South Dakota Politics

Daschle on "imminent threats"

Glenn Reynolds notes a quote by Tom Daschle in 2002 regarding the "imminent threat" of Saddam Hussein, and asks the Bush-bashers where the beef is in the "Bush lied" argument. Perhaps the professor should ask John Mellencamp that question when Mellencamp headlines a fundraiser for Tom Daschle on Monday.

Daschle's "path to 51" disintegrates

This week, Tom Daschle struck out in his efforts to recruit a candidate to oppose Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in Colorado. As a press release from the National Republican Senatorial Committee notes:

Just last week, Tom Daschle and the DSCC were talking up their chances this cycle, with Daschle reportedly telling his caucus that, “we have a path to 51 seats.”

“It looks like Tom Daschle’s ‘path to 51’ has taken another turn for the worse. It’s looking more and more like the long and winding road,” Timmons added. “Tom Daschle and his Senate Democrats have failed to land their top choices in Colorado as well as in Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa and Pennsylvania. Their recruiting failures, and the strong position of our incumbents, give us the ability to be on offense and focus our attention and resources on strengthening our majority in 2004.”

Daschle and Mellencamp

As most SDP readers are aware, Bill Clinton and singer John Mellencamp are headlining a fundraiser for Tom Daschle next Monday, which is expected to raise $2 million for his re-election campaign here in South Dakota.

I wonder how Tom Daschle feels about John Mellencamp's Bush-bashing "protest" song "To Washington," particularly in light of the fact that Daschle boasts about voting with Bush 75 percent of the time? To read more of Mellencamp's Bush-bashing, see his piece published last fall headlined "An Open Letter to America: It's Time to Take Back Our Country." Conversely, I wonder how willing John Mellencamp would be to headline a fundraiser for Tom Daschle if he knew that Tom Daschle boasts about supporting President Bush 75 percent of the time? John Mellencamp is certainly entitled to bash President Bush. But people in South Dakota who voted for President Bush by a margin of 60% in 2000 deserve to know that Tom Daschle is trying to have it both ways, cavorting with Bush-bashers when he's in Washington, D.C. while simultaneously boasting about supporting President Bush when he's at home.

Daschle takes credit for bill he opposed

Once again, another local newspaper publishes a Tom Daschle press release in which Daschle takes credit for a bill he voted against. This time it's the Lennox Independent.

NYT on AIM trial

Today's edition of the New York Times has another report on the trial of Arlo Looking Cloud for the murder of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash headlined "In Court, AIM Members Are Depicted as Killers."

To listen to coverage of the trial by South Dakota Public Broadcasting, click HERE.

Russell Means backs Thune

Native American activist Russell Means has endorsed John Thune in his campaign to unseat Tom Daschle. This is the second major development affecting Daschle's support in the Native American community. Last month, Native American newspaper publisher Tim Giago announced his plans to challenge Tom Daschle in the Democratic primary. For more information on Means' announcement, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

KRANZ WATCH

David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, in his report today about campaign funding headlined "Finance laws may affect Senate election," does not discuss the fact that Tom Daschle plans to raise an anticipated $2 million for his campaign next Monday in a fundraiser headlined by Bill Clinton and John Mellencamp. It's reasonable to expect a political reporter to mention that timely and relevant bit of information when he writes an article about campaign funding.

Some might argue that the Argus Leader's Mike Madden has already reported that bit of information, so David Kranz can skate by without reporting it. Not so. Much of the campaign funding information Kranz cites has already been reported in the pages of the AL, some of it even by Mike Madden. Why is it that certain information is worth being reported two or more times, but timely and relevant information that reflects negatively on Tom Daschle is not worth repeating?

DOH!

I stated in an earlier post that John Thune would be a guest on Jeff Gannon's radio show this morning. I was wrong. The show is TONITE at 9 CST. My apologies. You can listen to the show through the internet by clicking HERE.

Ed Schultz Watch

Ed Schultz, the North Dakota radio personality touted as the liberal Rush Limbaugh, gets a story in the Los Angeles Times headlined "A Sharp Left Turn on Dial."

