Thune, J Sen 8 13%

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he “doesn’t believe” the Trump administration is closing an agency without congressional approval, but that it is rather reviewing how the agency is spending money.

grist:

ranked most conservative, corruption?

LCV 8/13%

not sure how he made the apostate list, not flat out denial? voted against cap and trade, ~epa

===

SOUTH DAKOTA

WOUNDED KNEE

“It should never be used as a punchline,” South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds tweeted. Sen. John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said Wounded Knee is “not something to be joked about.”

an 6 26

President Donald Trump appointed Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, tapping him to manage the entire national security apparatus of the United States. The "unorthodox" pick reportedly came from longtime GOP operative Roger Stone, Semafor reports.

According to Semafor, MAGA forces joined together to convince Trump that, despite his lack of intel experience, Pulte could still manage the 17 intelligence agencies that the post oversees.

Pulte will serve in the job while also remaining in his current job as Federal Housing Finance Agency Director. This adds to Pulte's other job, chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

What Stone, Trump and other MAGA allies believe is that Pulte can use his "attack-dog mentality" in "waging an internal war to ramp up the declassification of sensitive information," according to the Tuesday report.

“He’s like a bulldozer,” said a source familiar with Pulte when speaking to Semafor about Pulte. “Bulldoze the bureaucracy and accelerate document releases and declassifications.”

Stone is best known for his ongoing loyalty to former Republican President Richard Nixon, whom Stone has tattooed on his back. The self-described "dirty trickster" has remained a close confidant and informal adviser to Trump since the 1970s and became a key part of the 2020 "Stop the Steal" movement. He was later convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice relating to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Trump commuted his sentence before Stone served a day in prison. He was later pardoned. He's also known for his conspiracy theories and spreading unfounded rumors about Trump's critics.

CNN reporter Kevin Liptak commented after the announcement that Pulte has used his post as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to target some of Trump's foes.

"This, I think, suggests that the president will put in this position someone whohas gone after this retribution campaign, who has advanced some ideas of vindication against some of his enemies," the reporter said.

Semafor noted that the biggest barrier to Pulte will be the U.S. Senate. For him to take on the job, Trump needs the votes and right now it doesn't appear he has them.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, “I don’t see any evidence of his qualifications for that job, but I’m willing to listen.”

“We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) also told reporters on Tuesday. “If he’s somebody we want in that position permanently, he’s got a lengthy road ahead of him.”

Stone wouldn't comment on the record about his involvement in picking Pulte, Semafor reported.

The one positive of the nomination, a banking lobbyist told Semafor, is that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Pulte don't get along. With Pulte otherwise engaged, Bessent will be able to focus on housing issues.

“If I was Bessent, my wheels are turning right now, like: ‘What can I accomplish in the housing space while I have this open field?’” the banking lobbyist said.

Democrats appear ready for a fight.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released a statement about Pulte on Tuesday, saying, “Today, President Trump is rewarding his lackey — who has no national security experience — with a perch atop our nation’s intelligence community. What could go wrong?”

---

AN 2 26

Republicans on social media are admitting the truth behind Democratic accusations about the SAVE Act — namely, that they want to pass the SAVE Act requiring proof of citizenship and photo ID to disenfranchise Democratic voters.

“The writing on the wall,” tweeted Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida in a message in which Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is tagged. Luna attached a flowchart which showed two paths from “Gain majority”: The first, in which the SAVE Act is not saved, equals “lose majority,” “resist other team’s agenda” and needing to fundraise “back to gain majority.”

The flowchart also shows, as an alternative if the SAVE Act fails, is a “one-party state.” This, perhaps not coincidentally, is what historians and political scientists observe could occur to Republicans’ advantage if Trump nationalizes the 2026 midterms. Because Americans with low incomes, disabilities and other disadvantages often struggle to obtain citizenship documents and photo ID despite being legitimate citizens and voters, scholars are concerned the SAVE Act would disproportionately target Democratic constituencies.

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, who once said “I don’t care if someone is a liberal, conservative, an atheist, or whatever: don’t be the mean girl,” tweeted “Yep” in response to Luna’s flowchart post to Thune. In a similar spirit, conservative activist Scott Presler posted on Twitter/X and told Thune that “if you do not bring the SAVE America Act to the Senate floor and ultimately pass the bill into law, Republicans will lose both the House and Senate this November.” After threatening that Republicans will not vote unless the SAVE Act is passed, Presler ordered Thune to “either wield power and be remembered as a hero in the majority or lose it all with a democrat takeover as the minority.”

