South Dakota Politics

Barone the first to call race for Thune

Steve Forbes has this to say about Michael Barone calling the race for Thune:

In the close Senate race in South Dakota, Barone had Fox declare Republican John Thune the winner over Democrat and Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, even though vote tallies were close and other pundits were observing that precincts with large Indian populations still had not reported in. Barone noted exactly which two counties had the uncounted Indian votes that would help Daschle but then pointed out that there was a heavily Republican suburban county in which only about one-third of the vote had been reported. Barone concluded that that county and the two predominantly Indian ones would effectively cancel each other out and that Thune's lead would hold. He was again right about a close and critical contest.

What is South Dakota?

A reader reports that a category on yesterday's Jeopardy television show was "At-large congressional districts."  One answer for $500 was the name "Herseth," as in newly elected Rep. Stephanie Herseth.  My source reports that all of the contestants were clueless.

UPDATE:  Another reader writes in: "This was a college semifinal episode, category, 'At Large States.' One fellow did get North Dakota."

Brokaw booed at Husker-Sooner game

One of South Dakota's favorite sons, Tom Brokaw, attended the Nebraska-Oklahoma game last weekend as a guest of OU's president, and was booed more heartily than were the Huskers by the OU crowd.  Sooner fans despise the mainstream media more than they despise the Huskers?  That's really saying something. 

If and when I watch network news, I always turn to Brokaw on NBC, as he's much better than alternatives Rather and Jennings.  Unfortunately, Brokaw is leaving the anchor's chair forever on December 22.  The New York Times profiled Tom Brokaw last Sunday in an article headlined "Anchor Away."  Excerpt:

Competitors and media critics may have gnashed their teeth, but the strategy was sound, and Mr. Brokaw gradually established his persona as the anchor most able to speak to the concerns of the American people.

Today Mr. Wright puts it in contemporary terms. "He's a red state guy and we live in a red state world."

The crimson state in question is South Dakota, where Mr. Brokaw was born, and which he says still lives in him despite his decades as a resident of Manhattan. Mr. Rather has Texas in his blood, of course, but his connections to his Southwest roots can seem forced, as in his country-fried election night witticisms. Mr. Jennings has no red or blue state background to call upon at all, since he's a native Canadian.

"I still have a South Dakota-Montana sensibility about certain things," Mr. Brokaw said. "I have an awareness of what people are thinking and talking about. I don't treat Middle America as flyover country."

Mr. Lack said, "They see him as the guy with the least pretensions. He's the guy you would want to go have a beer with."

This is, as even Mr. Brokaw concedes, something of a skewed impression. "People still think of me as from South Dakota," he said. "But I'm a bright lights, big city guy." That translates to living in an apartment on Park Avenue and interests ranging from the Yankees to the city's art galleries. Yes, Mr. Brokaw, who makes about $10 million a year, vacations on a ranch in Montana, but he often travels there on a private jet owned by Herbert Allen, the investment banker and one of Mr. Brokaw's closest friends.

In Mr. Lack's analysis, "Tom loves being hip, which is counter to the ordinary guy. I have been in more trendy restaurants with him that I ever would have imagined. Tom loved Hollywood when he was in L.A. He loves show business. He's very comfortable in all those areas, even if what he truly is is a regular guy from South Dakota who married a Miss South Dakota."

Diedrich for Ag Secretary?

The AP is reporting: "Thune says Diedrich would make good ag secretary."

Freshmen senators

The AP is reporting: "Freshman Lawmakers Arrive in Washington."  Excerpt:

Starting Sunday, the freshmen have been briefed on such subjects as security, legal liabilities, ethical rules, setting up an office and dealing with strains on family life.

They lunched Monday at the White House, took a class picture on the Capitol steps, were meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders and will participate in elections this week for party leaders in the coming 109th Congress.

Thune said he learned they would not have permanent office space until April or May. "This is our first exposure to the deliberative pace of the Senate," the former House member said.

What it means to be "Daschled"

The Hill, a Capitol Hill publication, defines the verb "Daschled" to mean "to aggressively target for defeat a liberal Democrat who represents an otherwise solidly Republican state."

Thune appearance on Fox News

Senator-elect John Thune appeared on "After Hours with Cal Thomas" Saturday night.  When I find a transcript, I'll post it.  Meanwhile, you can catch a glimpse of the liberal perspective of Thune's appearance at "News Hounds."

Weekly Standard piece by Bob Mercer

Pierre, South Dakota-based journalist Bob Mercer has an excellent piece in the latest edition of the Weekly Standard headlined "South Dakota Blues" (subscription) discussing in part the similarity of Senator Daschle's loss to Senator McGovern's loss in 1980.

Dakota Alliance member gets quoted

Professor Lauck of DVT gets quoted in today's edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Some believe Reid will walk a tightrope in representing a caucus that is more liberal than his Nevada constituents.

"Senator Reid will suffer from the same perils that Senator Daschle did, trying to carry the water for the liberal caucus in Washington when he has a red state constituency to worry about," said Jon Lauck, a South Dakota State University professor.

Dem observer: Daschle's position "hurt his effectiveness at home and in Washington"

I missed an interesting article in the Washington Times this past week headlined "Capitol Hill leadership."  The following passage in the article really jumped off the page:

Democratic Byron Dorgan of North Dakota tested the waters to run for the whip post, but also demurred. His situation is instructive. Watching Mr. Daschle lead an increasingly partisan and liberal caucus in Washington, representing a red state where President Bush garnered 60 percent was frustrating — a tension many believe led to his electoral demise. "It hurt his effectiveness at home and in Washington," a Democratic lobbyist told me.

