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GOP Attacks on Herseth Sandlin Lobbying Doomed to Backfire

Republican spinster Pat Powers decries Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's work as a lobbyist, then in its next breath calls Governor Dennis Daugaard's choice of lobbyist and former GOP exec Lucas Lentsch a "great pick." Powers breathes not a word about Senator and blog sponsor John Thune's work as a lobbyist during his Congressional hiatus between 2002 and 2004.

David Newquist duly skewers the willfully sloppy journalism behind the Herseth Sandlin complaint. He finds Powers misattributed the original attack to the wrong TV station, quietly and without apology changed the citation after real journalists corrected him. The "story" turned out to come from conservative hack paper the Washington Times and known ultra-conservative windbag Shad Olson. So much for credibility.

On lobbying, reporter Bob Mercer runs interference for Lentsch and says he only lobbied for one megadairy organization. Former SDGOP chair Joel Rosenthal runs better interference, telling Powers and the party to quit whining and focus on real issues:

There are strong contrasts between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans believe in more self-reliance, Democrats in more government reliance. Under Democrat leadership budget deficits and the National Debt are exploding. Democrats want more spending and more taxes, the GOP wants spending reform. Obama care is imploding and as full enactment comes to fruition, Citizens are taking notice that the Affordable Health Care is actually the Un Affordable Health Care Act.
Yet, we hear GOP activists’ rants about Nepotism and Lobbying, i.e. Johnson, Inc. and Herseth Sandlin is a lobbyist. Is this the best the GOP can do? Whine and Complain?
Members of both parties lobby. Tom Daschle, John Thune, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and even today it’s reported the new SD Secretary of Agriculture, former Division Director at SD Ag and former Executive Director of the Republican Party recently was a lobbyist. The pols if they think it is wrong should be critical of all participants regardless of Party [Joel Rosenthal, "People Who Live in Glass Houses," South Dakota Straight Talk, 2013.04.03].

It's good to hear the GOP still has some grown-ups in the room. Now if they just had some regular blogs offering some original and philosophically consistent analysis instead of just the same old willfully deceptive spin.

6 Comments

  1. G-Man 2013.04.04

    Oh, how the GOP forgets Thune was a huge lobbyist between his 2 Senate runs.

  2. G-Man 2013.04.04

    I could care less about what Pat has to say. He has no credibility with me.

  3. Douglas Wiken 2013.04.04

    Republican attacks like this just indicate they are terribly short of actual issues and their positions are so far right that they are off the usual political spectrum.

  4. G-Man 2013.04.04

    Douglas, not only that, but, attacking Stephanie like this before she's even made a decision smacks of serious desperation and fear. They're showing the classic signs, but, of course, they'll never admit that to you. But, who needs the GOP and Pat to admit any desperation when we can clearly smell it. ah HUH!!! lol

  5. caheidelberger Post author | 2013.04.05

    G-Man, even more important here is that PP appears not to have much credibility with Joel Rosenthal, for exactly the reason Douglas reiterates.

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