According to one veteran political journalist, this is Republicans “quiet part out loud.”

“The quiet part out loud,” tweeted New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni on Wednesday morning while sharing Luna’s flowchart. “Fail to pass Save Act -> lose majority.”

In a similar vein as Karni, Politico columnist Jonathan Martin pointed out in regard to Presler’s tweet that there were “14K likes for arguing Repubs will lose midterms if they don’t pass a voter ID and citizenship bill. Not, ya know, bc the president is hovering at or below 40% and Dems have a massive off-year turnout advantage in this era.”

He concluded, “Preposterous, sure, but is only gonna put more pressure on Sen Rs bc many of their voters are swallowing this nonsense.”

Martin posted his tweet on Tuesday at 9:18 PM Eastern Time. As of the time of this writing, at 1:10 PM ET on the following Wednesday (roughly 16 hours later), it has 54K likes.

In addition to political journalists, some of Trump’s fellow Republicans are alarmed that the president is planning on stealing the upcoming midterm elections.

“This is the first instance in which I could begin to believe that something truly spectacular is going to happen in which our 2026 midterm elections are not administered like past elections have been,” Stephen Richer, a former Republican county recorder of Maricopa County when Trump attempted to steal the 2020 election, recently told The Atlantic’s David Frum.

“I am worried, as I have said and others have been pointing out, about whether we will even have free and fair elections in 2026, let alone in 2028,” conservative historian Robert Kagan recently told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “I think Trump has a plan to disrupt those elections, and I don't think he's willing to allow Democrats to take control of one or both houses as could happen in a free election.”

Former Republican consultant and Pulitzer Prize winner George F. Will summed up Trump’s midterm schemes by comparing them to his failed efforts to prove the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“Trump’s batting average?” Will wrote “.016. In Arizona, the most exhaustively scrutinized state, a private firm selected by Trump’s advocates confirmed Trump’s loss, finding 99 additional Biden votes and 261 fewer Trump votes.” As such Will wrote of Trump, “The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.”

---

an 10 25

Washington Monthly Editor Bill Scher recently deconstructed Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) explosion on the Senate floor last weekend as he labored to pin the shutdown of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits on Democrats.

“SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country. And we’ve tried to do that thirteen times! You voted ‘no’ thirteen times!” Thune said. “This isn’t a political game. These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about!”

But it was all performance, according to Scher.

“Look, it’s fair to tag Democrats for being the instigators of the government shutdown, but not for President Donald Trump’s decisions that maximize the shutdown’s pain and hurt people who do not need to be hurt,” Scher wrote. “Before the shutdown began almost a month ago, the Department of Agriculture, led by Secretary Brooke Rollins, made clear that the delivery of SNAP … need not be impacted.”

The details of that reality were "available here at this URL until at least October 10, according to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine," said Scher. Additionally, Thune blocked legislation by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) that would have funded SNAP benefits.

IFrame Content

“But Trump’s USDA has memory-holed it,” Scher said, adding that when visitors now visit that URL, they get a Republican attack ad against Democrats that Scher said “almost surely” violates the Hatch Act: “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”

But the truth is that SNAP has never been disrupted during past shutdowns, either during Republican or Democratic administrations, said Scher. They’ve always been provided by officials using available funding sources to prevent a break in benefits.

“Democrats shoulder no responsibility for Trump and Rollins cutting off SNAP benefits from those who need them to survive,” said Scher. “You can’t even argue Democrats should have expected SNAP to be affected because USDA declared ahead of the shutdown that it wouldn’t.”

Furthermore, the number of SNAP beneficiaries tops 40 million, “more than a tenth of the U.S. population,” said Scher. So, at least until very recently, the program enjoyed bipartisan support.

“Thune can save his performative rage for the people playing political games with people’s lives: Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Rollins,” Scher said.

Read the Washington Monthly report at this link.

---

an 2 25

It’s a coup.

As Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) talks about taking over Gaza (“beautiful shoreline”), Greenland (“great minerals”), Panama (“very strategic”), and making Canada the 51st state, the media has gone ape-shite wild.

Meanwhile, Trump’s goons are taking over the federal government without congressional authority and very little public awareness.

They’re using two techniques.

The first is to physically take over an agency or department.

Consider USAID. Elon Musk (now a “special government employee”) calls it a “criminal organization” that needs to “die” and brags about feeding it “into the wood chipper.”

Which is what he and his tech goons have done — dismantling the work of the 10,000-person, $40 billion foreign-assistance agency, along with the thousands of people in nonprofits and other groups that work with it.

