The Thune War Chest

The Washington Post is highlighting a key Thune advantage in an article today. T.W. Farnam points out the 7.2 million dollars Sen. Thune has leftover from 2010.

Since he was unopposed in the last election, the Senator didn't have to spend as much money running ads and campaigning, leaving him with funds that could be a huge asset going into 2012.

Thune to Visit T-Paw's "Stomping Grounds"

Talking Points Memo is reporting Sen. Thune plans to headline the Minnesota GOP's Lincoln-Reagan dinner in February. 

Minnesota also happens to be the home state of Gov. Tim Pawlenty (T-Paw) who is almost certainly running in 2012 and has made significant inroads in the primary state of Iowa.

Thune's Budget Policy

Below is the link for information on Sen. Thune's recent budget and debt reduction plan. Control of federal deficits and budgeting will certainly be a big issue in the next presidential campaign, and this plan certainly gives insight to what a candidate Thune's fiscal policy would look like.

http://johnthune.com/budget-bill/ 

Also, there will probably be relatively light blogging as the year wraps up, due to slow news cycles and the congressional recess. However, as new information becomes available it will be posted as quickly as possible.

The Dark Horse Candidate

Presidential speechwriter-turned-political pundit David Frum writes on his blog today of the possibility of Sen. Thune being the "darkest horse" in the GOP 2012 field. He cites the GOP's history of nominating nationally known candidates in Presidential election, but the ability of a Romney or Palin candidacy to fall short in the next presidential cycle. You can read Frum's post here.

Christmas Gift to the Russians

"Trying to force it through without ample time for debate and amendments would amount to a Christmas gift to the Russians" -John Thune on the START treaty

In addition to the Bush tax cut extension and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the lame-duck congress is trying to push through a new arms control treaty with the Russia. Below is Sen. Thune's Senate floor speech voicing his opposition. Additionally, you can read the op-ed he wrote for the National Review here, as it is mentioned in his speech.

Thune Accuses Democrats of Ignoring 2010 Election

Today Sen. Thune told The Daily Republic in a phone interview that the Democrats are "contradict(ing) the wishes of the American people" by staying so busy in the final days of the legislative session. The Democrats seem to be rushing through legislation because in the next Congress they will face a House Republican majority and a depleted number of Democrats in the Senate.

A Dozen Questions for John

Lisa De Pasquale from the conservative media source Human Events recently caught up with Sen. Thune and asked him 12 pop-culture questions as part of her De Pasquale's Dozen series.

In it, the Senator discusses his favorite TV shows, Christmas movie, and other items worthy of notation.