Thune on "Jeff Gannon's Washington"

John Thune will be a guest on Jeff Gannon's radio show tomorrow morning at 9:00 CST. You can hear the broadcast via the internet at www.rightalk.com.

Daschle's latest fundraising letter

I've just received word from an out-of-state reader who has received a fundraising letter from Tom Daschle. The letter was paired with a letter from Bill Clinton soliciting donations for Tom Daschle. The letter from Tom Daschle reads as follows.

Dear Friend,
As I was preparing to send you the enclosed letter, my campaign received word that former Congressman John Thune -- the hand-picked candidate of the Bush White House -- has chosen to run against me.
This news officially confirms that my race will be one of the most competitive, closely contested campaigns in the nation in 2004.

You may recall that Thune fought Senator Tim Johnson to a near-tie in 2002-losing by fewer than 600 votes in the entire state. Now, he'll enjoy the considerable advantage of President Bush -- who remains popular in South Dakota -- appearing at the top of the ballot.

Thune will receive the lavish support of the national Republican Party. In fact, a first cousin of White House political guru Karl Rove has already been dispatched to South Dakota to help run the Thune campaign.

Thune's announcement doesn't change my strategy. I'm proud of what we've accomplished for our state, and I'm going to run a positive, upbeat campaign on that basis. But we must also be realistic. The White House views me as the chief impediment to President Bush's reckless agenda, and they will stop at nothing to defeat me this November.

That's why it's more urgent than ever that I have your generous support. Please fill out the enclosed card and make a generous contribution to my campaign right away. We can prevail this November -- but I'm going to need all the support I can get.

Tom Daschle

P.S. Defeating me this November is one of the White House's top priorities, and now they've got their hand-picked candidate in place to do it. Please help me ensure I have the resources to defeat this very serious challenge.

The enclosed card reads:

Dear President Clinton, I AGREE! As the Republican's number one target and foremost "obstacle" in the U.S.
Senate, Tom Daschle faces a serious re-election battle this year. I join you in supporting this decent and honorable man who has accomplished so much for America and its working families.
Enclosed is my contribution to help re-elect Tom Daschle to the U.S. Senate:

It's interesting how Tom Daschle claims President Bush's agenda is "reckless" and then boasts about voting with President Bush 75 percent of the time.

Daschle quoted in Hotline

The Democratic blog Daily Kos excerpts some fascinating comments from Tom Daschle, quoted in National Journal's Hotline, ostensibly made during Daschle's meeting with President Clinton last week. Thus Daschle on the recruiting efforts of Republicans to take on incumbent Democratic senators:

"At the beginning of the current Congress a year ago, there was a lot of skepticism that we could take back the Senate in 2004. We heard it not just from our friends in Labor, political pundits and donors, but also among ourselves." A Dem majority in '04 seemd "out of reach. Bush was strong, our presidential prospects were uncertain and our Senate candidates unknown." Bush and Karl Rove envisioned their "Dream Team" of Senate recruits, including: Jennifer Dunn in WA SEN; Mike Huckabee in AR SEN; Ed Shafer in ND SEN; Jim Gibbons in NV SEN; Tommy Thompson in WI SEN and Rudy Giuliani in NY SEN.

More Daschle: "Not one of those races materialized. But with few exceptions, Republicans have failed in their recruiting efforts. And where they have failed, we have exceeded expectations." Daschle singled out Tony Knowles in AK SEN, Brad Carson in OK SEN, Erskine Bowles in NC SEN, Inez Tenenbaum in SC SEN, Joe Hoeffel in PA SEN and Nancy Farmer in MO SEN. Daschle then proclaimed: "We have a path to 51 seats." Daschle also noted that according to "polling available today, we lead in 7 of the 8 most competitive races of the cycle. ... If the elections were held today, we would be in the majority."

Note that one of the "exceptions" Daschle skates over is his own race with John Thune. Note too that even Kos isn't as optimistic as Daschle, and would be happy if the Dems just stayed even. But I think you can count on David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, to excerpt these quotes extensively in his column next Sunday, as he tries to convince South Dakotans that if Daschle is re-elected, he will become the majority leader.

