You read it here first—Dan Nelson and Chris Tapken were indeed indicted in the Southern District of Iowa Federal Court today.

The Argus Leader has the details.  An excerpt:

A lengthy indictment filed Wednesday in an Iowa federal court accuses the politically connected ex-car dealer Dan Nelson and business partner Chris Tapken of defrauding several banks, causing an estimated $21 million in losses.The 28-count indictment alleges Nelson and Tapken routinely created false reports, which gave MetaBank and other participating banks undue confidence in the health of their subprime car loan businesses….

The bill of particulars is pretty long. They screwed a number of local banks. No comment so far on the indictments from Dan’s good friend Sen. John Thune, who served on the MetaBank board of directors during his time in the wilderness between his House and Senate gigs.

Funny now that Sen. John Thune thinks that Sen. Tom Daschle has President-elect Barack Obama’s ear and how good that will be for South Dakota.

And unlike Sen. Thune who said he had President George W. Bush’s ear but really didn’t in his defeat of Tom in 2004, Tom really does have Barack’s ear.

From the Associated Press via KCAU-TV:

South Dakota’s Republican governor and junior senator say they think having former Sen. Tom Daschle working in President-elect Obama’s administration could only help the state.

Or we could have just kept Tom in the U.S. Senate where he would now be Majority Leader and working with his friend, the new President. Hmmm.

A conservative commentator wonders if selecting our own Sen. John Thune might have been a better pick for Vice President than the barracuda/pit bull/hockey mom/Alaska law breaker Gov. Sarah Palin.

From Russ Smith at Splice Today:

I’m not especially taken by Palin—given her shrillness and cloying “I’m one of you” shtick, it seems McCain would’ve been better served by choosing a running mate like South Dakota’s Sen. John Thune—but the media’s drumbeat hostility showered upon her is plainly over-the-top.

At least Thune doesn’t wink when he addresses the camera.

As I noted yesterday, I was a little concerned about our (South Dakota's) good U.S. Senator, Tim Johnson, on the Wall Street Giveaway.

Afterall, he had received quite a bit of campaign money over the years because of his position on the Senate Banking Committee and he helped screw consumers to the benefit of credit card companies in 2004 and 2005 with his support of bankruptcy "reform."

But Tim came through like a champ in crunch time and voted against the revised bailout measure which passed the Senate.

I had no such hopes for Sen. John Thune as he's basically Bush's toady.  But I do note for the record that Kansas' two very Republican Senators, Pat Roberts and Sam "Every Sperm Is Sacred" Brownback also voted with Johnson against the Greedy Capitalists Socialism Act.  Nice to see that the Senators in my other home state have some ya-yas.

Thanks Tim (and Pat and Sam).  Now, Stephanie (Herseth Sandlin (D-SD), please hold the line like a good little Blue Doggie and vote against this version again in the House tomorrow.

I contacted our two U.S. Senators' offices today, Tim Johnson and John Thune.

The nice young lady at Sen. Thune's Sioux Falls office thought Sen. Thune, a Republican, was going to vote yes on the bailout before the Senate today.  She said based on yesterday's KELOLAND story, she thought Sen. Thune would vote yes.  Fair enough.  I told her I hoped the Senator voted no.

I also contacted Sen. Johnson's Sioux Falls office.  The nice young lady in Sen. Johnson's office said she didn't know how Tim would vote.  I reminded her that in 2004, he was in large part responsible for tightening working people's ability to file bankruptcy and discharge debts and that if such tough love was necessary for consumers it was also necessary for greedy investment bankers.

So, we'll see.  I have no hope that Thune will vote against the measure.  He's too much of a toady for the Bush Administration.  But if Johnson votes for it, I will be greatly disappointed. 

We'll know later today.

In this latest constituent email, Sen. John Thune crows about getting some special defense projects funded for South Dakota:

On September 27, 2008, the National Defense Authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2009 was sent to the White House for a presidential signature and enactment into law.  The bill authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.  The bill also provides a 3.9 percent pay raise for all military personnel and includes several South Dakota defense-related projects.

But wait.  I thought these earmarks were bad.  That’s what Sen. Thune’s good friend Sen. John McCain says.  And his little friend Gov. Sarah Palin.

