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Thomas Andrew Daschle
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| Taking office on or after January 20, 2009* |
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| President | Barack Obama (elect) |
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| Succeeding | Mike Leavitt |
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| In office January 6, 1987 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | James Abdnor |
| Succeeded by | John Thune |
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| In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Trent Lott |
| Succeeded by | Bill Frist |
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| In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Trent Lott |
| Succeeded by | Trent Lott |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Dakota's At-large district |
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| In office January 3, 1979-1983 (1st) January 3, 1983-January 3, 1987 (At-large) |
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| Preceded by | Larry Pressler |
| Succeeded by | Tim Johnson |
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| Born | December 9, 1947 Aberdeen, South Dakota |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Linda Hall Daschle |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| *upon Senate confirmation | |
Thomas Andrew Daschle (born December 9, 1947) is a former U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader from South Dakota. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services in Obama's Cabinet.[1]
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Family background
Daschle was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Elizabeth B. Meier and Sebastian C. Daschle. His paternal grandparents were ethnic Germans from Russia.[2] Daschle grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family as the eldest of four brothers.[3] He became the first person in his family to graduate from college when he earned a political science degree from South Dakota State University in 1969. While attending South Dakota State University, Daschle became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega. From 1969 to 1972, Daschle served in the United States Air Force as an intelligence officer with the Strategic Air Command.
Daschle has been married to Linda Hall since 1984, one year after his marriage to his first wife, Laurie, ended in divorce.[4] Hall was acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the Clinton administration. She is one of Washington's top lobbyists. Her lobbying clients over the past year included American Airlines, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Senate lobbying records show.[5][6] Daschle has three children from his first marriage: Kelly, Nathan, and Lindsay. His son, Nathan, is Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association.
Career in the House of Representatives
In 1978, Daschle was elected to the United States House of Representatives, winning the race by a margin of 110 votes, following a recount, out of more than 129,000 votes cast. Daschle served four terms in the House of Representatives and quickly became a part of the Democratic leadership.
At the 1980 Democratic National Convention Congressman Daschle received 10 (0.30%)[7] delegate votes for Vice President of the United States. Although he was not a candidate, Daschle (along with others) received votes against incumbent Walter Mondale, who was renominated easily.
Career in the Senate
In 1986, Daschle was elected to the Senate in a close victory over incumbent Republican James Abdnor, becoming the nation's 1,776th senator. In his first year, he was appointed to the Finance Committee. In 1994, he was chosen by his colleagues to succeed the retiring Senator George Mitchell as Democratic Minority Leader. In the history of the Senate, only Lyndon B. Johnson had served fewer years before being elected to lead his party. In addition to the Minority Leader's post, Daschle also served as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. South Dakotans re-elected Daschle to the Senate by overwhelming margins in 1998. At various points in his career, he served on the Veterans Affairs, Indian Affairs, Finance and Ethics Committees.
During his brief stint as the 20th Senate Majority Leader, he became part of the phenomena in which a new congress takes office before a new presidential administration. From January 3, 2001, to January 20, 2001, Daschle became Senate Majority Leader for the first time. The Senate was evenly divided with 50 members from each major party, but Vice President of the United States Al Gore acted in his constitutional capacity as ex officio President of the Senate, and used his tie-breaking vote to give the Democrats the majority in that chamber. Upon the swearing-in of the George W. Bush Administration on January 20, 2001, Dick Cheney became Vice President and the Democrats returned to being in the minority and Daschle reverted to being Senate Minority Leader.
However, when Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont announced in that he was leaving the Republican caucus to become an independent and would caucus with Democrats, this returned control of the body to the Democrats and Daschle again became Majority Leader.
Democratic losses in the November 2002 elections returned them to the minority in the Senate in January 2003 and Daschle reverted to being Minority Leader.