LAT misses an important fact

Recently, I noted an article published in the Los Angeles Times about corporate lobbyists "cashing in" on Thune's victory that simply ignored the fact that Thune's opponent collected three times more corporate money than Thune.  Excerpt from the LAT:

The greatest contribution of Washington-based business organizations, however, was the on-the-ground effort for candidates in hard-fought congressional races.

Nowhere was this more dramatically displayed than in South Dakota, where Republican Congressman John Thune defeated Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Washington business lobbyists made an extraordinary effort to usher Daschle from power.

Um, Washington business lobbyists made an extraordinary effort to keep Daschle in power, too.  According to a May 5, 2004 story in Roll Call headlined "PAC Dollars Favor Daschle," Daschle "raised more than three times as much money for his re-election bid from U.S. corporations as former Rep. John Thune (R), his pro-business opponent."

If Daschle had won, I doubt the LAT would be writing stories about corporate interests "cashing in" on his victory.  It seems to me that the LAT reporter here fell victim to his preconceived notions about the GOP and missed a rather important fact about the corporate interests opposed to Thune.

Thune's appearance on "Capital Gang"

You can access a transcript of Senator-elect Thune's appearance on CNN's "Capital Gang" last night by clicking HERE.

NYT reports on Federalist Society meeting

The New York Times has a report headlined "Conservative Lawyers Voice Abundant Joy."  Excerpt:

Another speaker, former Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, who is often called the counsel to the conservative establishment, drew whoops and loud applause when he celebrated the defeat of the Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle, in last week's election. The society's members especially dislike Mr. Daschle, as the leader of a Senate minority that has used the filibuster to block 10 of Mr. Bush's judicial nominees.

"Even he, by the way, got a vote," Mr. Olson said of the senator. "Not the vote he wanted, but a vote which is more than he gave 10 distinguished, honorable, exceptionally well-qualified Bush nominees."

Thune on "Capital Gang" tonight

Senator-elect John Thune will be on CNN's "Capital Gang" tonight at 6.  Last week, Margeret Carlson complained about Daschle being sunk by the "homestead deduction" story.  It will be interesting to see if she'll confront Thune about it tonight.

Krauthammer

Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer has an excellent column today headlined "'Moral Values' Myth" in which he makes an important point about post-election conventional wisdom.  Excerpt from Krauthammer:

In 1994, when the Gingrich revolution swept Republicans into power, ending 40 years of Democratic hegemony in the House, the mainstream press needed to account for this inversion of the Perfect Order of Things. A myth was born. Explained the USA Today headline: "ANGRY WHITE MEN: Their votes turn the tide for GOP."

Overnight, the revolution of the Angry White Male became conventional wisdom. In the 10 years before the 1994 election there were 56 mentions of angry white men in the media, according to LexisNexis. In the next seven months there were more than 1,400.

At the time, I looked into this story line -- and found not a scintilla of evidence to support the claim. Nonetheless, it was a necessary invention, a way for the liberal elite to delegitimize a conservative victory. And, even better, a way to assuage their moral vanity: You never lose because your ideas are sclerotic or your positions retrograde, but because your opponent appealed to the baser instincts of mankind.

I think the local MSM are trying to adopt a story line about John Thune defeating Senator Daschle by saying Daschle "became the subject of unprecedented attacks" and that the race was "the ugliest race of the state's modern political era."  This kind of hyperbole becomes the conventional wisdom if it's not aggressively countered by the facts.  The fact is that Daschle's record and hubris finally caught up with him, or as DVT likes to say, the chickens came home to roost.

Former SG: "Even Daschle got a vote"

The AP has a report headlined "Olson Predicts Firestorm for Next Justice" which contains the following quote from Ted Olson, former Solicitor General of the United States, at a Federalist Society event:

The crowd cheered Thursday when Olson said that five Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who have blocked votes on 10 of Bush's judges, are in their final days in Congress. In a swipe at Daschle, who lost last week to Republican John Thune, Olson said that "even he, by the way, got a vote - not the vote he wanted but he got a vote- more than he gave 10 distinguished, honorable, exceptionally well-qualified Bush nominees."

Veterans Day

On this Veteran's Day, I want to thank all our veterans for their service and sacrifice.

Thune interviewed by Lou Dobbs

Here's a partial transcript of Senator-elect Thune being interviewed by Lou Dobbs last night:

DOBBS: Senator Specter here last night, was adamant that he would not in any way impose a litmus test and as a matter of fact made a very persuasive case that he had been misquoted, if you would, by the press. I know you can`t imagine that occurring, but it apparently is precisely what did happen.

THUNE: My expectation is that if the system stays as it is today. And that is that the seniority system that sort of drives the chairmanships and the committee assignments in the Senate continues, that the Judiciary Committee will probably support Senator Specter.

But there are a number of us that have questions. I think what he said last week -- there were a lot of us who were bothered by that. And I expect that when we get into orientation next week that there will be a number of questions that are raised with respect to the statements that Senator Specter made, his intentions with respect to moving judicial nominations and I hope that we have a fairly full discussion of that so that everybody has a comfort level as the process moves forward.

DOBBS: You, in your campaign, did not make much of religion. You are pro- life, anti-gay marriage, but you didn`t see fit to put your own religion on prominent display. Do you think that we`re seeing a period -- a beginning of a period in which religion and public service is going to be intertwined inextricably?

THUNE: Well, I think that what you saw this time was people in the faith community saw the importance of this election. And that was as it pertains to judges, perhaps a couple of vacancies on the Supreme Court, what that means for the future of the country on some of these cultural issues.

And I think there was a real concern among the electorate, in particular people in the faith community, that the country was beginning to drift left. And you look at some of these issues on family and on marriage and on the sanctity of life, and where we`ve sort of headed and where the courts have started to take us, and I think that was a reaction against that.

And I think people across the country said this time around that they are going to come out, they are going to vote their values and they are going to put their faith into practice, so to speak, when it comes to the ballot box.

And I don`t think that means that they`re going to be intertwined. I think what it means is that people of faith are exercising their responsibilities and rights and privileges in this democracy to have their voice heard.

And I think that that was the voice that was heard on Election Day. And I think that there has been some analysis by the media, was it the war on terror or was it the economy? And I think that there was a big undercurrent out there of people who, on the issues of morality and values, wanted to make sure that the country wasn`t drifting too far to the left and that we stood up for those traditional values.

And I think that`s a good thing. I think people need to be involved in the political process. And people who have strong convictions have every right to have their voice heard in this process. And I think that`s what they did this year.

DOBBS: Well, the voice of John Thune will soon be added to the U.S. Senate in Congress. We congratulate you for your victory and look forward to talking to you again soon. Senator-elect John Thune.

Paula Zahn interviews Thune

You can access a transcript of Paula Zahn's interview of Senator-elect Thune by clicking HERE.

Thune on Kudlow & Cramer

Here's a partial transcript of Senator-elect Thune's appearance on Kudlow & Cramer last night:

CRAMER: Now, Mr. Thune, a lot of our viewers are concerned about two issues involving health care. One is they would like to see health care more affordable. But, second, a lot of our viewers own shares in drug companies. The drug companies have been great producers of jobs. The drug companies have also, I think, done wonders to develop, really, life-saving medications. I understand, from your briefings, that you favor importing drugs from Canada. That would crush the profit margins of a lot of our drug companies. Is that really the right way to go?

Mr. THUNE: Well, I think that anything that we can do to create competition here in the mark--you know, Canada uses a system of price controls that keeps drug costs down. But what happens is then the American consumer bears the brunt and all the cost of the research that the drug companies do because a lot of these other countries around the world impose these disciplines, these price controls. I think that allowing for--again, assuming it's the same manufacturer, same quality, same drug, allowing for reimportation helps create more, you know, competition here in this country. I also think that getting generics to the market more quickly is a good thing to do.

And I think, frankly, that the increasing costs of prescription drugs is something that--in the overall cost of health care, is probably one of the biggest drivers in that people here, seniors in South Dakota and seniors around the country, are increasingly frustrated with what seems to be this non-stop spike in prescription prices. And I think that--so I do support it. I do support allowing for reimportation. I support, you know, making generics more readily available and more quickly available in the marketplace today because I think, ultimately, if you've got--the more competition that you have out there, the more it's going to have a positive impact on prices. And I don't think the drug companies are going to be hurt by that. I think they're doing just fine.

KUDLOW: Well, w...

Mr. THUNE: And we've got some great innovations and some great, you know, success stories out there with these prescriptions. But I do think that competition is really important in keeping...

KUDLOW: With all respect, I'm afraid I have to disagree strongly with you on every factor, but I want to move on. We only have a short period of time. Two other issues that are of great interest to Wall Street and investors: tax reform and Social Security reform. Could you kind of give us your short takes on those?

Mr. THUNE: Well, I think with respect to tax reform, I hope that that's--I hope both those issues are really issues that the president, with the strong performance that he had last week, can, you know, take some very bold action in trying to address. And I think that--I believe that it's time for tax reform. It's long overdue. The cost of compliance in this country and the choking effect that has on the economy is hurting our ability to create jobs and hurting our--ability of our companies to reinvest. And so I think that tax reform's long overdue.

And I think Social Security is a structural problem that we're going to deal with sooner rather than later. And I think it's better to take the steps that are necessary to fix it now because the Social Security trustees have said that if we wait, it's going to be a $10 trillion unfunded liability going forward. So I think those are both issues that I'm hopeful the president is going to lead with some bold proposals. And I hope the Congress can work together across party lines to do something that is meaningful to bring about serious reform. And I think it is going to require putting the politics aside.

CRAMER: All right. Senator Thune, people are living longer. This great--we've made great advances in life-saving drugs. Why can't we raise the retirement age to 66 next year and three years later raise it to 67 and solve the Social Security problem?

Mr. THUNE: Well, you know, the increase--you know, raising the retirement age is already in effect. It's coming in incrementally. It's gradually going to 67 over a period of time. And, you know, frankly, we're living longer; that's a good thing. But it does create demographic challenges for Social Security that are going to have to be dealt with. And I think that a preferable approach is the one that I'm in support of, and that is allowing younger workers to, you know, use personal retirement accounts to invest, create a bigger nest egg for the future. In fact, the Social Security Actuary has said that that sort of a program would bring the Social Security Trust Fund into solvency by the year 2029. And so I would prefer that approach.

I certainly am not in favor of raising taxes or of reducing benefits. Raising the retirement age is going from 65 to 67, but I think that's something that, politically, is awfully difficult to sell, too. But I do believe that this is an issue where both sides are going to have to say, you know, `We're going to quit hammering each other in an election year.' This is a structural problem that has to be addressed, or the next generation of Americans are not going to be able to enjoy the Social Security program that the current generation enjoys.

Thune to appear on Tavis Smiley show tonight

Senator-elect John Thune will appear on the Tavis Smiley show tonight to muse on being referred to as "The Giant Killer."

More analytical observations of the Senate race

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."

From the mailbag

A highly valued reader writes in:

It's interesting to note that 'blogs are a "pull" type of media. People have to work to find your 'blog. Local TV and newspapers are "push" media and a person has to make an effort to escape them. You don't sell advertising. You aren't stealing their reader/viewrship. The logical thing would be to ignore you.

But, like an overweight Linda Ronstadt criticizing people for having their heads in their mashed potatoes, they rail about your credibility, your influence over elections, and your dishonest abuse of free speech. (They don't provide any evidence of your dishonesty, even when your every word is archived on the Internet.)

You and the Dakota Alliance pointed out the "Sioux Emperors" have no clothes. Show their Dakota Alliance tattooed butts on your Web sites and know that people aren't laughing at your ink.

Former Daschle staffer comments on defeat

Amy Sullivan, a former staffer for Senator Daschle, laments his defeat and says it's time for the Dems to have a blue state leader:

I think Democrats need to say out loud now what many have been whispering (or blogging) for a while. I adore my former boss Tom Daschle and--objectivity be damned--am heartbroken today about his loss. But it is clear that Senate Democrats simply cannot afford to have a leader who hails from a hardcore red state. It puts both the leader and the party in an untenable position.

Note that Sullivan says the Dems have been whispering about a change in leadership "for a while." When the Dakota Blog Alliance alerted its readers about this fact during the campaign, it was studiously ignored by the Argus Leader for the longest time, and when the Argus Leader finally did mention it, it was dismissed as a story the Thune camp was pushing. Is it any wonder that the blogs were so influential in this campaign? The blogs were only responding to the huge dereliction of coverage of a newspaper that was loathe to print anything that might negatively affect Senator Daschle's political career.

Mt. Blogmore thread

Be sure to add your comments on the Mt. Blogmore thread inviting analysis of the 2004 Senate race in South Dakota.

Hemmingsen: What we need is more bloggers

Legendary KELO-TV anchor emeritus Steve Hemmingsen has posted an interesting piece today about the effect of blogs on the Daschle v. Thune race. Excerpt:

I don't know how you prove this or if it can be proven at all given the ethereal nature of this whole cyberspace thing, but I suspect that these bloggers are the ultramodern form of talk radio. I also suspect they had a lot of clout in this last election from Bush to Thune.

I think people are slowly beginning to grasp the significant role of the blogs in the Senate race. As DVT notes, there are those MSM types who are embracing the blogs, and those fighting a pitched battle against the blogs. DVT notes, too, that those fighting against the blogs are the ones who have made up facts and resorted to such histrionics as playing the Hitler card.

Hemmingsen suggests later in his piece that "What we need is more bloggers to keep the bloggers honest." I completely agree. I heartily subscribe to the First Amendment ideal that the more speech there is, the better off all of us are. I'm glad to see at least one person in the local MSM agrees. It has been amazing to me how many local establishment types who should know better seem to think more speech is somehow a bad thing. For example, last week, Bob Burns, a professor at South Dakota State University, said on KSFY television that he thought blogs were "bad for politics."

As DVT notes, perhaps Hemmingsen's venture into discussing the Dakota Blog Alliance will prompt wider debate about the quality and balance of all South Dakota media. That debate, it seems to me, is sorely needed.

An immediate consequence of Thune's victory: passage of energy bill

The Great Falls (MT) Tribune has an editorial today headlined "Amid unknowns, federal energy bill a certainty." Excerpt:

Whatever winds up in the [energy] bill, its chances of passage were enhanced by the electoral defeat of Tom Daschle, the minority leader from South Dakota who for the past three years orchestrated much of the Senate opposition.

Senator Grassley agrees with this conclusion according to AgriNews:

Grassley said that without a doubt the defeat of Senate Minority Leader Sen. Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat was a major victory for President Bush. "So many of the president's programs involving even things connected with agriculture were buried in the Daschle graveyard in the U.S. Senate either because he held things up or because there were so many Democratic filibusters,'' Grassley said. "Daschle's defeat sends a signal to other Democrats that those tactics are not appropriate.'' Grassley said he thinks Daschle's likely successor Sen. Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, will be much less partisan. The energy bill is one issue Grassley hopes to see quick action on after it was held up for so long by Daschle.

