in the United States Senate, the fact that they weren't allowing votes on judges, the fact that they weren't moving energy policy or healthcare reforms.

And I think that caught up; the whole message of obstructionism and gridlock was something that people in South Dakota and people around the country really tuned in to.

And -- and I also think, too, for better or worse, by virtue of his position, having to be the leader of the National Democrat Party and carry the liberal agenda in the United States Senate, was an agenda that was very far out of step with where a majority of South Dakotans were.

And I think that eventually caught up. And we were able to effectively, I think, draw the contrasts and point out the differences and -- and demonstrate to people in South Dakota that the obstructionism wasn't serving their interests and that the voting record was very far left of where they are on the issues.

HANNITY: But Tom did have a pretty good track record of bringing home what we describe as bacon to the state. So you had an uphill battle. Because there was bringing a lot of -- there were a lot of benefits to being in the leadership position that he was in.

And I even read, I think -- what was it -- there were about 15 percent of voters that voted for George W. Bush or a little bit more also voted for Tom Daschle. Considering their differing views, that's pretty substantial.

THUNE: It is. But you know, we have a history in South Dakota. If you look at the Dakotas over time, we consistently have sent Democrats to Washington, D.C.

And I think that when he's been in office for 26 years, you know, held the title, and had $20 million to spend, you know, those were some formidable obstacles that we had to clear.

And there were a lot of Republicans in South Dakota who are persuaded by his argument. And I think, you know, there were some votes that went in his direction as a result of that.

But ultimately, we were able to hold enough of the Republican vote to win some of the conservative Democrats on some of the cultural issues and win enough of the independent vote to get to where we needed to be.

But it was a close election. It was hard fought. It was expensive. And at the end of the day, I think it was decided on the ground. The turnout is what I had said all along, was what was going to turn the election. And I think that really was true.

HANNITY: I watched it from a distance, and I thought you really conducted yourself well. I thought it was a hard fought election. I liked the debate in particular that you guys had on "Meet the Press" that day. I watched it closely. And I thought you handled yourself very well there.

What are the top issues that you think in the country right now, the ones that you want to work with in the country with the president? And what do you think about this divide. We saw a little bit in the last segment or two.

There's -- there is a deep divide in this country. There is great division. There are two competing visions. I've never heard the president attacked the way he was attacked in this election cycle.

Is there anything we can do to stop this, or is it just a case where you've just got to -- you win, your agenda goes forward?

THUNE: Well, I think it's the agenda of the majority of Americans. And it was a decisive win for the president. It was a decisive win in building a majority in the United States Senate, gaining seats in the House.

And I think what that says is that people in this country, or at least the majority of them, want us to govern from right of center. They want to build a coalition that develops solutions that are on the right side of the equation.

And that they were very concerned about the liberal drift, that the country was drifting further and further to the left.

The things that I want to work on are the things that I think people spoke loudly about in this last election. And that is, you know, getting judges confirmed, making sure that they have an up and down vote.

Moving energy policy, moving tax relief that will continue to grow the economy and create jobs. You know, lower health care costs. Social Security reform, the president has talked about tax reform.

I think he has an opportunity to lead in a bold way. And I think that the Congress is prepared to work with him. And I think there's an opportunity to work in a bipartisan way here.

The country is divided. There are some people with different views out there, but that's what these elections are about. They're about differences.

COLMES: Senator-elect, it's Alan Colmes. Good to have you. Welcome to the show, and congratulations on your victory.

How would you describe yourself for those who were not familiar with you? Would you say that you're socially liberal, fiscally conservative? Where do you say you would fall on that political spectrum?

THUNE: I'm a right of center conservative. I think, you know, I served three terms in the House, and if you look at my voting record, I'm fiscally conservative and socially conservative, but you know, willing to be able to work in a legislative body. You've got to be able to find that consensus. And I realize that.

And -- but I do think that when people voted in this election, they wanted to see solutions that were found right of center. I think that's what -- what we're going to do in order to solve problems in this country and meet some of these challenges. We've got to find coalitions.

And I think that is on the political spectrum, where we're going to have the most success.

COLMES: You know, we joke about bipartisanship. And if I say bipartisan, I guess to me that means you think Democratic. If you say bipartisan, you think I'm going to think Republican.

Where in the middle do you actually meet? And how can you really, if you're a social -- if you really believe there's a mandate to go right, and the large number of people voted for John Kerry and a large number of people voted for Tom Daschle, how do you serve those people, as well?

