South Dakota Politics

Blogging to support the Swifties

My dad is a Vietnam veteran who, after observing John Kerry's attempts to win the presidency based on his record as a Vietnam veteran, is stirred mightily to voice his thoughts on the subject. Therefore, he's decided to blog about it. His blog is called Decorated Vets Against Kerry. Here's my dad's view of Purple Hearts, in the context of John Kerry's first Purple Heart for a scratch caused by shrapnel:

I remember not ducking quite quick enough one day in Con Thien and catching a piece of mortar shrapnel just under my right elbow. It left a two-inch cut and stung like crazy for several days, but if I had asked for a purple heart for such a little wound, my whole company would have laughed at me.

I don't know that much about my dad's experience in Vietnam, because he's always disliked talking about it. I know I'll be reading his blog with interest. I hope SDP readers will, too.

BOMBSHELL: E-mail indicates Daschle state director illegally doing campaign work

The Daschle campaign, in its effort to dampen the impact of the new ad being broadcast by the US Chamber of Commerce, sent out an e-mail to a South Dakota businessperson, attempting to get that person's signature on a letter asking the US Chamber of Commerce to stop broadcasting its ad. The following is the text of that e-mail:

Here is the letter to the US Chamber regarding the ads being run against Tom. I am forwarding this to you at the request of Steve Erpenbach. It is important to Senator Daschle that people understand that the state and local Chambers in South Dakota are not sponsoring this ad, and have remained neutral in this race.

Your willingness to lend your name to the letter would be a great help to the Senator. We want to make sure that you are comfortable with content. Please reply to this email. If you have questions call Steve Erpenbach at 366-6565. Included is a copy of the script of the ad and talking points on Tom's record on this issue.

Thank you for your assistance,

Ryan Howlett

(Emphases added.) Steve Erpenbach is Senator Daschle's State Director, and a member of his Senate staff, NOT a member of his campaign staff. His salary is paid by taxpayer dollars, not campaign funds. The Senate Ethics Manual prohibits Senate staffers helping incumbents gain reelection. Below is the relevant text from the Senate Ethics Manual:

Senate employees are compensated from funds of the Treasury for regular performance of official duties. They are not paid to do campaign work. In the words of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: "It is clear from the record that Congress has recognized basic principle that government funds should not be spent to help incumbents gain reelection."

(Emphasis added.) The case quoted is Common Cause v. Bolger, 574 F. Supp. 672 (D.D.C. 1982). It would appear, given the information now available, that Erpenbach's activity is a blatant violation of a bright line rule in the Senate Code of Ethics. According to the e-mail quoted above, Erpenbach is deeply involved in the Daschle campaign's effort to squelch the effect of the US Chamber of Commerce ads. According to the facts as I know them, Erpenbach is being paid with taxpayer dollars to do campaign work.

Interestingly, Erpenbach at one time was the assistant city editor for the Argus Leader, working under city editor David Kranz. Jeff Gannon reported this factoid last summer in a piece headlined "Another Daschle Link to Beleaguered Newspaper Revealed." Excerpt:

Steve Erpenbach, currently State Director for Daschle, was Assistant City Editor for the Argus Leader from 1986 until 1989. David Kranz, the reporter at the center of the controversy, was City Editor at the time. Erpenbach became Press Secretary for Ted Muenster in his 1990 bid to unseat Sen. Larry Pressler (R-SD). It was during this campaign that the New York Times and Roll Call criticized the Argus Leader for its biased coverage.

'Dueling Daschles'

Be sure to try your hand at the "Dueling Daschles" game. Guess whether a particular Daschle quote was made in Washington, DC or South Dakota.

Another Rapid City Journal cartoon

This cartoon appeared in the July 30 Vermillion Plain Talk. The fact that Senator Daschle attended the premiere of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" has deeply penetrated into the consciousness of the average South Dakotan.

