Free Republic

When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary of health and human services, it seemed to be a good choice. Mr. Daschle, as the co-author of a book on health care reform, knew a lot about one of the president’s signature issues. As a former Senate majority leader, he also knew a lot about guiding controversial bills through Congress, where he remains liked and respected by former colleagues.

Daschele removes name from nomination for HHS

Tom Daschle withdraws over tax problems...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination to be Health and Human Services secretary.

Just breaking on Fox

When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary of health and human services, it seemed to be a good choice. Mr. Daschle, as the co-author of a book on health care reform, knew a lot about one of the president’s signature issues. As a former Senate majority leader, he also knew a lot about guiding controversial bills through Congress, where he remains liked and respected by former colleagues. Unfortunately, new facts have come to light — involving his failure to pay substantial taxes that were owed and his sizable income from health-related companies while he worked...

A look back at the voting record of former Sen. Tom Daschle, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, shows a lifetime average score of just 7% on America for Tax Reform's annual Congressional Scorecard. Tom Daschle, like Loretta Helmsley, believes 'only the little people' should pay taxes. He thinks he's too important for that, and he gives the word 'hypocrisy' a bad odor. He never saw a tax he didn't like.

WASHINGTON – Tom Daschle said Monday that he's "deeply embarrassed and disappointed" about his failure to pay more than $120,000 in taxes. President Barack Obama's pick to head the Health and Human Services Department apologized for his mistake in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee released Monday. Daschle is expected to answer questions from the panel later in the day in a closed session. Daschle said he profoundly regrets the errors that the committee has had to deal with and he is willing to answer any questions. The committee reported that Daschle recently filed amended tax returns to reflect...

....Speculation about Daschle's ascension to the White House staff chief's job has been simmering for months. "It's way too early to make any comments about it," Daschle recently told the Los Angeles Times. "It's always a possibility, but I've not had any conversations with anybody about future positions and don't intend to." Daschle is also rumored to have his eye on a less demanding position, perhaps secretary of state. That could help him avoid the inevitable criticism that would greet his selection for a White House job, since that would violate the spirit of one of Obama's signature campaign pledges....

Daschle Considering '08 Presidential Bid By JOE KAFKA, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, accusing the GOP of spreading a message of fear, says he is considering a 2008 presidential bid. "I haven't ruled anything out or anything in at this point," Daschle said in an interview Saturday night after a hometown dinner in his honor. "I'm encouraged by the strong support many people have voiced for my candidacy around the country and in South Dakota. I'll make a decision at some point later on this year," he said. Daschle said President Bush and...

Born on December 9, 1947. Birthday wishes, comments, and gloating welcomed . . .

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Congress's top Democrat, Tom Daschle, lost his bid to be reelected to the Senate, US networks reported, capping a night of defeats his party, which also failed to win control of either chamber of the US legislature. Daschle, arguably the most powerful Democrat in the US Congress, lost the Senate's most closely-watched election in a 51 percent to 49 percent squeaker to Republican challenger John Thune, a former member of the House of Representatives. In failing to hold on to the seat he first won in 1986, Daschle becomes the first Senate leader to lose reelection...

http://www.johnthune.com/game2/dueling21.html"It probably takes a long time to download on a modem connection - probably best to click the link if you have a fast connection

NEW YORK (Talon News) -- An internal poll shows that Rep. John Thune (R-SD) has gained enough momentum to pass Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) in the most closely watched Senate race of 2004. The Republican numbers indicate that Thune is moving up in the polls and is at or near 50% while the incumbent remains stalled at 48%. National Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. George Allen (R-VA) announced the new numbers at a breakfast for South Dakota's delegates to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday. He told delegates that South Dakotans have the ability to "transform the United States...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

A new memoir by Minority Leader Tom Daschle says Senate Democrats were actively courting two Republicans — John McCain of Arizona and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island — as most likely to switch parties and give them control of the evenly divided Senate when Jim Jeffords of Vermont informed them he was ready to do so. The heretofore untold sequence of events that led to Jeffords’ dramatic decision to bolt the Republican Party in May 2001 and become an Independent is disclosed for the first time in Daschle’s book, which covers the tumultuous two-year period following President Bush’s disputed election...

Loving Tom Daschle By Nathan Porter BSNN.net Dear Senator Daschle: As a longtime listener to talk radio—Rush Limbaugh included—I feel compelled to write simply to say I love you. I understand what it’s like to receive harassing and hate-filled letters, although most of mine come from anti-religious, leftwing zealots. But since so many folks from my side of the political spectrum are hell-bent on threatening your physical well being, I simply wanted to let you know that many of us who oppose you politically still find it in our hearts to love you. I love the way you compared Osama...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers would block in the new Republican-controlled Senate the White House's plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said on Sunday. While Republicans will control Congress following big wins in last week's elections, they are still short of the 60 votes needed in the 100-member Senate to cut off debate and vote on controversial bills like giving energy firms access to the refuge. Democrats John Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut -- both possible presidential candidates in the 2004 election -- have promised to filibuster...