The irony of the richest man in the world almost single-handedly destroying an agency designed to help the world’s poor, so that the U.S. federal budget has more room for another giant tax cut for the richest man in the world and his pals, should not be lost on anyone.

Yesterday, all of USAID’s Washington facilities were closed. Nearly all USAID’s 10,000 employees have been put on administrative as of Saturday. Staff working around the world have been ordered to return home within 30 days.

“Thank you for your service,” is the last message on USAID’s website, which for days was offline.

Make no mistake: The takeover and dismantling of USAID is a test case for whether Musk and the Trump regime can destroy a part of government without legal or political resistance.

So far, the answer seems to be yes.

Thune is either a fool or a knave.

The second technique being used by Musk and his tech goons is to gain access to the Treasury Department’s payments system, responsible for nearly all payments made by the U.S. government, and alter it — writing new code for programs that control more than 20 percent of the U.S. economy, including Social Security benefits and veterans’ pay.

Musk says he’ll be shutting down some Treasury payments in an effort to root out “corruption and waste.” That is, whatever Musk considers corruption and waste.

What’s next? Will Trump, Musk, and Musk’s tech goons take over, or stop funding, the Labor Department? (My sources there tell me Department of Labor workers have been ordered to give Musk’s DOGE access to anything they want — or risk termination.)

I don’t know, but I do know that nothing right now seems to be stopping them.

The Republican-controlled Congress has essentially surrendered Congress’s powers, including the power of the purse (it has already surrendered its powers over tariffs and foreign policy). There’s not much of a role for Congress left.

This afternoon, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tried to subpoena Musk, but Republicans called a procedural vote without notice so the Dems wouldn’t get there on time. Here’s Congressman Ro Khanna’s account, followed by Musk’s response.

...

substackcdn.com (https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F05ab9f69-1636-479d-8c40-a8050f37cbae_896x816.png)

My friends, this is no longer about Democrats versus Republicans, left versus right, liberals versus conservatives.

The choice right now is democracy or dictatorship (or if you’d rather use the term fascism, go right ahead). And we are sliding faster than I ever thought possible into the latter.

Everyone must choose which side they’re on. Now.

Senators Release Draft of Wildfire Prevention Legislation

October 23, 2017

*The Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017 will simplify forest management to help prevent & mitigate wildfires and protect wildlife.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), joined with Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Thune (R-SD), and Steve Daines (R-MT) to release a staff draft of the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017.

The draft legislation will enhance forest management to more effectively mitigate severity of catastrophic wildfires. The bill will also provide increased protections for wildlife habitat threatened by wildfires.

“In Wyoming, and across the West, catastrophic fires have destroyed people’s homes, devastated wildlife, and claimed lives, ” said Barrasso. “State and local forest managers need the flexibility to remove trees and dead wood that fuel these terrible fires. Our bill will provide commonsense tools and cut unnecessary red tape. We must act quickly to address the risk these fires pose to both people and wildlife.”

"I’m thrilled to see continued progress with this important legislation. Wildfire continues to decimate Western communities, ruining sources of drinking water, destroying property, and even claiming lives,” Hatch said. “I believe this proposal will strengthen the Forest Service’s ability to engage in wildfire prevention, which carries the added benefit of improving wildlife habitat. It is imperative that we to return to a more balanced approach to forest management, not just fire management. I am confident that this bill will help foster safer, healthier forests in Utah and across the West for years to come.”

“After nearly a quarter century of very-limited-to-hands-off forest management, federal forest fire suppression costs have continued to grow,” said Thune. “We must take immediate steps to improve the health of our nation’s forestland and be more aggressive and proactive in forest management. I believe this legislation offers several common-sense solutions that would help solve our problem of declining forest health by allowing land management professionals to use more 21st Century land management techniques. Efficient and effective land management makes forests more resilient and better able to withstand fire, pests, and diseases. This bill, which includes provisions I’ve previously introduced that would greatly expand categorical exclusions and measures to reduce litigation risk, is an important step in the right direction.”

“We have had one of the most devastating fire seasons this year across the West and in Montana,” said Daines. “We need forest management reform now to reduce the severity and intensity of wildfires and create more good-paying jobs.”

