Sibby Online

Tom Daschle the chameleon

In February while in South Dakota, Tom Daschle made this comment regarding Iraq:

Daschle told state chamber of commerce representatives meeting in the South Dakota capital that he is satisfied with the way things are going in Iraq.

"I give the effort overall real credit," Daschle said. "It is a good thing Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. It is a good thing we are democratizing the country."

Robert Moran wrote a National Review Online column that argued Daschle's comments were a reversal of his position due to the fact he was speaking to conservative South Dakotans. A month later Daschle reversed back and made this statement on the Senate floor:

At a minimum, the Administration's missteps in Iraq have greatly complicated the answer to this question, and attacking Iraq, at least in the short to medium term, may have made Americans less secure not more against terrorist threat.

The American people need to know whether attacking Iraq has helped our efforts against Al Qaeda and made them more secure.

These are the critical questions currently confronting this Administration.

This statement was meant to satisfy the far-left liberals he represents in Washington. As mentioned by DVT and by myself, Daschle comes back to South Dakota and portrays himself as a moderate. Too much of the South Dakota media allows him to get away with this…for 26 years.

Some have considered Daschle to be a snake (inside and outside South Dakota), but there is another reptile that characterizes Daschle. Like a chameleon, Daschle has changed his stripes, depending on his surroundings. This may have allowed him to stay in office for 26 years and become a national leader of the Democrats. But this in no way makes him a true leader that represents the majority of South Dakotans. Too many in South Dakota don’t know this truth, and the South Dakota media is at the heart of the cause.

John Kerry is not the only Democrat that flip-flops.

The 1978 Tom Daschle

DVT has posted a 1978 history lesson on Tom Daschle’s first political campaign as he ran against Leo Thorsness for the 1st District Congressional seat. DVT explained how Daschle wanted to run as a conservative Democrat. Here is an excerpt from a 6/7/1978 Mitchell Daily Republic report when Thorsness accused Daschle of being an extreme lefty:

Both men had been confident of victory, but Thorsness wasn’t long in taking a shot at his younger opponent.

“In my opinion, Tom Daschle is a carbon copy of James Abourezk," said Thorsness, who in 1976 coordinated former President Gerald Ford’s South Dakota campaign.

“The extreme left wing has taken over South Dakota Democratic party politics,” he said.

“The people who know me know that isn’t true,” said Daschle from his election headquarters in Sioux Falls. “I’m not going to brand him with any philosophy. I’m a moderate to liberal person and I don’t make any apologies for it.”

Another blog recognition

Earlier this week Hugh Hewitt recognized Sibby Online, and now Ryne McClaren has.

Note SDP found this Ryne McClaren post regarding Stephanie Herseth.

The Daschle-Byrd connection

SDP and DVT wonder why Tom Daschle would get involved in the Dodd-Byrd controversy. Few remember the 1980 re-election announcement George McGovern made at Mitchell’s Corn Palace on February13, 1980. This was the leadoff to the front-page report in the 2/14/1980 issue of the Mitchell Daily Republic:

There was no doubt that Sen. George McGovern is taking full aim at capturing for the fourth time the senate seat he now holds when he announced his candidacy for re-election before a crowd of 1800 at the Corn Palace Wednesday.

Joined by Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd D-W Va and Cong. Tom Daschle, McGovern ticked off five reasons why he feels he should be re-elected and took clear aim at anti-abortion groups who have targeted him for defeat this fall.

The report also included this:

The Campaign kickoff rally contained an almost carnival atmosphere as people who travelled [SIC] from many parts of the state rose in groups to greet the senator. Several busloads of people – including several Democratic legislators who took a break from the Pierre session – came to the Corn Palace from Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Huron, Brookings, and Vermillion.

They were not disappointed with remarks from McGovern, Byrd, and Daschle, and greeted the Majority Leader’s down-home fiddle music with cheers, foot-tapping, and rhythmic clapping.

All the excitement was carried over to the long-time pro-Democratic journalist David Kranz. At the time he was Managing Editor of the Mitchell Daily Republic. Here is an excerpt from his 2/16/80 column:

Sen. Robert Byrd, the powerful Senate Majority Leader from West Virginia came to Mitchell this week to help Sen. McGovern begin his campaign for re-election.

Byrd is a southern gentleman who talks with intelligent sophistication. The leader offered some thoughts to us on the national and international situation in Iran and party politics in general.

Later in the same column Kranz did his normal cheerleading for Tom Daschle:

The McGovern rally was full of dynamics, with McGovern at his sharpest, Rep. Tom Daschle giving his best speech he’s ever delivered, and Byrd charging the packed audience with lines so powerful you might have imagined you were in a good ol’ fashion revival meeting.

How could Kranz characterize the event as a “a good ol’ fashion revival meeting”, when Byrd’s background include this characterization from a Michelle Malkin column:

The ex-Klansman allegedly ended his ties with the group in 1943. He may have stopped paying dues, but he continued to pay homage to the KKK. Republicans in West Virginia discovered a letter Sen. Byrd had written to the Imperial Wizard of the KKK three years after he says he abandoned the group. He wrote: "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the Union."