Anthrax case in 2001
In October 2001, while he was the Senate Majority Leader, Daschle's office received a letter containing anthrax, becoming a target of the 2001 anthrax attacks.[8] Many of his staffers were confirmed to have been exposed,[8] as well as several of Sen. Russ Feingold's staffers and Capitol police officers.[9]
Views on abortion
In 2003, Roman Catholic bishop Robert Carlson wrote Senator Daschle regarding the senator's views on abortion, in light of proposed legislation Congress was considering that would ban the late-term procedure known as partial-birth abortion. Carlson reportedly told Senator Daschle that his stance on such issues were in conflict with Roman Catholic teaching, and he told Daschle that he should no longer identify himself as a Catholic.[10] Daschle had previously described Bishop Carlson as being "more identified with the radical right than with thoughtful religious leadership."[10] A mixed voting record on pro-choice issues led the organization NARAL to give Daschle a 50 percent vote rating.[11] In 1999 and 2003, Daschle voted in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortion,[12][13] Investigators into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which included Senator Daschle's Capitol Hill office, suspect that alleged anthrax mailer Bruce Ivins may have chosen to target Daschle over his views on abortion.[14]
2004 Senate election
In the 2004 Congressional elections, John Thune prevailed by a narrow 51%-49% margin, which was just over 4,500 votes. Senate majority Leader Bill Frist visited South Dakota to campaign for Thune.
Throughout the campaign, Thune — along with Frist, President George W. Bush, and Vice President Cheney — frequently accused Daschle of being the "chief obstructionist" of Bush's agenda and charged him with using filibusters to block confirmation of several of Bush's nominees. The Republican candidate also drove home his strong support for the war. In a nationally televised debate on NBC's Meet the Press, Thune accused Daschle of "emboldening the enemy" in his skepticism of the Iraq war.[15]
When the race began in early 2004, Daschle led by 7 points in January and February. By May, his lead minimized to just 2 points and into the summer polls showed a varying number of trends: either Daschle held a slim 1 to 2 point lead or Thune held a slim 1 to 2 point lead or the race was tied right down the middle. Throughout September, Daschle led Thune by margins of 2 to 5 percent while during the entire month of October into the November 2 election, most polls showed that Thune and Daschle were dead even, usually tied 49-49 among likely voters. Some polls showed either Thune or Daschle leading by extremely slim margins.
Post-Senate career
Daschle denied that he was a "lobbyist," because he was prohibited from lobbying soon after leaving the Senate. He became "special policy adviser" in the legislative and public policy group of the K Street law firm Alston & Bird following his election defeat.[16][17] The firm's health care lobbying clients include CVS Caremark, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Abbott Laboratories and HealthSouth.[5] The firm was paid $5.8 million between January and September 2008 to represent companies and associations before Congress and the executive branch, with 60 percent of that money coming from the health industry.[6] Daschle was recruited by the former Republican Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole. Daschle has refused to discuss his salary, but Dole, performing a similar role at the firm, has said he makes in the region of $800,000 to $1 million per year. [18] Daschle is also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In addition, he is currently serving as National Co-Chair of ONE Vote ‘08 (an initiative of ONE.org [1]) along with Bill Frist.
In late September 2005, Daschle caught the attention of the media by reactivating his political action committee, changing its name from DASHPAC to New Leadership for America PAC and procuring a speaking slot at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. He has continued to keep a relatively high profile among Democratic interest groups. These moves were interpreted by the media as an exploration of a potential 2008 Presidential candidacy. Daschle has ruled out any future bid for the United States Senate and on December 2, 2006, announced he would not run for President in 2008.[19]
On February 13, 2006, Daschle became one of two Democrats (with Rep. Jane Harman of California) to endorse a warrantless domestic surveillance program conducted under the authority of President George W. Bush by the National Security Agency (NSA).[20]
On February 21, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Daschle, after ruling out a presidential bid in December 2006, had thrown his support behind Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for the 2008 Presidential Election, saying that he "personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country."[21]
With regard to his endorsement of Obama, Daschle has been serving in a capacity as one of the national co-chairs for Obama's presidential campaign. Also, Newsweek's Howard Fineman indicated in an April 2007 article that Daschle has been playing a key role as a central adviser in Senator Obama's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.[citation needed] Although Obama lost the Democratic primary in South Dakota on June 3, 2008, Daschle's greater efforts came to fruition that evening as Obama secured his party's nomination.
