Posted on 08/16/2004 5:34:42 AM PDT by AmericanMade1776
Daschle seeks apology from Thune on statements to staffer
By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer
Feathers were flying Friday after the man running Republican John Thune's Senate campaign used a barnyard epithet to refer to Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
South Dakota's two Senate campaigns traded barbs Friday over Thune's campaign manager's use of a swearword to refer to Tom Daschle and over Daschle's absence at events hosted by South Dakota organizations.
A fuss over debates, ongoing for weeks, got ratcheted up when Thune campaign manager Dick Wadhams approached a Daschle staffer who was videotaping Thune's remarks and said: "Your boss is a chickens**t. You know that, right?"
The exchange, detailed in a news release from the Daschle campaign, took place at a forum in Sioux Falls hosted by Associated School Boards of South Dakota and the School Administrators of South Dakota.
The Daschle campaign took offense and issued a news release calling for an apology from Thune, Daschle's challenger in the Nov. 2 election.
"Later, Wadhams approached Jeremy again and said, ‘So, let me get this straight. Your boss is too chickens**t to show up, so they sent you here? How do you feel about that?'" reads the release.
The videotaping Daschle staffer is 25-year-old Jeremy Funk.
"Berating young staffers and referring to public officials with obscenities is not how we do things in South Dakota. John Thune owes Sen. Daschle and his staffer an immediate apology," Daschle campaign manager Steve Hildebrand said in the release. "I know Mr. Wadhams is not from South Dakota, but you don't have to be here long to see that this sort of behavior goes beyond the pale of what is acceptable in South Dakota politics."
Thune will not apologize, Wadhams said. Instead, Daschle should apologize for ducking debates, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at rapidcityjournal.com ...
"It is pathetic when Tom Daschle will not debate John Thune and then sends this staff person to slink around in the shadows and tape John Thune when Thune is the one who shows up for these events."
The residents there must be deeply saddened.
I know for a FACT that Daschle is NOT a Chicken &#$t. He is an @$$h*le.
No one should ever apologize for speaking the truth.
That chicken is too tall.
Actually Wahdams should apologize : "I am sorry I called Sen. Daschle a Chicketshiite. We all know he is actually a lying cowardly scumsucking gutter dwelling weasel DascHOLE. I am Deeply saddened at his refuseal to debate my candidate."
I know...he is too tall, and Not "yellow" enough..but he is running scared.
I PRAY DascHole loses!
Haha! You said it well. ;-D
Jeez, if you talk about Rats, you gotta use words they understand.
I fully recognize that I am not the 'moderate/swing' voter that is all important to elected officials, but I have to wonder how such a person would react to what I would have liked to hear.
How would the mushy middle react if Thune had said, "I will apologize for one of my staffers calling Daschle a Chickens**t when Daschle stops acting like a chickens**t and debates me."
Would that play as crass among the middle, or would middle America like to hear blunt honesty?
He should have called him a little McGreevey.
My prediction: S. Dakota now has a dem (Johnson) as one of the Senators, another dem as the only Representative in Congress. I beleive that the good people of S. Dakota will want to provide some balance, especially with the Republican majorities in both houses. Daschle is toast!
Actually, I think many Americans didn't appreciate Vice-President Cheney's obscenity in the Senate. I think in public the Republicans should take the high road in language. It is quite possible to expose lies and criticize opponents without using foul language. We don't want to be identified with that way of talking.
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