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South Dakota Politics A University of South Dakota law student's blog dedicated primarily to shining light (either a harsh, unyielding spotlight or a soft, warm glow) on figures and institutions in South Dakota. |
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![]() Saturday, August 09, 2003 AS BAD A BLOGGER AS HE IS A SENATOR: If you haven't already, read Powerline's recent post about the new Club for Growth ad and Tom Daschle's blogging ability. posted by Jason | 11:58 PMTIES THAT BIND: The Washington Post had an article this week about the families of lawmakers becoming lobbyists: The Ties That Bind on Capitol Hill. I would remind readers that the Argus Leader's Mike Madden had a thorough report on this phenomenon weeks ago, and that Jeff Gannon beat them all with this report. posted by Jason | 11:41 PMDASCHLE TAKES A HIT, KRANZ SEETHES: It's been pure entertainment to watch the hyperventilation from the Daschle-Kranz crowd regarding the Club for Growth's latest ad. First, David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, reported on the new ad in Thursday's edition of the Argus Leader, with the outraged headline "Group again runs anti-Daschle ads." Then today, Kranz tries to fan a flickering flame of scandal with a piece entitled "Use of tune in ad fuels controversy." The Daschle people are desperately trying to prevent the ad from running by "respectfully" requesting that television stations pull it. Now the new tactic is to enlist Crosby, Stills & Nash in claiming a copyright violation. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Thursday, August 07, 2003 Two law professors, who teach both constitutional law and internet law, have now weighed in on the defamation lawsuit of former Senator James Abourezk (you know, Tom Daschle's mentor) against the website ProBush.com. First, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds' take on Abourezk:
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh also weighs in:
Also, don't miss Jeff Gannon's background reporting on this story. Note: this former Senator is suing a 20-year-old kid for blogging! posted by Jason | 10:23 PM Wednesday, August 06, 2003 Posting will be sparse over the next few days, as I'm off to Sturgis for the Rally. Meanwhile, make sure to check the links to the right. posted by Jason | 7:39 AMPRESS EVERY ADVANTAGE: Jeff Gannon connects some interesting dots in his latest piece, revealing Democratic hypocrisy on the issue of homosexuality. The piece also reveals that the Democrats will press every advantage, no matter how unsavory, to win elections. But we already knew that. posted by Jason | 7:37 AMTuesday, August 05, 2003 DASCHLE'S UNFAVORABLES HIGHER THAN FAVORABLES: Byron York, writing for the Hill, reports on the latest in a series of disappointing developments for Tom Daschle. Now a CNN/Gallup poll has Daschle as the only congressional leader with an unfavorable rating higher than his favorable rating. Excerpt:
posted by Jason | 10:05 PM DASCHLE MUST BE SADDENED AND DISAPPOINTED: Fritz Hollings is retiring from the Senate. This makes it even more unlikely to most observers that Tom Daschle will ever again become majority leader. Most observers that is, except for David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, who only weeks ago spun about the likelihood of Tom Daschle again becoming majority leader. Kranz's report drew a lot of eyerolls for saying the Dems were merely at disadavantage "on paper." posted by Jason | 7:55 AMMonday, August 04, 2003 ABOUREZK V. PROBUSH.COM UPDATE: You can now access ProBush.com's brief in support of its 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss by clicking here (pdf file). For background information, read the Progressive's "McCarthyism Watch." Abourezk's complaint can be accessed here (pdf file). posted by Jason | 8:55 PMSunday, August 03, 2003 KRANZ WATCH: David Kranz, the dean of South Dakota political reporters, reports on former South Dakota GOP chair Joel Rosenthal's effort to recruit conservatives to run for local government positions throughout the state. Kranz drops a few names in his report:
David Kranz has written extensive profiles of conservative figures in South Dakota for the Sunday Argus Leader (Paul Erickson and Leslie Unruh). I wonder if we'll ever see him write a profile on any one of the people named above? Speaking of Paul Erickson, Kranz also has a few paragraphs about Erickson's recent speech before the College Republican convention:
(Emphasis added). In this small paragraph we catch a glimpse of Kranz's liberal bias. Salon is not just an "online news magazine," it's a LIBERAL online news magazine. The Salon article Kranz cites can be read here. The tone of the Salon article is evident from the very first sentence:
It's really evenhanded to be calling Karl Rove a person who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do what is desired. But David Kranz is always quick to point out the political leanings of such publications as the Weekly Standard. When Weekly Standard writer J. Bottum reported on Bishop Carlson telling Tom Daschle to stop calling himself a Catholic, Kranz wrote the following in a piece dated 4/18/2003:
(Emphasis added). If David Kranz were an objective observer, as he holds himself out to be, he would have mentioned that Salon is a liberal newsmagazine, and that the piece he cites is an opinion piece. As it is, the average reader gets the impression that Salon does not have a partisan agenda. Conversely, in Kranz's piece about the Weekly Standard, Kranz makes certain that the reader knows about the Weekly Standard's partisan agenda. There's nothing wrong with Kranz pointing out a publication's political leanings. There IS something wrong with him only pointing out the political leanings of conservative publications, and failing to point out the political leanings of liberal publications. posted by Jason | 2:10 PM |
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