South Dakota Politics

Ross' column "contagious"

Rapid City Journal political reporter Denise Ross' piece on Tom Daschle's latest comments regarding the Bush administration and weapons of mass destruction is ranked 13th on the Blogdex rankings of the most contagious information currently spreading in the weblog community.

Daschle's schizoid politics

Denise Ross' column in the Rapid City Journal regarding Senator Daschle's dissonant statements on weapons of mass destruction is garnering attention from the blogosphere beyond South Dakota. Instapundit has a post on the piece, as does NRO's Jonah Goldberg. The Daschle v. Thune blog also has more excellent analysis on Daschle's schizoid politics, which you can access HERE and HERE.

UPDATE: Power Line weighs in too.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The Man Without Qualities blog has commentary, asking if Tom Daschle thinks South Dakota voters are too dim to see through this ploy.

Anthony Perez-Miller writes that Daschle's comments are "transparently opportunistic."

Pejmanesque says Tom Daschle is the latest afflictee of "Kerryitis," a condition "that strikes Democratic Senators who are trying to have it both ways when it comes to describing their position on Iraq."

The blog "Ace of Spades HQ" writes:

Jeepers! You'd think [Daschle] was running for re-election in a Republcian leaning state this year or somethin'!

And that's part of our problem with Democrats. It's not just that they're anti-war.

It's that they're willing to claim to be pro-war or anti-war as political circumstances dictate. They don't have a position on the war; they have, rather, positionings, designed solely for electoral gain.

The blog "Lapsus calami" writes: "Of course, Tom is in re-election mode, so he's probably just saying what South Dakotans want to hear."

Ed Schultz Watch

John Fund of the Wall Street Journal's Political Diary (subscription) has written some paragraphs today on Ed Schultz, the North Dakota radio personality touted as the liberal Rush Limbaugh:

Liberal When It Pays

Liberal donors have helped create a nationwide talk radio network called Democracy Radio to combat what they view as the overwhelming dominance of the medium by conservatives. Democracy's flagship host is Ed Schultz, a former football hero who merrily bashes President Bush on the half-dozen stations that pick up his Fargo, North Dakota-based based program. But the donors who have put Democracy Radio on the air might be surprised to know that just a few years ago the 50-year-old Mr. Schultz was a red-meat conservative who sometimes put Rush Limbaugh to shame with his critiques of welfare recipients and the homeless. He used to refer to three Democrats who represent North Dakota in Congress as "the Three Stooges." Now he says, "I've learned a lot from our guys in Washington" and frequently has them on as honored guests.

Mr. Schultz credits his change of ideology to his new wife, Wendy, a nurse who introduced him to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Ryan Bakken, a local newspaper columnist, told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he thinks Mr. Schultz's shift might be pinned to ego. "I know of none bigger," he says. "So when he goes from the right to the left, I'm suspicious. Ed knows that no radio talk-show host gets any attention -- or listeners -- by being in the middle."

Put me down as giving Mr. Schultz the benefit of the doubt regarding the sincerity of his conversion. Even so, some of his attempts to reconcile his old and new self seem peculiar. He told the Minneapolis paper that even though he's "always been pro-life," he's "never done a show on abortion. I don't think it would be good radio." That's clearly not the case, as any number of talk show hosts can attest. More likely, Mr. Schultz's new liberal patrons just wouldn't appreciate his mixing liberal economic populism with social conservatism. Many Democrats used to embody those values, but in recent years they've either been driven from the party or silenced.

Buzzflash takes Daschle to woodshed -- again

Buzzflash, the liberal version of the Drudge Report, is not happy with Tom Daschle's comments regarding the Bush administration and WMD as reported by Denise Ross in the Rapid City Journal today. Buzzflash links to the RCJ piece on their main site (see the first column of links, the fourth one down), and say it is another reason "why Daschle is counterproductive as minority 'leader.'" So much for Daschle being "ready to mix it up" with President Bush. (Thanks to reader Cory Skluzak for pointing out the Buzzflash item.)

UPDATE: Previously, Buzzflash took Daschle to the woodshed for boasting that he votes with President Bush 75 percent of the time.

Daschle has it both ways on WMD

Rapid City Journal political reporter Denise Ross has an excellent piece of hard-nosed journalism today under the headline "Daschle satisfied with war progress." Excerpt:

Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., on Thursday praised the Bush administration's war and nation-building work in Iraq and said he has no serious concerns about the lack of weapons of mass destruction....

Daschle took a different tone when he and other congressional leaders met with Bush in late January to discuss the intelligence snafu.

"I think it is critical that we follow up and find out what went wrong," the New York Times quoted him as saying just before the meeting.

"Daschle noted that congressional leaders had depended on sound intelligence in voting on the war," reads the New York Times story from Jan. 27.

Only ten days ago, Tom Daschle was quoted in Time magazine as saying the following about the Bush administration and weapons of mass destruction:

"There is a credibility chasm," declared Senate minority leader Tom Daschle on Friday, "whether it is weapons of mass destruction, whether it is the budget, whether it is so many things that emanate these days from this Administration, its credibility has eroded dramatically."

(Emphasis added). Clearly, Tom Daschle is trying to be a liberal in Washington and a conservative at home. He's trying to have it both ways, and as long as reporters like Denise Ross continue to produce quality pieces like the one today, Daschle will not get away with it. Kudos to Denise Ross.

For more analysis on Tom Daschle having it both ways, see the Daschle v. Thune blog's latest post.

McGovern in the NYT

George McGovern has a letter to the editor in today's edition of the New York Times under the headline "Advice to Kerry on Exiting Iraq," and in it makes a jaw dropping statement:

Replacing Saddam Hussein with Ahmad Chalabi would be comparable to replacing Jack the Ripper with Al Capone.

