Posted on 04/20/2004 8:00:49 AM PDT by ConservativeMajority
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Another document showing that the "Dean of South Dakota Politics" collaborated with Democratic candidates and officeholders has emerged in the last several days.
A search of the archived papers of former Sen. James Abourezk (D-SD) revealed that Dave Kranz, then the editor of the Mitchell Republic, consulted with the Democrat's staff on press relations.
The latest document, written by an Abourezk staffer, detailed a lunch meeting with Kranz in 1976. The newspaperman compared Abourezk's public relations practices with those of other candidates and made suggestions for improvement. Kranz also suggested areas where the candidate should campaign.
Kranz is now the chief political reporter for the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, South Dakota's largest newspaper. He was the focus of a 2003 Talon News investigative series about journalistic bias. At the time, Kranz was forced to publicly acknowledge his long-term relationship with Sen. Tom Daschle.
Over three decades, Kranz and the Argus Leader have drawn national attention for instances of bias, even from the New York Times which found its election coverage to be excessively hostile to Republicans.
But all of the criticism came from articles published under Kranz's byline or under his direction. Only recently have a dedicated group of South Dakota "bloggers" discovered and published on their Internet sites documents to prove his active collaboration with Democratic political figures. The web site, "South Dakota Politics," posts the materials its operator has discovered.
"Sibby Online" mentions that during the 2002 senate race, workers for the reelection campaign of Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson distributed "We Love Dave Kranz" stickers at an event.
Robert Musil writes on his site "Man without Qualities", of Kranz's "incestuous connections to Tom Daschle." The "Powerline" says that this scandal suggests that Kranz should be known as a "Democratic shill."
Other local media are beginning to catch on. Local television commentator Steve Hemmingsen recently referred to "that Daschle-loving David Kranz." He pointed out that Kranz has tremendous influence because "he buys ink by the barrel."
Bloggers of national prominence are also beginning to take note. Ryne McClaren has dubbed the scandal, "Kranzgate." Andrew Sullivan, the former editor of The New Republic, writes about Kranz in an article entitled "Daschle's Best Buddy."
The American Spectator published an article by the anonymous "Washington Prowler" with the headline "Calling Dave Kranz" where the author points out, "With poll numbers showing that Sen. Tom Daschle is in the fight of his political career, his campaign apparently turned to an old friend for help. And a longtime and respected political reporter for the in-state-influential Sioux Falls Argus Leader finds himself in the center of growing and embarrassing scandal."
The author also notes that the collaboration may become a liability for the incumbent. He wrote, "Now, Kranz's connections to the Daschle political machine, and the Argus Leader's seeming lack of interest in pursuing them, are fueling anti-Daschle sentiments across the state."
Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
So, this article is based (in part) on an unsubstanciated lunch meeting that occured about 28 years ago?? Where did I put my tin foil? I may not like the guy; but gemme a break.
It was part of an NY Times story on Al Franken. The meeting took place in Franken's NYC apartment, not upstate NY.
Link here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1101558/posts
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