South Dakota Politics

State Democratic Convention "shies away" from issues

The South Dakota Democratic Convention was held this weekend, according to an AP story headlined "Democrats wrap up state convention." Excerpt:

Democrats ended their state convention Saturday by adopting a political platform that shies away from direct support for a state income tax, abortion rights and gay marriage.

Delegates decided instead to stick with generic platform language that covers hot-button issues for which there was uncertain consensus, fearing that being more specific will make unnecessary targets of Democratic candidates.

Very typical. You can read more about the convention HERE. Tom Daschle was conspicuously absent from the convention. According to a blurb by David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, in yesterday's edition of the Argus Leader, Daschle was "unable to attend because of leadership responsibilities."

According to a Reuters story headlined "US Senators Visit Baghdad Before U.S. Handover" Daschle was in Iraq today. Excerpt:

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators paid a surprise visit to Baghdad on Saturday to discuss the June 30 handover of power with top U.S. and Iraqi officials, a spokesman said.

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, Democrat Joseph Biden of Delaware and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina traveled to Baghdad and Kuwait in a show of support to U.S. soldiers in the region.

"It is a rescheduled trip to show bipartisan support for the soldiers and to meet with (U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority) and Iraqi officials before the handover," said Todd Webster, spokesman for Daschle. The trip was originally planned for April.

Daschle was supposed to go to Iraq with Senator Bill Frist earlier this month, but backed out at the last minute because "the itinerary was uncertain." Frist went to Iraq without Daschle, and met the new Iraqi prime minister. (See the AP story here.) When Frist came back from Iraq, he criticized the media for giving the impression that Iraq is "falling apart." Senator Bennett, who was part of the Frist delegation visiting Iraq, made the same observation. It will be interesting to observe whether Daschle makes similar comments.

Ronald Reagan

President Reagan died today. The strongest memory I have of him was his dramatic "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" speech in 1987, when I was eleven years old. His bold leadership has influenced and inspired generations of conservatives, including me. May he rest in peace.

1,000 unique hits today

My hit-counter is reflecting over 1,000 unique hits today. SDP readership keeps growing because the South Dakota political scene is so darned interesting. As the New York Times recently stated, South Dakota is at the epicenter of the fight for control of the House and Senate. Count on the Dakota Alliance to continue bringing you information from an alternative perspective on the ground in South Dakota as the campaigns heat up.

Time for a vacation

This note is to let SDP readers know I'm taking a much needed break from blogging for awhile. I'm going to Key West to recharge the batteries and get away from it all. I'll be back on May 24th.

TNR's Ryan Lizza mentions Sioux Falls

The New Republic's Ryan Lizza briefly discusses his 2002 Election Day experience in Sioux Falls following around Republican volunteers conducting the get-out-the-vote effort. Excerpt:

In 2000, I spent Election Day hanging out in Newark, New Jersey with Democrats who specialize in turning out black voters. In 2002, I spent Election Day in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with leaders of the GOP's new get-out-the-vote operation, the 72-Hour Task Force. In Newark, the work was easy. Nine out of ten blacks vote for Democrats, so GOTV targeting was strictly racial. The "flushers" would pour into black neighborhoods and try to get every voter they could find to the polls. In South Dakota, the Republicans I hung out with worked a suburban neighborhood that was a mix of Democrats and Republicans. This meant that months of phones calls and door-knocking researching how the residents would vote had to precede the actual flushing. On Election Day, as they worked the neighborhood, the GOP flushers skipped over the homes that had already been identified as housing Democrats.

Another lawyer is unleashed

I received my doctoral hood last Friday night at the law school's traditional private hooding ceremony. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Col. Bud Day, a USD Law alum (Class of '49), and the most decorated officer since General Douglas MacArthur, gave the keynote address, titled "Law in a Time of War." Col. Day reminisced about his law school days, and also made it clear that he supported the Iraq war, as well as President Bush. I don't think that's something you hear at most law school commencement exercises around the country.

