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.

Iraq War
Thune voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started 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 in support of the Thune candidacy and distribute negative writings on Sen. Tom Daschle and the Argus Leader (SD's largest newspaper), Story here.

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."

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.


 * "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."

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. 

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
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * 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
 * Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * National Reupublican Congressional Committee
 * Policy Committee

Boards and other Affiliations

 * National League of Cities Board of Directors

External 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

External 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

 * Dakota Voice
 * South Dakota Progressive
 * South Dakota Watch