Posted on 08/07/2004 5:21:42 PM PDT by jwalburg
Nearly 50 Republican state lawmakers have signed a letter calling Sen. Tom Daschle's campaign ad about the state's distance learning program misleading.
The 60-second spot features a Rapid City master's student thanking Daschle for securing nearly $900,000 for a Dakota State University program in Madison.
The lawmakers, in a letter signed this week, contend Daschle is taking credit for work done by former Gov. Bill Janklow and the South Dakota Legislature.
The letter also notes that although Daschle added the funding during Senate appropriations hearings, he ultimately voted against the overall 2003 Omnibus Bill.
''The feeling we got is that someone outside the state system was trying to take the credit,'' said state Senate Majority Leader Eric Bogue. ''If you look at this single instance and give them the most benefit of the doubt, then the voting record speaks for itself.
''I can speak as a legislator that you cannot take credit for something you voted against.''
Daschle's campaign staff said there's no reason to yank the commercial and has no plans to interrupt its statewide airing.
DSU president Doug Knowlton said he doesn't feel the ad takes credit for the entire state network.
''Obviously, a lot of work went into the distance-learning infrastructure,'' he said. ''But it's really clear that Senator Daschle and his staff put together the plan that gave us this money. To say he didn't have anything to do with it would be a mistake because this is having an impact on learning opportunities for students across the state.''
Democratic representatives Gerry Lange of Madison and Dave Gassman of Canova, as well as Sen. Dan Sutton of Flandreau, signed a letter of support calling the Republican complaint ''the worst kind of election-year politics.''
Lange, a DSU professor emeritus, backed Daschle's ''no'' vote on the 2003 Omnibus Bill. Daschle has said its drought-relief funding was insufficient.
''I know it can get complicated when you get tangled up in the political maneuvering,'' Lange said. ''You try to get the best deal you can, and if it doesn't have everything you want, you vote against it. It's a calculated risk, of course.''
In an election year you can.
Ping.............
Oh, sorry I forgot to add..............WOE THE DAY!!!!
Daschle needs a new kind of distance-learning himself. His constituents are a great distance away from his pro-abort, eco-whacked, gay marriage buddies. He has distanced himself long enough from his constituents' values.
PS Sen. Daschle even made a special effort to become a co-sponsor 4 months after the bill was introduced. South Dakota needs to know!!!
No, I don't know that one. I guess it's all in how he used it.
Just a sec. I'll go find it.....it's funny.
};)
Well, he's a Democrat isn't he. That's what they do, take credit for what they oppose, lie like there is no tomorrow, and then blame the Reps as if the Reps are the ones doing it. AND, the public BELIEVES them! What a great country.
Mr. DASCHLE.
So the bottom line for those who are concerned about the exploding cost of an entitlement is this: I have news for you. You have a right to be concerned because we have not done anything to control costs in this legislation. We are going to woe the day we passed this without providing the same mechanism VA has to do just that. We are going to woe the day . We are also going to woe the day when we draw distinctions between seniors for absolutely no good reason. If it is good enough for veterans, it ought to be good enough for senior citizens across the board. But the drug companies don't like that either. Because they don't like it, it was excluded. So I make these points of order on four very specific points.
Dashole is just another lying demowit.
Get Barney Frank drunk and lock him in a small room with Tom Daschle.....and let the fun begin.
Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) demonstrating how far he could stretch the truth in his recent campaign ads.
Oh that's just wrong...............EXTREMELY FUNNY, but wrong.
You could at least put Boxer or Pelosi in there too.
Put them in the next room!
I sincerely hope the good citizens of South Dakota go to the polls and throw Daschle out of office.
LOL! And they are embarrassed about Bush's handling of English.
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