South Dakota Politics

Lieberman Likes Roberts

Here's why many Democrats dislike Joe Lieberman: he is so eminently reasonable.  He's wrong alot, but he is not a hack like so many in his party (yes, and in the Republican Party, too).  In fact, one might call him "senatorial."  Here's what he had to say before today's SCOTUS announcement.

Lieberman said he was pleased with how the White House has handled the process so far.

"The administration has taken very encouraging and constructive steps," Lieberman said.

Lieberman cited in particular President Bush's statements that he had ruled out a litmus test for a nominee and that he would not be pressured by interest groups...

Lieberman offered reporters Wednesday three names he said could be considered without sparking a talk-athon. He would not say whether he brought them up to Rove.

He said federal appellate Judges Michael McConnell and John G. Roberts were "in the ballpark," and that "people tell me" appeals court Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson is "very similar."

BTW, this is what Orin Kerr is saying over at Volokh:

Bravo: It's all over the news that the President is nominating John G. Roberts to replace Justice O'Connor. He's an inspired choice. Robert is probably the best Supreme Court litigator of his generation, and is considered a total star within the DC legal community (on both sides of the aisle). Bravo.

Mr. Roberts

Powerline posted this from the Washington Post, which inlcudes profiles of the President's newly announced nominee, John G. Roberts, Jr., as well as J. Michael Luttig.  Powerline's Paul Mirengoff is "over the moon," which I think means very happy without any astronomical or astrological significance.  I also heard Ralph Neas bad mouthing him, which is always a good sign.

The Roberts Factor

The John Roberts nomination to the Supreme Court shows once again that George W. Bush is not a wall flower.  He uses his political capital to do bold things.  Bush is certainly trying to put an originalist stamp on the Court.  I suspect the left-wingers will go nuts over his nomination and make up all sorts of evil things this man has done in his life.  Despite the fact that he is clearly a well qualified judge (graduating with high honors from Harvard College and Harvard Law and unanimously ranked "well qualified" by the ABA) the Democrats will scourge him for the assumed outcomes of his decisions, never bothering to make a legal argument against him.  They will scream about theocracy, the end of civil rights, and the coming imprisonment of women.  It might be "Bob Bork's America" all over again.  I predict rage from the left, backed up with very few reasoned arguments.  Let's hope I am wrong. 

Roberts Bio

Mr. Roberts is the head of Hogan & Hartson’s Appellate Practice Group. He graduated from Harvard College, summa cum laude, in 1976, and received his law degree, magna cum laude, in 1979 from the Harvard Law School, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following graduation he clerked for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the following year for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist.

Following his clerkship experience, Mr. Roberts served as Special Assistant to United States Attorney General William French Smith. In 1982 President Reagan appointed Mr. Roberts to the White House Staff as Associate Counsel to the President, a position in which he served until joining Hogan & Hartson in 1986. Mr. Roberts’ responsibilities as Associate Counsel to the President included counseling on the President’s constitutional powers and responsibilities, as well as other legal issues affecting the executive branch.

At Hogan & Hartson, Mr. Roberts developed a civil litigation practice, with an emphasis on appellate matters. He personally argued before the United States Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, participating in a wide variety of matters on behalf of corporate clients, trade associations, governments, and individuals.

Mr. Roberts left the firm in 1989 to accept appointment as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States, a position in which he served until returning to the firm in 1993. In that capacity he personally argued before the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals on behalf of the United States, and participated in formulating the litigation position of the government and determining when the government would appeal adverse decisions. Mr. Roberts had general substantive responsibility within the Office of the Solicitor General for cases arising from the Civil and Civil Rights Divisions of the Justice Department, as well as from a variety of independent agencies.

Mr. Roberts has presented oral arguments before the Supreme Court in more than thirty cases, covering the full range of the Court’s jurisdiction, including admiralty, antitrust, arbitration, environmental law, First Amendment, health care law, Indian law, bankruptcy, tax, regulation of financial institutions, administrative law, labor law, federal jurisdiction and procedure, interstate commerce, civil rights, and criminal law.

Mr. Roberts is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and has also received the Edmund J. Randolph Award for outstanding service to the Department of Justice. He is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, the United States Supreme Court, and various federal Courts of Appeals.

John Roberts?

That's that latest rumor.  You can learn more about him here and here.  The ever useful Volokh has this string of comments.  The ABA unanimously rated him as well qualified when he was nominated to the federal bench in 2001.  That evidently didn't stop Democrats for opposing his nomination.  Of course, the ABA unanimously rated Miguel Estrada as well qualified and Tom Daschle stood silently by as Estrada was trashed for not being Hispanic enough.  So I am sure if the Democrats could stoop to racism on Estrada they can make something up on Roberts.  Remember this?

Through it all, Daschle stood by impassively. He couldn't very well cite Estrada's alleged lack of authentic Hispanic-ness as a reason to filibuster and kill the nomination; even the most partisan Democratic senator would have a hard time making that argument. Yet he remained quiet while his allies bashed Estrada in the most personal terms.

The meanness is startling.

Update: ROBERTS IT IS!!  Fox News reports it is Roberts, and we all know Fox News is never wrong.  Fair and balanced.   I guess the Edith bubble has burst. 

Supreme Concern

Those interested in the background of rumored SCOTUS pick Edith Clement can go here, here, and see this string at Volokh.  Or Bush may be appointing Edith Jones.  As long as it isn't Edith Bunker.  Of course, as a right-wing nut, I might favor Archie Bunker.

Update: Evidently ABC News is saying it is not Clement.  In the Edith Counter, that leaves one down, two to go.  By my calculations, that makes it a 50/50 shot that if the pick is named Edith, it will be Edith Bunker. 

Update II:  For those who care, I am basically watching NROs Bench Memos.  That is the best place I know of for SCOTUS rumors.  I must say, after a week of the Rove stupidity, this is actually fun. 

FEC DEMANDS DASCHLE DECLARE CANDIDACY OR DISAVOW PERMANENT CAMPAIGN!

As Professor Schaff noted last night, the Federal Election Commission has written a letter to Daschle about his "2010 candidacy"!  It really is a permanent campaign!  The FEC says Daschle is not in compliance if he doesn't (1) declare himself a candidate or (2) "disavow [the] activities" of his ongoing permanent campaign.  Apparently Daschle ignored the FEC's deadline to respond, which was July 14, but scrambled around yesterday when some reporters called and then wrote a letter.  It still doesn't appear that Daschle has clearly done (1) or (2), however.  Here's the report from the Rapid City Journal: 

The Federal Election Commission wants an official answer from former Sen. Tom Daschle, a Democrat, to the question many of his friends and foes continue to ask informally: Will he run again?

In a letter to Daschle dated June 14 and filed on the FEC Web site, an FEC official informed Daschle that the financial activity in his 2004 campaign committee, A Lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle Inc., had passed a threshold that required him to clarify whether he was a candidate for office in 2010.

Daschle, a 26-year congressional veteran who lost his Senate re-election bid last November to Republican challenger John Thune, said recently he has no immediate plans to run again. But he also declined to rule it out completely.

Daschle maintains his campaign committee, which currently has a balance of about $550,000. Based on activity in that fund, the FEC letter wants an official update of Daschle's status.

"This letter constitutes formal notification that ‘A lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle' has filed reports of receipts and disbursements with the Commission and appears to have received contributions and/or made expenditures in support of your 2010 candidacy in excess of $5,000," FEC official Patricia Carmona wrote in the letter.

Carmona then noted the FEC requirement that takes effect when disbursements or income exceed $5,000. Daschle either must file a statement of candidacy or disavow that candidacy in a letter clarifying that he is "not a candidate for federal office and that you have not authorized solicitation of contributions nor the making of expenditures on your behalf," Carmona wrote.

