[NYS_Eric]

Very interesting read. I had no idea how Bill Janklow was so dominating in SD politics, or how much he's helped Daschle retain power.

[Founding Father]

Does anyone know of a 527 opposing daschele that I can contribute to?

[Alberta's Child]

But October will see Daschle dashing across the state announcing one pork-barrel project after another. And how exactly is John Thune to combat this? $50,000 for a new firehouse in, say, Spearfish, and $20,000 for a theater in Watertown, or $100,000 for a retirement home in Aberdeen: They bring votes to the man who can provide them, and that's Tom Daschle.

This is the key point of the article. In fact, this is exactly how most rural states operate these days -- and also explains why so many "conservative" states in rural America are actually bastions of Marxism.

I drove through South Dakota earlier this week, and was not surprised to hear the tone of Daschle's radio ads in the state . . . if you didn't know any better you'd think he was a Republican. However, in this year of high energy prices Thune has begun to exploit the one issue that may eventually topple Daschle -- his support of the Federal gasoline tax hike in 1993.

[rellimpank]

----and unfortunately, SD politics is full of RINOtraitors-Don Frankenfeld and Kay Jorgenson come to mind---on the "Republicans for Daschle" trail----

[Moosilauke]

I remember the last Thune election night well--an apparent victory until the reservation vote was delivered, after all the other votes had been counted, and in sufficient quantity to change the election outcome. There was a lot of hand-wringing about "irregularities" but the result stood and Daschle escaped.

What is different this time?