Specifically, the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017 will:

Statutorily reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's Cottonwood decisions by codifying the position taken by the Obama administration that federal agencies are not required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at a programmatic level when new critical habitat is designated or a new species is listed;

Direct the Department of Interior (DOI) to create a categorical exclusion (CE) for certain sage-grouse and mule deer habitat vegetation projects that address areas affected by the encroachment of invasive pinyon and juniper trees;

Direct the Department of Agriculture to create a CE for immediate action in critical response situations due to disease and insect infestations, threats to watersheds, and other high-risk areas;

Call for streamlined environmental review for ecosystem restoration projects by requiring the U.S. Forest Service to consider only two alternatives during the planning process: an "action" alternative, and a "no action" alternative;

Establish or modify CEs for wildlife habitat improvement, forest thinning, and insect and disease infestation; and

Establish a five-year pilot arbitration process to allow alternative dispute resolution for forest activities that will result in binding decisions not subject to judicial review.

To view full text of the draft legislation, click here.

Background Information:

On September 27, 2017, the EPW committee held a hearing on “Forest Management to Mitigate Wildfires: Legislative Solutions.” The hearing examined three pieces of legislation: S. 605, the Litigation Relief for Forest Management Projects Act; S.1417, the Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and Restoration Act of 201; and S.1731, the Forest Management Improvement Act of 2017.

On October 25, 2017, the EPW Committee is scheduled to hold a legislative hearing on the Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2017.

BuzzFeed reports that some Facebook employees are frustrated by Zuckerberg’s blasé response to concerns about fake news on the social media platform.

“What’s crazy is for him to come out and dismiss it like that,” one anonymous engineer wrote, according to BuzzFeed. “He knows, and those of us at the company know, that fake news ran wild on our platform during the entire campaign season.”

One reason Facebook’s management has been so cautious on this issue is that it’s still smarting from the controversy earlier this year over Facebook’s trending news feature. Until this summer, Facebook employed a team of professional journalists to curate the trending news box that appeared in the right-hand rail next to the Facebook newsfeed.

Then in May, one of Facebook’s trending news editors told Gizmodo that the team was routinely suppressing trending stories that slanted in a conservative direction. That caused a massive backlash, including questions from Republicans in Congress about Facebook’s editorial policies. This led to Facebook terminating the entire trending news team. Today, Facebook uses software to choose which headlines appear in this box.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/10/11650784/facebook-trending-topics-news-us-senate-commerce-committee

THUNE

But with the human editors gone, Facebook had a new problem: It started to see fake stories showing up in the trending box. Facebook’s trending news algorithm simply wasn’t sophisticated enough to distinguish an accurate news story from an inaccurate one.

US Senate Commerce Committee today opened an inquiry into Facebook employees' alleged manipulation of the site's news story selection. The committee has legislative oversight of numerous areas of American commerce, including communications and consumer-protection issues. Its chairman, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), signed a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg containing questions about the nature of the company's Trending Topics section following allegations, reported first by *Gizmodo*yesterday, that contract workers censored stories from conservative outlets.

"Facebook must answer these serious allegations and hold those responsible to account if there has been political bias in the dissemination of trending news," Thune said in a statement. "Any attempt by a neutral and inclusive social media platform to censor or manipulate political discussion is an abuse of trust and inconsistent with the values of an open Internet."

THE SENATE CAN'T ACTUALLY MAKE FACEBOOK DO ANYTHING

To be clear, Facebook can do whatever it likes with any aspect of its social network, including control what it shows to users, as it did in a controversial emotion-manipulation study in 2011. So the Senate committee's letter here is, at best, strategic posturing. You can also see it at as petty grandstanding. It's designed to put pressure on Facebook and show that people in positions of political power are upset with the matter, even if there's nothing the body can do to legislate the company's editorial neutrality

In fact, at least one (high-profile) Senate Democrat is annoyed that Thune and the Senate Commerce Committee feel the need to weigh in at all. "The Republican Senate refuses to hold hearings on Judge Garland, refuses to fund the President's request for Zika aid, and takes the most days off of any Senate since 1956, but thinks Facebook hearings are a matter of urgent national interest," said Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) in a statement provided to *The New York Times* by his deputy chief of staff. "The taxpayers who pay Republican senators' salaries probably want their money back."

Noting that Republicans are less likely than Democrats and independents to believe humans cause global warming, and tea party are the least likely of all groups to accept science PolitiFact was only able to find 8 our of 278 Republican congressmen who will admit to believing in the science of climate change.