The letter caused a buzz among Republican activists who suspect Daschle is maintaining his campaign fund to use as a weapon against Thune, possibly to set up a 2010 rematch of last year's bitter Senate campaign. Others speculate that Daschle could be interested in other races, including the 2008 Senate race if incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson doesn't run, or even a bid for president or vice president.

They note the fact that a Sioux Falls consulting firm run by former Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand has been receiving money from the 2004 campaign. And Hildebrand has made statements critical of Thune on key governmental issues. ...

Some Republicans question both the reasons and propriety of what Daschle is doing. Cleta Mitchell, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who works for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Monday that Daschle was pushing the FEC regulations to the point of a violation.

Mitchell said Daschle was supposed to file notice of his candidacy or send a disavowal letter within 30 days of spending more than $5,000 from the campaign fund. Mitchell also questioned the idea of maintaining an active campaign committee without having an official candidate.

"He really is not complying with the normal winding-down responsibilities of a candidate committee where the candidate lost the election," Mitchell said. "They may think this is being very clever, but it's not in keeping with what the FEC requires."

Mitchell said Daschle must declare himself a candidate or change the name of the committee and distance himself from its activities.

"You can't operate a campaign committee without a candidate," she said.  ...

Mitchell still questions Daschle's handling of his campaign fund, which is separate from a political action committee fund that Hildebrand will continue to manage. She said there were enough questions on the issue to merit a complaint to the FEC, and she expects one to be filed.

As Jason said a few days ago, Daschle sure isn't doing much for his legacy.  Daschle needs to know the campaign is over and that he is getting close to Al Gore territory in the sore loser category. 

Blog Watch Man is also interested in the Daschle/FEC story.  Sibby is also paying attention to the story.  [note: BWM and Sibby haven't really hit it off]  Ryne McClaren is also weighing in:

And as Professor Schaff notes, the humor is that the letter to Daschle linked above refers to money being spent "in support of your 2010 candidacy." In essence, they're informing Daschle that he needs to either disavow his spending activities or file a Statement of Candidacy. Crap or exit the lavatory, so to speak.

Rove

Like my colleague, Professor Schaff, I am bored by the Rove affair.  Until something interesting happens, let this be my comment.

First, if this were a Democratic administration, most Republicans would be calling for Rove's head, and the Democrats would all be making arguments that its no big deal.

Second, the Republican's wouldn't get the head of a Democratic chief of staff over something like this, nor are the Democrats going to bring the Republican Rove down.  There just insn't any substance to the story.

Plame used her position to push her husband's project, and so doing gave the Administration a reason to act against her.  Maybe they did, and maybe Rove was just answering a question from one journalist with a piece of information he got from another.  Either way, this was politics.  Get used to it.

BRAC Commissioner Defends Ellsworth

Samuel Skinner, who was Secretary of Transportation and Chief of Staff in the Bush 41 administration, is now a member of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC).  He is now publicly questioning the commission decision to close Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City. One does not want to get one's hopes up, but perhaps this is a sign that the commission has been successfully lobbied on the merits of Ellsworth.  The AP reports this:

Skinner, who visited Rapid City for a base closure hearing in June, also said the commission is wondering why Ellsworth is recommended for closure this year when it was spared in the last round of base closings in 1995.

"We are trying to understand what has changed," Skinner said.

Sen. Thune had this to say:

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday that Skinner "highlighted the argument we've been making all along."

"Placing vital military assets at different locations has always been an unshakable tenet of our national security," Thune said. "We should not abandon that tenet as we enter an era of emerging threats and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

FEC to Daschle: Are You Running For Something?

This site has taken Tom Daschle to task for subsidizing anti-Thune activities out of campaign funds left over from the 2004 election.  It is one thing for us partisans to criticize Daschle, but now the Federal Election Commission has warned Daschle about the use of campaign funds long after the campaign.  In this letter sent to "A Lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle" (aka, the Daschle campaign committee), the FEC notifies Daschle that he is spending more money per month than is allowed under federal law for those who are not an announced candidate for office.  Daschle must announce for office or disassociate himself from these activities.  The humor of the letter is that the FEC refers to Daschle's run for Senate in...2010.  Do they know something we don't? 

Of course the Daschle people will say they are winding down their election operation.  I point out that the election was eight months ago.  That's one heck of a cool down period.  I happen to think most federal campaign finance laws are silly, but if they are on the books, one should comply with them. 

Tomorrow this is what Roll Call will report:

The Federal Election Commission sent a letter last month warning former
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) of a potential violation of
campaign finance law.

The missive, dated June 14, informed Daschle that during the first three
months of 2005 he spent in excess of $5,000 from his principal campaign
committee (“A Lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle”) and must either file a
statement of candidacy for 2010 or “disavow these activities.”

Mobridge Newspaper

Drowning in Guilt

Sioux Falls blogger Jay Reding (with a new blog design!) is examing an argument made by NRO's Victor Davis Hanson, who argues that the "West is hampered by a set of ideologies that weaken our resolve against terrorism - moral equivalence, utopian pacifism, and multicultrualism."  Reding makes this point:

We can no longer afford the idea that for every criticism of radical Islamists must come a corresponding period of handwringing over Western sins, real or imagined. The idea that we can say “the use of terrorist tactics is wrong, but…” is no longer acceptable, and should have collapsed along with the smouldering wreckage of the World Trade Center on that terrible day in September. Either we stand as one united force for the doctrines of human rights, or we admit that we don’t really care for the concept at all. Either it’s universally wrong to commit acts of terrorism and systematically oppress women and minorities, or human rights is a worthless concept. Either self-determination including free elections is a universal concept shared by all humanity or the values of democracy and human rights are worthless.

Why Won't This Horse Die?

I said I was bored with the Rove/Plame story, but it just won't end, and today Clean Cut Kid repeats falsehoods that demand a response.  CCK claims, falsely, the Joe Wilson went to Niger and found no evidence that Iraq was seeking nuclear material in Niger.  But then Bush lies in his SOTU address claiming that in fact Iraq was seeking nuclear material.  Wilson later writes an editorial in the New York Times exposing Bush's lies.  The Bush people then go after Wilson and his wife, CIA analyst/agent Valerie Plame, as retribution for exposing the Bush administration's lies. 

The only thing wrong with this scenario is that it is all factually false.  There is a dizzying amount of evidence for this.  You can read about it at Powerline here and here, and here, and see Michael Barone's take and also Mark Steyn.  John Hinderaker at Powerline sums up the facts of the case nicely:

So, to sum up: the Senate Intelligence Committee's report shows that: 1) Wilson lied in the New York Times about what he told the CIA after he returned from Niger. In fact, far from debunking the concern that Iraq may have tried to buy uranium from Niger, Wilson reported that Niger's former Prime Minister told him that Iraq had made just such an overture in 1999. 2) Wilson lied when he leaked a report to the Washington Post about documents he had not even seen. 3) Wilson lied when he said that his wife Valerie "had nothing to do with" his being chosen to go to Niger.

The Senate Intelligence Committee and the British Government's Butler Report both undermine Wilson's story.  Those are the facts.  I think Steyn nicely sums up the political import of the story:

What's this really about? It's not difficult. A big chunk of the American elites have decided there is no war; it's all a racket got up by Bush and Cheney. And, even if there is a war somewhere or other, wherever it is, it's not where Bush says it is. Iraq is a ''distraction'' from Afghanistan -- and, if there were no Iraq, Afghanistan would be a distraction from Niger, and Niger's a distraction from Valerie Plame's next photo shoot for Vanity Fair.

The police have found the suicide bomber's head in the rubble of the London bus, and Iran is enriching uranium. The only distraction here is the pitiful parochialism of our political culture.

Update: Isn't it interesting that the Time Magazine reporter most implicated in this story, Matt Cooper, is married to Democratic strategist and former Clinton aid Mandy Grunwald?  I guess it's like Christian Amanpour of CNN being married to former Clinton State Department spokesman Jamie Rubin.