Two days later, sources indicated Daschle "has no interest in the vice presidency or in serving as chief of staff if Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is elected president," but "is interested in universal health care and might relish serving as HHS secretary."[22] In the general election campaign, Daschle continued to consult Obama, campaign for him across swing states, and advise his campaign organization until Obama was ultimately elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008.
Health policy
On November 19, 2008, CNN announced that Daschle had accepted Obama's offer to be nominated for Health and Human Services secretary, pending Senate confirmation. His selection was officially announced at a news conference on December 11, 2008.[1] Daschle will also serve as the director of a newly-formed White House Office of Health Reform.[1]
Daschle was first author on a book concerning health care coverage which was published on February 19, 2008, titled "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis". One review stated "Daschle's book delineates the weaknesses of previous attempts at national health coverage, outlines the complex economic factors and medical issues affecting coverage and sets forth plans for change."[23]
Daschle and his co-authors wrote, "Most of the world’s highest-ranking health-care systems employ some kind of 'single-payer' strategy - that is, the government, directly or through insurers, is responsible for paying doctors, hospitals, and other health-care providers." He acknowledged the arguments that single-payer is simple, equitable, provides everyone with the same benefits, and saves billions of dollars through economies of scale and simplified administration. But single-payer is "politically problematic" and demonized as “socialized medicine,” even though polls show more satisfaction with Medicare than private insurance, he wrote.
A Federal Health Board would establish the framework and fill in the details. The board would be both "insulated from political pressure" and "accountable to elected officials and the American people." The Board would promote “high-value” medical care by recommending drugs and procedures backed by solid evidence.[24]
Watchdog groups such as Public Citizen accused Obama of "back-pedaling" on his promise to keep special interests out of the White House. While Daschle technically complies with the transition rules against lobbyists, said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation watchdog group, "many power brokers never register as lobbyists, but they are every bit as powerful."[25]
Daschle's work "does not represent a bar to his service in the transition," Obama transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said in a statement. "He was not a lobbyist, and he will recuse himself from any work that presents a conflict of interest."[26]
Daschle was considered for White House Chief of Staff in Barack Obama's new administration; the post ultimately went to Rahm Emanuel.[27]
References
- ^ a b c Pear, Robert (11 December 2008). "Daschle Will Lead Health Care Overhaul" (Article), The New York Times. Retrieved on December 11, 2008.
- ^ Reitwiesner, William. "The Ancestors of Tom Daschle". Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ "Famous Germans from Russia". Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Drinknard, Jim (2001-06-05). "Daschle, lobbyist wife vow to keep careers separate". USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-12-11.
- ^ a b Kevin Freking (2008-11-19). "Dem officials: Daschle accepts HHS Cabinet post". Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ a b Edwin Chen and Julianna Goldman (2008-11-19). "Daschle Said to Accept Offer as Health Secretary". Bloomberg. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Our Campaigns - US Vice President - D Convention Race - Aug 11, 1980
- ^ a b Revkin, Andrew (2001-10-18), "A Nation Challenged: Tracing The Spores", The New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5DC153EF93BA25753C1A9679C8B63
- ^ Stout, David (October 17, 2001), "House Will Shut Down Until Tuesday for Anthrax Screening", The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/national/17CND-ANTH.html?ex=1227243600&en=18449a3d1c502305&ei=5070
- ^ a b "Tom Daschle's 008-11-20".
