Sibby Online

Defense analyst sides with Thune

The Rapid City Journal has a report covering a point debated yesterday:

In a Friday debate defined by disagreement, South Dakota's U.S. Senate candidates took opposite positions on whether any support for the nation's B-2 stealth bomber fleet undermines Ellsworth Air Force Base, home to about 26 of the nation's 60 in-service B-1B Lancer bombers.

"John voted for the B-2, which is in direct competition to the B-1. That was a real threat to the B-1," Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle said.

His Republican opponent, former Congressman John Thune, disagreed, saying the B-2 and the B-1 are not mutually exclusive.

"The B-1 and the B-2 are not competing platforms. They are complementary platforms," Thune said.

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute think tank in Arlington, Va., supports Thune's explanation.

"I'm afraid Thune is right on that one," Thompson said. "The B-2 bomber and the B-1 bomber are both going to be critical to the United States' heavy bomber fleet for at least the next quarter century. They are mutually essential and mutually reinforcing. The Air Force has no plan to make a choice between the B-2 and the B-1."

Don’t expect the Argus Leader to point out the lie Daschle made yesterday. Don’t expect David Kranz to bring up the issue in tomorrow’s KELO/Argus debate

Beck denies Kranz is biased

I was forward this email a Sibby Online reader received from Randell Beck who was responding to David Kranz’s bias. (Kranz is to moderate a debate co-sponsored by CBS affiliate KELO-TV and the pro-Democrat Argus Leader):

Thank you for your email. Your position presumes that Dave is biased. He certainly is human, but he is not biased in the way you may think. It is my advice that you don't believe everything you're told about someone's character and values without verifying it with the person in question. Unfortunately, it is perhaps endemic to human nature that we prefer to believe the worst about someone - rumor, inuendo, outright falsehoods - without determining its truth. Again, thank you for emailing. Best regards, Randell Beck

First, Randell Beck’s advice to “verifying it with the person in question” is opposite of what he advocated during the June18, 2003 “Argus on Air” Straight Talk program. Here is an excerpt from the transcript:

And I, and I told Dave that I don’t want to talk about it publicly. I think that puts him in a position of having to defend himself and his integrity outside of the newspaper for which he works. And I don’t think that’s right for him to be placed in that position.

Randell Beck is grabbing at straws as he tries to defend the indefensible. Instead of discussing the evidence and pointing out its “falsehoods”, he attacks those who have brought the evidence to light. If you read the transcript, you will find Beck attacking Neal Tapio, Talon News, and a small group in South Dakota. And speaking of shooting the messenger, here is what Beck said on the 4/21/2004 straight Talk program when documents were found by SDP showing Kranz’s collaboration with Democrat James Abourezk’s office:

There is somewhere out there in internet-land a small cabal I call them—and they’re small—and they’re a cabal of folks whose hatred of a certain political affiliation is so strong and so violent that they’ll stoop to any level to muddy the waters and confuse the issue. And employing one of the time-worn tactics they shoot the messenger, in this case the largest newspaper in the state and more specifically Dave Kranz, the best political reporter in the region, and to a certain level myself.

But it is Beck who refused to answer what the found documents proved…David Kranz is a shill for the Democrats. Instead it is Beck who shoots the messengers:

The internet is both a good and a bad thing. The bad is that it has allowed people who hate to distribute their vitriol anonymously, um, using gang emails, using blogs, what have you, with barely a shred of proof, manipulating facts, to perpetuate an ideology. And it’s a truly sad thing. And I guess that I would suggest that I’m not going to dignify that kind of crap with an answer. Because it is quite honestly crap.

“I’m not going to dignify that kind of crap with an answer.” That is basically what he said in the email (the one I posted above) he sent to a citizen concerned about the democratic process during one of the most important elections of the year, if not ever, in the state of South Dakota.