Update, Part II: The Captain has more on the Rove/Plame affair here and here (hat tip Instapundit).  Those still pushing this story as one of high import should be ashamed of themselves.  I think this says it all:

What an embarrassing denouement for the mainstream media and the Democrats in their zeal to target Karl Rove. No one except the darkest paranoid conspiracy theorists could believe that Rove or Libby deliberately sat around, knowing Cooper would call and eventually get around to asking about Wilson, and then use that opportunity to wreak revenge for Wilson's serial lies in his by-lined NYT piece as well as his leaks to Walter Pincus at the Post. Rove and Libby both performed the traditional background role (for which the media insists it needs anonymous sources) to warn Cooper that Wilson's version had seriously distorted the record.

Will this finally put this non-story to rest?  Doubtful.

 

 

Review: Daschle's Permanent Campaign

From last Friday's Hotline:

SOUTH DAKOTA: The Permanent Campaign

      Sen. John Thune's (R) victory over ex-Senate Min. Leader Tom Dachle (D) "didn't really end" the '04 campaign. The "Daschle team," including ex-campaign manager Steve Hildebrand, "continues to wage political war against Thune." Staffers have "hammered" Thune on his "failure" to keep Ellsworth Air Force Base off the closure list, "compared" Thune "unfavorably" to the money Daschle secured for state projects, and "questioned" Thune's role "securing" loans for friend Dan Nelson.
      UVA prof. Larry Sabato: "It's unusual, though it's part of a common pattern...the permanent campaign. Even for a six-year Senate term, the campaign never ends." Daschle campaign aide Jeremy Funk used his blog to "promote "F--- Thune" T-shirts. Thune communications dir. Kyle Downey: "it's unfortunate that a small partisan group continues to wage these negative campaign-style attacks."
      Hildebrand: "On (Thune's) watch, we've seen a reduction in transportation money; we've seen a reduction in money for the Lewis and Clark water project...I'm not going to sit by and not call (Thune) on the carpet." Hildebrand is paid $6K a month from Daschle's campaign fund and DASHPAC. Dachle: "I have not asked Steve to make any comments on John Thune. Those are his decisions" (Wooster, Rapid City Journal, 7/10).
      More on Hildebrand and Funk: Dem bloggers "have pressed newspapers and local television departments to investigate Thune's ties to" Nelson. Wooster: "The Dem bloggers certainly prompted me to get into the story sooner than I might have otherwise." Thune was "forced" last week to "respond to the bloggers' charges" after Wooster and KELO-TV "ran stories" that included the "bloggers' accusations" (Stanton, Congress Daily, 7/14).

From the new issue of U.S. News and World Report:

Daschle-Thune Fight Goes On

How many attack blogs does it take to keep former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle 's political hopes alive? So far, five. Or so say friends of Daschle-slayer Sen. John Thune , the target of the blogs. Maybe it's revenge or just his old pals trying to soften up rookie Thune for a 2010 race, but we've failed to find any other political newcomer hit so hard by the latest Internet fad. Is it a conspiracy? The Rapid City Journal reveals that Daschle's political action committee still pays his old campaign partner, who runs one of the blogs.

From last week's National Journal:

POLITICS
Thune Foes Seeking Cyberspace Payback
     Veterans of former Senate Minority Leader Daschle's unsuccessful re-election effort have launched an aggressive Internet-based campaign against GOP Sen. John Thune in South Dakota, taking a page from the freshman senator's 2004 election playbook.
     Mimicking Thune's successful use of paid Web loggers to prod state media outlets to run stories damaging to Daschle, the Democratic bloggers have pressed newspapers and local television news departments to investigate Thune's ties to a used car salesman who is under investigation by the Iowa attorney general for alleged predatory lending practices.
     "The Dem bloggers certainly prompted me to get into the story. Or, more accurately, to get into the story sooner than I might have otherwise," Rapid City Journal political reporter Kevin Wooster said in an e-mail Wednesday.
     Former Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand and campaign aides Jeremy Funk and Todd Epp have been posting information for over a month on the financial woes of Dan Nelson Automotive, which is owned by longtime Thune friends and advisers Dan Nelson and Chris Tapken.
     The three former Daschle aides are operating separate political Web sites largely targeting Thune. Hildebrand still draws a salary from the Daschle campaign account.

Also, note this from the Rapid City Journal last week:

John Thune's victory over Tom Daschle last November shook up the power structure of the U.S. Senate and ended the 26-year career of one of the nation's most prominent politicians.

But it didn't really end the 2004 campaign — at least, not for some former members of Daschle's staff.

Led by public statements from former Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand and the pointed and sometimes profane Internet sniping from other former staffers, the Daschle team continues to wage political war against Thune.  ...

And Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia Center for Politics says the ongoing tussle is a perfect example of an emerging phenomenon in national politics: the permanent campaign.

"It's unusual, though it's part of a common pattern, which is the permanent campaign. Even for a six-year- Senate term, the campaign never ends," Sabato said. "In this case, a very bitter race produced the upset of a Senate leader, and Democrats are determined to get revenge in six years. I suppose their assumption is that they need to attack virtually every day."

If not quite daily, the remnants of the Daschle team maintain a consistent critique of Thune, his statements, votes and effectiveness. And in some cases, they receive leftover Daschle campaign funds while they do it.  ...

It some cases, it can also be profane. Former Daschle staff member Jeremy Funk, who works with Hildebrand, uses a personal Web log, or blog, to promote "F... Thune" T-shirts.  ...

Hildebrand said he does not get any direction from Daschle in making those statements. He does, however, get money each month from both the 2004 campaign fund and Daschle's political action commission — DASHPAC.

HildebrandTewes Consulting — the "Tewes" is Paul Tewes, Hildebrand's partner — receives $2,000 a month from Daschle's campaign fund and another $4,000 a month from DASHPAC. Hildebrand, who manages both funds for Daschle, said the payments his firm receives were to maintain and manage the political action committee and to wrap things up from the campaign.

Funk and another former Daschle staff member, Chad Schuldt, run personal Internet blogs critical of Thune. And some of that criticism is shaped in language that many South Dakotans would consider offensive.

Hildebrand said neither he nor Daschle supported the use of profane commentary or the Thune T-shirts promoted by Funk.

"What he does on his own time is just that," Hildebrand said. "He's not being paid by anybody to write that Web site."

Downey said, however, that since Funk works with Hildebrand's consulting firm, which receives money from Daschle's funds, the effect was the same

"This is a perfect example of their tone," Downey said, referring to the T-shirt. "It's sad."

Daschle said by e-mail that he was keeping his campaign and PAC funds open and paying Hildebrand to manage them.

"I have no plans to run for office again, but something could change," Daschle said.  ...

Jason said it best about the legacy Daschle is leaving for himself:

About a year ago, John Thune first started running television ads in for the 2004 Senate race.  Daschle started his first television ads two years ago, during the summer of 2003.  And Daschle isn't done.  His campaign is still going.  Daschle is still paying his campaign manager Steve Hildebrand $6,000 a month from both DASHPAC and also the Daschle campaign coffers (e.g., A Lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle).  As noted before, this could be just payments to finalize items from the campaign, though, as Jon Schaff noted, "it certainly raises questions when those who run 'independent' political groups that do nothing other than attack John Thune are actually on the payroll of Tom Daschle."  Furthermore, Hildebrand (and others) is busy contacting the press on a regular basis to bash Thune and is coordinating anti-Thune efforts generally.  He's even hired the former Daschle staffer famous for promoting "F--- John Thune" t-shirts.  When will Daschle quit subsidizing this hate campaign against Thune?  One thing is for sure, Daschle is cementing his political legacy: scorched earth.