Byron York on Thune v. Daschle

Byron York has a piece in today's edition of The Hill headlined "Get ready for another Senate election scandal."

George McGovern in today's WaPo

George McGovern points out in today's edition of the Washington Post that he's not the only Democratic presidential candidate in modern history to have lost 49 states, in a piece headlined "A Campaign Fiasco That Wasn't."

Hugh Hewitt has a response to one of McGovern's more asinine statements in the piece:

McGovern actually wrote in today's Washington Post that "It has always seemed to me that the leaders who are quickest to send our boys and our young to war are those who have never known war themselves." Like FDR and Bill Clinton, George? It seems to me that the decision to go to war ought to be judged on whether war is necessary, and not on an individual's own understanding of whether war is too awful to wage except under desperate circumstances.

John Thune for U.S. Senate

John Thune now has his campaign website operating. You can access his contibution page HERE. John is a good man who deserves as much support as possible.

CORRECTION

In an earlier post, I stated that it would be an outrage if the Argus Leader did not report on the fact that President Clinton and singer John Mellencamp were scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Tom Daschle. It turns out that the AL DID report this development over a week ago. In an article that appeared in the AL on January 19, under the headline "Thune needs funds--and fast," the second-to-last sentence of the article reads:

Meanwhile, Daschle has scheduled a fund-raiser in Washington next month featuring former President Clinton and singer John Mellencamp, which could raise more than $1 million.

I apologize to the Argus Leader's editors and to reporter Mike Madden, who wrote the story cited above, for my mistake.

Trial of AIM member set to begin

The trial of Arlo Looking Cloud for the murder of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash begins today in Rapid City. There is speculation that Looking Cloud murdered Aquash to protect Leonard Peltier. The New York Times has a report headlined "Murder Trial Revives Intrigue of the 70's Indian Movement."

Daschle, Clinton...and John Mellencamp?

The Wall Street Journal reports the following today:

Bill Clinton and singer John Mellencamp will headline a Feb. 9 fund-raising bash expected to raise $2 million for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, who faces a tough battle against Bush favorite John Thune for his South Dakota seat. The party's Senate campaign committee aims to pad its paltry $2.5 million in cash on hand by using "viral" e-mail solicitations, i.e. messages that they hope recipients will pass on. One donor list that started with 12,000 names has expanded to 95,000, thanks to recipients forwarding it on.

Will the Argus Leader report on this? If they don't, it will be an outrage.

UPDATE: www.opensecrets.org's chart of top industries supporting Tom Daschle contains the following note on how to read the chart:

From this chart, you can get a flavor of which are the top industries giving to this member of Congress. Do the industries match your local economy, or are they more Washington-based? If the latter, your representative may have divided loyalties on issues where the interests of their cash constituents conflict with those of the voters who elected them.

In looking at the top 20 industries supporting Tom Daschle, only two or three arguably match the local economy here in South Dakota. It is clear that Daschle has divided loyalties on issues where the interests of his cash constituents conflict with those of the voters who elected him.

Diedrich finishes strongly on "First Monday"

I watched the first debate tonight between the two candidates vying for South Dakota's lone seat in the House, and came away impressed with Larry Diedrich's poise and folksiness. I particularly liked the very end of the debate, when Herseth was railing about how only multi-national corporations have a seat at the table during trade negotiations, and how farmers do not. Diedrich responded by directly contradicting her with his own experience actually participating in trade negotiations in Geneva in his capacity as a farmer. In one fell swoop, Diedrich highlighted his know-how and expertise on important ag issues, and completely punctured Herseth's rhetoric. And that was the end of the debate. Kudos to Steve Kirby for asking Herseth how she felt about NAFTA. That question set up the whole conversation that allowed Diedrich to hit a homerun by talking about his trade negotiation experience. All in all, an impressive showing by Larry Diedrich.