THUNE: Well, I think what you have to do is, you've got to realize that the elections are, you know, that's what this is about. It is about differences. There were some -- some, you know, some real differences in this election. There certainly were in our case -- in our race in South Dakota. And I think there were nationally, too.

But I think, Alan, at the end of the day, what has to happen is that elections are over. We've got to move on. We've got to govern. And you know, we've got majorities in the House and the Senate, although in the Senate, not a large enough majority to stop a filibuster, which means we have to be able to reach out to Democrats.

HANNITY: Senator...

THUNE: And I'm hopeful that we will be able on a lot of these issues that people feel deeply about.

HANNITY: We've got to run.

THUNE: ...to find a right of center solution.

HANNITY: Congratulations on your great victory, Senator. We're just out of time. We're going to take a break.

Thune "highest-profile member" of freshman class

Senator-elect John Thune officially ranks 93rd in the Senate.  With that in mind, see the article Sibby points to in The Hill, a Capitol Hill publication, headlined "Frist gains new powers."  Excerpt:

The Republican Conference changed its rules yesterday to give Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) new powers to ensure party discipline.

A coalition of loyalist and new senators managed unexpectedly to push through the more sweeping version of the proposed changes, defeating a watered-down proposal.

The stronger one, which passed on a 27-26 secret-ballot vote, allows Frist to fill half of all vacancies on “A” committees as he chooses.

This important development is good news for South Dakota and for Thune, who now has more ability to cash in on the political capital he earned defeating the other side's leader.  Then there's this passage:

Frist could use his powers to create a star out of the new freshman class. The highest-profile member of the class is probably Sen.-elect John Thune (R-S.D.), who knocked off Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Thune has already been a staple on television talk shows since the election.

Jockeying to be on the Finance Committee

"Senators vying for seat on power panel":  The Capitol Hill publication The Hill has this report.

Ben Nelson for Ag Secretary?

The always-scheming Karl Rove has reportedly approached Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska (South Dakota's southern neighbor for those of you out-of-state readers) to offer him the Secretary of Agriculture position in the administration.  If Ben Nelson were to accept, Nebraska governor Mike Johanns would appoint a Republican to take his place, increasing the Senate Republican majority to a cool 56.  It has been widely anticipated that Johanns would mount a tough challenge to Nelson in 2006, so the prospect of becoming Ag Secretary has to be rather tempting to Nelson.

Thune-Salazar joint appearance on PBS

Senator elect Thune appeared on PBS tonight in a segment with Gwen Ifill.  You can access a transcript HERE.

Brad Carson explains why he lost to Coburn

Brad Carson, the Democratic candidate for Oklahoma's open Senate seat, explains why he lost to Republican Tom Coburn in a piece for the New Republic headlined "Vote Righteously!"($)  Recall that Carson distanced himself from Senator Daschle during the campaign, saying he would not be an "enabler" for Daschle.  Excerpt from Carson's TNR piece:

For the vast majority of Oklahomans--and, I would suspect, voters in other red states--these transcendent cultural concerns are more important than universal health care or raising the minimum wage or preserving farm subsidies. Pace Thomas Frank, the voters aren't deluded or uneducated. They simply reject the notion that material concerns are more real than spiritual or cultural ones. The political left has always had a hard time understanding this, preferring to believe that the masses are enthralled by a "false consciousness" or Fox News or whatever today's excuse might be. But the truth is quite simple: Most voters in a state like Oklahoma--and I venture to say most other Southern and Midwestern states--reject the general direction of American culture and celebrate the political party that promises to reform or revise it.

Thune on "Hannity & Colmes" tonight

Sean Hannity just said on his show that Senator-elect Thune will be appearing on "Hannity and Colmes" tonight.

Compliments, compliments

"..Judge Gonzales is no Attila the Hun; he's far from that, and he's a more uniting figure." - Sen. Patrick Leahy, as quoted in today's edition of the New York Times.

More Gannon

Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, has another article today headlined "GOP Hails 'Magnificent Seven' Freshman Senators." Excerpt:

The NRSC chairman singled out South Dakota Senator-elect John Thune for special praise, noting that he ousted the first leader of either party running for reelection in over 50 years. He had previously said that beating Daschle would be like picking up three seats. Allen said, "South Dakota voters saw the qualities of John Thune and wanted a man who says what he means and would vote that way in Washington."