Support Waning

Good news from the War on Terror front:

Osama bin Laden's standing has dropped significantly in some pivotal Muslim countries, while support for suicide bombings and other acts of violence has "declined dramatically," according to a new survey released yesterday.

Predominantly Muslim populations in a sampling of six North African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries share to a "considerable degree" Western concerns about Islamic extremism, according to the poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, conducted by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization.

"Most Muslim publics are expressing less support for terrorism than in the past. Confidence in Osama bin Laden has declined markedly in some countries, and fewer believe suicide bombings that target civilians are justified in the defense of Islam," the poll concluded.

The Trial

The New York Times is reporting that charges have been filed:

The Iraqi Special Tribunal set up to try Saddam Hussein said in a statement today that Mr. Hussein and three others will be referred to criminal court on charges related to the killings of about 150 Shiites in the Iraqi town of Dujail in 1982. The tribunal said that investigations into millions of documents and the questioning of thousands of witnesses have been completed, and that the trial related to the Dujail killings was one of several Mr. Hussein and his top aides are expected to face.

Officials at the tribunal have said that they expect to put Mr. Hussein on trial by the end of the year. The tribunal's chief investigating judge, Raed Jouhi, said at a news conference in Baghdad that a date for the trial would be set "within days," the Reuters news agency reported.

Today's statement represents the announcement of the first formal charges against Mr. Hussein. Other crimes for which Mr. Hussein is likely to face eventual prosecution in separate trials include the Anfal campaign of the late 1980's, in which as many as 150,000 Kurds were killed; the chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in March 1988 that killed about 5,000; and the repression of a Shiite rebellion in southern Iraq in 1991, in which 150,000 people are believed to have been killed. Also under investigation by the tribunal are the executions of more than 200 Baath Party leaders after Mr. Hussein seized power in 1979.

A Split in the Insurgency?

A divergence is developing between Islamism and Jihadism.  According to the AP and USA Today (via the Austin Bay Blog), Zarqawi has clashed with his spiritual mentor:

The AP reports:

Al-Barqawi, known in militant circles as Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera from Jordan last week that militants in Iraq should revise their tactics, saying “the number of Iraqis killed in suicide operations has become a tragedy.”

To Zarqawi this means his spiritual adviser is listening “to Satan”:

Terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi criticized his spiritual mentor for urging militants in Iraq to rein in attacks on civilians and warned that the sheik’s comments could split Islamic fighters, according to a purported statement posted on an Islamic Web site Tuesday.
The statement, signed by al-Zarqawi, warned his sheik — Isam Mohammed al-Barqawi — “do not follow the path of Satan that leads to your destruction. Beware, our noble sheik, of the trick of God’s enemies to lure you to drive a wedge in the ranks of the mujahedeen.”

Bringing the terror war “home to Middle East” has forced this confrontation– and make no mistake, this is a significant split.

 

Markets

Larry Kudlow:

Remarkably, global stock markets continue to shrug off the London terrorist attack. Markets have proven resilient since the terror war started on September 11, 2001, but this time around they shrugged fast — and big.

Stock markets in Britain, France, and Germany hit three-year highs in recent days. The U.S. S&P 500 stock index reached a four-year high. The mid-cap S&P 400 and the small-cap Russell 2000 climbed to all-time historic highs, as did the transportation index and the New York Stock Exchange index.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S., it took the S&P two years to recover its pre-attack level. After the Madrid train station bombings in 2004, it took stocks 14 sessions to recover. But after the London attack, it took only one day for markets to rebound, with substantial gains coming on the following two days.

I have long believed that stock indexes reflect the health, wealth, and security of individual nations. That explains why stock markets are standing tough in the face of al Qaeda’s latest attack. Worldwide investors are telling the enemy they have long-term confidence that the war on terror will be won, just as they believe in the resiliency and flexibility of free-market economies and the outlook for pro-growth policies, which are in action across nations. ...

Though President Bush’s critics will never admit it, his supply-side tax reforms of two years ago are working brilliantly. With new incentives to work and invest, the economy is expanding, the income base is widening, and businesses and individuals are producing an unprecedented surge of tax collections. All this is occurring at lower marginal tax rates. Once again, the Laffer curve is working.

The budget deficit is shrinking to roughly 2.5 percent of GDP, in line with the average of the past four decades. As for the claim that trade deficits are bad for U.S. workers, consider this thought from Café Hayek blogger Russell Roberts, a professor at George Mason University: “The U.S. has run a merchandise trade deficit for every year since 1976, trillions of dollars of deficits. And since 1976, the U.S. economy has created over 50 million jobs.”

Cut Taxes, Raise Revenues

Conservatives have always had this crazy idea that if you cut taxes, revenue coming into the treasury will actually increase.  No doubt that's because they were dropped on their heads when they were young.  Just because it worked when JFK tried it, and again when Ronald Reagan tried it, its still a crazy idea, right?  So when Bush proposed it, Democrats in Congress sensibly dismissed the idea as more voodoo economics.  So what happened?  The Wall Street Journal fills us in. 

Let's see if we can get this straight: When tax revenues fall and budget deficits go up, it's bad news. But when tax revenues rise and deficits decline, it's still bad news.  At least that seems to be the way a sizable chunk of Washington is reacting to this week's report from the White House budget office that the federal deficit is down by nearly $100 billion this fiscal year, that the deficit as a share of GDP is down to 2.7% (very near its historical average), and that this is all happening because tax receipts are surging by more than 14%. Uncle Sam is having a better year so far than even Paris Hilton, but half of the Beltway is depressed.

Well, sure, Congressman, the 2003 reductions in the tax rates on dividends and capital gains seem to be resulting in much higher tax revenues on . . . dividends and capital gains. This is called the Laffer Curve effect, and we thank Mr. Spratt for validating it. If he wants those revenues to "recur," maybe he'll even vote to make those tax cuts permanent.

This revenue surge from investment income also rebuts the mantra that the 2003 tax cuts were a giveaway to the rich. Nearly half of all Americans have some kind of stock ownership, and thus have shared in these gains in investment income. And if most of the extra tax income is coming from capital gains and dividend payments, that would have to mean that the rich in America are paying more taxes, not less, as a result of the 2003 tax cut.

Here's a chart.

U.S. News and World Report on Daschle's Permanent Campaign

USNWR is writing this week about the Daschle's "permanent campaign":

Daschle-Thune Fight Goes On

How many attack blogs does it take to keep former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle 's political hopes alive? So far, five. Or so say friends of Daschle-slayer Sen. John Thune, the target of the blogs. Maybe it's revenge or just his old pals trying to soften up rookie Thune for a 2010 race, but we've failed to find any other political newcomer hit so hard by the latest Internet fad. Is it a conspiracy? The Rapid City Journal reveals that Daschle's political action committee still pays his old campaign partner, who runs one of the blogs.

Daschle is leaving quite a legacy. 

Suicide Bombers

Times Online:  "Are you ready? Tomorrow you will be in Paradise . . ."

"[B]y pressing the detonator, you can immediately open the door to Paradise — it is the shortest path to Heaven.”

Hat tip to NRO.

Very Different Worlds

Dean Barnett is commenting on the rise of the left-wing blogosphere and its detrimental impact on the Democratic party in "The Electoral-Based Community."

[T]he level of discourse on the Daily Kos and other prominent liberal blogs is not something that would be attractive to the majority of the American public. The writings are often obscene and usually relentlessly hostile and negative. Crude personal attacks, whether aimed at right-wing bloggers or politicians, are the order of the day. ...

More ominously--and more to the party's detriment--its leaders have adopted the blog's hysterically shrill style as their own. For instance, Ted Kennedy's diary for the Daily Kos adamantly demanded "accountability" for Iraq. When you've entered a realm where Ted Kennedy is a straight-faced champion of accountability, you know for sure you're in "a different world."