The ex-Klansman later filibustered the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act -- supported by a majority of those "mean-spirited" Republicans -- for more than 14 hours. He also opposed the nominations of the Supreme Court's two black justices, liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative Clarence Thomas. In fact, the ex-Klansman had the gall to accuse Justice Thomas of "injecting racism" into the Senate hearings. Meanwhile, author Graham Smith recently discovered another letter Sen. Byrd wrote after he quit the KKK, this time attacking desegregation of the armed forces.

Tony Dean vs sdlockout again

I pointed out a Tony Dean post that contained this statement from a Lee:

Remember the change of heart Mr. Clarkson had, and how the website run from his house - (URL withheld) - was now gone? Seems like it was only yesterday.

I also found the withheld web site, where you now find their response to the above statement:

He hasn’t had a change of heart he is a landowner representative. You wanted to know that he was open-minded and his voting shows that. The website was evidently an ouch to you. His wife has a mind of her own as do a lot of us who write to the site. He did tell some he wasn’t going to divorce his wife. I wondered then and I still wonder if that’s what would have cleared their mind as far as confirming Mert’s appointment? You are right it does seem like it was yesterday I heard Lee Schoenbeck tell a little bit of truth and embellish it with unsubstantiated facts and some out right lies to be noticed on the floor. No matter how much I disagreed with anyone, I wouldn’t get up and publicly belittle them and their family just for publicity or self-gratification. Can you tell me one thing, if you are so worried about the website why do you click on it? I think that is a voluntary action not involuntary.

Tony Dean’s response to Lee ended with this:

I think Larry Rhoden is probably safe because he comes from a rural area...but folks like Jim Lintz and Bill Napoli shouldn't be.

Here is the sdlockout response to that statement:

Mr. Dean is that a threat? Safe from what, what are you planning on doing? Well we’ll just have to wait and see. P.S. Thanks for the publicity our website is doing great. We would like to invite you out to visit and find out what are issues are. If you would like we could meet you in Rapid City and buy you supper. For that matter the coffee pot is always on and you are more than welcome to come for a visit. Give us a Call at 605-375-3719 or email comment@sdlock.com the website if you are interested.

I would not count on a Tony Dean visit to discuss the issues. I have posted a picture of Tony Dean and myself at the Mitchell Cabela’s store on 2/20/2004, when he refused to take the factual documentation that backed up my position on the gun issue, he refused to discuss it, and he refused to even shake my hand.

That is why Tony Dean’s leadoff response to Lee is complete BS:

Lee, yes they are, and as anger-filled as ever. Try as I might, I just can't understand where all of this anger comes from. Surely rational people should be able to work things out.

Tony Dean should fully understand anger, I saw it in him at Cabela’s on 2/20/2004. There was no way that I was going to rationally discuss issues with him.

Hugh Hewitt explains NYT’s bias

DVT posted on Tuesday’s New York Times report regarding Kerry’s Catholicism. Yesterday Hugh Hewitt, who mentioned the Dakota Alliance of blogs this week, published a column that can be found on WorldNetDaily. Hewitt responded to the excerpt that DVT noted:

The New York Times helpfully added that "Mr. Kerry apparently meant John XXIII, as there is no Pius XXIII." Too bad the paper couldn't explain the rest of Kerry's absurd statement, or add more detail to the new Kerry Catechism of Convenient Catholicism.

It will be interesting to see if the hierarchy of the American Roman Catholic Church allows this statement to go uncontradicted. If what Kerry says is true, then the Church really doesn't care if its members advocate for wide-ranging abortion rights and receive Holy Communion, despite the bishop of St. Louis' instruction to Kerry to refrain from the sacrament on that bishop's turf.

I am not familiar with those documents of Vatican II to which Kerry refers, and would appreciate direction to them. Perhaps they are in the small volume of works by Pope Pius XXIII.

The stale bit of sophistry that says support for the death penalty disqualifies an individual from objecting to support for abortion rights is also in need of some authoritative teaching from the bishops. Aside from the fact that since 1973 there have been more than 40 million abortions in America and less than 1,000 executions, it is also my understanding that the catechism of the Roman Catholic Church allows for the death penalty under some circumstances, but does not allow for abortion. Even if both practices received the same degree of condemnation from the Church, of what relevance would it be to Kerry's standing as a Catholic for him to argue that other Catholics in public life fail to conform their votes to Church teaching? He's the one running for president.

Kerry's hash-up of the First Amendment's religion clauses and the issue of Catholic theology is a familiar dodge, laughable except for its ability to dumbfound reporters working for papers like the Times. Will any reporter ever do enough homework to ask Kerry some serious questions about the intersection of his avowed faith and his hard left stands in opposition to that faith's central teachings? There is no Constitution prohibition on asking tough questions of Catholic politicians, is there?

The real burden is on the American bishops and possibly the Vatican. Kerry has proclaimed a new doctrine in the pages of the most widely-read newspaper in the world. Such proclamations have consequences. Catholic elected officials across the globe cannot be blamed if, uncontradicted by the bishops, they conclude that John Kerry had it right and that their church obliges nothing of its members who serve in elected office except an occasional photo op with a bishop.