I’m not complaining that Sen. Thune got some pork for South Dakota.  I’m just a little surprised that the top of his Party’s ticket just thinks what John does for us all is so bad.

My former Man Crush, Barack Obama, has been getting pelted by Grumpy Old John McCain about being a “celebrity.”

Well, guess who else has been called a “rock star” and a “celebrity” by Republicans and GOP bloggers (and some others)?

Our own Sen. John Thune.

A few examples:

From Dakota Voice, April 13, 2007:

Thune: Republican “Rock Star”

John Quinn says John Thune could be the Republican “Obama.” From KOTA:

‘He is young. He is articulate. He is tall, slender and well spoken,’ Quinn says, laying out a description of Thune that is intentionally and eerily familiar to that of another player on the political scene.

From Straight Talk Iowa Style, September 6, 2006:

McCain and John Thune

Here’s an interesting story about the relationship between John McCain and South Dakota dragon slayer Senator John Thune, the guy who beat Tom Daschle in 04…

Look for Thune to play a part in helping McCain become President and win Iowa. One rock star helping another could be a potent combination for success. (Yes that is a prediction that Thune will endorse McCain should McCain run.)

From Commontaries, August 7, 2008:

On top of that, he (Thune) will satisfy something that seems to be very important to some voters these days. The voters in America are very superficial. He has the ability to have that rock star appeal. The same wave that Barack Obama is presently riding. John Thune can catch a ride on the same tide. Only this time on the Republican side.

From Governing, March 13, 2007:

The story also puts Tom Daschle on Obama’s short list because, you know, he couldn’t even carry South Dakota. Since Thune beat Daschle when he was leader of the Senate Democrats, he naturally has flirted with rock-star status even in the national media.

Here’s a transcript of an interview Thune did with CNN a while back:

HENRY: Very quickly, before the process, Republicans were saying you’re a rock star. During the process, they said your credibility was shot. Now that you’ve won, where do you stand? Are you a rock star again?

THUNE: Well, I don’t think I ever was. But the point in all of this is, what I’m here to do is represent the people of South Dakota.

From the Washington Post, May 26, 2005:

Senator John Thune has long been a darling of the White House, handpicked by President Bush as a rising Republican star. But just months after winning election by telling voters that his ties to Mr. Bush would help save their military base, Mr. Thune is facing a new reality.

Yup. GOP “rock stars” good. Democratic “rock stars” bad. The distinction is utterly clear. Makes perfect sense to me.

Technorati Tags: John Thune, rock star, rockstar, Barack Obama, 2008 election, South Dakota

Here’s the answer. LegiStorm has posted the latest congressional staff salary data from the U.S. Senate and U.S. House.

You’ll be shocked by some by how much they make. You’ll be shocked by others by how little they make.

I was just happy to see my buddies Jon Lauck and Mark Haugen land on their feet with Sen. Thune’s office. Hate to see my friends have to get on Food Stamps, particularly as small government Republicans.

Have fun!

Technorati Tags: Congressional salaries, Congressional staff salaries, your tax dollars at work, federal budget, Tim Johnson, John Thune, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin

KELOLAND reports today that the AVERAGE price of gas in SD is $3.50/gallon.

• Read: Cutting Back Because Of Gas Prices
  

This has been a favorite theme of SD Watch since the 2004 election, when John Thune blamed Sen. Tom Daschle for high gasoline prices, when gas was a whopping $1.60/gallon. Here’s a classic from SDW in 2005 on the issue:

• Read: The High Cost of the Bush Administration and John Thune Just Got Higher

So, under Thunian logic, if Daschle allowing a few cents increase in gasoline prices was his “fault” during Tom’s watch, then John must be liable for the doubling-plus of gas prices since 2005 when he took office.

Fair’s fair. I’m just sayin’.

Photo: Ah, the good old days of under $3/gallon gasoline. Photo taken Tuesday, August 16, 2005, at the now defunct Harrisburg, SD Food N Fuel.

Technorati Tags: John Thune, Tom Daschle, gasoline prices, fuel prices, 2004 election, George W. Bush

Here is my latest column in this week’s Tea-Harrisburg Champion concerning President Bush’s defunding of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System.

