Posted on 07/08/2004 5:42:21 AM PDT by RonDog
Trouble in South Dakota . . .
. . . for Tom Daschle. Local bloggers are going to make his reelection fight tougher.
by Hugh Hewitt
07/08/2004 12:00:00 AM
What does South Dakota think of Michael Moore and his slanders on American troops and lies about American motives? We will find out in November, because South Dakota's Senator Tom Daschle has embraced Moore--literally.That's what Time magazine reported this week. "Two weeks ago, at the Washington premier, Moore sat a few rows behind Daschle," the magazine's cover story recounted about the D.C. opening of Fahrenheit 9/11. "Afterward, says Moore, 'he gave me a hug and said he felt bad and that we were all gonna fight from now on.'"
There are three great blogs covering the Tom Daschle-John Thune senate race--coverage that is necessary because the state's leading paper, the Argus Leader is in the tank for Daschle and hasn't even bothered to report the Daschle-Moore love-fest. The paper's lead political reporter is a long-time Daschle booster whose column on Moore, his movie, and Daschle omits any reference to the Moore-Daschle huggy moment.
But the South Dakota blogs are all over the Daschle endorsement of Moore's assault on America. Daschle v. Thune, South Dakota Politics, and Sibby Online present real reporting, not incumbent boosterism, and their readerships are growing as the race between Daschle and the John Thune heats up.
The influence of blogging on politics is nowhere more obvious than in South Dakota. Tom Daschle has long sold himself as a moderate to South Dakota voters, and has done so with the assistance of a very friendly local press. But now the locals get the news via a stream of serious reporters trawling the national press and internet sites for the real news on the hyper-partisan Daschle. The result is that, for the first time in Daschle's political life, he will have to run on his record, not on what he presents as his record.
John Thune barely lost a race against incumbent Tim Johnson in 2002, and there was controversy around the vote. This time Thune is running with George W. Bush at the top of the ticket, and, given enough money, he should be able to hold Daschle accountable. The embrace of Moore is just more fuel for the political fire, the smoke of which cannot be obscured by friendlies in newsrooms. Reporters everywhere are getting a message: Agenda journalism isn't safe anymore. If you spin the facts, there are bloggers waiting to expose your partisanship. And the candidate you have been covering for.
Hugh Hewitt is the host of The Hugh Hewitt Show, a nationally syndicated radio talkshow, and a contributing writer to The Daily Standard. His book, In, But Not Of, has just been published by Thomas Nelson.
ping
It would be so satisfying to see little Tommy defeated. Is therre hope?
Reminiscent of Kerry's appearances with Jane Fonda.
Give 'em HELL SD bloggers. This is great news. I just hope the bloggers have the audience and the South Dakotans have the gumption to do the right thing.
No element of surprise there. He's just following his role models, the Hollywood "celebrities". Dems are just celebrity wannabees.
bttt
Hug - not surprising. What I DO find surprising is that li'l Tommy wasn't crushed and killed by it.
Tommy should be afraid. Michael Moore could be like sharks and some other animals that have taste receptors in their skin.
How long would one have to live in South Dakota to vote against this disgusting little Communist-Celebrity-Wannabe?
Sadly, American politics is becoming a popularity contest, rather than a race based on content of ideas & accomplishments.
How else does one, for example, explain Hitlery's existance & popularity?
Certainly, it's not based on her accomplishments.....unless you count her taking Arkansas schools from 50th all the way to 50th in state rankings.
Two you know whats going down in flames.
"...There are three great blogs covering the Tom Daschle-John Thune senate race--coverage that is necessary because the state's leading paper, the Argus Leader is in the tank for Daschle and hasn't even bothered to report the Daschle-Moore love-fest..The paper's lead political reporter is a long-time Daschle booster whose column on Moore, his movie, and Daschle omits any reference to the Moore-Daschle huggy moment.
But the South Dakota blogs are all over the Daschle endorsement of Moore's assault on America...
Daschle v. Thune,...present real reporting, not incumbent boosterism, and their readerships are growing as the race between Daschle and the John Thune heats up." - Hugh Hewitt
South Dakota Politics,
and
Sibby Online(Note to Hugh: These links had bad HTML in the original article - no colon after the http.)
(If you want OFF - or ON - my "Hugh Hewitt PING list" - please let me know)
I do believe Daschle is going to lose, and man what a fall he has had in the past four years.
Remember, in the wake of the 2000 elections, Daschle was actually "floated" as a Presidential candidate for 04. Remember his claims the first Bush Budget was "DOA"? It passed. He claimed "The Bush Tax Cuts are DOA". They passed. He claimed "Democrats will gain more seats in the Senate and House in 02". They lost in both, and the Presidents ten days of campaigning at the end was the primary reason Daschle lost the Senate Majority Leader role for the second time in two years.
I think we are witnessing the last Kamikaze like run by the far leftwingnuts. Consider the fact the Democrats have nominated a ticket thats the most liberal since FDR....in spite of getting creamed three election cycles in a row.
I can't wait to vote.
Thune - 50.1%
Dashole 49.9%
While I would love to see a creamation, a close race would piss him off more.
I'd like there to be enough breathing room in the results that daschle cannot mount a time-wasting challenge to the vote. I don't want his replacement having to be kept out of the Senate for one nanosecond because tommy can mount a semi-credible challenge of vote fraud or question of any stripe.
Same for the Bush-Cheney smack-down of Lurch and Opie.
What does South Dakota think of Michael Moore and his slanders on American troops and lies about American motives? We will find out in November, because South Dakota's Senator Tom Daschle has embraced Moore--literally.
That's what Time magazine reported this week. "Two weeks ago, at the Washington premier, Moore sat a few rows behind Daschle," the magazine's cover story recounted about the D.C. opening of Fahrenheit 9/11. "Afterward, says Moore, 'he gave me a hug and said he felt bad and that we were all gonna fight from now on.'"
I look forward to seeing little Tommy try to spin this.
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