US Chamber of Commerce TV ad

Yesterday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced an ad campaign critical of Tom Daschle to begin airing in South Dakota next week. You can view the ad by clicking HERE.

The ad explains that Daschle has stood in the way of tort reform time after time (perhaps because trial lawyers are his biggest contributors), and that Daschle's stance is causing health insurance rates to rise.

Washington Times on new Daschle v. Thune poll

DVT noted yesterday that John McLaughlin, a GOP pollster, had conducted a new poll of 400 likely voters in South Dakota. The Washington Times has a story on the poll headlined "Poll: S.D. Senate race within margin." Excerpt:

Though Thune's approval rating of 59.8 percent was barely higher than Daschle's 59 percent, only 27.5 percent of respondents said they have an unfavorable opinion of him compared to 35 percent who said they had an unfavorable opinion of Daschle.

UPDATE: Q also notes Daschle's high unfavorables.

Photos of Daschle in the Hamptons

Below are two photographs that appeared in the August 8, 2004 edition of the New York Times, in a story headlined "The Democrats' A.T.M." The story was about a fundraiser in the Hamptons held to benefit Tom Daschle.

The first photo shows the mansion of Gail Furman, where the Hamptons fundraiser was held, as well as some of the guests at the fundraiser crowded around the patio. The caption reads:

FAR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA On a Sag Harbor lawn, Senator Tom Daschle took in more than $100,000. Senator John Corzine of New Jersey and Wesley Clark of Arkansas were also on hand.

Far, indeed, from South Dakota.

Here's a photo of Tom Daschle seated in the crowd at the Hamptons fundraiser, listening to a speech by Wesley Clark. This photo is captioned:

The Island is a piggy bank for national Democrats. Wesley Clark of Arkansas with Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, left, in Sag Harbor.

Once again, one can readily observe the two Tom Daschles: when he's on the East Coast, he's a liberal, but when in South Dakota he purports to be President Bush's biggest supporter. The Thune campaign is now emphasizing that Daschle duality by introducing a game called "Dueling Daschles" which you can play by clicking HERE.

Tomorrow's edition of Newsday has a piece on the wealth of the Hamptons going into Democratic coffers headlined "East End's wealth a magnet for Kerry."

Listen to the debate

The Argus Leader recorded the Daschle v. Thune debate yesterday, and you can listen to the recording by clicking HERE.

Tom Daschle: A Strong Voice for Trial Lawyers

DVT notes, via an Overlawyered post headlined "A Lot of Trial Lawyers Supporting Tom Daschle," an August 15 article in the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger headlined "Daschle luncheon was quiet gathering." Excerpt:

Embattled Senate Minority Leader Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota was in Mississippi on Aug. 4 for a luncheon fund-raiser hosted by Democratic Party luminaries that included the state's best known trial lawyers....

Trial lawyers represent Daschle's largest group of individual contributors at $1.5 million and his second largest overall sector of givers at $1.7 million during the current cycle.

The Daschle affair was under the political radar — as with many state Democratic fund-raising events. Not even the local daily newspaper in Oxford received advance notice of the event and there was zero news coverage of the event.

One can only imagine why Daschle's Mississippi supporters would feel the need to keep his visit to the state a secret.

Senator Daschle has a habit of going to extraordinary lengths to keep the trial lawyer fund-raisers he attends as secret as possible. This past December, Daschle attended a fundraiser hosted by a trial lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida which was kept so secret that even the city's top elected Democrat, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, didn't know about it until AFTER Daschle had left with his cash. Here's the report from the December 15, 2003 Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville, headlined "Daschle ducks (in) city" (scroll about halfway down):

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle slipped into Jacksonville on Thursday for a private fund-raiser, then visited a Jacksonville Bar holiday party before popping in at the North Florida Building and Central Trades Council holiday oyster roast.

Attorney Wayne Hogan hosted a fund-raiser at the University Club for Daschle, a South Dakotan running next year. Daschle later spoke for eight to 10 minutes at the union event at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall, talking about Democrats regaining seats and the majority in the Senate, said Eddie Dedmon, council president.

