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Joel at South Dakota Straight Talk has a post on the bi-partisanship displayed by our delegation, in particular Sen. Thune and Sen. Johnson. Hat tip SD Blogwatchman...

From the email, here is a contestant in the Write that caption contest referenced below: (Tim Johnson is thinking..) If Thune's hand is on my shoulder, and Rounds' and Herseth's are over there, then WHO IS THAT GOOSING ME?BTW, here...

I mean, like, yeah. Who among us would have doubted the notion that organized moonbats were carrying all the water in Crawford? The camp at Crawford is full of Cindy Sheehan supporters, people from all walks of life. But off...

If you missed Ewa Beach, HI's come from behind victory over Curacao today for all the marbles in the Little League World Series, you missed a damn fine ballgame, friends. Curacao led 6-3 in the bottom of the 6th (regulation...

A tip of my hat (if I were wearing one) to Unpartisan.com, a sort of left-right blog/news aggregator that has picked up a couple of my posts this week. Thanks....

In today's Washington Post:washingtonpost.com Thune Delivers on Campaign VowSenator's Future Brightens as S.D. Base Survives the Cut By Mike AllenWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, August 27, 2005; A06 Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sat tense, crouched and glowering as the base-closing commission...

With the decision this morning by an 8-1 vote, South dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base was removed from the list of recommended closures by the BRAC Commissioners.

Some coverage on the facts of the decision in the Rapid City Journal...
Ellsworth saved

Like the phoenix from the ashes, the status of Ellsworth Air Force base rose from expendable to essential in a matter of seconds when the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or BRAC, voted Friday to save the base.

South Dakota's top lawmakers and the head of the Ellsworth Task Force were at the edge of their seats in the suburban Washington, D.C., hearing room when BRAC commissioner Samuel Skinner made a motion to reject the Pentagon's recommendation to close Ellsworth and move its 29 B-1B Lancer bombers to Dyess Air Force Base.

Looking for at least five commissioners to raise their hands in support of Skinner's motion, the South Dakotans instead saw all but one of the nine-member panel vote to save Ellsworth.

...and in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader:

ELLSWORTH SPARED

Ellsworth Air Force Base was taken off the Pentagon?s recommended list of closures this morning, a decision that sent jubilant Rapid City residents leaping to their feet as they watched the proceedings on live TV.

The nine-member independent commission voted 8 to 1 to reject the Pentagon?s recommendation to close the base as part of the Defense Department?s plan to restructure the military.

Meanwhile, some of the politics of the situation which provide a boost to Sen. Thune's position were not lost on others:

Base Closing Choices Impact Politics

When the Pentagon announced that it wanted to shut down Ellsworth Air Force Base, it was an enormous setback for Sen. John Thune. The Republican got elected in part by repeatedly telling voters he could save the base because of his close ties to President Bush.

Thune responded to the Ellsworth news by going on the offensive: He and fellow South Dakota leaders from both parties launched an intense lobbying effort. He also stopped fund-raising for the Republican Party and opposed the Bush administration on a few important Senate votes.

On Friday, Thune's political future got a big boost when a federal commission decided to save Ellsworth, home to B-1B bombers and a major player in the Cold War. He and other South Dakota politicians hailed the decision as the result of an extraordinary bipartisan campaign that convinced the commission that the military and nation need Ellsworth.

All in all, a very good day for South Dakota!

Denise Ross notes Daschle's trouble finding a phone in Montana and Hildebrand's bitterness:Of course, what [Daschle] said to the AP Friday was silly, and no doubt it?s an interview he wishes he could get a do-over on. (During a phone...

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