- ^ Green, Michael (2004-11-17). "Gambling on Harry Reid". Salon. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- ^ Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1999, Record Vote No: 340
- ^ Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, [http://www.senate.goty?|last=Winters |first=Michael Sean|date=2008-11-20|publisher=America: The National Catholic Weekly|accessdate=2008-11-20}}
- ^ Temple-Raston, Dina (2008-08-07). "Anthrax Suspect's Abortion Stance Eyed As Motive". National Public Radio. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (2004-09-20). “Daschle Defends Iraq Remarks”, The New York Times. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
- ^ Tom Daschle on His New Role as Lobbyist, National Public Radio, Talk of the Nation, March 22, 2005
- ^ Alston
- ^ Daschle Moving to K Street (washingtonpost.com)
- ^ Belanger, Matt (December 2, 2006). "Daschle Will Not Seek Presidency". Keloland TV. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ Pincus, Walter (February 13, 2006). "Spying Necessary, Democrats Say". The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ "Ex-Senate leader Daschle endorses Obama". MSNBC (February 21, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
- ^ McPike, Erin (June 5, 2008). "Daschle Warm To Obama Health Role". NationalJournal.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
- ^ "Review of "Critical"". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-11-19., via Amazon.com
- ^ Sen. Daschle’s “Critical”, Posted by Don McCanne, MD, Physicians for a National Health Program, on Monday, Dec 8, 2008
- ^ Obama selects Tom Daschle as health chief, 11/20/2008 By Fredreka Schouten and David Jackson, USA TODAY
- ^ Obama selects Tom Daschle as health chief, 11/20/2008 By Fredreka Schouten and David Jackson, USA TODAY
- ^ "Obama wants Emanuel for chief of staff". Politico.com. Retrieved on 2008-11-05.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Alston + Bird - Biography of Sen. Daschle
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Larry Pressler |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's 1st congressional district 1979 – 1983 |
Elected state-wide at-large |
| New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's At-large congressional district 1983 – 1987 |
Succeeded by Tim Johnson |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by James Abdnor |
United States Senator (Class 3) from South Dakota 1987 – 2005 Served alongside: Larry Pressler, Tim Johnson |
Succeeded by John Thune |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by George J. Mitchell Maine |
Senate Democratic Leader January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2005 |
Succeeded by Harry Reid Nevada |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Daschle, Tom |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Daschle, Thomas Andrew (full name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | South Dakota politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 9, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aberdeen, South Dakota |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
Michael Franti & Spearhead/Vancouver/Vogue Theatre/December 30, 2008 READ DESCRIPTION -
He begins playing the opening riff for "What I Be" but then stops and decides to play his lame Barack Obama song. He talked about looking forward to performing at Obama's inauguration. In regard to key foreign policy advisors, all three of Obamas selections either initially supported the Iraq war, or still do. Below is an overview of Obamas top 13 selections. When considering their collective histories, a trend becomes clear, proving that the more things change under Obama, the more they stay the same WAKE THE FUCK UP, FRANTI!!! 1. TIMOTHY GEITHNER TREASURY SECRETARY Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, president and CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, director of policy development for IMF, member Group of Thirty (G30), employed at Kissinger & Associates, architect of the recent 2008 financial bailouts, mentored by Lawrence Summers and Robert Rubin. 2. PAUL VOLCKER ECONOMIC RECOVERY ADVISORY BOARD Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, North American chairman of Trilateral Commission, Federal Reserve chairman during Carter and Reagan administrations, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, G30 member, chairman Rothschild Wolfensohn Company, key figure in the collapse of the gold standard during the Nixon administration, longtime associate of the Rockefeller family. 3. RAHM EMANUEL CHIEF OF STAFF Member of Israeli Defense Force, staunch Zionist, congressman, Board of Directors for Freddie Mac, member of Bill Clintons finance campaign committee, made $16.2 million during 2.5 years as an investment banker for Wasserstein Perella. His father was a member of the Israeli Irgun terrorist group. 