South Dakota Politics

Diedrich advertisement on Instapundit

The National Republican Campaign Committee is now advertising for Larry Diedrich on Instapundit.

Argus Leader skips Daschle corporate money story in Roll Call

A few months ago, I noted a troubling pattern developing at the Argus Leader, where negative stories about John Thune that appeared in Roll Call were covered the following day by the AL, while negative stories about Tom Daschle that appeared in Roll Call were never reported at all by the AL. Unfortunately, that pattern seems to be continuing.

Yesterday, Roll Call had a lengthy story headlined "PAC Dollars Favor Daschle" which reported that Tom Daschle had raised three times more corporate money than John Thune. This is a story that reflects negatively on Tom Daschle, as it deflates his "taking on the special interests in Washington" meme. And, of course, the Argus Leader did not follow up that Roll Call story in today's edition. It's remarkable how quickly they follow up negative Roll Call pieces on John Thune, and completely ignore negative Roll Call pieces on Tom Daschle. Once again, we are observing institutional bias at the Argus Leader. I'm currently investigating what I think may be behind this institutional bias, and will report my findings very soon. Stay tuned.

Daschle finally releases tax returns

The Rapid City Journal's Denise Ross has a report today headlined "Candidates release tax returns." Excerpt:

South Dakota's two major candidates for the U.S. Senate both owe the bulk of their wealth to lobbying.

The $157,626 salary paid to Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is about one-fifth of the $749,558 his wife, Linda, is paid to lobby for Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz.

Daschle's opponent, former Republican congressman John Thune, earned $452,675 from a spate of lobbying work. His wife, Kimberley, does not work outside the home.

A year ago, the Daschles refused to release their tax returns, as the New York Post's Deborah Orin reported at the time.

Daschle raises more corporate money than Thune

A Roll Call story today headlined "PAC Dollars Favor Daschle" reports Tom Daschle has raised three times more money from corporations than has John Thune. Excerpt:

In a sign that incumbency sometimes trumps majority, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) 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....

Among Daschle’s business backers are a number of big GOP supporters, including ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline and ChevronTexaco. Even News Corp., the owner of the same Fox News shows that profit from bashing Daschle and other Democrats, sent Daschle a $2,000 check in early February.

Among other companies that gave generously to Daschle during the first three months of the year were such telecommunications companies as AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon Communications; such financial services firms as Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and American Express; and such air carriers as
American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

Daschle also received campaign checks from several business groups run by prominent Republicans. The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, for example, gave Daschle $1,000 even though the president of the wireless phone industry’s trade association is former Rep. Steve Largent (R-Okla.).

Daschle also received $4,000 from Major League Baseball, even though many of the league’s owners are top givers to President Bush, a one-time baseball owner....

So much for Daschle "taking on the special interests." Deeper into the story we find the following interesting fact:

[Thune campaign manager Dick] Wadhams added that Thune has done a better job of raising money from South Dakota residents than Daschle.

In the last five years, Wadhams said, Daschle has raised about $400,000 from individuals in South Dakota. During Thune’s first three months in the race, he took in $600,000 from state residents.

It's interesting to contrast the Dan Pfeiffer quote in today's Roll Call piece with a quote of his when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its support for John Thune in February. Here's the quote from Pfeiffer in today's Roll Call piece:

“Despite the bravado from the Republican Party, our success in the [business] community is a sign that a victory by Thune is still a very, very long shot,” Pfeiffer said. “People are very aware that at the end of the day it is very likely that Senator Daschle will be re-elected.”

Now see the following Pfeiffer quote from the February 2, 2004 edition of Roll Call headlined "Chamber Targets Daschle; Business Group Takes More Aggressive Approach in Elections":

Bill Miller, the head of the chamber's political arm, charged that Daschle has "on occasion been supportive of the business community, but for the most part, he has been more of an obstacle than an ally."

Miller said Daschle's Republican opponent, former Rep. John Thune (S.D.), is a "great friend of the business community and we will do everything we can to be supportive of him."

Dan Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Daschle, said Democrats hope to turn the chamber's endorsement of Thune against him.

"Tom Daschle has taken on special interests for years, so we are not shocked when they target him for defeat," Pfeiffer said.

(Emphasis added.) Yes, Daschle has taken on the special interests so vigorously that they give him three times more money than they give to John Thune.