But what surprised some Democrats is the visit was hush-hush, and U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown -- the city's top elected Democrat -- and aides didn't know about it until Friday. Party leaders and Hogan, who led the fund raiser, did nothing to publicly promote the visit as the party seeks to rev up for the 2004 elections.

"I am quite certain, had she known he was in town, she would have attended," said Brown's chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons. "Daschle is a national figure who would galvanize Democrats in North Florida."

Hogan said the fund-raiser was planned in advance, but the other events were spur of the moment. The Bar party was downstairs from the fund-raiser, and the union party was on the way to the airport. Local Chairman Clyde Collins and donor Steve Pajcic said they learned about it that day.

"It wasn't my show. He came for a private visit," Collins said. "We hope to have him back."

Dedmon said he got wind of the visit about 4 p.m., several hours before Daschle spoke to a crowd of 300.

"It was really an unexpected visit," he said.

Well, remember Daschle's campaign motto: "Only the paranoid survive."

I posted this story on my old blog at the time.

AP on anonymous campaign calls

The AP has a story today that has ramifications for the House and Senate campaigns in South Dakota headlined "Dirty Campaign Tricks Now Serious Crimes." Excerpt:

Election-year tactics like making anonymous phone calls or inventing make-believe groups to criticize the opponent now come with a higher price: the possibility of time in jail.

A law in effect for the first time this election cycle expands the list of campaign violations classified as felonies. Before the law took effect in late 2002, many campaign violations were treated as misdemeanors....

The law requires any statement published by campaigns, national party committees or political action committees to include a disclaimer saying who is behind the message. It also bans candidates, political parties and PACs from calling voters, sending mass mailings or airing ads anonymously or under phony names. All must have proper disclaimers.

Recall that the Daschle campaign engaged in precisely this type of "dirty trick" last spring, making anti-Thune calls to everyone in the state without using the proper disclaimer. The Daschle campaign subsequently admitted to breaking the law. According to the AP's interpretation of the law, Daschle's calls without the disclaimer were a "felony" that "could mean time behind bars for a candidate or campaign officials."

Ironically, the Daschle calls were phrased as an effort to get rid of negative campaigning. Note that the AP regards such calls as "dirty tricks" which belies the silly notion that Daschle's hands are clean when it comes to negative campaigning.

An anti-Diedrich call was also made without the required disclaimer, which the FEC is still investigating.

As Election Day approaches, we're likely to see these kinds of phone calls without the required disclaimer occur again. The reader should be aware that this is a felony, and be ready to take down the number of the incoming call on their caller ID, if possible.

DVT makes a critical point

DVT notes Daschle's claim that he could have gotten the necessary votes to pass the energy bill if the provisions protecting MTBE manufacturers had been removed is bogus. When the MTBE provision was taken out of the bill this spring, the energy bill actually got fewer votes to invoke cloture than it did last fall.

Sibby and Q weigh in

Sibby shares his take on the Daschle v. Thune debate and adds many interesting details of the debate to the mix. Excerpt:

Then all of a sudden Daschle tried to argue that we need less partisanship. He said that he and Thune held the same position on the Death Tax. Laughter broke out in the crowd, and Thune had a look of disbelief on his face.

It was interesting to observe that the crowd also broke into laughter when Daschle talked about working with Bill Janklow. I'm told that the laughter was even audible in the radio broadcast. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but I'm betting Daschle won't bring that up again.

Last, but not least, Q has some excellent observations on the issue of Daschle dodging debates, noting that Daschle has blogged about being at the Sioux Empire Fair when he could have been having a debate with Thune.

Keynote address at the DBA conference

John Hinderaker at Power Line notes the Wall Street Journal's mention of the Dakota Blog Alliance Conference. Here's a picture of John delivering the keynote address at the conference:

In his post, John has some kind words for the Dakota Alliance bloggers, which are very much appreciated, and the sentiment is mutual. A large part of the success of the Dakota Alliance can be attributed to John and his colleagues at Power Line.

