This Is CNN

Another proud moment from CNN.

While CNN and much of the media robotically repeat the charge that Howard Dean is a loose cannon, making unsupported allegations, I've not seen this story reported anywhere (until I found it a Democratic Underground). On Crossfire, last Tuesday, Bob Novak charged Democrats with stealing the 2002 election for the U.S. Senate in South Dakota:

NOVAK: Not a happy week...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

NOVAK: ... for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. He won't have a free run for reelection in South Dakota this year.

The state's most popular Republican, former Congressman John Thune, announced he will run against Daschle. That promises a tough race for the Democratic leader, with the Republican ticket topped by George W. Bush, who collected 60 percent of the state's vote last time against Al Gore's 38 percent. Actually, Daschle should have been saved the trouble of opposing Thune.

In 2002, Thune would have been elected to the state's other Senate seat, but the election was stolen by stuffing ballot boxes on the Indian reservations. Now Tom Daschle may have to pay for that theft.

CARVILLE: That's pretty...

(APPLAUSE)

CARVILLE: That's -- that's pretty out there. Has Thune said that the Native Americans are election thieves?

NOVAK: No, I -- I said it.

CARVILLE: Well, no. Is that the Republican -- is that the party line here?

NOVAK: No, it's my line.

CARVILLE: That Native Americans are election thieves, that they can't be trusted to vote? You hear that, my friends out in South Carolina? Tim Johnson won that race.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: They're Native Americans, Bob.

NOVAK: I call them Indians.

This exchange occurred immediately before Ed Gillespie and Terry McAuliffe appeared on the program to discuss the contest entry "ad" that appeared on the Moveon.org site. McAuliffe said the "ad" was "[d]espicable. It should be nowhere in the discourse of politics." Gillespie then prattled on about "political hate speech." But neither McAuliffe nor Gillespie said anything about Novak's despicable false charge.

Where's the SCLM's outrage at Novak's bogus allegation? A Google News search using "Novak" and "Daschle" turns up only three stories: (1) the DU item; (2) the article in a South Dakota newspaper to which DU linked; and (3) a Friday posting on Big Pharma's site which references Novak's statement and the debunked article from Byron York which was pushing the bogus claim.

Those interested in the truth should read Joshua Marshall's reporting from December 2002, which can be found here. (Scroll down for several entries.)

Update: 1/12 In comments, Mustang Bobby points out that Novak backed down from his previous statements last Saturday, presumably at the direction of his employer. Novak now only claims that there were "serious voting irregularities" and denies any bias against Native Americans. The weasel-worded non-apology came on Capital Gang, not Crossfire, and the Prince of Dogshit still offers no proof of voting irregularities.