For God’s sake, will somebody get Tom Daschle off caffeine? The South Dakota Democratic Senator, majority leader only because a political traitor named Jim Jeffords bolted the GOP, took the floor of the Senate Wednesday to scream and shout that Dubya is politicizing the war against terrorism. "We ought not to politicize this war. We ought not to politicize the rhetoric about life and death," Daschle said in his speech. “You tell those who fought in Vietnam and in World War Two they're not interested in the security of the American people. That is outrageous, outrageous." Tom got his underwear...

Wearing tinfoil hats to protect their private thoughts, House and Senate leaders leave a private meeting with President Bush where they complained about the FBI's practice of reading the minds of Congressmen. WASHINGTON – A week after lawmakers serving on the House-Senate panel probing pre-Sept. 11 intelligence breakdowns refused to submit to lie-detector tests to learn the source of a leak, congressional leaders now accuse the FBI of attempting to read their minds through a process known as psychotronics. House and Senate leaders demanded and received a private meeting with President Bush before his departure on a month-long-paid-family-leave to discuss...

Daschle's Green Lobby and WorldCom Executives Belong in the Same Jail CellBy J.J. Johnson - Sierra Times Editor & Chief Published 08. 1. 02 at 20:07 Sierra Time The Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society has felt the heat and decided to try a little spin control. They write: "Amid the current epidemic of forest fires burning across the West -- fires exacerbated by a combination of factors including severe drought and a century of aggressive fire suppression -- the Forest Service, some elected officials, and newspapers such as the Washington Times and Wall Street Journal have attempted to turn...

REVIEW & OUTLOOKTrial-Lawyer TrifectaAs John McCain kept telling us, campaign finance reform was going to reduce if not end special-interest influence in Washington. Perhaps the Senator forgot to tell the plaintiffs' bar, which is dominating the current Congressional session as completely as any lobby ever has.From asbestos-litigation reform to terrorism insurance to even the patients' bill of rights, the tort lawyers areblocking whatever they don't like. So great is their clout in the Senate that the lawyers are even inducing Democrats to kill their own self-professed priorities. Ed Hyman's ISI Group calls it the "trial lawyer trifecta," but even that...

ABC 2004: The Invisible PrimaryBy Mark Halperin, Elizabeth Wilner & Marc Ambinder U P D A T E D May 29 — Since we last published our Invisible Primary Ratings in February, we've had a big cattle call, a fundraising disclosure deadline, and at some point along the way, a silent but unmistakable go-ahead for the Democratic field to frontally attack the wartime President they hope to replace. All six of the top-tier contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, plus the upwardly mobile (ratings-wise) Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, have stepped up their criticisms of President Bush. Former Vice President...

HMMM...Daschle and his lousy 23.8 percent Senator Daschle's Job Performance Review 23.8% = UnderperformingAfter a year as Senate Majority Leader, Senator Daschle has little to show for it. Senator Daschle's year as Senate Majority Leader has been a year of delay and obstruction. With no budget, unable to outline priorities, and an inability to pass legislation, Senate Democrats have failed to lead. While the House of Representatives is addressing the President's compassionate conservative agenda for national, homeland, and economic security, Senate Democrats continue to ignore their responsibility to the American people. As Senate Majority Leader, Senator Daschle has a 23.8%*...

Events this week reminded our countrymen that "homeland security" in the war with Jihadistan is not all that secure -- and can certainly be used as cheap partisan fodder by unscrupulous Leftists. Coast Guard intelligence reports surfaced about 25 Islamic militants who have entered the U.S. since March in shipping containers at the ports of Miami, Savannah, Georgia, and Long Beach, California. This report arrived amid charges by Sociocrats and their Leftmedia cadre that an intelligence report given to President Bush last August constituted "advance knowledge" that Osama bin Laden planned a terrorist airline hijacking in the U.S. Senate Majority...

Daschle Corners His Own Party By Terence P. Jeffrey Thanks to Democratic Senate Leader Tom Daschle (D.-S.D.), November may bring an almost unprecedented moment to modern American politics: total Republican control of both elective branches of the federal government. Since the early 1930s, when the ill-fated Herbert Hoover sat in the White House, Republicans have controlled the House, Senate and presidency simultaneously only twice. Both times it was briefly and precariously. The 83rd Congress, elected with President Eisenhower in 1952, started with a 221-to-215 Republican majority in the House (with 1 Independent). The Senate started with a 48-to-47 Republican majority...

