Thune- who stole the election form Daschle- teaches his cohorts a trick

[No Mandate Here.]

I hope they didn't listen too well, and that the SCLM and the rest of us look at their campaigns with a fine eye...

From NYT: Talk of Taxes, Social Security and Blogs at G.O.P. Retreathttp://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/politics/30repubs.html?oref=login

(Requires registration)

<snip>

In another presentation, Senator John Thune of South Dakota introduced senators to the meaning of "blogging," explaining the basics of self-published online political commentary and arguing that it can affect public opinion.

<snip>

The inmates really ARE in charge of their asylum. Thune had two bloggers secretly on his payroll.

[w4rma]

1. You know those "conservative" posters you see on many message boards?

You know the really really stubbon ones? The ones who seem to have all the latest Republican talking points? The ones who seem to be totally impervious to all reasoning? The ones who seem to have all the time in the world to post on these boards, like it was their full-time job?

Campaigns don't have to pay these folks directly. They could be paid by anyone using an important sounding title that is not descriptive of their real job.

Or they could just be corporate welfare cheats.

Nonetheless, folks who are being paid to promote some specific viewpoint it's not likely that any amount of debate with get them to recant that support so always debate to the audience. It's the audience you want to convert.

[tkmorris]

2. There are a few right here on DU

They are kind of obvious once you really get your head around what they do.

[No Mandate Here.]

3. The two bloggrers weren't just posting, They hosted..

their own blogs, 24/7, sending out anti Daschle propaganda.

I forget who exposed them- probably Josh Marshall on www.talkingpointsmemo.com

[LiviaOlivia]

9. Thune-Jeff Gannon

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/30/9415/11717
.....................................

National Journal
(c) 2004 by National Journal Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

The Week on the Hill, November 15-18; Lobbying & Law

Bloggers Targeted Daschle and the Press
John Stanton

South Dakota Republicans opened a new and potentially powerful front in the war over public opinion during their successful bid to oust Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle in the November 2 election. Not only did they orchestrate a highly effective, Internet-based campaign against Daschle, but they also targeted the state's largest newspaper and primary news source, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. GOP activists in the state -- several of whom were paid thousands of dollars by Sen.-elect John Thune's campaign committee for research consulting -- launched an unprecedented assault on the Argus Leader. Through an alliance of South Dakota-based Web logs, or blogs, and a pseudo-news Web site, the activists hammered away continuously at the paper's coverage of Daschle and raised persistent questions about the objectivity of its writers.

~snip~

Lauck, Van Beek, and other conservative activists in the state also tout a series of stories written by Jeff Gannon, the Washington bureau chief for TalonNews.com, as their ultimate proof of bias at the Argus Leader. The series, penned in summer 2003, alleged that Kranz, who went to college with Daschle, was not just sympathetic to his friend but was an actual part of Daschle's larger campaign machine.

However, TalonNews is not the independent news source it purports to be. It's run by GOPUSA, a conservative political publishing and consulting firm. While the Bush administration has provided Gannon with press credentials, the nonpartisan U.S. Senate Daily Press Gallery has rejected Gannon's repeated requests for congressional press credentials because of TalonNews' financial ties to GOPUSA.

~snip~

...................................................
~snip~
There's one other thing that raises our curiosity about who or what is behind "Gannon." It seems that when he wasn't bashing Kerry, he paid a ton of attention to the Thune vs. Daschle Senate race in South Dakota. One blog that seemed to think "Gannon" was an authoritative journalist and linked to at least one of his reports was called "Daschle v. Thune."

If that name sounds familiar, it should. It later was reported that the author of the blog, Jon Lauck, was a former Thune campaign staffer and was paid $27,000 by Thune's 2004 campaign while he was producing the Web site.

So let us get this straight: The top Democrat in the Senate loses a race where the GOP sets up a phony blog that passes along news reports from a pseudo media organization, written by a reporter given White House credentials under a fake name. Our head is spinning. Will the propaganda fiasco become George W. Bush's Watergate?
~snip~

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/extra/archives/001437.html

[tsuki]

4. I forget where I read it. I think the NYT. Wasn't Thune the one

that had thugs at the Indian Reservation to stop the Native Americans from voting? Has that been investigated? It would be a violation of Federal law since it is Federal land. Was the FBI called in?

[Devil Dog Dem]

5. Yes he was. I witnessed it first hand.

Can't believe we are in the 21st century and this shit still goes on.

