Terri
12-17-2003, 09:17 AM
Special Interest Dollars Fuel Daschle’s 'Shadowboxing' Campaign
By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
December 17, 2003
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Since last June, Sen. Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) has been running ads and criss-crossing the country to attend fundraisers to bolster his reelection chances. His campaign has already spent nearly $2 million even though the three-term incumbent has yet to draw an opponent. The ads remind South Dakotans that Daschle thinks ethanol is good and a prescription drug plan for Medicare will help seniors.
The media blitz began after a series of television ads were run in South Dakota critical of Daschle by the Club for Growth, a Washington, DC-based anti-tax group. The spots lampooned the senator's opposition to the Bush tax cuts at the same time he was purchasing a $2 million home in the nation's capital.
A subsequent investigation by Talon News revealed that Daschle had applied for and received the city's "homestead" property tax exemption, even though it was restricted to homeowners whose primary residence was Washington. A spokesperson for Mayor Anthony Williams told Talon News that it was the senator's lobbyist wife who was a city resident and a co-owner of the property that qualified for the tax break.
More (http://www.gopusa.com/news/2003/december/1217_daschle.shtml)
By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
December 17, 2003
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Since last June, Sen. Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) has been running ads and criss-crossing the country to attend fundraisers to bolster his reelection chances. His campaign has already spent nearly $2 million even though the three-term incumbent has yet to draw an opponent. The ads remind South Dakotans that Daschle thinks ethanol is good and a prescription drug plan for Medicare will help seniors.
The media blitz began after a series of television ads were run in South Dakota critical of Daschle by the Club for Growth, a Washington, DC-based anti-tax group. The spots lampooned the senator's opposition to the Bush tax cuts at the same time he was purchasing a $2 million home in the nation's capital.
A subsequent investigation by Talon News revealed that Daschle had applied for and received the city's "homestead" property tax exemption, even though it was restricted to homeowners whose primary residence was Washington. A spokesperson for Mayor Anthony Williams told Talon News that it was the senator's lobbyist wife who was a city resident and a co-owner of the property that qualified for the tax break.
More (http://www.gopusa.com/news/2003/december/1217_daschle.shtml)