Rep. Michael Grimm, (R-N.Y.), Sen. Susan Collins, (R-MN), Sen. Lamar Alexander, (R-TN),Sen. Mark Kirk,( R-IL), Rep. Chris Smith, (R-N.J), Sen. Bob Corker, (R-TN), Sen. John Thune, (R-S.D.), Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, (R-N.J.)

rolled on wind:

Thursday’s move by the Senate Finance Committee doesn’t guarantee that the full Senate will support resurrection of the credits, much less the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

But encouraging signs emerged after Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) tried to kill the credits. He :{argued that restoring them:(style="color:#000000"):}: would amount to picking energy-industry winners and losers and forcing taxpayers to “subsidize inefficient, uncompetitive forms of energy.” (Meanwhile, taxpayers continue a century-long tradition of subsidizing fossil fuels.) :{CleanTechnica reports:(style="color:#000000"):}: on the encouraging bipartisan response to Toomey’s effort:

The PTC [wind energy Production Tax Credit] and the alternate Investment Tax Credit were added overnight to a modified “Chairman’s mark,” after an earlier draft released Monday left them and several other provisions for further negotiation.

They prevailed on a critical 18-6 vote during the committee markup late Thursday morning, on a motion by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) to strip them out. Five Republicans joined the committee’s Democrats in voting down that amendment: Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Thune (R-SD), Rob Portman (R-OH), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and John Cornyn (R-TX). grist

John Thune (R-S.D.)John Thune [UPDATED]

Senator from South Dakota

2013180McCarthy Confirmation (EPA)Air, Water

2013151Border FenceLands/Forests, Water, Wildlife

2013145Advancing Conservation in the Farm BillWater, Lands/Forests, Wildlife

2013119Clean Water ProtectionsWater

2013116National Endowment for the OceansOceans

201394Jewell Confirmation (DOI)Lands/Forests, Wildlife

201376Climate Change SafeguardsClimate Change

201372Toxic Air Pollution from Power PlantsAir

201361Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline (KXL)Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Water

201359Pricing Carbon PollutionClimate Change

201346Big Oil BudgetOther

201341Military Investments in Advanced BiofuelsClean Energy, Dirty Energy

20134Disaster Relief for Hurricane SandyLands/Forests, Wildlife, Climate Change, Other

2012206Military Investments in Alternative FuelsClean Energy

2012159Industrial Farm Clean Water ViolationsWater

2012155Conservation ComplianceLands/Forests, Water

2012148Conservation on Private FarmlandsLands/Forests, Water

2012139Toxic Air Pollution from Power PlantsAir

2012106Genetically Engineered SalmonWildlife, Oceans, Other

201263Oil Subsidies & Clean Energy IncentivesDirty Energy, Clean Energy

201247Environmental Review in Transportation RebuildingOther, Transportation

201239Clean Energy Tax IncentivesClean Energy

201238Arctic Refuge & Offshore Drilling & KXLClimate Change, Dirty Energy, Drilling, Lands/Forests, Water, Wildlife

201234Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline (KXL)Climate Change, Dirty Energy, Water

201232Gulf Coast Restoration & Land and Water Conservation FundLands/Forests, Oceans, Water

201230Toxic Pollution from Industrial BoilersAir

201228Offshore DrillingDrilling, Dirty Energy

2011229Undermining Critical Environmental ProgramsOther

2011202Broad Environmental Assault (S. 1720)Air, Dirty Energy, Drilling, Water, Wildlife

2011201Cross-State Air PollutionAir

===

See also Representative Lee Terry of Nebraska, who describes himself as "light green" and calls himself "a renewable Republican." But that doesn't mean he is willing to accept facts as they are on climate science. "Is it really 97 to 3?" Terry asked *:{Esquire:(style="color:#000000"):}:*. "I don't think so."

While Terry has collected more than :{$330,000:(style="color:#000000"):}: in oil industry cash, his constituents at Bold Nebraska celebrated his receipt of the "**:{#1 Climate Denier Award:(style="color:#000000"):}:**."

Terry isn't the only member of Congress whose position on KXL is at odds with his constituents. In South Dakota, Senator John Thune and Representative Kristi Noem, both Republicans, have been backing the project, which will run through thousands of acres a valuable ranch land. The ranchers they represent in Washington are disappointed that families in South Dakota may suffer to advance someone else's cause.

"They want to push this agenda with these jobs and look good," rancher Dwayne Vig told the *:{Rapid City Journal:(style="color:#000000"):}:*. "But they are not ranchers. I know John [Thune] comes from a ranching family, but he's not a rancher."

He's also not a scientist, but that doesn't stop soon from pushing a project that research indicates will result in catastrophic climate change.

"It's dismaying to see that there are still so many members of the House of Representatives who actually denied that climate change is happening, and then even more who may say, 'oh it's happening, but we shouldn't do anything about it,'" says Tiernan Sittenfeld of the League of Conservation Voters. "That is in our view absolutely outrageous -- people out of touch with basic facts, with science, with reality."