Denise Ross on The Victory

Denise Ross of the Rapid City Journal takes a stab at analyzing the monumental defeat of Senator Daschle today in a piece headlined "Campaign's responses fell short." Excerpt:

A National Abortion Rights Action League fund-raising pitch signed by [Senator Daschle] and featuring a letterhead with his picture next to the words "pro-choice leadership in the Senate" circulated far and wide as soon as it went out in the fall of 2002. Video of a forceful speech he gave that same year to California Democrats, in which he promised to defend the "sacred ground of a woman's constitutional right to choose," surfaced later. That evidence, along with Daschle's criticism of President Bush's buildup to war in Iraq, the new $1.9 million house and the "I'm a D.C. resident" tape, was lying around like an unguarded ammunitions pile in Iraq. John Thune needed only to pick up the grenades, pull the pins and throw them. Some would produce flesh wounds. Others would prove life threatening. Daschle's team knew that ammunitions pile was there. They couldn't stop Thune from firing away, but they could have flushed him out earlier. The conventional wisdom of campaigns is to get the bad news out of the way early. Not only did the Daschle team not do that, but they mounted no identifiable defense against the incoming fire that rained down late in the campaign. It's understandable that Daschle, being human, would not want to confront those difficult and personal issues in the context of a campaign. His staff was duty-bound to force him to do so and to devise a strategy, probably one in which Thune would not have been allowed to define the debate.

The thing is, a strategy was devised. The Daschle camp attempted to condition voters to believe that any fact-based criticism of Daschle was a "negative attack" and whined about "John Thune's negative ads" even when Thune had not run a single ad that even mentioned Tom Daschle. Daschle knew he was in trouble if his record became a topic for discussion, so he tried to condition voters to ignore any scrutiny of his record. Obviously, that strategy failed. But it seems to me that strategy was the only option the Daschle camp had. If there was to be any discussion of taxes and cultural issues in an ultra-red state like South Dakota, Daschle was automatically losing. The best strategy was to take advantage of the Midwestern notion to believe the best about everyone by portraying any scrutiny, even non-existent scrutiny, as a mean, nasty, negative attack, and hope the voters would be adequately conditioned to simply ignore any scrutiny of his record. If voters ignored scrutiny of Daschle's record, he could get away with saying things like "I am adamantly opposed to abortion on demand" despite penning a fundraising letter for NARAL; saying "I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment" despite getting an "F" from the NRA; saying "I'm not in favor of raising anybody's taxes" despite fighting tooth and nail against making the Bush tax cuts permanent. It was a good strategy, but it could only hold back the dam for so long. I think Ross is wrong about Daschle "allowing" Thune to define the debate. Daschle was trying to keep a debate from even happening, or, to continue the analogy, trying to make it impossible for Thune to fire away with all of the ammo at his disposal.

NYT on Daschle's defeat

The New York Times offers suggestions to congressional Democrats in the wake of Senator Daschle's defeat in an editorial headlined "Recircling the Democrats' wagons." Excerpt:

The Democrats' last redoubt in Washington - their minority outpost in the Senate - became considerably shakier last Tuesday with the fall of their leader, Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, and the loss of a total of four seats. But it remains the party's best chance of exercising some form of political relevance in the second Bush administration, by using its minority power selectively to filibuster objectionable legislation and unacceptable presidential nominees, and by continuing to make alliances with the dwindling band of Republican moderates.

Veep pheasant hunting in S.D. today

The AP is reporting: "Cheney in state for annual pheasant hunting trip."

The impact of the Dakota Blog Alliance

Glenn Reynolds:

One place where a weblog did make the difference, or at least a large part thereof, was in the defeat of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Professor Jon Lauck's Daschle v. Thune weblog played a big role (along with quite a few other South Dakota political blogs) in nationalizing that campaign, and in applying scrutiny to South Dakota's main political news outlet, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, whose pro-Daschle slant had previously gone unchallenged. The Argus Leader's sputtering responses are the best proof that this had an impact, but folks also noticed in neighboring North Dakota.

Will red-state Dem emulate Daschle?

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has an opinion piece today headlined "Sen. Harry Reid, minority leader." Excerpt:

If his new leadership position requires him to carry the banner of the far left, becoming minority leader may very well be a career-ender for Sen. Harry Reid.

Quote of the Day

"The sweetest victory of all was the dispatching of Tom Daschle." - Charles Krauthammer, in a column headlined "Using All of a Mandate . . ."

Daschle to co-host dinner for new senators

David Broder of the Washington Post had a report yesterday headlined "Senate Orientation Aims to Bridge Gap." Excerpt:

Prodded by two junior members, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate have invited newly elected members of that body to spend three days next week getting to know each other and discussing how to overcome the bitter partisanship that has blocked action on so many issues the past two years....

The orientation program deliberately does not include any policy debates, Alexander said, but rather is focused on "what it takes for the Senate to function as an institution and fulfill its constitutional role."

To emphasize that perspective, the opening session next Sunday afternoon, will be held in the Old Senate Chamber, a small ceremonial room steeped in tradition, and the first speaker will be Senate historian Richard A. Baker. After a tour of the current Senate chamber led by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the Senate president pro tempore, Frist and Daschle will be hosts of a dinner for the senators and their spouses in the Lyndon B. Johnson Room of the Capitol. Brian Lamb, the founder and head of C-SPAN, will speak at the dinner.

The straight liberal line

Today's edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press has an opinion piece headlined "Disaster for the Democrats." Excerpt:

The electorate is simply too conservative for the Democrats, as shown by the defeat of Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota. The formula of taking the straight liberal line in Washington and talking conservative at home does not work when a Democrat's every move becomes visible as a member of the leadership.

That's the best insight I've seen yet on the Daschle v. Thune race.