<p>Until that happens, Dayton said Tuesday, he intends to block a vote on President Bush's nomination of Maj. Gen. Daniel James III to head the U.S. Air National Guard.</p> <p>A year ago, Dayton said, the then-director of the U.S. Air National Guard promised him that newer F-16 jets would be sent to the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth by 2003 to replace the current aircraft, now more than 20 years old.</p>

Okay, folks, let's help South Dakota get rid of at least half of their Senatorial dynamic duo--Democrat Tim Johnson. Go to the John Thune Website and donate a few bucks. I just donated $20. It will be money well spent if we can help take South Dakota out of the wacko-liberal-commie-utopian hands. You can donate on line at this link or you can send a donation by mail. The address is: John Thune for South Dakota P.O. Box 516 Sioux Falls, SD 57101 I live in Redmond, WA, so the only benefit this has for me is knowing that it...

<p>Senate Democrats yesterday barred the public from a committee meeting and vote on a land-use bill that opponents believe will impose federal standards on local zoning boards.</p> <p>"This was no accident; this was a purposeful sham," said Mike Hardiman, spokesman for the American Land Rights Association, who lined up shortly after 8 a.m. to attend the 9:30 a.m. hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. He said the senators were trying to pass an indefensible bill in secret.</p>

WENTWORTH, S.D. (AP) -- President Bush, at the dusty epicenter of this year's battle for control of the Senate, politely shared a stage Wednesday with political nemesis Tom Daschle -- then turned to scoop up $350,000 to put him out of the Senate majority leader's job. ``Tom, I'm honored you'd come,'' Bush told Daschle in a pulled-punches speech that had the president thanking the South Dakota Democrat who more often takes White House blame for Senate inaction on the Bush agenda. The Democrats' one-vote grip on the Senate has frustrated Bush on everything from drilling for oil in the Arctic...

Get a load of this article with Dash-hole, severely in 'moonwalk' mode, trying to tell pro-Israel groups that he and the Dems will support Israel. After all the pro-Palestinian rallies and rabble-rousing, he's making himself look like an ass, just like Gore did today.

As a South Dakota voter, currently stationed with the Air Force in Colorado, I have become extremely angry and frustrated with the extreme partisanship and obstruction in the Senate ... especially that committed by my own Senator, Tom Daschle. Daschle, Leahy, and their cohorts have discarded the U.S. Constitution in their efforts to prevent the Bush administration to deal with both foreign and domestic issues in our time of crisis. They have distorted the advice and consent role the Constitution grants the Senate and they have instituted un-Constitutional standards for votes on legislation. Most reprehensible, they have added political philosophy...

Yesterday, Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle suggested that we might not win the war on terrorism. We've had some success, the Senator said, but if we don't get bin Laden, we will have failed and we don't have bin Laden. Republicans were outraged. One implied that Daschle was unpatriotic. Another called his remarks disgusting. Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott wanted to know how Daschle could dare to question a president while the country was at war. In their outrage, Republicans have missed the point. Daschle is not unpatriotic to focus on capturing bin Laden. It's worse than that. He's wrong....

How would you write/would you support a new amendment to require appointments by President's receive up/down votes in the full Senate? This is the current intent of the constitution but it is negated by the rules the Senate has imposed for committees, and the powers the Senate has given committee chairpersons. The constitution gives the president the power to nominate to the judiciary and other executive offices. The constitution gives the Senate the power to advise and consent. The constitution gives the Senate the power to make their own rules. One rule made by the Senate is that committees such...

First, Thank you all for the numerous responses to my last thread. Several excellent suggestions were made, including supporting the Repub candidate running for Senate in South Dakota in 2002. However, DumpDaschle.org seems to be focused on defeating Daschle when he runs again in 2004. In my opinion that is too late, and doesn't make much sense anyway because Daschle is clearly running for the Dem Pres nomination and doesn't care about his 3 electoral vote home state. My question is, is there something the 60% majority of South Dakotans can do to remove him from office NOW. Why should...

Having just watched the CBS Special telecast of quot;9-11quot;, I have to ask if Senator Tommy DascHOLE is still having a hard time trying to figure out just why some of us American citizens were more than a little displeased with him over his questioning the leadership provided by President George W. Bush in our war against terrorism. Honestly, I sure hope that the little guy can figure this one out. If not, then he is even a bigger moron that I give him credit for.

Reviled and utterly humiliated after carping during wartime about President Bush's campaign against terrorism, Senate plurality leader Tom Daschle has done a complete turnabout and today pushed a pro-Bush resolution through the Senate. The upper chamber unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution saying it "reaffirms that it stands united with the president in the ongoing effort to defeat terrorism." Scrambling to contain the damage to his White House ambitions, the South Dakota Democrat said the resolution "makes absolutely clear at this six-month juncture to al-Qaeda terrorists and to all of those who wish to take note that we will not stop ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate passed and sent to President Bush Friday a recession relief package extending jobless benefits and providing billions of dollars in business tax cuts. Bush called it "a very good bill" even though it is far less than he wanted. The final vote for approval was 85-9 and came a day after the bill cleared the House by 417-3. The swift action followed months of partisan gridlock that saw three previous House-passed versions blocked in the Senate. "The unemployed and struggling businesses have had to wait too long for the good news," said Sen. Charles Grassley ...

<p>You have to give it to Tom Daschle. The Senate majority leader has impeccable timing. Impeccably bad, that is. The South Dakota Democrat chose early last week to come out swinging at President Bush's conduct of the war on terrorism, just as our soldiers were about to go back into combat in Afghanistan, sustaining some of the heaviest casualties of the war so far.</p>

<p>A simple one-page resolution expressing the Senate's support for U.S. military forces in Afghanistan was on hold yesterday while Democrats wrestled with its language.</p> <p>"The Senate stands united with the president in the ongoing effort to destroy Al Qaeda," states a draft of the resolution that Democrats were seeking to change.</p>

heraldsun.com: printer-friendly story [back] CONFIRMATION PROCESS: Demeaning and malicious March 6, 2002 &nbsp; 3:31 pm Why federal judge Charles Pickering willingly walked into a character-dicing buzz saw called Senate confirmation is a question only he can answer, but a man’s desire to get ahead in his profession is a noble ideal. What is happening to Pickering, however, is as base and malicious as it gets on Capitol Hill. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards bears much of the blame. Pickering is a native of Mississippi, and he still lives there. He is a member of the crucial transitional generation of ...

There is not an MP in the House of Commons who would not give a small body part to swap their enfeebled existence for the glorious life of a United States senator. The senate is legislative heaven. There are six years between elections. You get a staff of dozens to do your bidding. The whips may plead; they can't threaten. You can summon the glitterati to give evidence, and hector them in the guise of interrogation: some days the corridors of the senate office buildings outshine the green room for the David Letterman Show. You can read into the ...

I just caught part of the WH briefing with Ari (before cable stations cut away for the Pentagon briefing). The media was peppering him about Dems saying they didn't know about shadow gov. arrangements. HE SHOT THEM DOWN.....kept claiming in his soft spoken way "We're confident that when they talk with people on the Hill, they will see that the info. was previously submitted to them" - I'm paraphrasing.He also got a great shot in to old Helen Thomas when he replied to her that the shadow gov. situation had been around since the cold war years - which he ...

His pretending is CORRUPT. He was with them.

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A recent fund-raising letter from the National Organization for Women is requesting money for what it calls an "emergency campaign to preserve abortion rights." The solicitation also asks for a signature on a petition that will be sent to Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD). The petition urges Daschle to continue his obstruction of pro-life federal judges nominated by President George W. Bush. NOW asks the Democratic leader to "use the filibuster whenever it is needed." The Senate minority leader is currently blocking nearly a dozen judges, some for over two years. Republicans have promised more...

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle -- embroiled in a tough re-election campaign in South Dakota -- distanced himself this week from documentary film director Michael Moore, whose "Fahrenheit 9/11" D.C. premiere he attended last month.     Mr. Daschle disputes a claim by Mr. Moore that he -- as the highest elected Democratic official in the nation -- hugged the filmmaker after the screening and promised to fight more vigilantly against the policies of President Bush.     "I know we senators all tend to look alike," Mr. Daschle said, according to the Rapid City Journal in South Dakota. "But I arrived late and...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Christine Iverson 202-863-8614 Washington, DC-Senator Tom Daschle took a line from the Kerry camp today when he joined Senator Edward Kennedy and Families USA at a press conference to attack provisions of the prescription drug Medicare bill he actually proposed."The Kerry campaign playbook is the craze sweeping the Democrat party. Senator Daschle is actually attacking a law he proposed as legislation. We know, we know, he was for it before he was against it," said RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke.Facts: On May 10, 2000, Senator Daschle introduced The Medicare Expansion for Needed Drugs Act of 2000....

House Intelligence Chairman Porter Goss (R-Fla.) said Wednesday that former White House anti-terror czar Richard Clarke, the author of a new book critical of President Bush’s handling of the al Qaeda threat before Sept. 11, 2001, may have lied in testimony to his committee, and said he plans to explore whether Congressional action on the matter is warranted. Clarke’s “testimony to our committee is 180 degrees out of line with what he is saying in his book,” Goss said. “He’s either lying in his book or he lied to our committee. It’s one or the other.” Goss added, “If he...