Tag Archives: john thune

Tim Johnson’s secret to success

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It’s not difficult to get things done, according to an old saying, if you don’t care who gets the credit.

That may be a fitting tribute to Tim Johnson, one of three South Dakota Democrats who served more than 20 years in Congress in the past six decades. He announced his retirement Tuesday at USD, in a typically low-key event that blended humor with touches of sadness.

Johnson was the least charismatic, the least well-known, the least controversial of the three big Democrats. He was also the most politically successful.

George McGovern was a national, even a global, figure for four decades. Tom Daschle rose to become the Democrats leader in the Senate, and a key adviser and mentor to President Obama.

McGovern, who served for 22 years, ran for president three times, and considered races for the White House in two other election cycles. Daschle, who put in 26 years, pondered runs for the presidency in both 2004 and 2008.

Tim Johnson, who almost certainly will leave with 28 years in Congress, never saw himself as a future president, at least as far as we know. He had other goals.

Johnson mentioned a few on Tuesday as he announced his plans to retire from his business in less than two years: He worked to bring needed water to both cowboys and Indians in South Dakota.

Johnson pushed to keep Ellsworth Air Force Base open. He backed projects that boosted his home state, using the old, often-arcane rules of Congress, and was a very effective legislator.

And he reached out to Republicans and independents in SD, and enough of them noticed to elect him to the Legislature four times, to Congress five times, and to the Senate three times. He did so, it’s worth noting, by landslide margins in 6 of his 8 statewide races.

The two times he was in close elections, he defeated Republican icons: Larry Pressler in 1996, and John Thune in 2002. Who else in state history defeated such a pair of opponents in back-to-back elections?

No one.

Meanwhile, both McGovern and Daschle ended their careers as defeated candidates, rejected by the voters of their home state. It stung.

Tim Johnson rolls off into the sunset undefeated, 12-0 in general elections, and 15-0 in all races, with a reputation as a decent, modest and successful politician with a wry, clever sense of humor. He is admired by his fellow vote-chasers, too.

I hope he writes an autobiography, because he has been much, much more than just another politician.

South Dakota voters knew that for 36 years.

Thune steps out on Fox with CNBC

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Let’s hope Greta Van Susteren doesn’t find out about this.

Sen. John Thune spent an hour as a, gasp, guest host!, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday. Yeah, me either.

Thune, who is adept with the media, both in the lounges of South Dakota and in the main rooms of Washington and New York, is usually seen on Fox News, where it seems like he or Rep. Kristi Noem appear with Greta VS on a daily basis.

But as chairman of the Senate GOP Conference, Thune has the responsibility of leading the Republican charge on TV and through the media. He is glib, charming and informed, so it’s a natural fit.

In the clip on YouTube, Thune discusses the looming fiscal cliff while the host drools over how tall he is and how well he wears a suit. JT laughs that off, but it is amazing how much the national media focuses on looks.

But so do voters, so politicians who resemble the people who deliver the news on TV have an edge. It seems things have gotten uglier since this trend took deep root.

Thune once again cites a lack of presidential leadership, calls for a reduction in government spending on entitlement programs and says President Obama seems hooked on raising taxes. Shocker.

The R’s and the D’s are still battling over whether or not they should allow the economy to slide. It seems that the obvious answer is, no, don’t do it, but such is the state of modern politics in America.

Compromise, anyone? Thune said he would vote for something that would address the problem, including some revenue increases. He said going over the cliff would be a major mistake, but says Obama seems willing to go there.

The fact is, the much-feared cliff is really more of a gradual slope. There is time to craft a deal that can pass both houses and get Obama’s signature. Failing to do so would assuredly damage the economy and the country.

Maybe if Obama appeared on Fox again, Speaker John Boehner got a gig on MSNBC and both sides actually listened to the other, some progress would be made. Thune would probably be willing to guest host with both of them.

The 10 most interesting politicians in SD are …

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A poster to this blog offered a take on the 10 most interesting politicians in South Dakota and it was a good list, filled with fascinating vote-seekers. The challenge was to offer your take.

Here’s my list. If you have one, chime in.

1. John Thune. Mentioned for president and VP in 2010, 2011 and 2012, spoke at this year’s RNC and now campaigning for Romney, he has by far the highest profile in the nation for a South Dakotan, and a ton of respect at home, where he was unopposed for a second term in 2010.

2. Tim Johnson. While he chairs the powerful Senate Banking Committee while battling health challenges, SD political watchers speculate on will he or won’t he run in 2014. TJ has never lost a race in his life; will he jeopardize that in two years to seek a fourth Senate term?

3. Dennis Daugaard. He was a quiet, part-time lieutenant governor but DD grabbed the reins of state government in 2011 and has been a powerful, effective and surprisingly political governor. He will be hard to beat in 2014, even with a right-wing challenge in the primary.

4. Kristi Noem. Three years ago an almost unknown state rep. from a tiny town, she leaped to Congress and a House leadership slot. She may well have a prominent future in SD for years to come.

5. Mike Rounds. He was DD’s old boss and a popular two-term governor despite grumbling from some on both sides of the aisle as to his real effectiveness. Another will-he-or-won’t-he in 2014, although it seems for sure that he will run for the Senate.

6. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Three years ago she may have topped this list, but a surprising defeat in 2010, a turn as a lawyer for a DC firm and now a return home to SD puts her on the list of what’s up next. Her youth, talent and pedigree makes it seem obvious she will run again, but for what and when?

7. Marty Jackley. The attorney general and former U.S. attorney is experienced, very media-friendly and clearly ambitious. There are a lot of young Republicans eager to move ahead, but Jackley is at the front of the elephant herd.

8. Brendan Johnson. If any young Democrat has a future in SD politics it’s a guy whose name is very familiar to voters. Tim’s son is the U.S. attorney in the state and an affable, back-slapping pol, unlike his more-reserved dad. It seems a question of when, not if, he runs for political office.

9. Mike Huether. The mayor of Sioux Falls prodded and pushed and got the convention center approved and at his favored site. He may be considering a move into state or federal office next.

10. Stace Nelson. The big, burly former Marine has raised hell in Pierre as a legislator, irritated some of his fellow Republicans and battled and beat a large dairy operation in his home county. Nelson is vying for a return to the capitol in 2013, where he would surely make news and cause some headaches again.

There are many other contenders: Matt Varilek, Jason Gant, his sparring partner Stan Adelstein, Matt Michels, Dusty Johnson, George McGovern, Tom Daschle, Val Rausch, Sam Kooiker, and others. But I’ll stick with those 10.

Noem repeats false claim in new ad

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Rep. Kristi Noem isn’t letting the facts get in the way of a good political ad.

Noem repeats a claim in her new TV ad that those big, bad bureaucrats tried to prevent kids from doing chores on farms and ranches. It’s the same assertion Sen. John Thune made during his speech at the Republican National Convention in August.

The problem? It’s not true. PolitiFact, the Pulitzer-winning political analysis website, said Thune’s claim, and now Noem’s, is a lie. In fact, they gave it a Pants on Fire award.

“It’s ridiculously false to suggest it applied to children of family farmers and even sillier to say it applied to ‘chores.’ Pants on Fire!” PolitiFact wrote.

In fact, 27,000 kids are killed or seriously injured on U.S. farms every year according to a study released this year. It seems like something the government should keep an eye on, doesn’t it? A proposed set of rules to make farm life and work safer for young people was drafted and debated this year, with Thune and Noem fighting against them.

Noem, in her first new ad of the season, explains how she stood up for family farms and ranches against this imaginary federal intervention while her son Booker, who became a South Dakota celebrity along with his sisters in 2010 ads, acts up a storm in the background while tending to horses at the family ranch near Castlewood.

Booker’s a nice kid whom I interviewed during an appearance in Mitchell in 2010; the Noem bus driver said he was loving his time in the sun.

This is the first truly new ad for Kristi Noem this year, followed by a cut-and-paste job featuring GOP boilerplate clips and a 2010 video of her riding horseback. She had trailed her Democratic challenger, Matt Varilek, who had rolled out three new TV spots already.

Of course, Varilek made sure to spotlight his kids, along with his wife, in two of his ads. Everybody loves to show off their loved ones, since it makes the candidates seem like stars in a family sitcom, not serious, thoughtful people who want to go to Washington and deal with those darn bureaucrats and pesky issues and problems.

Noem has a lot more cash than Varilek — $1.2 million or so with more to come, plus help from her Republican allies, so expect to see more ads, and probably more Booker. Will the other ads be a bit more fact-based?

Hey, it’s the election season. Don’t count on it. Maybe Varilek will tell us how he is working to prevent old people from being put on ice floes if the Republican Social Security reform proposal becomes law.

Thune gets ‘pants on fire’ rating from PolitiFact

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Sen. John Thune’s pants catch on fire during the Republican National Convention last week.

We’ve heard about how the VP-nominee Paul Ryan’s speech was “factually challenged,” but South Dakota’s own John Thune has been called a liar by PolitiFact for saying the Obama administration sought to ban farm kids from doing chores.

From the Miami Herald political blog:

(Thune) said the Obama administration ‘proposed banning farm kids from doing basic chores!’

…

We explored Thune’s claim and found that the truth wasn’t close to what he said.
From PolitiFact:
The summary of the proposed rules stated they “would impact only hired farm workers and in no way compromise the statutory child labor parental exemption involving children working on farms owned or operated by their parents.”
While the Labor Department has sought to tighten safety rules for minors working on farms, the proposal specifically did notban kids from doing basic chores, the Miami Herald says.
Thune had been railing against this idea for months – even sponsoring a bill to stop it, so I wasn’t surprised to hear him bring it up during his speech. Well, maybe I was a little surprised since the Labor folks said back in April that they would drop the idea.
As for Thune being a pants-on-fire liar, that one is still too hot to touch here at the Republic Insider. Without poring over the mind-numbing Labor proposal, I suspect it’s based in a difference of perception over what constitutes a “basic chore” and a “parental exemption.” (My own husband earned money working summers on a farm run by his step-dad.)
Thune has a reputation, in South Dakota at least, as a straight shooter. But please do keep those pants away from open flames, senator!