Kranz Watch

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, has this to say about Daschle's defeat today:

Daschle became the subject of unprecedented attacks. Out-of-state interests promised to destroy him. They got personal with him. Web sites characterized him as the devil.

As DVT states, I too would like to know the link to those sites.

Oozing with contempt

Ryne McClaren points to a Mark Steyn column headlined "Condescending Dems still don't get it." Excerpt:

In my time, I've known dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and other members of Britain's House of Lords and none of them had the contempt for the masses one routinely hears from America's coastal elites. And, in fairness to those ermined aristocrats, they could afford Dem-style contempt: A seat in the House of Lords is for life; a Senate seat in South Dakota isn't.

For a dose of some Dem-style contempt as it pertains to South Dakota, see a piece in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune headlined "South Dakota gives sharp-dressed liberal the boot."

The Giant Killer

The picture above is in this week's edition of Newsweek, and is captioned "GIANT KILLER: Thune is the first candidate in 52 years to unseat a Senate party leader." The lead paragrap reads in part:

In South Dakota, former representative John Thune even managed to bump off Democratic Minority Leader Tom Daschle, the first Senate party chief to be ousted at the polls in 52 years. That's just one more reason the bitter divide that shaped the presidential campaign could make this Congress one of the most partisan and polarized ever.

(Via Wes Roth.)

Power Line on life "A.D." (After Daschle)

Power Line argues that Daschle's defeat sends a chilling message to liberal Democratic senators who represent red states. What's more, Power Line's argument even persuaded Harvard law professor William Stuntz to change his mind.

Slide show

To view a slide show of the Thune victory, click HERE.

Wadhams roundup

The Rocky Mountain News has an article headlined "Wadhams shows why he's a GOP star." Excerpt:

The score: Dick Wadhams 4, Democrats 0. Colorado's premiere GOP political consultant did it again, this time orchestrating the seismic defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle in South Dakota. Wadhams on Wednesday dismissed any notion that he's the Karl Rove of the West. "I'm just a country boy," the Las Animas native said, with a laugh.... "What Dick's truly good at is he draws fire and returns fire," Thune said. All year the race was neck and neck, with the lead shifting. Then Friday, Wadhams confided the shifting was over. They were going to win. What's next for Wadhams? For the next month, he'll split his time between his Littleton home and Sioux Falls, closing Thune's office. After that, it's likely he can do whatever he wants.

The Denver Post also has an article on Wadhams headlined "Wadhams credited in Dem leader's defeat." Excerpt:

Even Democrats are calling Dick Wadhams the "giant-killer," or at least grumbling it under their breath. It's not surprising for the campaign manager who took out the first sitting Senate leader in 52 years. The Las Animas native is probably best known in Colorado as the sharp-tongued GOP strategist who ran the campaigns of Gov. Bill Owens and Sen. Wayne Allard. But his reputation shot into the stratosphere early Wednesday when he guided Republican John Thune to a narrow victory in the South Dakota Senate race over Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. "It's sort of like winning the gold medal in the Olympics," said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the Cook Political Report.... Duffy credited Wadhams with "finding exactly the right message" to defeat Daschle. Wadhams depicted Daschle as a politician who had gone to Washington and lost touch with his rural state. "It wasn't terribly brilliant," Wadhams said. "Tom Daschle had moved left. He was much more liberal than he was when he ran for Congress 26 years ago."

What it means to be "Daschled"

The New York Times has an article today headlined "On Capitol Hill, the Majority Doesn't Always Rule." Excerpt:

Already, there is a new verb floating around the Capitol: "Daschled." It describes what can happen to those, like the Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, who oppose Republican legislation and then lose re-election in heavily Republican states. That fate, and the result of the presidential race, left Democrats looking ashen on the morning after Election Day. In South Dakota, Senator Tim Johnson, despairing over Mr. Daschle's defeat, said he wasn't returning colleagues' calls. Later that day, another Senate Democrat, on his way back to Washington, said grimly of Republicans: "They'll get everything they want now."

(Via DVT.)

Steyn on the Daschle defeat

Mark Steyn has a great column headlined "A Catastrophic Night for Democrats" that makes a point I've been mulling the past few days. One of the reasons the Dems keep losing is because they're always kidding themselves to get around the fact that America is a conservative country. Excerpt from Steyn's column:

No matter how many movies Michael Moore makes, America is basically a conservative country. If you don’t believe me, look at Tom Daschle, the Democrats’ Senate leader and the first such party leader to be defeated in over half a century. Daschle’s going down to defeat in South Dakota by a big enough margin that even the traditional Democratic trick — finding a few thousand extra ‘late votes’ lying around under an abandoned pick-up on one of the more distant Indian reservations — is unlikely to suffice. Daschle has spent years as a doctrinaire liberal Democrat in Washington while posing as a ‘bipartisan’ ‘moderate’ ‘centrist’ back in his conservative home state. This year it caught up with him.

The post-Daschle world

Kimberly Strassel of the Wall Street Journal editorial page has an interesting piece in today's edition headlined "Life After Daschle." Excerpt:

But what of the bigger ideological battles like judges that united Democrats last time around? No one should fool themselves into thinking that even after Tuesday's blow, Democrats are wise enough to renounce the liberal heavyweights who dominate the agenda, from Hillary Clinton to Ted Kennedy. That Nevada's Harry Reid, a loyal Daschlista, is likely to be elected new leader, suggests the leadership doesn't plan to play nice.