In fairness, one must point out that politicians don't merely parrot industry claims and spout junk-science rationalizations purely for the campaign cash it brings in. Some, like Iowa Representative Steve King, who gets little campaign money from Big Oil, do it just because it's :{a cheap sop to constituents:(style="color:#000000"):}: who might be persuaded that climate change could do them some good, in that "we'd probably raise a little more corn."

[UPDATE: Thune announced on Feb. 22, 2011 that he will not be running for president.]

Thune questions climate science and bashes cap-and-trade.

On climate science: When asked his views on the science, Thune said, "I guess the answer to the question isI'm not sure. I think there's a real mix of data on that."

On climate policy: Thune opposed cap-and-trade proposals in the Senate, claiming they would harm the agriculture sector and "destroy jobs, raise energy prices, disadvantage whole regions of the country such as the Midwest, do very little for the reducing greenhouse gases globally ..., and greatly expand the regulatory reach of the federal bureaucracy."

He also sent a letter to EPA chief Lisa Jackson objecting to EPA's plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

cut food stamps, boost agribiz sunsodies: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/2013-farm-bill-senate_n_3273838.html 90$/mo

The Senate bill calls for a total of roughly $2.4 billion a year in cuts, while a House version to be considered Wednesday would save $4 billion out of almost $100 billion annually. Those cuts include more than $600 million in yearly savings from across-the-board cuts that took effect earlier this year.

Much of the savings in the House and Senate bills comes from eliminating the direct payments, which are frequently criticized because they aren't tied to production or crop prices. Part of that savings would go toward deficit reduction, but the rest of the money would create new programs and raise subsidies for some crops while business is booming in the agricultural sector....

In order to boost savings, the Senate bill would cut $400 million out of almost $80 billion spent annually on food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The legislation would save dollars by targeting states that give people who don't have heating bills very small amounts of heating assistance so they can automatically qualify for higher food stamp benefits.

The committee rejected amendments by Johanns and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., to expand the cut, while New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, a Democrat, said she will offer amendments on the Senate floor to restore the food stamp dollars. She said the cuts are immoral.

All three of those senators voted against the final bill, along with Roberts and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who sits on the agriculture panel but did not attend the meeting.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Thune

John Randolph Thune is the junior Senator from the state of South Dakota. He is a Republican and was first elected to this office in 2004.

Contents[hide]

Record and controversies

General information about important bills and votes for can be found in Congresspedia's articles on legislation. You can add information you find on how John Thune voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to cite your sources!

Iraq War

Thune voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.^[1]

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Beef Industry Lobbying

Several controversies have surrounded Thune, including his lobbying activity on behalf of big beef importers before running for the Senate. Since much of South Dakota's economy is based on the beef industry, ranchers were not thrilled by Thune's aid to the suppliers of foreign beef.

Payments to Bloggers to Support Thune Against Daschle

Two other controversies emerged from the Daschle/Thune Race in 2004. One was the fact that the Thune campaign paid two SD bloggers to :{blog:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}: in support of the Thune candidacy and distribute negative writings on Sen. :{Tom Daschle:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}: and the :{Argus Leader:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}: (SD's largest newspaper), :{Story here:(style="background-color:#fff200"):}:.

Thune and SD Native Americans

Another controversy occured regarding Native Americans, which enflamed Sen. Thune's relations with Native American Tribes in SD, story here. The political flyer in question, here.

Link to Jeff Gannon

Commented AMERICAblog, June 30, 2005: "Senator John Thune, who was elected last year with great help from GOP male hooker Jeff Gannon, is in the center of a growing scandal back home. ... It's financial and it doesn't look good -- this one has legs, I think." [1]

Former Campaign Manager and Financial Contributor Accused of Fraud

"Back in 1995, when John Thune was a fledging politician running for the House of Representatives for the first time, slick used car dealer Dan Nelson was Thune's campaign manager. Following that first campaign the relationship continued to grow and mature throughout the years with Nelson contributing money to each successive Thune race to the tune of $8000.00. In the most recent contest against Tom Daschle, Nelson assisted Thune in several ways; as a financial contributor, landlord, leasing agent and running independent expenditure advertisements in support of Thune." --ThuneWatch, June 30, 2005. [2]

"SD-based liberal *Clean Cut Kid* reports that IA-based car dealer/Thune ex-'96 manager Dan Nelson became aware he was being investigated for fraud in 9/04, secured a loan from ND-based MetaBank in 10/04, and filed for bankruptcy in 6/05. Thune sat on the bank's board until 11/04.

Clean Cut Kid: "Now all of this doesn't really mean a whole lot except for the fact that Thune and Dan Nelson, who owns 75% of Nelson Automotive, are close friends." Additionally, property MetaBank held as a lien on Nelson's loans was being leased to Thune.

