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Long-running liberal columnist Mark Shields is really promoting Senator Thune:MARK SHIELDS: No, the commission turned it around, and the biggest man in American politics today whether you want to admit it or not is John Thune, freshman Republican candidate -...

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!

I was watching some of the Little League World Series today after I got home from my walk, and happened to tune in during the CA-KY game. I came in toward the end of the fourth, and after Rancho Bueno...

Chuck Hagel has been immensely quotable the last couple of days. Is he running for something? In an interview with Reuters during a trip across his home state on Wednesday, Hagel said the United States should greet the new Iranian...

SDP is having a caption contest for the photo below. Here is mine: Johnson: On no, what have I done? I just helped screw the South Dakota Democrat Party. Herseth: Nice job Johnson, now I have no chance to become...

No foolin' around indeed....

Cindy Sheehan 'channeling' slain son

WOW! This gal is really something - a virtual archetypal avatar for a perfect new-age leftist moonbat. This is breathtaking it's so far out there...and the MSM takes her SERIOUSLY? Oooooh Kaaaaay.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan is now purportedly "channeling" her slain son, Casey, from heaven, suggesting he's calling President Bush "an idiot," and she claims to have "tens of thousands of angels" supporting her cause to bring home immediately American troops serving in Iraq.

"Tens of thousands of angels...?" Maybe so - FALLEN angels - from the opposition side. Another possible explanation: can you say p-s-y-c-h-o-s-i-s ?

BRAC. No, it's not just the sound you make after eating the onion soup. It seems as though tomorrow (Friday) is the day. Sometime in the morning we will know whether Ellsworth Air Force Base will stay open or not....

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