More pics from Dakotafest

Aside from the Daschle v. Thune debate this morning, there was also the Diedrich v. Herseth debate in the afternoon. Here's a picture of Larry Diedrich shortly before he headed to the debate.

PUC candidate Dusty Johnson also worked the crowds at Dakotafest:

Dakotafest Debate: Daschle gets shellacked

The picture above was taken just before the first debate of the biggest Senate race in the country. DVT live-blogged the debate, and also offered some post-debate analysis. Sibby has some great pictures of the debate, and also has some pictures of the startling meanness of some Daschle supporters.

I'm not sure how the debate sounded on the radio, but being there in person, Thune owned the stage. It was a raucous crowd, and I noted with interest that the Daschle campaign's huge number of staffers (all in their red shirts) were used to fill the seats, giving an artificial total to the amount of crowd noise for Daschle. The Thune campaign, on the other hand, made little concerted effort to fill the seats with its supporters, but the roar for Thune when he walked on the stage was definitely louder than the roar for Daschle when he walked on. The Daschle people were also more effective at getting their people to shout "We want Tom" than were the Thune people. There was a marked contrast to the organization of both campaigns regarding getting their supporters into the stands and shouting slogans.

Daschle was on his heels through most of the debate, only scoring some points on the issue of drought relief back in 2002. Thune spoke passionately and effectively on a series of issues, particularly ethanol, describing the failure of the energy bill last fall as one of many examples of the failure of the Senate to do anything productive, due solely to Daschle's partisan determination to obey the dictates of the Democratic caucus to make the Senate a graveyard for a host of issues like judicial nominations, tort reform and the federal marriage amendment. The one time Daschle scored points (on the issue of drought relief), he did so in a sarcastic, sneering tone that is unlikely to sit well with voters.

Thune, probably because of his days as an athlete, is apt to use sports metaphors, and today he used one of these metaphors very effectively. DVT live-blogged the moment:

Thune: "We had the ball on the one yard line" and it had passed the House and President wanted to sign the bill and it failed by 2 votes in the Senate. "Tom walked off the field and was signing autographs." The night before the crucial vote Daschle "was out signing books."

Daschle responded that he shouldn't be to blame since Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House. I think that response weakens Daschle's claim to having "clout."

Thune also had a good comeback for Daschle's recent proposal to add a Small Farm Administration to the Department of Agriculture to "give a voice to the small farmers and ranchers in South Dakota." Thune responded (I'm paraphrasing): "That's what you and Senator Johnson are supposed to be there for, Tom." Thune said the last thing farmers need is more bureacracy in Washington.

I thought it was bit strange that Daschle pronounced the entire word "methyl tertiary butyl ether" (MTBE) multiple times when he responded with the excuse that the energy bill died because the House Republicans refused to negotiate on lawsuit immunity for MTBE manufacturers. Why didn't Daschle just say "MTBE" like everybody else?

I'll have more thoughts on the debate later this evening. Here are some photos of the crowd (note the red shirts of Daschle staffers artificially strengthening Daschle's support):

Thune eating lunch after the debate:

After lunch, Thune spent some time talking to folks:

Reflection on the Democratic Convention

Recall that during the Democratic National Convention, Senator Daschle ducked out early to avoid being seen with John Kerry, despite his protestations to the contrary:

But even Mr. Daschle was heading out early and would not be on hand for Senator John Kerry's acceptance speech on Thursday, though he dismissed any idea that he was doing so to avoid too close a connection with Mr. Kerry. ''He is a dear friend,'' said Mr. Daschle, who said he would probably draw more attention back home because of his plans to hold a party to celebrate Mr. Kerry. ''I am going to call a lot of friends and fellow South Dakotans to watch the speech together.''