In yesterday’s debate, John Thune was head and shoulders above Tom Daschle. With David Kranz as moderator in Sunday's debate, what questions will be asked, or not asked, to turn the tide in favor of David Kranz’s college buddy…Tom Daschle?

From the Argus Leader’s ethics web page:

When unavoidable personal or business interests could compromise the newspaper's credibility, such potential conflicts must be disclosed to one's superior and, if relevant, to readers.

Randell Beck is not fulfilling this obligation to his readers, which only leads one to suspect that the pro-Democrat bias of the Argus Leader is institutional.

By the way, where is the Argus Leader on the Tom Daschle residency issue? I provided some of the details to Argus reporter Jon Walker a month ago. He left excited about getting more information. After he got back to the Argus Leader, I got the cold treatment. Why did he not report all the research that you can now find at my side bar category, “Linda Daschle in the news” in his story a couple of weeks? Why does the Argus Leader have a policy that doesn’t allow me to address that issue with an op-ed during the election season? All questions that Randell Beck will not answer. The reason he won’t answer is that I am part of a cabal, and therefore do not deserve an answer.

So you call Beck (605-331-2332) or email him ([email protected]), ask him questions, and let me know what he says ([email protected]).

Homegate

Where is Daschle’s home? South Dakota or Washington DC. I have already noted the Talon News report that has but that issue in question. SDP has discovered a flip-flop of sorts regarding the tax deduction status of Daschle’s Washington DC home. DVT has now added additional analysis.

SDP has also provided the possible Constitutional problem that the tax deduction poses for Daschle. This seems to be a major can of worms for Daschle, but I bet the Argus Leader will pass on covering it.

Powerline, the blog that helped expose Ra^thergate, seems to be interested in Homegate.

John Thune is at full stride

I just watched the John Thune and Tom Daschle debate on South Dakota Public Television. John Thune was articulate, confident, and kicked Daschle off his stride. As Thune said Daschle fumbled the ball on the Energy Bill, Daschle fumbled his words in response.

I believe the reason why this debate was so easy for Thune was because the truth was on his side. Tom Daschle was not comfortable because he had to misrepresent what he actually done over 26 years. It was a killer when Daschle brought up things that needed to get done, and Thune would say Daschle had 26 years and couldn’t get it done.

Thune also countered the Daschle campaign’s theme that Daschle is a leader and Thune is a follower. Thune stated that Daschle followed the Democrats agenda instead of voting for South Dakota values. John Thune showed that he is the leader that is needed by not only South Dakota, but also by the entire United States of America.

If you missed this debate, don’t miss it at 10PM central on CSPAN.

Daschle v. Thune debate

A Daschle v. Thune debate will be broadcast tonight on South Daktoa public television at 8:00, as well as on C-Span at 10:00 Central Time. I heard some of it on Straight Talk after work. You don't want to miss it.

Daschle not a South Dakotan?

DVT has found a Talon News report that puts to question Tom Daschle’s South Dakota residency. Excerpt (Read the whole thing):

Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) may have forfeited his South Dakota residency last year when he and his wife purchased a $2 million home in an exclusive Washington, DC neighborhood. The Senate minority leader declared the mansion to be his "principal place of residence" when he applied for a property tax credit intended to help DC homeowners cope with sky-rocketing property values in the city.

The Homestead Tax deduction is just another topic that is not covered by the Argus Leader, because it is embarrassing their guy…Tom Daschle. In September I provided Argus Leader reporter Jon Walker with the question on how this deduction impacts the Daschles' status as South Dakota residents. It was not covered when the Argus published their front-page report on Linda Daschle.

See my sidebar for more “Linda Daschle in the News”.

Last chance for the Argus Leader

Here is the letter to the letter I sent to the Argus Leader today:

Shame on Tom Daschle for his negative campaign and campaign ads. I can’t even relax on Saturday evening by watching college football without seeing Daschle’s hunting ad repeated over and over again. His propaganda tells us he believes in the Second Amendment, but his voting record earned an “F” rating from the NRA and his campaign is partially funding those negative hunting ads partially with contributions from the anti-gun Brady campaign. I would not be surprised that Rosie O’Donnell has a dress in her closet with Daschle’s DNA on it…the Congressional Record does.