UPDATE: Also note this quote from Pfeiffer during the 2002 Senate campaign, when the Chamber of Commerce announced its endorsement of John Thune:

"It should come as no surprise that big, Washington-based national groups that are well-known for lobbying for big business endorsed Congressman Thune today," said Dan Pfeiffer, campaign communication's director.

"John Thune is big business's best friend in Washington, and the fact that John Thune is so proud of this endorsement shows that he has picked the side of powerful special interests over average South Dakotans," he said.

So by Pfeiffer's own logic, Tom Daschle has picked the side of powerful special interests over average South Dakotans.

This quote appeared in an October 1, 2002 story in the Argus Leader, written by David Kranz, headlined "Chamber group gives its endorsement to Thune."

Daschle's latest ad

I guess everyone in the state except me, until now, has seen Tom Daschle's latest ad, in which various Daschle Republicans complain about "negative ads." You can view the Daschle ad in question HERE. One reader notes that Steve Grubbrud of Huron, one of the people in the Daschle ad, is standing in front of a cornfield in which the corn plants have tasseled, and saying "I hate these negative ads, Tom Daschle's a good man, he's done a lot of good things for South Dakota. I'm a Republican and there's a lot of Republicans in South Dakota that feel the same way as I do."

Corn plants don't tassel until late summer, meaning that this Daschle ad, or at least the segment with Steve Grubbrud, was in the can almost a year ago. It leads one to ask exactly what negative ad Steve Grubbrud was upset about at the time. It also says something about the singlemindedness with which Tom Daschle approaches re-election, busily taping ads and running them over a year before election day. What's interesting is that this singleminded attitude isn't getting results for Daschle in the polls. Daschle can't break 50%, and his challenger, who has yet to run a single ad, only trails him by a few points.

Fred Barnes on Senate Dems

The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes has written a piece headlined "A Democratic Senate?" Excerpt:

START WITH SOUTH DAKOTA. Bush is certain to win the state overwhelmingly. Daschle is more vulnerable than Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, who was reelected in 2002. Johnson narrowly defeated John Thune, now Daschle's foe and by far the best candidate Republicans could field. Daschle can't credibly argue he's cooperated with Bush, as Johnson did, and he's more visibly liberal. The race is a tossup.

If David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, cites this Weekly Standard piece in next Sunday's column, as he is almost certain to do, watch whether he quotes what I've excerpted above, particularly the sentence "Daschle can't credibly argue he's cooperated with Bush, as Johnson did, and he's more visibly liberal." Daschle likes to tell people here in South Dakota that he supports President Bush 75% of the time, although Americans for Democratic Action gives Daschle an 83% lifetime average Liberal Quotient, higher even than George McGovern, an icon of the Left.

More Hemmingsen

South Dakota television icon Steve Hemmingsen has a new "Weighing In" post that's another great read: "First Monday."

Kaus slams Daschle's self-serving "outrage"

Mickey Kaus weighs in on Tom Daschle's misplaced outrage regarding the misconduct of U.S. troops at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison: "Daschle's Outrage." Excerpt:

Leave it to a U.S. Senator to confront shameful acts of inhumanity that endanger the nation and get all outraged over ... a disregard of Congressional prerogatives! "Why were we not told in a classified briefing why this happened, and that it happened at all?" asked Senator Daschle, in a complaint echoed by Senators McCain and Warner. "That is inexcusable; it's an outrage." (Why, they had to hear it on CBS! They were unprepared!) Leave it to our get-a-new-angle media culture to play up these self-serving institutional complaints as if they were in the same universe as the abuse itself. No wonder politicians succeed by running against Washington. ....

How, exactly, would briefing senators have helped the situation? It wouldn't have stopped the abuse, which had already transpired. Mainly, it would have multiplied the number of potentially talkative people who knew, increasing the chance that the news would get out and do the damage to America's reputation that it has done, no?

Dems beside themselves on Frist visit to SD

The WaPo has a few paragraphs on Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's plans to come to South Dakota to campaign for Thune. The Dems are really working the "tradition" angle to pressure Frist not to come to South Dakota. But wasn't it a "tradition" not to filibuster judicial nominees too? Daschle certainly didn't hesitate to break that tradition when it suited him.

