South Dakota Politics

Wadhams roundup

The Rocky Mountain News has an article headlined "Wadhams shows why he's a GOP star." Excerpt:

The score: Dick Wadhams 4, Democrats 0. Colorado's premiere GOP political consultant did it again, this time orchestrating the seismic defeat of Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle in South Dakota. Wadhams on Wednesday dismissed any notion that he's the Karl Rove of the West. "I'm just a country boy," the Las Animas native said, with a laugh.... "What Dick's truly good at is he draws fire and returns fire," Thune said. All year the race was neck and neck, with the lead shifting. Then Friday, Wadhams confided the shifting was over. They were going to win. What's next for Wadhams? For the next month, he'll split his time between his Littleton home and Sioux Falls, closing Thune's office. After that, it's likely he can do whatever he wants.

The Denver Post also has an article on Wadhams headlined "Wadhams credited in Dem leader's defeat." Excerpt:

Even Democrats are calling Dick Wadhams the "giant-killer," or at least grumbling it under their breath. It's not surprising for the campaign manager who took out the first sitting Senate leader in 52 years. The Las Animas native is probably best known in Colorado as the sharp-tongued GOP strategist who ran the campaigns of Gov. Bill Owens and Sen. Wayne Allard. But his reputation shot into the stratosphere early Wednesday when he guided Republican John Thune to a narrow victory in the South Dakota Senate race over Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. "It's sort of like winning the gold medal in the Olympics," said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the Cook Political Report.... Duffy credited Wadhams with "finding exactly the right message" to defeat Daschle. Wadhams depicted Daschle as a politician who had gone to Washington and lost touch with his rural state. "It wasn't terribly brilliant," Wadhams said. "Tom Daschle had moved left. He was much more liberal than he was when he ran for Congress 26 years ago."

Pictures

The thrill of victory. The elderly gentleman pictured next to Kimberly Thune is former Senator Jim Abdnor, who Daschle defeated in 1986. Senator Abdnor was Senator-elect Thune's mentor, and the fact that history had come full circle was not lost on those who follow South Dakota politics.

The agony of defeat.

These pictures are from an AP story headlined "GOP Topples Daschle, Widens Senate Lead."

Giuliani in Sioux Falls last night

Rudy Giuliani, the man who personified what's best about America during one of the blackest days in our history, was in South Dakota stumping for John Thune tonight. Below are some pictures from the event held in Sioux Falls:

Rudy Guiliani in SD on behalf of Thune

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will join John Thune for rallies in Aberdeen and Sioux Falls tomorrow, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29:

5:30 PM Aberdeen Rally
Aberdeen Civic Arena, 225 3rd Avenue S.E.

6:45 PM Sioux Falls Rally
Sioux Falls Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 1
1211 North West Avenue

Sen. Dole in Rapid City for Thune

Wes Roth has pictures of tonight's rally for Thune in Rapid City which included a speech by Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina.

Daschle: "I'm a DC resident"

Power Line weighs in on John Thune's latest ad:

John Thune's new ad combines a powerful attack on Daschle's longstanding hypocrisy--pretending to be a conservative in South Dakota, while advancing a left-wing agenda in Washington--with the most recent revelations about Daschle's ineligibility for the Senate seat he holds. You can view the ad here. It's titled "In His Own Words," and, like many of the most effective political ads, it consists of Daschle condemning himself.

Thune camp issues press release on Daschle's DC "Homestead Deduction"

The Thune camp has issued a press release headlined "Daschle votes 'absentee' after declaring Washington, DC as 'principal residence'" The subhead reads "Daschle sought and received 'homestead' tax break on Washington, D.C. mansion." The entire text of the press release is below:

South Dakota Republican Senate candidate John Thune today criticized Senator Tom Daschle for voting absentee after receiving a special tax break that required him to declare his Washington, D.C. mansion as his “principal place of residence.”

“It is terribly ironic that Senator Daschle would vote by absentee in South Dakota when he has declared his ‘principal place of residence’ as Washington, D.C.,” Thune said. “Tom Daschle apparently thinks the $288 tax break he received by declaring Washington his ‘principal residence’ was worth it.”

Daschle and his wife, Linda Daschle, a Washington, D.C. lobbyist for the pharmaceutical giant Schering-Plough and other clients, voted by absentee in Aberdeen today. Linda Daschle has never lived in South Dakota.

Tom and Linda Daschle purchased a mansion in Washington, D.C. along fashionable Foxhall Road for $1.9 million in April 2003. Thy applied for and received a “homestead” tax break made available to those who declare their home to be their “principal place of residence” under District of Columbia law.

The Daschles received a $288 tax break in exchange for declaring their Washington, D.C. mansion as their “principal place of residence.”

Movie premiere

While Senator Daschle strenuously denied hugging Michael Moore at the premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11" in Washington, DC, John Thune wholeheartedly embraced Stephen Bannon, the producer/director of "In the Face of Evil," at its premiere in Sioux Falls last night. As DVT states, you won't see Thune strenuously denying it, either.

MTP Debate

Russert just tried to pin down Daschle on the war, and has now turned to Thune to ask if he agrees with Senator Hagel that we're losing the war.

UPDATE 8:09: Television is definitely a colder medium, there's a lot less electricity in the air compared to the Mitchell debate.

UPDATE 8:14: Daschle is really hammering on the issue of body armor for troops, accusing the Bush administration of not doing enough to equip the troops. Russert notes that John Kerry voted against the $87 billion bill to equip the troops. Daschle says he disagrees with Kerry on that issue.

UPDATE 8:23: Quote of the day: "Daschle ran out of the arms of Michael Moore and into the arms of President Bush" in an election year.

UPDATE 8:27: Daschle tries to get into Thune's face on the issue of judges. Thune remains unruffled.