A long column, but definitely worth the read.

Permanent Campaign, Even More

One of the anti-Thune blogs out there that chooses to remain anonymous--the person hasn't said why they want to be anonymous--says that criticism of the Daschle machine's permanent campaign is based on SDP's view that people "should no longer participate in our democracy because they supported Tom Daschle in the last election."  What?!?  Nobody is saying they can't do what they're doing.  What critics are pointing out is that this "protest" only represents a marginal faction and is mostly driven by out-of-work Daschle staffers who can't give it up and realize they lost.  What's also very strange is that Daschle himself is subsidizing the whole operation by paying his campaign manager, who is constantly calling the press to plant anti-Thune stories, $6 thousand a month from his campaign funds and his PAC funds.  So what's really unique about this situation is that Daschle can't give it up either, which is sad.  In addition, the conservative blogs in South Dakota were going during an election year, not five years before an election.  If you haven't read this yet, it is very important. 

More on Daschle's Permanent Campaign

This was in today's edition of The Hotline:

SOUTH DAKOTA: The Permanent Campaign

      Sen. John Thune's (R) victory over ex-Senate Min. Leader Tom Dachle (D) "didn't really end" the '04 campaign. The "Dachle team," including ex-campaign manager Steve Hildebrand, "continues to wage political war against Thune." Staffers have "hammered" Thune on his "failure" to keep Ellsworth Air Force Base off the closure list, "compared" Thune "unfavorably" to the money Daschle secured for state projects, and "questioned" Thune's role "securing" loans for friend Dan Nelson.
      UVA prof. Larry Sabato: "It's unusual, though it's part of a common pattern...the permanent campaign. Even for a six-year Senate term, the campaign never ends." Daschle campaign aide Jeremy Funk used his blog to "promote "F--- Thune" T-shirts. Thune communications dir. Kyle Downey: "it's unfortunate that a small partisan group continues to wage these negative campaign-style attacks."
      Hildebrand: "On (Thune's) watch, we've seen a reduction in transportation money; we've seen a reduction in money for the Lewis and Clark water project...I'm not going to sit by and not call (Thune) on the carpet." Hildebrand is paid $6K a month from Daschle's campaign fund and DASHPAC. Dachle: "I have not asked Steve to make any comments on John Thune. Those are his decisions" (Wooster, Rapid City Journal, 7/10).
      More on Hildebrand and Funk: Dem bloggers "have pressed newspapers and local television departments to investigate Thune's ties to" Nelson. Wooster: "The Dem bloggers certainly prompted me to get into the story sooner than I might have otherwise." Thune was "forced" last week to "respond to the bloggers' charges" after Wooster and KELO-TV "ran stories" that included the "bloggers' accusations" (Stanton, Congress Daily, 7/14).

POTUS '08 Watch

New York Times:

Gov. George E. Pataki of New York is headed to Iowa this weekend for what associates described on Thursday as an exploration of whether he should run for president in 2008, reflecting what they called an increased likelihood that he would forgo a bid for a fourth term next year and turn to the national stage.

Mr. Pataki's associates said he viewed the trip - as part of a visit by him to a National Governors' Association meeting, taking place in a state that begins the presidential selection process with its winter caucuses - as a test of whether a moderate Republican from New York has a real chance of winning his party's presidential nomination.

If he ran, Mr. Pataki, who supports abortion rights and gun control, would most likely be the most moderate candidate in the Republican field, and would face significant hurdles with a Republican primary electorate that has become increasingly conservative, particularly in states like Iowa.

Democratic Disarray in the Senate

Jonathan Turley, who appears frequently on Fox News, and whose sympathies apparently lie with the Democrats, has a devastating piece on the Senate Democratic leadership as President Bush prepares to nominate a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor [tip to RealClearPolitics].  How devastating?  It turns out that the Democrats are Highlanders!

IN ONE of the most gripping scenes from Braveheart, thousands of Scottish yeomen face the professional army of the English King Longshanks. Stripped to the waist and painted blue, the yeomen spoil for a fight, daring the English to join them in battle. The problem was their leadership, conniving lords who were equally determined to avoid a battle with Longshanks and negotiated for their own interests.  This week, the scene seems eerily familiar for some Democrats who seem more ready to fight than their leadership.

Now I have to admit being one of the few who rooted for Longshanks instead of William Wallace, and anyway the thought of Chuck Schumer stripped to the waist and painted blue leaves me hoping that the paint is very, very thick.  But perhaps it is better to be a conniving lord than an incompetent one, and that is what Turley makes of Harry Reid.

As the White House comes closer to a nomination, the Democratic Senate appears in near-total disarray. Conflicting statements from Democratic leaders appear to be ferocious one day and fawning the next. What is clear is that there is a dangerous and growing disconnect between Democratic leaders and their base.  . . . [S]ince the fight over the filibuster rule, shifting Democratic positions have been not just inexplicable but incoherent.

If Turley's portrait is to be trusted, and he is after all a fellow Scot, two things are clear.  One is the SouthDakotaPolitics was right to argue, against the wisdom of most conservative blogs, that the filibuster deal was strategic victory for Frist's Republicans.

Seven Democratic senators agreed to a proposal that protected the right of the filibuster while allowing some candidates to be confirmed. The result was a disaster for the Democrats. To this day, most people cannot figure out what the Democrats got from the deal. The four candidates that the Democrats had vowed to filibuster as the previously deemed "worst of the worst" were allowed to be confirmed, while the Democrats promised (according to some of the signatories) not to filibuster any nominee on the basis of ideology. At the time, Minority Leader Harry Reid heartily praised the deal and the dealmakers for a masterful and historic agreement. Now, the Democrats are facing either a breach of the agreement by voting on the basis of ideology or a vote with Republicans to prevent a filibuster under the prior agreement.

In case you are wondering, that's what winning looks like. 

The second thing is that the Thune organization, and South Dakota Republicans in general, did more than just beat a powerful Senate incumbent in the last election.  They crippled the Senate Democratic leadership at a key moment in the Bush presidency.  It seems almost certain that Bush will get at least two SCOTUS appointments, and perhaps as many as four.  Not bad work.

French Uniforms Explained

We should remember the origins, history and tradition of the uniforms
worn with pride by militaries around the world.   For example, a long time
ago, Britain and France were at war.  During one battle, the French captured an English colonel. Taking him to their headquarters, the French general began to question him. Finally, as an afterthought, the French general asked, "Why do you English officers all wear red coats? Don't you know the red material makes you easier targets for us to shoot at?"  In his bland English way, the colonel informed the general that the reason English officers wear red coats are so that if they are shot, the blood won't show and the men they are leading won't panic.  And that is why, from that day to this, all French Army officers wear brown pants."

Permanent Campaign

Joel Rosenthal at "South Dakota Straight Talk" is commenting on Kevin Woster's "permanent campaign" story and focusing not so much on their permanence but on the unique intensity of recent campaigns:

The United States is a pretty evenly divided country politically. Consequently we have this enormous INTENSITY of partisan politics 24/7/365. The divisions also account for the nature and nakedness of GOTCHA politics. Further these are exacerbated by how good political science is and the decentralized way that people get their information today.

Calling names focusing on taking advantage of every little, even perceived inconsistency has become a way of life in politics today. GOTCHA politics doesn’t take place only during the active political seasons but now full time and by almost everyone.

Political science while still a social science and not perfect has become very good. Polling techniques and focus groups have allowed political groups to become expert at knowing what people are thinking at any point in time (It was recently reported in a Vanity Fair story that Dem Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan that while Moynihan polled only once every six years between elections, in contrast Bill Clinton polled while in office twice a week!).