The passage above is excerpted from a July 27 story in the New York Times headlined "Some Candidates Seek the Convention Limelight, but Others Steer Clear."

Some investigation lends credibility to the notion that Daschle ducked out of the convention at the last minute to avoid being too closely associated with Kerry. A look at the Boston Globe's schedule of convention events for Thursday, July 27 (the day of Kerry's acceptance of the nomination) shows that a party was scheduled to be hosted by Tom Daschle at the Capital Grille restaurant in Boston that night between 5PM and 7PM. Daschle, of course, had gotten the hell out of Dodge by then. Maybe Tom Daschle's double showed up for that one.

It's interesting to note that only a few days later, Daschle was in the Hamptons raising cash for his campaign, though the New York Times, in an August 8th story headlined "The Democrats' ATM," inaccurately reported that he had swooped in directly from Boston after the convention:

Many politicians and well-heeled donors worked the Hamptons into their schedules after the Democratic National Convention, making South Fork pit stops on their way from Boston. Messrs. Daschle, Corzine and Clark were in this group.

Wrong. Daschle had arrived in the Hamptons from Boston by way of South Dakota.

On Wednesday, July 26 Daschle was honored at the Anthem night club by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Here endeth the reflection.

Argus Leader blog withering on the vine

The Argus Leader editors' feeble attempts at blogging are beginning to become noticeable. There hasn't been an update in almost two weeks.

Daschle dodges six of seven debates in August

We are in the heart of the August congressional recess, and there have still been no debates between Senator Daschle and John Thune. As John Thune states in the Argus Leader today, he and Daschle should have met several times by now. Tomorrow morning, Daschle and Thune are scheduled to meet for a forum at Dakotafest to discuss only agricultural issues.

Thune has accepted all seven invitations to forums and debates during the month of August. Daschle has only accepted the one narrowly scoped forum to be held tomorrow. When Thune attends the other forums Daschle refuses to attend, Daschle instead sends a staffer with videocamera to record his every move.

Senator Daschle has been doing nothing but attending fundraisers in the Hamptons and Mississippi and attending rigidly choreographed campaign events in South Dakota during the congressional recess. The congressional recess will end September 7th with lots of footage of John Thune attending forums with an unoccupied stool beside him.

A 'cheeky' document

John Fund of the Wall Street Journal notes the emergence of the Sioux Falls Platform in an item headlined "A Prairie Revolt Against the 'Lamestream' Media." Excerpt:

There are two political wars being fought in South Dakota these days. One is between Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and his GOP challenger, John Thune. The other involves an eclectic collection of Internet bloggers who are cranking out copy on the Senate race because they say the "lamestream" media is doing such a poor job of covering it. Over the weekend, bloggers took a leaf from the state's populist farmers of the 19th century and issued their own manifesto aimed at the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader, a Gannett paper they say has a print monopoly on statewide coverage of politics. The cheeky document accuses the Argus-Leader of "a pattern of chronic political bias" and of treating outside critics "with hostility." Noting that the paper is highly profitable, it calls for management to hire an ombudsman and more political reporters so the Senate race will be adequately covered from all sides. Don't expect to read much coverage of the petition in the Argus-Leader itself, although the bloggers appear poised to have the last laugh. In a slow but sure demonstration of the power of the market, more and more South Dakotans are turning to the Internet for their political news.

UPDATE: For more on "the New Populism" read this post from DVT a few weeks ago, noting that South Dakota is the birthplace of populism, and how there is a common thread of that populism in the Dakota Alliance's criticism of the print media monopoly that is the Argus Leader.

Detroit News blogs about Dakota Alliance

John R. LaPlante, a freelance writer who posts to the Detroit News weblog, says political blogs can have an influence in thinly populated states in a post headlined "Blogs Spice Up Political Journalism." Excerpt:

While it is easy for bloggers to over-estimate their importance, they can have an influence, especially in thinly populated states. Where there are few outlets in the tradtional media, the voice of one or more individuals on blogs can be especially powerful. This may be the case in South Dakota, where a collection of individuals is challenging the state’s dominant newspaper. Citing instances of political bias favoring Sen. Tom Daschle, the Dakota Blog Alliance Conference is calling on the Sioux Falls Argus Leader to create “a permanent ombudsman … to review and assess public complaints.”