Anyway, now it's time to prepare for the bar exam.

On a completely unrelated note, this weekend I happened to read this interesting article on blogging, published in Mother Jones, that's worth a read. I thought I'd recommend it to SDP readers.

Back in the saddle

I'm emerging from a weekend in the law school library with my head buried in the Uniform Commercial Code, trying to to figure out the intricacies of a purchase money security interest. I had the last test of my law school experience this morning and I must say it feels good to be done.

Lots of stuff to talk about, so check in frequently.

First, the Diedrich v. Herseth special election is starting to heat up. A Roll Call story today by Chris Cillizza reveals allegations from the Herseth campaign that Republicans have tested some hard-hitting ads. The piece is headlined "NRCC, DCCC Squaring Off; Battle for Edge Heads to S.D." Excerpt:

The Herseth campaign alleged late Monday that Republicans conducted focus groups as recently as two weeks ago that tested negative commercials for use against her.

The four potential ads tested included mentions of the fact that Herseth traveled to New York City to raise money for the race; that she advertised on a Democratic Web blog; an attempt to tie her to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D); and a final ad making clear that she favors abortion rights, according to Herseth spokesman Russ Levsen.

The "advertising on a Democratic Web blog" phrase is a reference to this story. A reader imagines the following script for a commercial:

"Four Americans, shot, dragged from their vehicle, burned and mutilated by an Iraqi mob.

"And Stephanie Herseth's friend said, 'Screw them.'

"Yes, a top Democrat website where Herseth raises tens of thousands of dollars sees brave Americans, who died to fight a war for freedom and says, 'Screw them.'

And Stephanie keeps taking their money.

You get the idea.

Shattered Glass

I watched "Shattered Glass" last night, the movie about The New Republic's version of Jayson Blair. I learned a thing or two about the behavior of journalists, such as how they immediately begin taking notes when a source tells them what they are about to say is "off the record." My legal training led me to believe that "off the record" means that no written record can be made of the conversation. Silly me.

Anyway, here's Andrew Sullivan's review of "Shattered Glass." I highly recommend watching the movie.

Sorry about the delay

Apologies to my readers for the sparse posting lately. I just completed my mock trial final for my trial techniques class (we won). But I'm too tired to blog, so just go to DVT, who's doing his usual bang up job, particularly with this post. Back to blogging tomorrow.

Thanks to Ryne McClaren

Thanks to Ryne McClaren for his kind words--about me, that is.

Gone til the weekend

Heads up to SDP readers: I won't be posting again until the weekend. Meanwhile, read this excellent piece at DVT about Winner, SD, a place where many of my relatives come from.

Would the Daschle campaign characterize this as an attack on Bill Frist's family?

Bob Mercer's latest

Be sure to read a piece by Bob Mercer published in today's St. Petersburg Times (Fla.) headlined "South Dakota wanderlust."

A photo you won't see on Daschle's campaign website

This Reuters photo was taken today after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new DNC headquarters in Washington.

UPDATE: Ryne McClaren dubs them "the three amigos."

Abourezk v. ProBush.com lawsuit moves forward

According to a blurb in Saturday's Argus Leader (not online), the case of Abourezk v. ProBush.com has survived a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Former U.S. Senator Jim Abourezk of South Dakota, Tom Daschle's mentor, sued the editor of ProBush.com for defamation after the site put the senator on a list of "traitors." The case has garnered interest from constitutional law scholars Eugene Volokh and Glenn Reynolds. To read the briefs and motions filed in the case, go to ProBush.com and scroll about halfway down. For more background, click HERE.

UPDATE: The AP has a report.

Stuart Smalley a Daschle Speechwriter?

According to a story in today's edition of the New York Times Magazine, headlined "Al Franken, Seriously," uber-liberal "satirist" Al Franken has helped Tom Daschle with speeches:

The great political satirists -- Dick Gregory, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce -- have all worked from a depth of emotion. But few if any have had the opportunities that Franken is enjoying, thanks both to his establishment sensibility and the fact that he's living in an era when the lines between politics, entertainment and media are blurred. He and his family were regulars at the Renaissance Weekend retreat the Clintons made famous during their years in the White House; he counts Bill and Hillary Clinton as friends and has helped Hillary Clinton and Tom Daschle, the Senate minority leader, with speeches.