Yet neither should anyone underestimate the psychological power Mr. Daschle's defeat will wield over middle-America Democrats. South Dakota voted Bush by 22 percentage points this week, and Mr. Daschle's demise came precisely because his opponent effectively explained to voters that it was Mr. Daschle who stymied the same president's agenda. That's something to chew on if you are the state's junior senator, Tim Johnson, or Max Baucus of Montana (59% for Bush), or Arkansas's Blanche Lincoln (54%). One of the only Democratic pickups in the Senate this time came via Ken Salazar, who was smart enough to run as a social centrist in Bush-voting Colorado (against "Coors Lite").

The pressure builds on those red-state Senators up for election in 2006. Is New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman going to vote down a Miguel Estrada nomination, with a state home to the largest proportion of Hispanics in the country? Look too for Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Kent Conrad of North Dakota to be heeding the Ghost of Daschle's Past.

Ryne McClaren and the Dakota Blog Alliance

Ryne McClaren has an excellent post about, among other things, how he stumbled upon the South Dakota blogs. Excerpt:

As the South Dakota Senate race started to heat up, I stumbled across a guy by the name of Jason Van Beek. As you know, I'm from South Dakota too, so this was a pretty big deal. I sent him a complementary e-mail, we linked each other, it was exciting. (You had to be there I guess.) Next, Jon Lauck and Steve Sibson came to my attention. Then Quentin Riggins. Hell, all of the sudden there were a bunch of South Dakota bloggers. Somebody came up with a name for this little group of misfits, and the Dakota Alliance was born. They asked me to participate, and I was glad to. Randell Beck, meet the blogosphere. Not long afterward, I was linked by Instapundit, Andrew Sullivan and Mark Steyn's web page while blogging about a Randell Beck meltdown. My hitcounter topped out at around 15,000 hits in just a few hours. Ho-ly shee-it. Next the group added The Bird, Wally Waltner and Wes Roth. We had a conference. Jay Reding came. Jay Reding! John Hinderaker too! The Argus Leader ran a front page story on us, and their editor had some sharp words for what we were doing. A good time was -- and still is being -- had by all. And again, the rest is history. But let it be known that when future state races are blogged with a great national ado, a group of people from the sticks were first. So here we are. The President was re-elected. John Thune knocked the legs from under Tom Daschle, the Senate Minority Leader. Republicans made gains in both houses. Was it because of blogs? Who knows. We sure as hell didn't hurt any of our candidates, that's for sure. We might have even brought new eyes to bear on issues that wouldn't otherwise have been noticed or discussed (see also: Rathergate; Kranzgate; Mansiongate; Hug-gate; and other -gates too numerous to mention.)

Thune on the Judiciary Committee?

The American Spectator hints that John Thune may take Sen. John Edwards' seat on the Judiciary Committee:

With Sen. John Edwards now nothing more than a thumb-thumping memory, Republicans are wondering who will take his seat on the Judiciary Committee. With Republican gains in the Senate, it is believed the GOP will have an additional seat to fill on that, and other committees.

One name that will surely pop up regularly is Sen. John Thune's. Given his success in knocking of Sen. Tom Daschle, Republicans will want to give Thune as much help as possible to reinforce the message back home that Daschle's loss in fact will be South Dakota's gain.

With the likelihood that there may soon be a vacancy on the Supreme Court, John Thune would have an impact on the entire nation almost immediately if he were to become a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Thune victory roundup

First, see an excellent article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg at the New York Timed headlined "Gracious but Defeated, Daschle Makes History." Excerpt:

"John is going to come in a hero," declared Senator George Allen of Virginia, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, saying the party would probably like to see Mr. Thune's face on Mount Rushmore. Mr. Allen called the outcome of the South Dakota race "monumental" and said it was psychologically equivalent to Republicans' winning three seats.

For Mr. Thune, a telegenic 43-year-old who drew strong support from fiscal and Christian conservatives, the victory was especially sweet. Two years ago he lost a bruising Senate race to another Democrat, Tim Johnson, by just 524 votes.

About 3:30 Wednesday morning, he greeted a throng of cheering supporters and announced, "I think everyone's got a little celebrating to do."

Below is a picture of John Thune receiving a congratulatory phone call from Senator Daschle. Senator-elect Thune thanked Senator Daschle for his thirty years of service to South Dakota. Behind Thune is his brother, Rich, and in the background, Political Director Ryan Nelson and Deputy Campaign Manager John Wood can be seen congratulating each other.

The crowd went nuts when Thune took the stage:

Here, Thune embraces his mentor, Senator Abdnor, who Daschle defeated in 1986:

The Times also discusses South Dakota in its traditional state-by-state post-election analysis.

Elsewhere in the Times, William Safire says President Bush should "offer a domestic cabinet post to Daschle, an understanding pol who can be depended on to turn it down" and suggests the Democrats replace Daschle with Senator Kerry. Meanwhile, Maureen Dowd says John Thune is "an anti-abortion Christian conservative."

The Washington Post has an article headlined "Leader's Defeat Means New Face for Democrats."

The Washington Times has an article headlined "Daschle concedes win to Thune."