This spurs a recollection of an interesting comment made by John Hinderaker at the conference about the role blogs played in the ouster of Trent Lott as Republican Leader of the Senate. Hinderaker thought the true measure of the blog's influence would be if they were to play a role in the ouster of the Democratic Leader of the Senate. That, of course, remains to be seen.

The Detroit News, like the Argus Leader, is a Gannett newspaper.

Cartoon in the Rapid City Journal

Steve Hildebrand's unclean hands

Steve Hildebrand, Tom Daschle's campaign manager, presumed to tell us this past weekend in a press release about "how we do things in South Dakota." Excerpt from the Hildebrand press release:

"Berating young staffers and referring to public officials with obscenities is not how we do things in South Dakota."

So what's Hildebrand's version of how we do things in South Dakota? One can easily discover the answer to this question by reading a piece in the Washington Post dated May 31, 2003. Excerpt:

Hildebrand said the campaign has assembled embarrassing information on several conservatives who are considering more attack ads against Daschle. The information includes videotape of a conservative activist discussing how he paid for his girlfriend's abortion.

It doesn't get much sleazier than that, especially when one considers that the so-called "videotape of a conservative activist discussing how he paid for his girlfriend's abortion" is in actuality videotaped testimony of Christian redemption in a public appearance by Rushmore Policy Council head Rob Regier.

Local radio talk show host Greg Belfrage has also been the target of Steve Hildebrand's attempts to stifle dissent.

Jeff Gannon, resident DC expert on South Dakota politics, reported last year on Daschle's "Mafia tactics and intimidation" to silence his opponents in South Dakota in a piece headlined "Critics: Daschle's Soft Image Masks Political Machine."

Redstate notes Argus Leader piece on blogs

I feel a bit sheepish to have overlooked this, but Redstate.org noted last week's piece in the Argus Leader on South Dakota blogs. Still, it's better late than never to bring Redstate's post headlined "Argus Leader acknowledges reality -- S.D. blogs" to your attention.

Nethercutt campaign discusses Daschle's ads

George Nethercutt is running for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Patty Murray in the state of Washington. Recently, the Nethercutt campaign noted that Murray's television ads look remarkably similar to Senator Daschle's television ads, prompting Nethercutt's campaign manager to ask "Is Patty running in Washington or South Dakota? It’s a long time since she had a bake sale, but there’s no excuse for using a cookie cutter."

Daschle and hugs

The USA Today had an article published last Thursday headlined "Squeezin' like it's Charmin" discussing political hugs. Senator Daschle's name surfaces twice in the story, relating to his hug of President Bush after September 11, 2001 and to the hug that never happened with Michael Moore.

Dakota Blog Alliance Conference roundup

First, be sure to read the Sioux Falls Platform, the document announcing an agenda for reform at the Argus Leader.

Kudos to Quentin Riggins for organizing a successful conference. Be sure to read his post "Chicken droppings the rest of the story."

DVT has posted a photo of the Dakota Alliance bloggers, and notes the upcoming announcement of the newest member of the Dakota Alliance, Jay Reding.

KSFY television covered the conference, as did KELO and the AP.

Sibby discusses Greg Belfrage's description of a "marriage made in heaven," the synergy between blogs and talk radio that cuts through the liberal bias in the mainstream media.

Ryne McClaren has a long drive back west.

John Hinderaker at Power Line has a post headlined "A Day in South Dakota."

Last, but not least, thanks to Long Shots Bar & Grill for providing post-conference adult beverages and appetizers.

UPDATE: Instapundit notes the Alliance "looks like they're becoming a force in South Dakota politics and journalism."