More Clean Cut Kid: "[S]omething just doesn't look right. As an elected official, Thune owes the people of South Dakota an explanation of how his web of relationships affected his judgment. As a former member of the Board of Directors of a publicly traded bank, Thune owes shareholders an explanation." [3]

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SOUTH DAKOTA

Thune Watch continues to keep the focus on Senator John Thune (R-Corruption) in South Dakota and writes about how Thune has refused to answer questions pertaining to his role in the Dan Nelson Automotive/Metabank scandal. Clean Cut Kid writes about the GOP's desperate attempt to falsely implicate Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D) on a different matter.

Railway links

A loan of $2.3 billion to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad company was killed by Congress because of alleged conflict of interest between the Thune and the companies, for which Thune once lobbied. The loan was allegedly going to be used for the renovation and expansion of the privately owned railway company. [4]

Bio

Background

Born January 7, 1961 in Pierre, South Dakota and raised in Murdo, South Dakota, Thune graduated from the Christian evangelical Biola University in 1983, and received an MBA from the University of South Dakota in 1984.

A member of the Republican party, Thune worked for U.S. Senators James Abdnor and Larry Pressler, as well as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Under President Reagan, Thune worked at the Small Business Administration. From 1991 until 1993, Thune was the Railroad Director of South Dakota under an appointment by Governor George S. Mickelson.

In 1996, Thune was elected to South Dakota's seat in the United States House of Representatives; he won reelection in 1998 and 2000. Thune supported term limits and promised to serve no more than three terms in the House. As a result, he challenged Senator Tim Johnson, but lost to Johnson by 524 votes or 0.15%.

Congressional Career

Thune ran for the Senate again two years later; on November 2, 2004, Thune defeated Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle with 51% of the vote in the 2004 senatorial elections.

Positions and Views

Thune made news again when it was found out he would be voting against John Bolton for the position of United Stated Ambassador to the United Nations. Thune joined George Voinovich of Ohio as the only other Republican to break ranks with his party on this issue. Thune said his vote would be a protest against announced plans to close Ellsworth AFB. However, Sen. Thune never received the chance to vote "no" on John Bolton, since the nominee was appointed by President Bush by recess apointment and thus circumventing the Senate. During the campaign, both Thune and Majority Leader Bill Frist had claimed that having a senator who belonged to the majority party would help increase the odds of Ellsworth staying open. Then on August 26, 2005, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted to go against Pentagon recommendations and keep Ellsworth AFB open.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. cid=N00004572&cycle=2006

Links to more campaign contribution information for John Thune from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.	Links to more campaign contribution information for John Thune from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.	Links to more campaign contribution information for John Thune from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile:	2006 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation:	2006 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by industry:	2006 election cycle	Career totals

Links to more campaign contribution information for John Thune

from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.

Links to more campaign contribution information for John Thune

from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.

Links to more campaign contribution information for John Thune

from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.

Fundraising profile:

2006 election cycle

Career totals

Top contributors by organization/corporation:

2006 election cycle

Career totals

Top contributors by industry:

2006 election cycle

Career totals

Revolving door profile for John Thune from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
2006 privately funded travel profile for John Thune from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
Personal finance profile for John Thune from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology - Ranking Member
- Subcommittee on Domestic & Foreign Marketing, Inspection, & Plant & Animal Health
- Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support

Senate Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Subcommittee on Seapower - Ranking Member

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
- Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

Senate Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities

Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Superfund and Waste Management - Chair

Coalitions and Caucuses

National Reupublican Congressional Committee
Policy Committee

Boards and other Affiliations

National League of Cities Board of Directors
The Israel Project – Board of Advisors^[2]

More Background Data

Background information on John Thune from Project Vote Smart

Interest group scorecard ratings for John Thune from Project Vote Smart

Voting record for John Thune from the Washington Post database

Information on John Thune from Congress Merge

Wikipedia also has an article on John Thune. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC Office:

383 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Phone: 202-224-2321

TollFree: 1-866-850-3855

Fax: 202-228-5429

Web Email

Website

District Office - Aderdeen:

320 South 1st Street

Aberdeen, SD 57401

Phone: 605-225-8823

District Office - Rapid City:

1313 Wast Main Street

Rapid City, SD 57701

Phone: 605-348-7551

District Office - Sioux Falls:

320 North Main Avenue

Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Phone: 605-334-9596

Articles and resources

Resources

Official Site
Congressional biography
1996 CNN biography
Survey USA News Poll: "Do you approve or disapprove of the job John Thune is doing as United States Senator?": Of 100 senators, Thune ranked 65th.
"Political Campaign Contributions from Sioux Falls, South Dakota SD 57103 in 2004," CampaignMoney.com.
See how you compare to John Thune

Articles

Dotti Lynch, "Rove-Gannon Connection?" CBS News, February 18, 2005: "Daschle opponent John Thune's campaign manager was Dick Wadham, an old political crony of Karl Rove's... Gannon also had Thune on his radio show 'Jeff Gannon's Washington,' and the White House correspondent for Talon News became touted as the 'resident D.C. expert on South Dakota politics' by the bloggers. Thune and Wadham (who has been hired by aspiring White House Republican Sen. George Allen) have become go-to guys on the use of blogs in campaigns. Thune was cited in The New York Times as introducing 'Senators to the meaning of 'blogging,' explaining the basics of self-published online political commentary and arguing that it can affect public opinion.'"
"Credible Evidence Emerges That Jeff Gannon Coordinated With the G.O.P. to Bring Down Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) in 2004 Election," The Nashua Advocate, February 20, 2005: "Post-Election, Daschle Campaign Aide Says Thune and Gannon 'Worked Hand in Hand'; Gannon's Work in South Dakota Shows Substantial Ties to Current Thune Campaign Staffer Jason Van Beek."
"Former Thune Staffer Jon Lauck Speaks Out About Explosive Gannongate Allegations; Gannon Admits to Feeding Information to Thune Campaign in 2004 Race," The Nashua Advocate, February 22, 2005.
"Where are Gannon's Archives," Thune v South Dakota, March 1, 2005.
"Talon News, Jeff Gannon, and John Thune," Clean Cut Kid, March 2, 2005.
"South Dakota Paper Probes Senator's Link to Jeff Gannon," Editor & Publisher, March 6, 2005.
Kevin Woster, "Thune denies ties; Alleged link to writer stirs controversy," Rapid City Journal, March 7, 2005.
Jonathan Weisman and Anushka Asthana, "GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq," Washington Post, July 20, 2006.
Carl Hulse, "Newly in the Minority, G.O.P. Shows Signs of Division on Iraq and Domestic Policies," New York Times, January 13, 2007: "'Everybody is scared spitless,' Mr. Thune, the South Dakota senator, said."
Elizabeth Williamson, "Senator's Railway Lobby Link May Have Helped Derail Loan," Washington Post, February 28, 2007.

Local blogs and discussion sites

Corresponding article on Wikipedia and Cause Caller. (If Cause Caller link does not work, pick from its list of senators and representatives.)

Current Office: U.S. Senate	Current Office: U.S. Senate	Current Office: U.S. Senate	Current Office: U.S. Senate
111th Congress	111th Congress	111th Congress	111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:	Committees:	Committees:	Committees:
110th Congress	110th Congress	110th Congress	110th Congress
Leadership Position: Chief Deputy Minority Whip	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On: Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Seapower	Caucuses: National Reupublican Congressional Committee, Policy Committee
Committees: Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Energy Science and Technology, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing Inspection and Plant and Animal Health, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Production Income Protection and Price Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Aviation Operations Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs Insurance and Automotive Safety, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Science Technology and Innovation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship	Committees: Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Energy Science and Technology, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing Inspection and Plant and Animal Health, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Production Income Protection and Price Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Aviation Operations Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs Insurance and Automotive Safety, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Science Technology and Innovation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship	Committees: Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Energy Science and Technology, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing Inspection and Plant and Animal Health, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Production Income Protection and Price Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Aviation Operations Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs Insurance and Automotive Safety, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Science Technology and Innovation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship	Committees: Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Energy Science and Technology, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing Inspection and Plant and Animal Health, Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry/Subcommittee on Production Income Protection and Price Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services/Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Aviation Operations Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs Insurance and Automotive Safety, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Science Technology and Innovation, Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation/Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure Safety and Security, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Thune, J Sen 8 13%

Senators Release Draft of Wildfire Prevention Legislation

October 23, 2017

Record and controversies

Iraq War

Environmental record

Beef Industry Lobbying

Payments to Bloggers to Support Thune Against Daschle

Thune and SD Native Americans

Link to Jeff Gannon

Former Campaign Manager and Financial Contributor Accused of Fraud

Railway links

Bio

Background

Congressional Career

Positions and Views

Money in politics

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

Coalitions and Caucuses

Boards and other Affiliations

More Background Data

Contact

Articles and resources

Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

Articles

Local blogs and discussion sites

Attachments