If you aren’t convinced how evenly divided America is or how good political science is remember the contested 2000 Presidential election, the Florida count, recount, and litigation. Consider that these national campaigns are focused almost entirely on the swing states that have been determined by extensive polling, narrowing of a targeted message to targeted swing voters and other extremely clever marketing techniques. In many lower level campaigns these same tactics are also employed. To wit, the 2002 and 2004 Senate campaigns in South Dakota – Tom Daschle’s began running television campaign advertising in July of 2003.

Jason Heppler is also writing about the "permanent campaign" today:

When will Daschle quit subsidizing this hate campaign against Thune?  One thing is for sure, Daschle is cementing his political legacy: scorched earth.

Future AG

Speaking of AGs, South Dakota War College is speculating about who the next South Dakota AG will be. 

The Last Rodeo

According to the Argus Leader:

Fewer barrels, more bull - State Fair dumps state sport

Full rodeo dropped in favor of favorite event

Also, Blog Watch Man has a HUGE round-up of local newspaper stories which is fun to read. 

Context

When trying to understand the recent car dealership story, an e-mailer says to keep in mind that Nelson was a used car dealership for people with bad credit so it's not surprising there were defaults.  Here's what KSFY reported:

It's not all over for the Dan Nelson Auto Group, the dealerships are closing down but the financing office is still in operation. But there are those left behind who still owe thousands.

Charity Counts is one of them, and says, "When I first started looking at new cars, Frankman ran my credit report and just looked at me and laughed and I just got up and left."

Car shopping isn't fun when you have bad credit. Charity Counts says Dan Nelson Group was a last resort, but they had a good offer on the table.

So in exchange for taking bigs risks on people with bad credit (who were turned down elsewhere) Nelson's business charged high interest rates, which isn't too surprising.

Sibby is also talking about why the IA AG was so quick to sue when a settlement could have been reached to address the AG's concerns:

Staunch Democrat supporter Tom Miller, who is the Iowa Attorney General that filed suit against Dan Nelson Automotive, refused to resolve issues with the automobile dealer. As the Delusional Dumped Daschle Disciples had the SD MSM reporting that John Thune should have known about the plans of Tom Miller, Dan Nelson’s attorney tells us the exact opposite:

Mark Weinhardt, attorney for the Dan Nelson Automotive Group, said the company was surprised by the filing of the lawsuit.

And here is the reason for the surprise:

"We asked for a proposal to settle this matter and instead of a proposal, we got a lawsuit," Weinhardt said.

This brings back into question the alleged political motivation behind Tom Miller’s action. Why did he refuse to work out a solution with Dan Nelson Automotive? A business that Larry Long, South Dakota’s Attorney General, concluded done nothing criminal.

Read Sibby's whole post.

Bravo

Instapundit:

BRAVO FOR JOHN HOWARD:

MAXINE McKEW: Prime Minister, if as you say you can't rule out that possibility that we could have potential bombers right here in Australia, what if today's announcement, this redeployment to Afghanistan and our continued presence in Iraq is all the provocation they need?

JOHN HOWARD: Maxine, these people are opposed to what we believe in and what we stand for, far more than what we do. If you imagine that you can buy immunity from fanatics by curling yourself in a ball, apologising for the world - to the world - for who you are and what you stand for and what you believe in, not only is that morally bankrupt, but it's also ineffective. Because fanatics despise a lot of things and the things they despise most is weakness and timidity. There has been plenty of evidence through history that fanatics attack weakness and retreating people even more savagely than they do defiant people.

The Permanent Campaign

About a year ago, John Thune first started running television ads in for the 2004 Senate race.  Daschle started his first television ads two years ago, during the summer of 2003.  And Daschle isn't done.  His campaign is still going.  Daschle is still paying his campaign manager Steve Hildebrand $6,000 a month from both DASHPAC and also the Daschle campaign coffers (e.g., A Lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle).  As noted before, this could be just payments to finalize items from the campaign, though, as Jon Schaff noted, "it certainly raises questions when those who run 'independent' political groups that do nothing other than attack John Thune are actually on the payroll of Tom Daschle."  Furthermore, Hildebrand (and others) is busy contacting the press on a regular basis to bash Thune and is coordinating anti-Thune efforts generally.  He's even hired the former Daschle staffer famous for promoting "F--- John Thune" t-shirts.  When will Daschle quit subsidizing this hate campaign against Thune?  One thing is for sure, Daschle is cementing his political legacy: scorched earth.

Off to Nepal

I'm not, but our former Senate Majority Leader is:

First it was US Assistant Secretary of State, Christina Rocca, who visited Nepal in early May this year to reiterate her government's position on the post-February 1 situation in Nepal. ...

Now it is the turn of Tom Daschle, former senate majority leader, which clearly indicates the sustained US concern and interest in Nepal, which is grappling not only with a decade-long Maoist conflict but is also embroiled in a constitutional and political crises since the February 1 royal takeover. ...

Daschle is here to study the situation first-hand and also come up with suggestions on political party reforms. She declined to give further details but did say that Daschle is also scheduled to meet political party leaders.

Profane Blogging

Sibby is reminding us that "we had Hildebrand issuing a press release that demanded an apology from Thune, because one of his guys used the "S-word" in front of poor Jeremy [Funk]. Now the same Jeremy uses the "F-word" in reference to Thune and Hildebrand takes no responsibility."

UPDATE:  Not only profane, but also slanderous.

Bored Over Rove

I find the whole Karl Rove story ponderous and boring.  This is a story only of interest to those who see politics as nothing other than a game of power in which our team must beat their team.  So who cares about the facts of the case.  Democrats must pounce on Rove, because it's their chance to score points against Bush.  Republicans, now on defense, must protect Rove and keep the Democrats from scoring too many points.  The truth of the matter is presented by Jim Lindgren over at Volokh.  Read the whole thing, but it goes something like this.  Joe Wilson was running around the New York Times and network news lying about his trip to Africa and what he found about Iraq seeking nuclear materials.  It makes sense that the White House then tried to correct his lies, such as Wilson's claims as to how he was recruited for the Africa trip.  But is Rove vindicated?  Maybe legally Rove has nothing to worry about, but what if he lied to the President about being one of the leaks for the story?  Then Bush's loyalty will be tested.  I think Bush's strong sense of loyalty is a virtue, but one that gets him in trouble from time to time (George Tenet, anyone?).  So a pox on both houses, but to keep my right-wing nut job card, a bigger pox on the Democrats. 

National Journal

From today's National Journal:

POLITICS
Thune Foes Seeking Cyberspace Payback
     Veterans of former Senate Minority Leader Daschle's unsuccessful re-election effort have launched an aggressive Internet-based campaign against GOP Sen. John Thune in South Dakota, taking a page from the freshman senator's 2004 election playbook.
     Mimicking Thune's successful use of paid Web loggers to prod state media outlets to run stories damaging to Daschle, the Democratic bloggers have pressed newspapers and local television news departments to investigate Thune's ties to a used car salesman who is under investigation by the Iowa attorney general for alleged predatory lending practices.
     "The Dem bloggers certainly prompted me to get into the story. Or, more accurately, to get into the story sooner than I might have otherwise," Rapid City Journal political reporter Kevin Wooster said in an e-mail Wednesday.
     Former Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand and campaign aides Jeremy Funk and Todd Epp have been posting information for over a month on the financial woes of Dan Nelson Automotive, which is owned by longtime Thune friends and advisers Dan Nelson and Chris Tapken.
     The three former Daschle aides are operating separate political Web sites largely targeting Thune. Hildebrand still draws a salary from the Daschle campaign account.

SDWC and Ryne McClaren

PP at South Dakota War College is working on a guide to blogging for political candidates.  Ryne McClaren is Earth googling in the backyard and coming up with Mt. Rushmore photos:

Tonight, for example, I buzzed around the Black Hills of South Dakota (an area which features up-to-date, high resolution images), and I must say that I was impressed. Tilt the map at just the right angle, and you can clearly see the topography of the Black Hills and "fly" your way up and down all the back roads. GE is also a handy tool for looking around your favorite cities.