UPDATE 8:32: Daschle quote as MTP cuts to a break: "If you want a follower you do what John did on drought relief, if you want a leader you do what I did."

UPDATE 8:40: Russert pins Thune down on the issue of gas taxes.

UPDATE 8:46: Russert pins down Daschle on the energy bill.

UPDATE 8:47: Daschle is much more aggressive, at one point he smirked and clapped John Thune's arm, it really came off as cheesy.

Denise Ross interviews Thune campaign manager

Denise Ross, political reporter for the Rapid City Journal, has an interesting interview of Dick Wadhams, John Thune's campaign manager. The piece is titled "Thune manager says vision key to winning." Excerpt:

Ross: Will you reveal anything about your strategy for this race?

Wadhams: You're already seeing it. [John Thune] wasn't on TV until July. I know a lot of folks, especially our opposition, were perplexed that he didn't get on TV the moment we had enough money to do it. But I strongly felt, after discussions with a lot of folks who were here two years ago, that the people of South Dakota weren't ready for a long, protracted campaign. It would behoove us to stay low-key for as long as possible. That doesn't mean that John wasn't working. John was going to a lot of Lincoln Day dinners, addressing service clubs, visiting the reservations. Then, we had to raise money, because we started off with zero. Coming into this year, Daschle had like $4 million in the bank. Right now, we're re-introducing John to the voters, reminding them about his roots in Murdo, talking about how he would be an independent voice as a U.S. senator from South Dakota. We'll be getting more specific in terms of issues as we get deeper into the campaign. I also think campaigns are about choices, and the voters, when they go in the ballot booth or are sitting at their kitchen table filling out an absentee ballot, there're going to be two names on that ballot. We have to give voters a reason to vote for John Thune.

Thune tells Al-Jazeera to buzz off

Ryne McClaren notes a post on USA Today's "ElectionLine" (scroll about halfway down) written by Mike Madden (the Argus Leader's Washington-based reporter), reporting that John Thune was approached by a camera crew from the pro-terrorist network Al-Jazeera. Thune walked away and his campaign manager told the crew in no uncertain terms to get lost. As Ryne states, Thune is and always will be a credit to the people of South Dakota.

Thune speaks at convention

John Thune began speaking at 12:53 at the Republican National Convention. During his brief speech, he began by mentioning the July 22 Wall Street Journal editorial entitled "Daschle's Dead Zone." Then Thune said he wanted to end Daschle's obstruction in the Senate because "judicial nominations are dying in the Daschle Dead Zone, permanent tax cuts are dying in the Daschle dead zone, medical liability reform is dying in the Daschle Dead Zone, and the energy bill is dying in the Daschle Dead Zone." Midway through Thune's speech, C-Span shifted its camera to the South Dakota delegation, and Larry Diedrich could be seen standing and cheering.

Thune to speak at convention between 12:30 and 1:30CST

You can watch John Thune speak to the Republican National Convention on C-Span today between 12:30 and 1:30 CST. I'll be live-blogging the event.

Roll Call: Thune a "star" at the convention

Roll Call, a Capitol Hill publication, has a piece today headlined "Thune to Get Star Billing This Week." Excerpt:

Wherever he goes in New York this week, former Rep. John Thune (R-S.D.) will receive a hero’s welcome.

The city’s most famous statesman — former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) — will appear as the guest of honor at a sold-out brunch fundraiser for Thune’s Senate campaign Tuesday at Chelsea Piers. The event, according to informed sources, is aimed at so-called “Rangers” and “Pioneers” — those who have helped bundle hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Bush.

The Giuliani fundraiser is just one of several appearances Thune will be making this week. But his status as a hot commodity appears to have as much to do with the man he is trying to defeat — Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D) — as with Thune himself.

“In his own right John is an admirable guy, but beyond that, the fact that he is taking on Daschle has a tremendous amount of symbolism to it,” said Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.

Thune has a full complement of events on his plate, beginning today, when he speaks from the convention podium during the opening session along with half a dozen other Republican Senate contenders.

After the Chelsea Piers fundraiser Tuesday, Thune will appear at a Jewish GOP fundraiser and then at a National Republican Senatorial Committee press event at 2 p.m.

On Wednesday afternoon, Thune will attend a “retirement party” fundraiser for Daschle, sponsored by the NRSC.

“We want to spread a message about why it’s important to replace Tom Daschle in the Senate if we want to get anything done,” Thune said in an interview late last week. “We are going to see a lot of people who might be inclined to contribute to the campaign.”

To Republicans, Daschle has emerged as the symbol of Democratic roadblocks to GOP initiatives in the Senate and, as a result, has been the target of a prolonged media campaign designed to undermine his own chances of re-election.

Currently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Medical Association and a group called You’re Fired are running advertisements against Daschle. The NRSC has reserved more than $2 million worth of air time for an independent expenditure ad campaign set to begin Sept. 7.

Thune at the convention

The Hill, a Capitol Hill publication, has an article today headlined "Senate candidates’ whirlwind convention." Excerpt:

Thune, a GOP cause célèbre to defeat Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), will be the beneficiary of a $2,000-a-plate fundraiser headlined by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani tomorrow. Seeking to draw a distinction with his opponent, Thune will highlight his closeness to the Bush White House.

“Mr. Daschle is ashamed of his party’s nominee, but we’re not ashamed our ours,” said Dick Wadhams, Thune’s campaign manager.

Jake Maas, a Daschle spokes-man, responded, “Of course John Thune stands by the same president that twice convinced him to run for Senate so that he could be a rubber stamp for his agenda.”

Wadhams is referring to the fact that Daschle hastily left the Democratic National Convention before John Kerry gave his speech accepting the nomination. Daschle left so fast he even skipped a party he was scheduled to host.