World Magazine has an interesting take on Thune's victory:
The judicial issue in particular made John Thune's stunning ouster of Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) a victory of national importance. The defeated Senate minority leader "was the initiator of the Democratic strategy to filibuster everything in the Senate," said Free Congress Foundation head Paul Weyrich. "Good judges, tax cuts, the marriage amendment. You name it, he wanted to filibuster it."
Indeed, Republicans blamed Mr. Daschle for thwarting much of the president's first-term agenda. Now that Mr. Daschle, after 18 years in Congress, is headed toward some post-congressional afterlife, Mr. Weyrich said his obstructionist tactics are likely to go with him. His presumptive successor, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), "is not going to employ the filibuster-everything strategy," Mr. Weyrich said. "There will be a lot of pressure from inside his caucus not to do that."
Yet a kinder, gentler Democratic Caucus is not likely to emerge from a renewed sense of statesmanship but rather from simple math. Republicans now will be able to add up to two GOP members to each congressional committee, increasing their majority. "There is now the chance to out-vote Arlen Specter," said Mr. Weyrich, noting that the liberal Republican senator often votes with Democrats, creating a thin majority that stalls conservative policy. For that, conservatives have to thank John Thune, who "ran a brilliant campaign," according to Mr. Weyrich.
South Dakotans elected Mr. Thune to the House in 1998 and 2000 before he lost a Senate bid in 2002. Last week, though, he edged out the incumbent in a 2-point win after a campaign that exposed Mr. Daschle's liberal voting record.
Again and again, Mr. Thune told voters that the senator had lost touch with most South Dakotans, particularly on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. A majority of those who cast ballots on Election Day agreed—even some Democrats. Kent Foster, 32, a registered Democrat, said he voted for Mr. Daschle in previous elections, but this time picked a different horse. "I hate to lose [Daschle's] clout," he said of the incumbent. "But I think he's been in D.C. too long. He's gotten away from his roots."
Farmer Dick Fennel and his wife also voted for Mr. Thune. "We just don't feel Daschle has been representing our views. He's just way too liberal for the state of South Dakota."
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