Definitely a "must see" type of deal.

A cloud obscured Mt. Rushmore, facing north (click for larger image):

That's not really a very good example, because Google Earth itself can display views up to 1024x1024 resolution, but at least this gives you an idea.

Hotline

The national political publication Hotline discussed SDP today:

THUNE: So Basically, SD Is To Bloggers As NJ Is To Consultants

      Over the weekend, the Rapid City Journal's Kevin Wooster wrote a story on the "permanent campaign" in SD being waged by ex-staffers of ex-Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) against Sen. John Thune (R-SD). In particular, ex-Daschle staffer Chad Schuldt runs Clean Cut Kid  -- CCK 1st started reporting on the MetaBank case, which the Blogometer picked up starting 7/1. (Had we clicked over to the FAQ and found this info at the time, it would have been duly noted. Consider it noted.) Another is Jeremy Funk, who runs Don't Worry About The Government, where he has promoted  "F--- Thune" T-shirts.
      Ex-Daschle manager Steve Hildebrand: "What he does on his own time is just that. He's not being paid by anybody to write that Web site." But according to Thune's office, Funk works for Hildebrand's firm -- and Hildebrand gets "money each month from both" Daschle's '04 SEN fund and DASHPAC -- so the "effect" is "the same." Daschle "said by e-mail" on 7/8 "that he hadn't visited Funk's Web site and hadn't seen the controversial T-shirts." Daschle added: "But I would say anything that uses profane language is inappropriate."
      Meanwhile, the conservative bloggers at SD Politics point out that initial reports on the MetaBank loan were erroneous. Nelson had $23M in assets, not $6M, and while the pro-Daschle bloggers "insinuated" that Thune "made possible" the loans, in fact "MetaBank was loaning money to Nelson for at least 8 years, long before Thune was on the board." Plus, the $28M loss to MetaBank was "wrong" -- Nelson owes $6.8M to MetaBank and the rest to other creditors. Adds SDP: "So the insinuations of the former Daschle staffers about a sweetheart deal don't make much sense." Note: SDP' Jon Lauck (who did not write the above post) was himself paid to blog on Thune's behalf, news that didn't come out until after Thune had defeated Daschle.

Federal Deficit

Our faithful Wisconsin reader (i.e., my brother) points out to me that the federal government estimate of the deficit has decreased by $100 billion from January to June, from roughly $420 billion to $320 billion.  I'd rather that number be zero, but you gotta start somewhere.  The Wall St. Journal argues that the Bush tax cuts have alot to do with this trend (the article is for to subscribers only; I used Nexis). 

The tax cut debate resumed in January 2003, however, as Mr. Bush decided to pursue a more supply-side course. This time he aimed his tax cuts directly at the collapse in business investment, proposing to eliminate the double tax on dividends and to accelerate his income tax cuts at the top marginal rates. House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas compromised on a 15% dividend rate but added a capital gains cut to 15% (from 20%).

Almost from the very day in May of 2003 when those tax reductions became law, the U.S. has experienced a robust expansion driven by investment and productivity gains, not by consumer spending....Consumer spending has been close to flat over the period with a modest dip at the very bottom of the recession. But investment has experienced a stunning U-turn...

One lesson in all of this is that not all tax cuts are created equal. Tax rebates and other temporary measures aimed at stimulating consumer demand don't work. Consumers aren't irrelevant, but prosperity is created on the supply side of the economy with the incentives to produce goods or services that people want to consume. So tax cuts in marginal rates that boost incentives to work and invest provide a much bigger bang for the buck.

 

The economic growth of the past two years has left the government awash in revenue.  Now only if those damned congressional Republicans could hold the line on spending.

The Glory of St. Andrews

The important event of the weekend is the British Open.  The event is more notable than usual as it is the last event as a pro for the greatest golfer ever, Jack Nicklaus.  A buddy of mine and I play a game each major tournament in which we each pick three golfers and whoever gets the best cumulative score from his three golfers wins (the prize is glory).  The rule is that you cannot take a player currently in the top ten in the world.  I am currently on pace for the grad slam.  My team for this weekend's tournament is Tim Clark, Justin Leonard, and Tom Lehman.  I hope the Lord shines on me and Lehman's putter. 

The Left

See this new Daily Standard article from Minnesotan Ed Morissey:

HILLARY CLINTON made headlines earlier this week when she compared President George W. Bush to Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, the gap-toothed, freckle-faced mascot whose signature statement is "What, me worry?" As political put-downs go, this hardly ranks as the most egregious, even in the modern era of politics. Fellow Democratic Senator Harry Reid called Bush both a liar and a loser earlier this year, and later only grudgingly offered to retract the latter. The American left, exemplified by MoveOn.org, has compared Bush to Adolf Hitler--unfavorably. Howard Dean has spent his entire term as Democratic party chairman issuing insults to and about Republicans, explicitly declaring that they have never done an honest day's work in their lives and that the GOP is entirely comprised of unfriendly white Christians. Even as an insult to Bush's physical looks, Sen. Clinton's comparison pales to the usual references to chimpanzees that the Left has beaten to death.

SD Dems

Joel Rosenthal is talking about the future of the South Dakota Democrats at "South Dakota Straight Talk":

WILL HOWARD HELP?

Recent reports are that SDDP chair Judy Duhamel thinks Howard is the bees’ knees. In fact Judy is so enamored of Howie that she actually said “I love him.” Well I might love Howard too if he were giving me a reported $85,000 to hire three new staffers.

Let’s lay out the facts. The South Dakota Democrats in 2004 were devastated in the general election. They lost the Presidency (as expected) and they lost their coveted minority leader (their ATM) Tom Daschle in South Dakota’s most expensive and hardest fought election. It was close but they lost the big one. Jim Burg their three term incumbent and last remaining Dem on the Public Utilities Commission lost. They even lost another seat in the State Legislature (if that were conceivable). Of course they retained Stephanie Herseth although she may have cost them the Daschle re elect.

Immediately and throughout the winter and the 2005 legislative session (South Dakota’s late winter political season - the other season being the even year fall elections season) Democrats beat their chests and talked about revitalization, rebuilding and renewal. What’s amazing is that the Dems reelected their same state party team and Congresswoman Herseth did not seize the leadership of their party apparatus and organization. After all she is the future of their party and the best thing they have going. Further in the foreseeable future she is running every two years and needs the party to help her elections and political career.

Go to work. With no evidence to the contrary the Dems haven’t done a damn thing. South Dakota needs them to get off their butts and go to work. An honest hard working political opposition with new ideas will make government better. South Dakota deserves more than tired rhetoric and the same old faces.

Despite a lot of post election hype and blue parties in a red state, the revitalizethedems website hasn’t had a post in almost 3 months! The site grassrootsdems.org hasn’t posted in almost two weeks. They have a nice book club, Grassroot Democrats Liberal Book Club, but what about coming to the real political debates with solutions and candidates. One wonders why we have all these ad hoc groups and why political organization (reorganization) can not be accomplished by the political parties? Not revitalized Dems and not by grassroots Dems but by the SDDP. To a far lesser degree this ad hoc criticism also applies to Ed Olson’s new Mainstream Coalition and perhaps I’ll talk about that in the future.

We are about 10 months from the primary filing deadline and Ron Volesky is the only Democrat candidate who says he is running for Governor. No one else is even mentioned or has put out feelers. Talk about a worn out politician and old face (maybe later a blog on Ron’s spotty political career too.) Ron does get credit for being a one man PT Barnum publicity machine (that means circus); the problem is his ideas are tired too. Raise the state minimum wage - that’s a real campaign winner!

Maybe Ron should pick Frank Kloucek for his Lieutenant Governor running mate, another old face with worn out rhetoric but a one man PR machine too. - An all Czech (to be pc - make that Czechoslovakian heritage) ticket!