KRANZ WATCH

Once again, we see David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, up to his usual shenanigans. Lately, he's been trying to portray Stephanie Herseth as a "moderate" Democrat, while omitting any reference to Larry Diedrich's moderation. I noted this bias technique in an earlier post.

Today, Kranz has a piece headlined "Close House contest forecast." Excerpt:

Most political observers attach the "conservative" tag to Diedrich's politics. Republicans, including Diedrich, quickly label Herseth a liberal. They get some disagreement, though.

"I would classify her as a moderate Democrat," Richardson said. "She might be considered liberal in some social hot button issues like abortion, but she is well-grounded in what South Dakotans consider social-economic issues like the rural economy."

Schotten said she will run this race as a moderate and has probably shunned the "outsider" label that stalked her in 2002, because she left a Washington law firm and moved back to the state to work.

Burns agrees that Diedrich is a conservative in respect to fiscal issues and is a neoconservative on issues such as abortion.

"I haven't heard him express opinions on issues like school prayer, the death penalty, gun ownership, gay and lesbian issues. I tend to associate him with being fiscally conservative," he said.

He sees efforts to classify Herseth as a liberal in the state because of her pro-choice position on abortion, but Burns said she would be regarded more of a moderate by national standards.

Her position on abortion isn't necessarily a negative in this state, he said. "Past elections have shown that candidates can win here and not have the endorsement of Right-to-Life."

Aside from leaving me wondering what the hell it means to be a "neoconservative on issues such as abortion" Kranz has engaged in the classic "quote-someone-who-agrees-with-me" bias technique. As Bob Kohn, author of Journalistic Fraud, writes:

Distorting a story with opinion--by including someone else's speculation or directly injecting one's own view into a story--is another basic technique of disguising a newspaper's political viewpoint in the form of a straight news story.

Opinions may be employed for influencing public opinion in the following basic ways:

1. Quoting someone who agrees with you
2. Directly injecting your opinion
3. Omitting the opposing opinion
4. Faking fairnes and balance

The point is, Kranz has cherry-picked experts who say that Stephanie Herseth is a moderate, and by implication that Larry Diedrich is not a moderate. Then Kranz attributes that opinion to "most political observers." Why doesn't Kranz quote those who disagree with the statement that Herseth is a moderate? Instead, the only people he quotes are those who disagree with the statement that Herseth is a liberal.

Now I'm off to watch "First Monday" which has Diedrich and Herseth squaring off for the first time.

Daschle alienates small business

Roll Call reports today that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has begun a $40 million effort to defeat candidates who oppose their agenda, starting with Tom Daschle. The Daschle v. Thune blog has excerpts.

Interestingly, the Chamber is one of the biggest supporters of the bankruptcy reform bill, a bill that is beginning to pose an election year dilemma for Tom Daschle, as Peter Roff of UPI reports. The Hill also has some interesting information on this effort.

Interesting dilemma

Bob Novak has an interesting blurb
in his column today on a dilemma that Tom Daschle faces on bankruptcy legislation:

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has devised an agonizing dilemma for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle that forces him to choose between his farm constituency and the feminist lobby.

In the House, DeLay has attached personal bankruptcy reform to a bill extending the availability of bankruptcy for farmers. In the Senate, that reform bill has been stalled by Sen. Charles Schumer's amendment excluding violent abortion protesters from bankruptcy rights.

The Senate has passed the farmer bankruptcy bill by itself, but final passage will be endangered if Senate Democrats insist on joining it with the Schumer amendment. Daschle, facing a serious challenge to his re-election this year, must decide whether to alienate the feminists by ditching the Schumer amendment or to alienate his farmer constituents by permitting the whole bill to die.

For more information, see this AP report. (Via Sibby Online). Excerpt from the AP article:

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who supports both the farm bankruptcy bill and the bankruptcy legislation with the Democratic abortion provision, would not commit to the House GOP bill Tuesday. He has enough votes to filibuster the bill.

And the Argus Leader, of course, has yet to even publish the AP article, despite the fact that there is an abundance of information in the article relevant to South Dakotans.