• Bush budget shows no regard for South Dakota

Technorati Tags: George W. Bush, President, Senator, John Thune, Tim Johnson, Representative, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, water projects, South Dakota, Tea, Harrisburg, Championland, Lewis and Clark Regional Water System

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Thanks to Jeremy at KELOLAND, here is last Sunday’s Inside KELOLAND that included myself and fellow KELOLAND blogger Joel Rosenthal on the results of Super Tuesday, the South Dakota Primary’s possible impact, and Thune and Daschle as V.P. picks.

Enjoy.

• Click here to go to viewer: Epp & Rosenthal In Living Color

Technorati Tags: Super Tuesday, Inside KELOLAND, KELOLAND, keloland.com, Tom Daschle, John Thune, Joel Rosenthal, Todd Epp, 2008 election, Presidential Primaries, South Dakota primary, Vice President

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We South Dakotans are so desperate for some sort of relevancy on the national scene. 

We are few in numbers and live isolated from the nation’s population, cultural, economic, and political centers.

Yet we fancy ourselves a “playa,” largely because of the rise of three Democratic U.S. Senators who sprang from our prairie loins—Mitchell’s George McGovern, Huron’s Hubert Humphrey, and Aberdeen’s Tom Daschle.

And two of those men—Daschle and McGovern—were directly repudiated by South Dakotans at the height of their power.  Meanwhile, even native son Humphrey couldn’t break the Republican’s Presidential stranglehold on South Dakota in 1968.

But yet my colleagues in the media and the SDGOP continue to engage in the fantasy of Republican Senator John Thune rising to such Humphreyian heights at Sen. John McCain’s running mate.

The latest John Randold man crush scenario comes from my friend Denise Ross over at the Hoghouse Blog:

Since John Thune is not only South Dakota’s most prominent member ofthe GOP but also an early supporter of McCain’s, he’s in the mix.

Fortunately, Denise comes to the conclusion that McCain won’t pick Thune because “he would look to the ranks of GOP governors, a woman or Hispanic or African American, so much the better.”

Yet, there’s still that pesky man crush on John: “But Thune still has qualities that would, as they say, balance the ticket.”

This topic also come up with KELOLAND’s Perry Groton’s interview of former Republican state chairman Joel Rosenthal and I on Inside KELOLAND.  Joel felt that Thune would be on “the short list” of McCain Veep choices.

Let’s look at why we should not be planning to go the the South Dakota Ball at a remotely possible McCain inauguration in Washington, DC in January:

 

• The only things Thune has going for him are his youngish age and good looks.  Who else had that?  Sen. Dan Quayle.  And golly, didn’t that work out well for President George H.W. Bush.  Though I’m guessing Thune is a better speller than Danny.

• McGovern, Humphrey, and Daschle all had considerably more governmental experience than Thune, including meaningful leadership positions in the Senate and on important issues.  Thune has none of that.

• Unlike V.P. Dick Cheney of similarly small Wyoming, Thune does not bring extensive “real world” knowledge of how the executive branch runs or how business works, unless, of course, you count his cushy lobbying jobs for Sanford and the DM&E. 
  

• McCain will likely win South Dakota without Thune on the ticket anyway.  McCain needs help with other states and constituencies to counter Hillary the Pantsuit or Barack the Hope Giver.

If grumpy old John McCain somehow wins the Presidency and has John Thune in tow as his V.P., sure, that would be good for South Dakota and kind of cool.  Hell, I’d even be able to brag that I used to guard the Vice President when we’d play our lobbyist/legislator/journalist pickup basketball games in Pierre during the legislative session.

But like a half court shot with one second left in the game, the idea is nothing more than a prayer.

Photo above: Senator Thune meets with Governor Ed Shafer on Nov. 13, 2007 after he was nominated to be the new Secretary of Agriculture.

Photo below: President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle walking at the White House.



Technorati Tags: Vice President, John Thune, Tom Daschle, George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, John McCain, South Dakota, 2008 election, Presidential election

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I love irony.

The Rapid City Journal reports today that Sen. John Thune is pro-choice when it comes to pill counting pharmacists having a right not to provide birth control pills to women so they can avoid an abortion.