Media Bias…CNN again

WorldNetDaily reports on another CNN instance of not only bias, but also outright misinformation:

CNN is being urged to run a correction after it aired a story about a piece of evolution-related legislation – a story that was full of inaccuracies. The report, which was aired Sunday during "CNN Sunday Morning," said the state of Missouri is considering legislation reporter Denise Belgrave claimed "would fire teachers who refused to teach alternatives to evolution." The provision she mentioned, however, is no longer a part of the bill.

"Its whole story about legislation to fire teachers was bogus," said Dr. John West, associate director of the Center for Science and Culture at Discovery Institute, in a statement. "Unfortunately, CNN ran its story without checking the facts first. There is no such legislation currently under consideration in Missouri, let alone any other states as CNN reported."

Tony Dean vs sdlockout

As I have posted earlier, the feud continues between the cowboys and the far-left environmental extremists who call themselves a sportsman. Take a look at the answer Tony Dean (for those new to SD, Tony Dean supported Democrat Tim Johnson on 2002…not John Thune) provides on this post and then look at the sdlockout response. Here is the outstanding ending:

You don’t have to give out the website and we don’t have to twist your words you have done a pretty good job of that yourself. Tony I don’t mind he said she said, but I don’t like it when you make up stuff or just out right lie to make a point. I feel maybe you are getting a little frustrated and you are starting to stomp your feet. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinions but it is just that, an opinion. When making accusations about people—lets stick to facts not fiction. This is not a creative writing contest. We would like to invite you, Tony, out for a visit and explain our issues. If you would like we could meet you in Rapid City and buy you supper. For that matter the coffee pot is always on and you are more than welcome to come to our home. Give us a Call at 605-375-3719 (Larry Nelson) or email the website if you are interested and we will make arrangements to meet.

Sibby is showing Tony Dean documentaion that includes the Congressional Record that proves the anti-gun postions taken by Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson while in Washington DC. Not only did he refuse the documentation he refused to shake my hand. Here is the email he sent me a couple of days later:

You trample on the truth so often, you cannot recognize it. It was a pleasure not shaking your hand, a gesture I reserve for those I am pleased to meet and those I respect. You're neither.

Remember...this is coming from a guy who refuses to look at the Congressional Record.

Daschle and Kerry

A Sibby Online reader emailed me regarding the similarity to Tom Daschle of this Washington Times report to John Kerry’s Catholic political dilemma:

"John F. Kennedy grew up with a traditional Latin Mass Catholicism," he said. "By the early 1970s, when Kerry began the formative years of his political career, the church had radically changed. There was a drift by Catholic politicians from mainstream Catholic teaching." Mr. Thibodeau pointed out that the discrepancy between church teachings and Mr. Kerry's public stances is common today. "Kerry is in many respects symbolic of a great many Roman Catholics who are totally at odds with the church's teaching on many things. He is also divorced and remarried. So are a lot of Catholics." Mr. Kerry's marriage to Julia Thorne produced two children and ended in a civil divorce in the 1980s. He sought an annulment in 1997, two years after he married ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz. Mr. Kerry has said his "current marriage is in good graces with the church," but his campaign has declined repeated requests from several newspapers to show that the annulment was granted.

What many, including South Dakotans, don’t know is Tom Daschle is also on his second marriage. His first was to Laurie:

At nearby South Dakota State University, Tom, not surprisingly, majored in political science. He married Laurie Klinkel, his high-school sweetheart, and served a three-year stint as a strategic intelligence officer with the Air Force. His military career took him to Vietnam, but there was little doubt that he would one day return to South Dakota—or that he would get into politics.

His second was to Linda Hall the lobbyist as covered by a SDP archive. Currently he refuses to release his tax returns (he his married to lobbyist Linda). I uncovered the fact of his willingness to release his tax return in 1982 (he was married to Laurie). Go figure.

South Dakota Natives…big impact

Carson Walker has an AP report covering the Native American impact on the upcoming 2004 Senate race:

Thune has picked up some key support from Indian activist-turned-politician Russell Means, who is campaigning for Thune. The Democratic Party helped establish a system that makes Indians beholden to the federal government, and Daschle helped create such an environment, Means said.

"I mean it's pure communism and it's an abject failure. Just like it was in the Soviet Union. It's failure. You've created a dictatorship by the Bureau of Indian Affairs," Means said.

Means thinks a lot like me. Also Tim Giago also has made it tough year for Tom Daschle by being the Ralph Nader of South Dakota:

Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) has what some Democrats might call a Ralph Nader problem.

The Senate minority leader, who was already facing a tough reelection fight this year, must now contend with a Native American newspaper publisher who has decided to run for Daschle's seat as an independent.

Daschle tried using intimidation to change Giago’s mind:

Giago, the publisher of the Lakota Journal, told Talon News that Daschle phoned him following his announcement and asked, "Do you want to be the Ralph Nader of this race?"

Daschle was suggesting that Giago would siphon off enough traditionally Democratic votes to allow Republican challenger John Thune to win.