Daschle says he is a leader, but he is actually a liar. He has lied about the Second Amendment, abortion, tax cuts, and taken credit for funding he voted against. One cannot have clout without credibility.

Have you called Randell Beck (605-331-2332) regarding Democrat partisan David Kranz moderating the debate on Sunday? If so, please let me know how it went: [email protected]

Open letter to Tony Dean

Thanks for your 10/14/2004 email. I was surprised to hear from you. Just several months ago you refused to shake my hand or discuss the documentation I was willing to provide you regarding the gun issue. I remember you saying you took great pleasure in not shaking my hand and that you had no respect for me.

I do have enough respect to at least respond to your questions: “What do you make of the NRA switching their recommendation from Larry Diedrich to Stephanie Herseth? Guess you can't count on anything these days, right?”

I would like to begin my answer by pointing out that you proved in 2002 that you have little understanding regarding the ratings provided by the NRA. In fact you generally do not understand the NRA because you seem not to understand the meaning of “freedom”, as defined by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution of the United States.

In 2002 you argued the NRA endorsement of John Thune was based simply on party. The Herseth endorsement proves you were wrong. So now you change your charge to one that argues the NRA endorsement is based on who is leading. Nonsense.

The NRA endorsement is based primarily on voting records. In May, Diedrich had a favorable voting record at the state level and Herseth had no voting record. Therefore Diedrich received the endorsement, although Herseth received an “A” due to the answers provided on the questionnaire. Today, Heresth has a federal voting record and Diedrich does not, so Herseth got the endorsement. Both candidates are strong on the gun issue and have “A” ratings. The NRA endorsements are based on a consistent and rigid system based on voting records. It can be counted on to provide accurate analysis on how candidates vote on gun rights.

In 2000, Tim Johnson had decided to vote in support of Clinton’s anti-gun agenda and received a “D” rating. By 2002, after Clinton had left office, Johnson had begun his swing back to supporting the Second Amendment and was upgraded to a “C+”. Since John Thune’s record was much more consistent he received the NRA endorsement. Unfortunately, your lack of understanding lead you to believe the NRA were lying and your negative attacks were out of line. Have you learned your lesson?

With the NRA endorsing a Democrat in the House race, you should have serious reservations about Tom Daschle who received an “F+” rating. His current hunting ad that states he believes in the Second Amendment is an outright lie.

In 1999 he voted to regulate gun shows beyond what regulations were in place outside gun shows, including an unspecified gun tax that could have been $5 or $500 or any amount a President would chose to charge. In 2000 he voted in support of the anti-gun Million Mom March whose emcee, Rosie O-Donnell, stated hunters who think they have a right to own guns should be thrown in jail.

In 2004, he said he supported the removal of frivolous lawsuits against the gun industry, but worked on, and then voted to add poison pill amendments that killed the bill. Tim Johnson even voted opposite of Daschle on mandatory gunlocks.

I am certain that all this talk about guns is boring you. I don’t believe you care about the Second Amendment. I say that because you do not care about the freedoms the Constitution of the United States protects. Instead you and your environmentalists friends would take away property rights of landowners. All so you elitists can decide what we can or can’t do with our property. You also advocate more public ownership of land, which is an anti-thesis to freedom because it undermines property rights of the individual.

You like to say that all of this makes you a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. But Teddy was a life member of the NRA who helped promote the Civilian Marksmanship Program. A program that promoted surplus military weapons be provided to civilians for competitions designed to prepare us for defense of this Nation and freedom itself. In this regard, you are no Teddy Roosevelt.

