South Dakota Politics

The Economist mentions Dakota Alliance

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

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

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

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

The Hill

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

Brokaw

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

IMUS: Daschle lost, is that final?

BROKAW: Yes.

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

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

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

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

MATTHEWS: Yes.

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

Coasties cringe at pheasant hunting

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

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

Quote of the Day

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

Local lefties compare Thune to Hitler, KKK

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

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

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

Democratic interpretation of Daschle's defeat

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nofziger analysis

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

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

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

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

South Dakota History

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

Frum on Daschle

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

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

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

Apologies, apologies

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

TO ALL DASCHLE SUPPORTERS

I would like to apologize for the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Citizens' media

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

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

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