Finally, Steve Hemmingsen "weighs in" with this observation:

What happened? Tom is a good guy and he has been friendly to me over the years but, you know, I think in the end the Thune folks were right about one thing and one thing that counts in South Dakota: being out of touch. I don't know that he was way out of touch, but Thune's hired gun campaign manager, Dick Wadhams, used the strokes of a master painter to compose the picture he wanted the average South Dakotan to see, disregarding everything else.

Without a doubt, the canvas was those first commercials showing John Thune's kids.

There were a lot of strokes in between about being an obstructionist, being against South Dakota values and all that. But I suspect the final nails appealed to the basic instinct of South Dakotans who live in small towns: don't get too big for your britches.

That last blast of commercials showing the multi-million dollar house, the swimming pool, Linda Daschle's Jaguar, her ¾ million-dollar paycheck as a lobbyist all added up to "He ain't the kid from Aberdeen anymore."

Tom threw some logs on the fire himself. Going town to town in a suburban. He might as well have driven the Jag. He should have known better. There was that dumb hunting commercial with clothing so new all that was missing was the Minnie Pearl price tag on the hat. Throw in the testimony about Tom disappearing only to turn up walking the cornrows to fill his limit fell short of heroic. Isn't that what any hunter would do? He should have known better. He looked like a Washington guy hunting in South Dakota.

Rested up

I'm sorry about the sparse blogging, but I've just been relaxing a bit and savoring John Thune's victory. Throughout the past few days, a quote from Margaret Mead has been prominent in my mind. Here it is:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

I began this blog in January of 2003 for one big reason: to challenge the Argus Leader to scrutinize Democratic political figures in this state as closely as they did Republican figures. I envisioned a network of like-minded bloggers around the state of South Dakota who could add their thoughts and reinforce this message. This vision has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. Steve Sibson of "Sibby Online" began to blog in May of 2003, and we spent the remainder of 2003 struggling to spread the word about the Argus Leader's unwillingness to scrutinize Senator Daschle the way the Argus Leader had scrutinized Senator Pressler.

Interestingly, Senator Daschle began his own blog in the summer of 2003, but the press coverage of Daschle's blogging efforts prompted Instapundit to tell his readers to "Forget Tom Daschle's blog: The South Dakota Politics blog is where you want to go, if you're interested in, well, South Dakota politics." Instapundit's link gave SDP a massive boost in readership, which resulted in a proportional number of people who began to understand that one of the reasons Senator Daschle continued to win elections in South Dakota was because the most influential newspaper in the state refused to scrutinize his contradictions.

Then, in January of 2004, when John Thune decided to challenge Senator Daschle, Professor Jon Lauck began his blog, Daschle v. Thune, and the Dakota Blog Alliance was born. Professor Lauck massively expanded the influence of the blogs. His keen insights and prodigious work ethic made the criticism of the Argus Leader even more devastating, and resulted in even more shrill ad hominem attacks from Randell Beck, the executive editor of the Argus Leader. At one point, Beck even played the Hitler card: "Hitler would have had a blog," he said. Furthermore, as DVT noted, Beck said that blog criticism of the Argus Leader was "'crap' driven by a 'violent' internet 'cabal' of 'yahoos' and 'jokers,' who are full of 'hatred' and 'vitriol' and lacked 'guts' because they hid 'behind their computer screens' and wouldn't face him 'man to man.'"

By this time, the DBA had expanded to include Ryne McClaren and Quentin Riggins. Randell Beck became an object of ridicule around the country, as other bloggers took notice of his ranting, and prominent bloggers like Andrew Sullivan and Instapundit, as well as columnist Mark Steyn, were aghast at the studied hostility of Randell Beck to reasonable, fact-drawn criticism.

I think the Dakota Alliance, among many other things, played a role in the Thune victory. People are beginning to understand that the rise of the Dakota Blog Alliance has forever changed the contours of politics in this state. Today, the Grand Forks Herald in NORTH Dakota had this to say about the DBA:

This little-noticed development deserves a lot more attention.

The Daschle-Thune race differed from previous South Dakota Senate races in this way: Conservative Web logs gave South Dakota voters access to news like never before.

Take a look and you'll see what we mean: Web sites such as Daschle vs. Thune (daschlevthune.typepad.com/daschle_v_thune/) and a few others chipped away at Daschle's image day after day.

They also charged South Dakota's major newspapers were in Daschle's pocket. They backed the charge by showcasing, for example, the fact that Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader's political reporter had been active in the Democratic Party as a South Dakota State University student in the 1960s - as had his then-friend and fellow student, Tom Daschle.

These Web logs served as a South Dakota version of Rush Limbaugh's talk show, legitimizing criticism of the incumbent and using the media as a whipping boy. The reports galvanized Daschle's opposition and gave them lots of material to rally around.

Balanced? No. Fair? Probably not. Effective? Yes.

I'll sign off this post with this reassurance to anyone who may be wondering: The Dakota Blog Alliance is not going anywhere. We're here to stay. There's still work to do.

Pictures

The thrill of victory. The elderly gentleman pictured next to Kimberly Thune is former Senator Jim Abdnor, who Daschle defeated in 1986. Senator Abdnor was Senator-elect Thune's mentor, and the fact that history had come full circle was not lost on those who follow South Dakota politics.

The agony of defeat.

These pictures are from an AP story headlined "GOP Topples Daschle, Widens Senate Lead."

Thune wins!

The sun may or may not rise in two hours (recall that Senator Daschle said that if he were re-elected, the sun would continue to rise over South Dakota).