Furthermore, a true believer in the Constitution will support the equal protection to the unborn. Based on Herseth’s tendency to support environmental causes over the property rights of landowners and her pro-abortion position, I will be voting for Larry Diedrich. I can’t think of one good reason for anybody to vote for Tom Daschle.

Why don’t you let sportsmen know that Daschle earned an “F+” rating and he received contributions from the anti-gun Brady campaign? Instead your far-left environmental plans are more important. Like 2002, you probably don’t want the truth, such as Daschle’s dismal voting record on gun issues, get into the way.

By the way, I do support protecting the environment. Because of the Constitution, I do not believe it should be shoved down the landowners’ throats by the government. I instead consider it a moral issue. Putting self-interests ahead of the foundations of freedom may not be immoral, but it is not very conservative.

Stop the madness

From the mailbag:

ALERT: CALL ARGUS editor Randell Beck, 605-331-2332. Tell him to stop the madness:

Dave Kranz, Daschle's college "publicity chairman" and political helper, moderating the KELO-Land debate??? Is the Argus Leader crazy? For why citizens should be concerned about this, see a Roll Call story from 1990 entitled "Pressler is Running for Re-Election Against Newspaper." The article discusses in some detail how the Argus Leader went on a crusade against a Republican Senator in 1990 (no such analysis of Daschle's record this time around). Excerpts:

The Sioux Falls, S.D., Argus Leader's almost hysterical bashing of Sen. Larry Pressler (R-SD) took on a more weighty tone a week ago with the newspaper's publication of page-one stories by Gannett reporter Norm Brewer suggesting potentially serious impropriety in some of the Senator's real estate activities here in Washington.

Pressler has been the target of intense investigation by the state's biggest newspaper, and PG receives a steady stream of anti-Pressler, Argus Leader clips sent to us by his opponent, businessman Ted Muenster. Their flavor is captured in this typically even-handed headline: "Pressler Is Told to Clean
Up His Act."

Prior to the real estate article, the attacks have been the picayune kind of charges PG hears about many incumbents every campaign season: franked mail abuses, improper or lavish spending from office accounts, personal foibles.

The bad blood between Pressler and David Kranz, the AL managing editor and political columnist, is well known in South Dakota, according to sources in the state press. Pressler's feud with the newspaper goes back to at least 1978, when the AL broke a story in which a former Pressler aide alleged the
Senator had improperly used his House staff to do campaign-related work. (Pressler was eventually cleared of the charges.)

This spring, the paper ran a series of hard-hitting articles raising questions about the manner in which Pressler runs his Senate office, uses his Senate staff, and spends taxpayer funds.

While the extremely lengthy, multiple-article series purported to be a major profile of the Senator, covering everything from his legislative activities to his character, it never mentioned an event that would seem to be central to any analysis of the Senator. In 1979, Pressler angrily refused an illegal
campaign contribution from some Arab sheiks who later turned out to be FBI agents. None of the other Members of Congress involved in what came to be known as the Abscam sting reacted so unequivocally to proffered favors.

Schieffer believes the guiding hand behind the AL's treatment of Pressler is Kranz, the managing editor, and this claim was backed up by two South Dakota reporters very familiar with the paper's operation.

I am really glad I left the Democrats

I received an email regarding my post on why I left the Democrats. My post ended with:

As I can forgive those who resign due to their wrongdoing, I cannot forgive Democrats who refuse to hold themselves accountable.

The email was from a South Dakota Democrat who is one of the Party’s representatives at the State level. He said that the Republicans who resigned were only saving face. Now we know why Democrats won’t hold themselves accountable. They don’t seem capable of forgiving those who make mistakes. Just how tolerant is that?

So instead of holding themselves accountable, they must find someone else to blame. And that someone else has to be a Republican. Now I am really glad I left the Democrats. They are nothing more than a bunch of power hungry self-centered jerks. They don’t care about what is best for America, South Dakota, or the world. They only care about Democrats.

The leader of these elitists who think that the common folk cannot survive without their help is Tom Daschle.