Be sure to take a look at "the Money Map," which gives a rough approximation of which areas of the country are contributing to each presidential candidate. I'm surprised to see that Pennington county leans Democratic in terms of contributions to presidential candidates. (Item via the April edition of The Atlantic.)

DOH!: It's not Pennington County that leans Democratic, it's neighboring Meade County. Thanks to all the readers who e-mailed to correct me.

Humorous pic of the week

An enterprising counterprotester seems to have suspicions that Tom Daschle is behind the anti-Cheney protest during the Vice President's visit to Sioux Falls this past Monday.

Internet fundraising

The AP's Dale Wetzel has an interesting piece today headlined "Internet fund-raising playing larger role in ND campaigns." Excerpt:

In South Dakota, Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Thune and Stephanie Herseth, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House seat formerly held by Bill Janklow, are both running advertisements on political blogs....

Herseth has raised thousands of dollars from the ad on the Daily Kos site, including about $21,000 in a single day, [Daily Kos blogger Markos] Zuniga said. Russ Levsen, Herseth's communications director, could not confirm the amount.

UK Independent's "Guide to the Dakotas"

The UK Independent has published a piece in today's edition headlined "The Complete Guide to the Dakotas" which I enjoyed reading.

Interesting WaPo obit

This obituary appeared in last Saturday's edition of the Washington Post:

Gladys Norbeck Sabin, 99, a former Senate staff member and school volunteer, died of pneumonia Feb. 26 at her home in Washington.

Mrs. Sabin was born in Platte, S.D., and graduated from the University of South Dakota. She came to Washington in 1929 to work for her uncle, Peter Norbeck (R), a former South Dakota governor and U.S. senator who was the main political patron and fundraiser for the creation of Mount Rushmore.

Family stories say Mrs. Sabin, who worked with her uncle on the memorial while it was under construction, swung over one of the presidents' noses in a chair sling.

She married in 1932 and resigned her Capitol Hill job to raise a family. She was a volunteer at Sidwell Friends School and a member of the sorority PEO.

Her husband of 60 years, Samuel H. Sabin, died in 1992.

Survivors include three children, Suzanne Sabin Melchior of San Francisco, James N. Sabin of Washington and Sandra Sabin Rhodes of St. Louis; seven grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Sen. Johnson to undergo surgery

The AP is reporting that Senator Johnson has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next week, under the headline "S.D. Sen. Johnson Diagnosed With Cancer." Fortunately, a complete recovery is expected. Best wishes to the senator and his family.

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.

Elsewhere in today's NYT

Today's edition of the New York Times contains a story headlined "South Dakota Is Dealt a Setback After Hanging Hopes on a Science Project." It's interesting that Tom Daschle isn't mentioned or quoted at all in this article, even though he was involved in this political fight long before Governor Rounds.

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.

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."

WaPo editorial on Janklow

The Washington Post has an editorial discussing Congressman Janklow's sentence in today's edition under the headline "What a Life is Worth"

JANKLOW SENTENCING ROUNDUP

The New York Times has a story headlined "Judge Sentences Janklow to 100 Days in Jail."

The LA Times has a story headlined "'Remorseful' Janklow Gets 100 Days in Jail."

The Washington Post's T.R. Reid has a story in today's edition headlined "Janklow Sentenced to 100 Days in Jail; Ex-S.D. Politician Sought Leniency In Traffic Fatality."

In related news, Republicans are gathering in Sioux Falls this weekend to choose a House candidate. The latest story on this can be accessed HERE.

100 Days

Bill Janklow has been sentenced to 100 days in jail.

From "The Corner"

Note the last sentence of this post written by Rammesh Ponneru for National Review Online's blog.