Herseth-Diedrich debate on SDPB

Don't forget to listen in or watch Wednesday's Herseth-Diedrich debate to be broadcast by South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Hopefully, Larry Diedrich will get a clear answer from Stephanie Herseth on the issue of making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent, rather than the dissembling we're starting to see Herseth engage in. Does she support making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent or doesn't she? If the forum allows it, Larry needs to ask her the question in a leading manner, and keep repeating the question until she answers it: "Stephanie, you don't support making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent, do you?" The more she dissembles on the question, the more opportunities Larry has to ask the question again, reminding the audience that Herseth doesn't support making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent. When you ask leading questions, the audience is listening to you, not to the one being questioned. At least that's what they taught me in my trial techniques class. They say it works.

Hemmingsen 'weighs in'

South Dakota television icon Steve Hemmingsen has a new post headlined "The Steph and Larry Show" that's laced with the colorful similes that are his trademark. As usual, it's an entertaining read.

Charlie Cook analyzes SD special election

Charlie Cook has a column in the National Journal today headlined "South Dakota's Monumental Election." Excerpt:

The Diedrich campaign had a big decision to make about the direction it was going to take over the next few weeks, and it chose to go on the offensive. In the newest ad, Diedrich tells voters he and Herseth "have
promised no personal attacks." But he continues that while they agree on certain issues, like country-of-origin labeling, they disagree on the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Diedrich says he thinks the cuts should be permanent, while Herseth does not. Not surprisingly, Herseth immediately took to the airwaves with a spot charging Diedrich with misleading voters about her position on
taxes. She ends with the tag line: "I approved this message, because I'm committed to a truthful campaign. It's clear that Larry Diedrich is not." It is also unclear if the NRCC will begin to weigh in with its own contrast ads -- and if so, what impact those would have on the contest.

Here is the bottom line: South Dakota's at-large district could have a tighter contest than the public polls have shown. After all, this is a state President Bush won with 60 percent of the vote.

Herseth started the race in a strong position and -- like any front-runner -- tried to dictate the race on her terms. With such a strong start, it was hard to see how Diedrich could catch up with Herseth simply by trusting the Republican lean of the state to carry him through. And with recent polling in South Dakota showing Bush ahead of the presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, by
just 10 points, it would not do Diedrich much good to try to nationalize this contest. Whether his decision to go on the offensive will help him close the gap remains to be seen. What we do know is that this is going
to be an exciting race to watch for the next few weeks.

Back in the saddle

I'm emerging from a weekend in the law school library with my head buried in the Uniform Commercial Code, trying to to figure out the intricacies of a purchase money security interest. I had the last test of my law school experience this morning and I must say it feels good to be done.

Lots of stuff to talk about, so check in frequently.

First, the Diedrich v. Herseth special election is starting to heat up. A Roll Call story today by Chris Cillizza reveals allegations from the Herseth campaign that Republicans have tested some hard-hitting ads. The piece is headlined "NRCC, DCCC Squaring Off; Battle for Edge Heads to S.D." Excerpt:

The Herseth campaign alleged late Monday that Republicans conducted focus groups as recently as two weeks ago that tested negative commercials for use against her.

The four potential ads tested included mentions of the fact that Herseth traveled to New York City to raise money for the race; that she advertised on a Democratic Web blog; an attempt to tie her to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D); and a final ad making clear that she favors abortion rights, according to Herseth spokesman Russ Levsen.

The "advertising on a Democratic Web blog" phrase is a reference to this story. A reader imagines the following script for a commercial:

"Four Americans, shot, dragged from their vehicle, burned and mutilated by an Iraqi mob.

"And Stephanie Herseth's friend said, 'Screw them.'

"Yes, a top Democrat website where Herseth raises tens of thousands of dollars sees brave Americans, who died to fight a war for freedom and says, 'Screw them.'

And Stephanie keeps taking their money.

You get the idea.

Back tomorrow

Sorry about the sparse blogging of late. It's finals time here at the law school, and I have my last exam tomorrow morning. Then I'll be graduating this Saturday. I'll be blogging again tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, be sure to follow the implosion of Tom Daschle's latest ethanol ploy over at DVT. It turns out that even the most influential ethanol lobbyists, the National Corn Grower's Association, didn't fully support Daschle's ethanol amendment last week.