So will the Dems who lost their sugar daddy (Tom Daschle) use this new Howard Money to actually recruit candidates for the constitutional races and the legislature or will they still just spend the money sending out press releases condemning Republicans and their initiatives?

AG v. AG

According to the Argus Leader this morning, the Nelson bankruptcy is over.  The story also notes what the judge and MetaBank thought about the Iowa AG's actions:

Judge Irvin N. Hoyt agreed with the major lender, MetaBank, which said Dan Nelson Automotive Group Inc. had failed to properly account for its inventory and had been "fatally wounded" by a consumer fraud lawsuit in Iowa.

Sibby is noting a KELO-Land story which quotes the South Dakota AG Larry Long:

“I would say this: I would say his business conduct is no better or no worse than any other auto dealer we deal with.”

Here's why Long says South Dakota can't copy Iowa's lawsuit. Iowa law says when a creditor sues someone to collect money, they must do so in the county where the debtor lives. Long says in other words, Dan Nelson Automotive was trying to collect on some unpaid loans, and in some cases, it didn't file suit in the correct counties.

“If the creditor fails to do that, it's a crime, so the creditor can be prosecuted criminally for starting his lawsuit in the wrong county,” Long said. “It's one of the tools the Iowa Attorney General had in his toolbox by way of consumer protection we simply don't have.”

Long says he did consider his own legal action against Dan Nelson Automotive, but concluded there was no proof of any criminal wrongdoing.

See this for much more background on this matter. 

The State vs. the ACLU

I noted a while back that the state Supreme Court ordered South Dakota lawmakers to redistrict Indian reservations because the previous redrawing of voting districts that occured in 2001 had supposedly weakened the voting strength of South Dakota Indians.  The state argued that nothing could be done now because the state is only allowed to redistrict once every ten years.  Daschle-appointed U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier disagreed, telling the state that it had 30 days to submit a new plan to her which, in turn, led to a special legislative session.

The state legislature is now fighting against that ruling.  Basically, the state told Judge Schreier that she can forget it and they will not redistrict the reservations.  Denise Ross comments:

The SD Legislature, it appears, wants to stand and fight the ACLU. Same goes for another branch of govt — the AG’s office, the SOS office and the Gov’s office. It’s standard operating procedure that they all put their heads together on these deals.

So is this a vainglorious exercise that ultimately will result only in a hefty bill to SD taxpayers or a valiant fight that must be confronted? And what of the American Indian voters who a federal judge has ruled are being disenfranchised under the state’s current legislative districts?

I’ve been watching the ACLU in action pretty much since I started covering the political beat in 1999. Jennifer Ring is always polite but firm when she tells them (I’m paraphrasing here): “This is how we would like you to do it. If you get close, cool. If you do it this way, we’ll sue. We don’t want to sue, but if you do it that way, we will.”

I haven’t checked the scoreboard lately, but I think the ACLU is ahead.

 

Patriot Fact

I have been teaching two courses at Northern this session (Logic, and Philosophy of Religion).  This means 4 hours in the classroom each day, and about 6 more in preparation time.  This leaves precious little time to blog.  But here's a short one.

According to a new poll reported in the London Times (see Real Clear Politics), the British Public backs strong new laws to prevent terrorist acts.  This should sober the American Left.  Its all well and good to worry about FBI agents combing through our library records, but the American People aren't yet worried about terrorism, not really.  They know that most of us are about as likely to die in a terrorist attack (of the recent kind) as we are to perish of excessive exercise.

But one of these days something may happen that will put the fear of the reaper into hearts deep in the heartland.  If it does, we may be willing to accept virtually anything that will make us feel more secure.  If you want avoid such reactions you have to prevent that terrible event.  Maybe if the Democrats spend as much time worrying about that, they'd be better serving civil liberties.

Does the Left Support Our Troops?

Dennis Prager is asking if the Left honestly supports our troops:

The Left's message is this: "You troops may think you are winning; you may think you are doing good and moral things in Iraq; you may believe you are fighting the worst human beings of our age and protecting us against the scourge of Islamic terror. But we on the Left believe none of that. We believe this war is being fought for oil and for Halliburton and other corporations; we believe you are waging a war that is both illegal and immoral; we believe you have invaded a country for no good reason and have killed a hundred thousand Iraqis [the Left's generally mentioned number] for no good reason; but, hey, we sure do support you."

Honest people on the Left need to understand that the two positions are not reconcilable. A German citizen during World War II could not have argued: "The Nazi regime's army is engaged in an evil war of aggression and is slaughtering millions of innocent people, and I therefore completely oppose this war, but I sure do support the Nazi troops."

One example is the claim made by Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and almost all other Democrats and liberals that the war in Iraq is "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." How does one support troops that are fighting a wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time? A few leftist writers have been honest enough to say, "Nothing personal, guys, but I sure don't support you." But the vast majority of the Left and all Democratic politicians have not been honest on this matter.

A second example is the oft-repeated line, found on liberal bumper stickers, "War is not the answer." Aside from the idiocy of this claim -- war has solved slavery, ended the Holocaust, destroyed Japanese Fascism, preserved half the Korean peninsula from near-genocide, and saved Israel from extinction, among other noble achievements -- the claim offers no support to those who do engage in war.

How could one believe that "war is not the answer" and also claim to "support the troops," the very people waging what is "not the answer"? The answer is, by being dishonest. ...

A Democratic senator compares our interrogators to the Nazis and Communist torturers; the head of Amnesty International in America defends likening Guantanamo Bay to the Gulag; and liberals routinely speak of troops as coming from the lowest socio-economic rungs of society (maybe that's one reason they oppose recruiters on campuses, lest the best educated actually join the military). But, hey, the Left supports the troops.

Naturally, read the entire commentary.

Daschle Campaign & Tom Miller

Sibby is raising some good questions concerning the Daschle campaign's connection to Iowa's Attorney General Tom Miller:

With Steve Hildebrand the manager of the Gore 2000 campaign, whose campaign received huge support from Tom Miller, coupled with Hildebrand’s continued interest in Iowa politics…more questions about the alleged political motive behind Tom Miller’s charges against Dan Nelson Automotive seem in order. Perhaps the real conflict of interest is on the side of the pro-Democrat operative in Iowa.

Read the whole thing.

Tom Daschle Opposes the Filibuster

Remember when Democrats hated the filibuster?  Remember when I made the point that the Constitution makes it clear when supermajorities are needed to pass legislation?  It turns out that Tom Daschle agrees with me.  Here's what he said January 30, 1995 when opposing a Balanced Budget Amendment:

This so-called supermajority is the Senate's filibuster rule. All of America had a good taste of how the filibuster rule worked in the 103d Congress. It brought work to a full stop. It put into the hands of a minority the power to bargain for, hold hostage, blackmail, or simply block anything they wanted.

The Constitution is straightforward about the few instances in which more than a majority of the Congress must vote: A veto override, a treaty, and a finding of guilt in an impeachment proceeding. Every other action by the Congress is taken by majority vote.

The Founders debated the idea of requiring more than a majority to approve legislation. They concluded that putting such immense power into the hands of a minority ran squarely against the democratic principle. Democracy means majority rule, not minority gridlock.

If Tom Daschle had governed by these principles during the Bush Administration, then he still might be Democratic Leader in the Senate.  As it is, he's left paying people to make fun of Senator John Thune. 

The Real News

I am trapped by over 1000 pages of grant applications I have to read (ok, skim) for the US Department of Education, so I won't be posting much this week.  I do want to note the most important news story of the day, which is this piece in the Argus on Napoleon Dynamite.  Why didn't they cite me? 

By the way, I recently re-watched the film In America and once again confirmed my belief that this is the best movie of the last 30 years.  Yes, it's that good.