Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D., Tim Giago Column Story-Date: 09:25 a.m. PST Sunday , November 30, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------ Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D., Tim Giago Column By Tim Giago, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News Dec. 1--I was very bothered by a political commercial I heard on the radio a few minutes ago. It was one of those out-of-state advertisements that attack a local politician. A group out of Vienna, Va., headed by a Mr. Peter Flaherty, called the Citizens for Reform, works with a Washington, D.C.-based firm, Triad Management Services, Inc. to spotlight political campaigns in several states. This week they chose to assault the Senate Minority Leader, Tom Daschle, D-S.D. The ads attack Sen. Daschle for supposedly taking guests to the top of Mount Rushmore, a place where most tourists are not permitted, and charging them $5,000 per person. The entourage included about 20 contributors, mostly Washington lobbyists, according to an Associated Press article. All other visitors who try to climb to the top of Mount Rushmore can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $500. Of course, whether visitors are allowed to climb to the top of George Washington's head is left to the discretion of the National Park supervisor. Not a big deal, really. The ad says, "Tom Daschle must be confused. He preaches campaign-finance reform, yet sells special access to Mount Rushmore for $5,000." The radio ad then cautions its listeners, "Mount Rushmore is not for sale." I find it abhorrent that outside political PACs find it necessary to intrude into the internal politics of sovereign states. They raise millions of dollars and then spread some of the worst filth imaginable about local politicians. Do they believe the voters of South Dakota, or any other of the targeted states, are so ignorant that they do not know their local political candidates inside and out? In 1996 when Democrat Rick Weiland campaigned for Congress against Republican John Thune, Mr. Weiland was an unknown commodity. It was easy for the out-of-state PACs to line up against him, and they did. Tom Daschle is not an unknown. His years in Congress and in the Senate have acquainted him, oftentimes quite personally, with every community in South Dakota. If the Citizens for Reform want to spend $10 million attempting to unseat him, they will have wasted a lot of money for nothing. During the 1996 campaign I had to travel to several states on business. I was appalled at the similar ads on every local television and radio station that attacked local candidates. The message was identical in many cases. In every instance the ads were paid for by out-of-state interest groups and PACs. One South Dakota politician, Rep. Ron Volesky, D-Huron, hopes to introduce legislation that would forbid political action committees from contributing money to candidates for statewide or legislative office. Mr. Volesky said, "Political action committees are nothing more than special interests and special interests, like it or not, have a lot of influence in the political process." Mr. Volesky, by the way, is an American Indian. Special interest groups are also becoming quite active when it comes to American Indian tribal politics. It is not uncommon for local banks, investment firms, and other business interests to contribute money to candidates campaigning for offices on reservations all over the United States. Tribal politicians running for office on reservations with highly successful Indian casinos are very difficult to defeat because they have access to so much money and they also have control over so many high paying jobs. They also have some say in everything from housing to tribal loans, as well as scholarships for higher education. The Citizens for Reform ad attacking Sen. Daschle concluded with a comment that about made me fall out of my chair. It said, "Sen. Daschle; Mount Rushmore is not for sale." Mount Rushmore, which is located in the heart of the sacred Black Hills of the Lakota people, was carved while the land of its location was still under litigation. The tribes of the Great Sioux Nation were still pursuing legal action to have the Black Hills returned while Gutzum Borglum was blasting away the face of the mountain. The motto of the American Indian tribes of the Dakotas was then and is now, "The Black Hills are Not for Sale." In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Sioux Tribes but only made a monetary settlement. The 1981 settlement has never been accepted by the tribes of the Sioux Nation and, with interest, it now is in the $400 million range. Until this case is settled once and for all, Mount Rushmore still belongs to the Lakota and Dakota people. I really don't think they would mind if their friend, Sen. Tom Daschle, takes a few visitors to stand upon the head of George Washington. Of course, the Citizens for Reform of Vienna, Va., couldn't possibly know this. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------