Wow.

Read the Man Without Qualities blog

I've been remiss in linking to the Man Without Qualities blog's latest commentary on the Daschle v. Thune race. You can access the commentary HERE and HERE.

More insight from the Daschle v. Thune blog

Be sure to read the latest analysis over at the Daschle v. Thune blog regarding all of the polls to date in the South Dakota U.S. Senate race. The bottom line: Daschle has blown $5 million and is slipping in the polls.

Ed Schultz Watch

Ed Schultz, the North Dakota radio personality touted as "the anti-Rush," gets a long piece in tomorrow's edition of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune under the headline "Liberal talk radio finds a voice in North Dakota." Excerpt:

Ryan Bakken, a columnist at the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald who often spars with Schultz, admires the tactician but wonders about his motives.

"Even I have to agree that he is an excellent talk-show host," Bakken said. "I know just about every radio in every tractor in North Dakota is tuned toward him.

"He does his homework. He's well-informed on more issues than anyone I can think of in the state. And he gives callers a chance to make their point, even if he disagrees with them. He doesn't shout them down . . . like so many others do."

But what drives Schultz, Bakken said, is ego.

"I know of none bigger," he said. "So when he goes from the right to the left, I'm suspicious. Ed knows that no radio talk-show host gets any attention -- or listeners -- by being in the middle."

Schultz's conversion coincided with Democrats waking up to the influence of talk radio, Bakken said. "Did Ed see that opening? He's certainly smart enough."

The notion that Big Eddie has cynically changed ideologies to advance his career won't go away. It's no wonder Tom Daschle, who cynically portrays himself as an ultra-liberal sharpie operator in three thousand dollar suits when in Washington and a conservative when he's back home in South Dakota, thinks Ed Schultz is great.

John F. Kerry's book

Bill Hobbs has posted an interesting photo of the cover of a book written by John Kerry that was published in 1971. The photo shows protesters holding an American flag upside down. How nice.

Daschle has it both ways on campaign finance "reform"

Today's edition of the Washington Post has a story headlined "FEC Chairman Backs Organizations' Use of 'Soft Money'." Excerpt:

Defying Republican Party demands to rule illegal the plans of a network of pro-Democratic political committees, Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley A. Smith now argues that these committees should remain free to raise and spend large contributions known as "soft money."

Smith's argument, spelled out in a 37-page proposal to his five FEC colleagues, sharply increases, but does not guarantee, the likelihood that new pro-Democratic groups with multimillion-dollar budgets will become significant forces in the 2004 election and become what amounts to a "shadow" Democratic Party.

...

Smith's position was supported in a letter to the FEC from eight Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.).

...

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) have taken the opposite view. In Senate floor statements, the two called for tough regulation of the 527 organizations. McCain declared: "It is time for the FEC, rather than being an enabler to those who want to subvert the laws, to be a true enforcer of the law."

So now Tom Daschle thinks Bradley Smith's positions are just peachy. Back when campaign finance reform was a great rhetorical bludgeon to pound Republicans with, Tom Daschle was not nearly so keen on Bradley Smith, as the Wall Street Journal opinion page points out today in a piece headlined "Campaign Finance Follies; Democrats owe Bradley Smith an apology." Excerpt:

The supreme irony in all this is that Mr. Smith's consistency has suddenly made him the darling of every pro-Democrat organization in Washington. No fewer than 324 liberal groups have warned the FEC not to restrict 527s, including Ralph Neas's People for the American Way, the abortion rights lobby and the Sierra Club. Many of these groups not only supported campaign finance reform but also tried to block Mr. Smith's nomination to the FEC in 2000.

At the time Mr. Smith was variously denounced as a "nihilist" (Illinois Senator Dick Durbin), a throwback to "the dark days of Watergate" (Common Cause), and a "flat-earth society poobah" (Atlanta Constitution, where they need fresher metaphors). Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle was quoted at the time saying that giving Mr. Smith the job was "not just asking the fox to guard the chicken coop," but "inviting the fox inside and locking the door behind him." Apparently these worthies are only in favor of regulating free speech when the speakers at issue are their political opponents.

As the piece points out, Tom Daschle's reversal of principle on the issue of campaign finance reform is amusing and embarrassing. It is just one more indication of Tom Daschle having it both ways on controversial issues.

New poll: Daschle 48%, Thune 45%

A new poll conducted by Rasmussen last Wednesday on the U.S. Senate race in South Dakota indicates that Senator Daschle has a three point lead over John Thune, within the poll's +/- 4.5% margin of error. The UPI has more.

Conventional wisdom holds that it is death for an incumbent to poll at 50% or less in an election year.

Daschle ready to "mix it up"

Time magazine has an interesting piece on how, two months ago, Tom Daschle was "under fire" from Senate Democrats. The piece is headlined "Ready To Mix It Up." It appears that Tom Daschle has been told to lead or get out of the way. Excerpt:

In a private meeting with Senators on Jan. 20, Daschle warned it was time to "put the past behind us. If we don't hang together, we'll hang separately." He has hired Phil Schiliro, an aggressive and seasoned House Democratic operative, to craft a more combative legislative strategy. Instead of going along with bipartisan compromises, the plan is to introduce more "message" legislation to rally the Democrats' base and force Republicans into unpopular votes.

The problem is, Daschle can't "rally the Democrats' base" while simultaneously boasting about voting with President Bush 75 percent of the time. The only way he can get away with doing so is if the Argus Leader refuses to report the schizoid political behavior of Tom Daschle. And given the AL's track record, that's a likely possibility.