Gannon

Jeff Gannon, whose reportage had a dramatic impact on the Daschle v. Thune race (his story about Sen. Daschle signing a legal document claiming to be a D.C. resident was published nearly the same day Thune began to run an ad showing Daschle saying "I'm a DC resident"), has written an analysis of the debacle headlined "Daschle Betrayed By Staff In Homestead Tax Debacle" Excerpt:

Although several factors contributed to the defeat of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), one of the most serious wounds the three-term incumbent suffered was self-inflicted. In claiming a property tax break limited to residents of the District of Columbia, the Senator drew attention to the very thing he had long worked to conceal: He was more a creature of Washington, DC than Aberdeen, SD.

(Via DVT.)

A Star is Born

Roll Call, the Capitol Hill publication, has an article today headlined "John Thune: A Star is Born" ($) One of the more interesting passages of the article addresses Thune's status as a national political figure. Relevant excerpt:

Regardless of how his new colleagues react, Thune has already been accepted with open arms by the media as a new national spokesman for Republicans.

On Nov. 10 alone, Thune appeared on CNBC and CNN twice ("Paula Zahn Now" and "Lou Dobbs Tonight") to discuss topics ranging from judicial nominations to the budget.

He also was a guest of George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Nov. 7, appearing with Obama, who is arguably the only Senator-elect to eclipse Thune in press attention.

Thune, however, makes a point of downplaying talk of his status as a budding media darling, insisting that much of the attention is a result of "who I was running against." "The profile of this race generated some additional attention, and we are trying to use that in a way that enables us to serve the interests we believe in and the agenda we want to move," Thune said.

Some Democratic insiders argue that with Thune not likely to face a serious re-election race again in his career, he will quickly disappear to the back bench once the election afterglow wears off.

Still, Thune has clearly demonstrated a savvy understanding of the media and how best to present a conservative message. "Demeanor is important," saidThune. "You can be a right-of-center conservative with a conservative message, but how you communicate that is important."

Other Republicans agree that Thune's communication skills are uniquely suited to pushing the Republican agenda in the media. "John is very articulate," said Rep.Tom Osborne (R-Neb.), a Thune confidant. "He will be a great asset in the Senate."

Allen added that Thune's debate performances against Daschle showcased his talent for rhetorical repartee. "He held his own against Tom Daschle who knows all these procedures and is very knowledgeable about the workings of the Senate," the Virginia Senator said.

Sen. Johnson to ruminate on Daschle's career

Be sure to tune in to C-Span 2 tomorrow (Wednesday) to watch Senator Johnson and others deliver farewells on the Senate floor to Senator Daschle.

Headline of the Day

"Bipartisanship school begins — brawl scheduled after class": The Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill has this report.

Daschle farewell

"Daschle Bids Democrats Goodbye": The AP has this report.

Janklow appeal

The AP is reporting: "High court urged to overturn Janklow's manslaughter conviction."

Charlie Cook: Senate will be "most interesting show in town"

Charlie Cook's "Off to the Races" column today is about "the unexpectedly large 55-45 majority in the United States Senate."  Excerpt:

One of the most fascinating shows to watch for the next two years is a drama focusing on what Republicans will be able to do with their unexpectedly large 55-45 majority in the United States Senate. While most observers anticipated that Republicans would hold onto their majority, or maybe increase it by a seat or two, a four-seat gain -- halfway to a theoretical filibuster-proof majority -- was an outcome no one likely contemplated. Conservatives are already making great plans for an aggressive agenda, but whether those agenda items can win approval in the Senate remains an open question....

Republicans have legitimate beefs with Democrats over their use and threat of the filibuster against as many as 16 of President Bush's judicial nominations. Then again, Democrats have equally legitimate arguments that Republicans started this with their refusal to hold Judiciary Committee hearings for 62 of President Clinton's nominees during his eight years in office. Both parties are guilty of selective outrage on this issue, with Republican threats to invoke the "nuclear option" foreclosing on the ability of the minority to filibuster judicial nominations potentially setting the stage for an early fight that might set the tone for the next two years....

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is widely expected to have a better working relationship with the GOP majority than did outgoing Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Then again, the Daschle loss and the testiness of attacks, going in both directions, in South Dakota and, for that matter, in the Kentucky Senate race with Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, are likely to reverberate around the chamber for some time to come.

All in all, it is not at all clear how productive the Senate will be over the next two years. But it promises to be the most interesting show in town.