[tsuki]

6. Anyone investigating?

[Devil Dog Dem]

11. Not to my knowledge. We got Temporary Restraining Order . . .

enjoining the repugs from writing down the license plate numbers of Native Americans, and other similar tactics. But since it would require either the state authorities (in a state controlled by repugs) or Federal authorities (in a country controlled by BushCo) then no such investigation is likely to happen.

We had hundreds of Dem lawyers on the ground that day throughout the state. After the team I was on got he injunction I think we pretty much stopped the intimidation tactics by the repugs.

It was ugly, and Thune is a goon, but I don't think 3% of the voting population (what it would have taken to give Daschle a win) was kept from voting.

[tsuki]

15. Does Rep. Conyers have this information?

[Devil Dog Dem]

18. Probably. It was in every major paper in the country because . . .

it was the only TRO issued during the 2004 elections.

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. I wonder why Conyers would be silent on this

:shrug:

[JoshK]

7. Thune didn't "steal" the election. He won it, fair and square.

Thune is a rightwing scumbag, pure and simple. But there is no reason to say he "stole" the election from Daschle. Rather, he DEFEATED Daschle, who was a worthless, spineless wimp.

A "stolen" election is something like the presidential election of 2000. Just because a rightwinger defeats a Democrat does not automatically mean the election was "stolen."

[No Mandate Here.]

8. see post 5 above QED, IMHO. EOM

[JoshK]

10. Oh, you mean the thing about the Indian reservation? Okay --

maybe there's something to that. Point conceded.

It wouldn't have taken many votes to flip that race, so any hankypanky on the reservation might conceivably have changed the outcome.

[mdmc]

12. Dems don't fight back

the GOP walks all over us.

[LiviaOlivia]

13. Good golly! What you say!

"maybe there's something to that."

"hankypanky on the reservation"


As strident as some of your anti-Kerry and anti-Dem comments have been today I must say that your post has confirmed my suspicions.

[EFerrari]

14. Question: how do they vote in SD? What kind of machines? nt

[LiviaOlivia]

17. DU has a great State Forum

check it out

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=178x248

[sarahlee]

21. Here on the Rosebud reservation

we had paper ballots.

Indians did not vote for Daschle because he screwed tribes on treaty rights right after they helped elect Tim Jonnson to the senate.

None of my friends voted for Thune or Daschle - both parties screw us.

[LiviaOlivia]

23. Thank you. We all suffered under the Vichy(aka traitor) Dems.

Thune is a nightmare beyond Johnson and Daschle IMO. God help you.

Please recommend a SD website for us in the other states if possible. Thank you.

I love SD. I lived in Wyo and Colo most of my life and always looked forward to a trip to your beautiful country.

[LiviaOlivia]

16. From Indianz.Com. Nov. 2004

URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2004/005123.asp

Judge bars GOP from watching Yankton Sioux voters
Tuesday, November 2, 2004

A federal judge has barred the Republican Party from watching voters from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.

A Republican testified that he was writing down the license plate numbers of cars carrying voters from the reservation to a polling place in Charles Mix County. But Joel C. Mandelman, a lawyer from the Washington, D.C., area said his activities did not stop anyone from voting. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol issued a temporary restraining order sought by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota). Daschle accused Republican John Thune of intimidating Indian voters.

Charles Mix County has a large Indian population but non-Indians make up the majority. In the 2002 Senate election and the recent special House election, Indian voters overwhelmingly chose Democratic candidates. Areas of the county used to be considered part of the reservation but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tribal lands were diminished.

---------------------------------------------------------

Indianz.Com.
URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2004/005094.asp

South Dakota Lakotas upset over Thune mailer
Monday, November 1, 2004

Residents of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Sioux reservations are upset over a campaign mailer from Republican John Thune that appears to equate supporters of Sen. Tom Daschle (D) to dogs.

"The dogs are lining up to vote for Tom Daschle," the flyer states. Lakotas said it brought up memories when South Dakota businesses posted signs stating "No Indians or dogs."

Thune's campaign manager apologized for offending anyone with the mailer. Prairie dogs, seen as a nuisance by ranchers but somewhat revered in Lakota culture, have been an issue in the campaign.

Daschle and Thune have actively courted Indian voters but the chief of staff for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe said the mailer turns off tribal members. Both parties have tried to increase voter registration and turnout on reservations, with Democrats claiming greater successes.

[Devil Dog Dem]

19. That second article has the gist all wrong.

I saw those fliers and all the Native Americans I spoke with were upset because prairie dog is slang for Native American. Like calling an African American a coon.

It was pretty disgusting.

[LiviaOlivia]

20. Thanks DDD

But still a slam right? Comments on indianz.com?