Read: Thune supports pharmacists on moral ground

An excerpt: 

U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday he opposes a move in Congress to force pharmacists to fill prescriptions for birth-control pills or other drugs they find morally objectionable.

“I believe that, if a pharmacist or pharmacy owner has a religious or moral dilemma with filling controversial prescriptions, he or she should not be mandated by the federal government to do so,” the South Dakota Republican said in a quote provided by his communications director, Kyle Downey.

Yet Thune and his anti-choice ilk have no problem telling women that they can’t choose to have an abortion—and now, that they can’t choose to take birth control if they have a jerk as a pharmacist.

Perhaps the next step for Thune and Gov. Mike Rounds is to establish state or federal gestation farms for all the women they are going to force to have babies so the pasty white guys in white smocks who put pills in a bottle can preserve their “rights.”

But of course, sex is bad.  That is, when it comes to other people having it, unless you’re a holy “servant leader” NeoChrisCon like Sen. Thune The Pure.

 

(Cross-posted to SD Watch and SDW @ KELOLAND.com.)

Technorati Tags: Sen. John Thune, Gov. Mike Rounds, abortion, birth control, birth control pills, contraceptives, pharmacists, pill counters

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Nancy Nord's Consumer Product Safety Commission allowed in a toy that contains a date rape drug. (HT SouthDakotaMac)

Way to go, Nancy!

You're still doin' a heck of a job, Nancy! Still think she gets to stay because she's a South Dakotan, Sen. Thune?

• CNN has the story: Toy contaminated with 'date rape' drug pulled

Excerpt:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. safety officials have recalled about 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots bead toys that contain a chemical that has caused some children to vomit and become comatose after swallowing them, which were named Australia's toy of the year, contain a chemical that converts into a "date rape" drug.  Scientists have found the popular toy's coating contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB, or gamma-hydroxy butyrate, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson told CNN.

Technorati Tags: Nancy Nord, John Thune, Sen. John Thune, Aqua Dots, Bush Administration, Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC

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I noticed that Sibby wrote on his online screed yesterday that he is again crowing about defeating Sen. Tom Daschle—singlehandedly!—in 2004.

Go find the link yourself.  Here’s the excerpt:

The 2004 Senate race taught me that the little guys can stand up to agiant of big government and win. 2006 shows us when a Party turns itsback on the little guys…in South Dakota that little guys was thepre-born. What kind of Party will the SD GOP be in 2008? One thatwelcomes citizen activists, or one that caters to the narrow interestof partisan politics?

I doubt even Thune propagandist/hagiographer Jon Lauck thinks that he single handedly blogged Johnny to victory in ‘04.  Why did Daschle lose?

1. Thune ran an excellent, focused campaign.
2. Daschle ran like he was running against Char Haar and not a tough, savvy opponent.
3. Thune’s TV ads were outstanding, innovative, and memorable.
   
4. Daschle’s TV ads were the best of 1992.
5. Thune’s attacks, while false, were effective.
6. Daschle never effectively countered Thune’s false but effective attacks.
7. Daschle suffered from McGovernitis—he’d gotten “too big for his britches” and South Dakotans hate fellow successful South Dakotans who play on a national stage. 
   
8. While it’s hard to believe now, President For Life Bush was popular in 2004 and that rubbed off on Thune.
   

Did Lauck and Sibby sitting in their pajamas in their basements, pecking away on their keyboards defeat Tom Daschle?  Hardly.  If anyone should get the “kudos” it is Thune campaign manager Dick Wadhams for running an evil but masterful campaign.  Were the bloggers a part of that?  Yes, but a very, very small part.  That’s not why Thune decisively defeated Daschle.  But Steve, keep telling yourself that. 

Maybe I’ll write a book about it.

Photo: Former Thune campaign manager Dick Wadhams.  I suppose Sibby will take out after Dick like he has PP for stealing all his thunder about being the guy who actually made Daschle’s defeat possible.

Technorati Tags: John Thune, Tom Daschle, Dick Wadhams, 2004 Election, 2004 U.S. Senate Races, Thune v. Daschle, South Dakota, U.S. Senate. George W. Bush, crazy talk

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