4. LAWRENCE SUMMERS NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, treasury secretary during Clinton administration, chief economist at World Bank, former president of Harvard University, Brookings Institute board member, huge proponent of globalization while working for the IMF, prot駩 of David Rockefeller, mentored by Robert Rubin. 5. DAVID AXELROD SENIOR ADVISOR Political consultant whose past clients include Sens. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Christopher Dodd; main Obama fixer in the William Ayers and Reverend Wright scandals. 6. HILLARY CLINTON SECRETARY OF STATE Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, clandestine CIA asset used to infiltrate the anti-war movement at Yale University and the Watergate hearings, senior partner at the Rose Law Firm, key figure in the Mena drug trafficking affair, architect of the Waco disaster, implicated in the murder/ cover-up of Vince Foster, and many other deaths. 7. JOSEPH BIDEN VICE PRESIDENT Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senator since 1972, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, current chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, strong Zionist sympathizer who recently told Rabbi Mark S. Golub of Shalom TV, I am a Zionist. You dont have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. 8. BILL RICHARDSON COMMERCE SECRETARY Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, former U.S. congressman, chairman of the Democratic National Convention in 2004, employee of Kissinger Associates, UN ambassador, governor of New Mexico, energy secretary, major player in the Monica Lewinsky cover-up with Bilderberg luminary Vernon Jordan. 9. ROBERT GATES DEFENSE SECRETARY Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, former CIA Director, defense secretary under President Bush, co-chaired CFR task force with Zbigniew Brzezinski, knee-deep in the Iran-Contra scandal, named in a 1999 class action lawsuit pertaining to the Mena drug trafficking affair. 10. TOM DASCHLE HEALTH SECRETARY Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations, former Senate majority leader, Citibank lackey, mentored by Robert Rubin. 11. ERIC HOLDER ATTORNEY GENERAL Key person in the pardon of racketeer Marc Rich, deputy attorney general under Janet Reno, facilitated the pardon of 16 Puerto Rican FALN terrorists under Bill Clinton. 12. JANET NAPOLITANO HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR Council on Foreign Relations, Arizona governor, attorney for Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings, U.S. attorney during the Clinton administration, instrumental in the OKC cover-up, where she declared, Well pursue every bit of evidence and every lead, described as another Janet Reno, soft on illegal immigration (i.e. pro-amnesty and drivers licenses to illegals). 13. GEN. JAMES L. JONES NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, European supreme allied commander, special envoy for Middle-East Security during Bush administration, board of directors for Chevron and Boeing, NATO commander, member of Brent Scowcrofts Institute for International Affairs along with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Bobby Ray Inman, Bilderberg luminary Henry Kissinger and former CIA Director John Deutch. enough said...
Author: Zwikster
Keywords: Michael Franti Spearhead Vancouver Obama
Added: January 1, 2009
Health Care Community Discussion - Oklahoma
A grassroots gathering in Oklahoma to discuss change and reform. 74 citizens came together and participated in a Health Care Community Discussion.
Author: davidglover
Keywords: health care change.gov city community Daschle discussion medical obama oklahoma tom transition
Added: December 30, 2008
Brockton healthcare forum
The Enterprise of Brockton, Mass. www.enterprisenews.com The shortage of primary care doctors was among concerns shared by Brockton community leaders Monday as they discussed healthcare in the greater Brockton area. If you have somebody who retires or moves, then youre going to have a void in your primary care physicians that are available in the community, so thats a problem, Linda Gabruk, chief financial officer for the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, said. She was among participants who attended the healthcare forum at St. Pauls Episcopal Church on Pleasant Street on Monday afternoon. Organizers will send their feedback on Brocktons situation to President-elect Barack Obamas transition team. The Rev. Jill Wiley of Christ Congregational Church said she organized the event after a nationwide call for health care discussions from South Dakota senator Tom Daschle, who is Obamas nominee for secretary of health and human services. On the Web site Change.gov, Daschle is asking people nationwide to hold health care discussions in their communities until Dec. 31. For more on this story, watch this Web site and read Tuesdays Enterprise. Maria Papadopoulos can be reached at mpapadopoulos@enterprisenews.com.
Author: BrocktonEnterprise
Keywords: