Who is John Thune?

From Wikipedia

John Randolph Thune (born January 7, 1961) is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a U.S. Representative for South Dakota's At-large congressional district.

Early Life, Education
Thune was born and raised in the small town of Murdo, South Dakota, the son of Yvonne Patricia (née Bodine) and Harold Richard Thune. Thune's paternal grandfather was an immigrant from Norway who partnered with his brother to start Thune Hardware stores in Mitchell and Murdo, South Dakota.

Thune was a star athlete in high school, taking his basketball team near a state championship, and also played college basketball at Biola University.

Thune, who identifies as an evangelical Christian, graduated from Biola (a Christian university near Los Angeles, California) in 1983 with a B.A. degree in Business. Thune received an MPA from the University of South Dakota in 1984.

Early career
Thune worked as a legislative aide for U.S. Senator James Abdnor from 1985 to 1987. In 1980, Abdnor defeated South Dakota senator George McGovern, succeeding him. When Abdnor was defeated in 1986 by Tom Daschle, Thune followed Abdnor to the Small Business Administration under the Reagan Administration. In 1989, he returned to South Dakota, where he served as executive director of the Republican Party for two years.

Thune was appointed Railroad Director of South Dakota by Governor George S. Mickelson, serving from 1991 to 1993. From 1993 to 1996, he was executive director of the South Dakota Municipal League.

Career in Elected Office
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1996, Thune was elected to South Dakota's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives; he won reelection in 1998 and in 2000 was reelected with over 70% of the vote. Thune supported term limits and promised to serve no more than three terms in the House. Keeping his pledge, Thune instead ran for the United States Senate, challenging Senator Tim Johnson in 2002, and losing by 524 votes (0.15%).

U.S. Senate
Following his 2002 loss to Tim Johnson, Thune challenged Tom Daschle—then the United States Senate Minority Leader and leader of the Senate Democrats--in the 2004 elections.

The race was the most expensive Senate race in 2004, with $30 million spent, and the most expensive in South Dakota history. It was widely followed in the national media. Thune – along with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, President of the United States George W. Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney – painted Daschle as the "chief obstructionist" of Bush's agenda: "Thune was able to criticize “Daschle for serving incompatible masters,” and portray him, as Frist did when he came to South Dakota to campaign for Thune, as a partisan obstructionist and political heir to liberal icon and former Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota.

Daschle's critics charged him with using filibusters to block confirmation of several of Bush's nominees to the federal judiciary, and being out of step with the views of South Dakota voters on other political and social issues: "The GOP had targeted Daschle, the Senate minority leader, claiming he had been the chief obstruction to President Bush on such issues as tax cuts, judicial nominees and the war in Iraq."

Thune emphasized social issues such as abortion and same sex marriage, and flag burning to highlight the differences between his views and Daschle's, stating, "Two-thirds of the people in South Dakota are in favor of protecting marriage through a Federal Marriage Amendment. You know, two-thirds of the people in South Dakota, probably higher than that, are in favor of an amendment to protect the American flag. You know, the Second Amendment, gun owners' rights, abortion – those are not wedge issues in South Dakota."

In addition, Thune 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" by stating President Bush had "failed miserably" to avoid the Iraq war.

When the race began in early 2004, Daschle led by 7 points in January and February. By May, his lead fell to just 2 points and into the summer polls showed an effective tie. Throughout September, Daschle led Thune by margins of 2–5%; from October until the November 2 election, most polls showed Thune and Daschle tied 49–49 among likely voters.

On November 2, 2004, Thune defeated Daschle by 4,508 votes, winning 51% of the vote and became a well-known Republican figure in the U.S. Senate. Daschle's loss was the first ousting of a incumbent Floor Leader since 1952, when Arizona Senator Ernest McFarland lost his seat to Barry Goldwater.

Soon after arriving in the Senate, Thune wrote language into a transportation bill expanding the pot of federal loan money for small railroads, enabling his former client to apply for $2.5 billion in government financing for its project.

As a U.S. Senator, Thune also took a leading role in formulating energy policy. He pushed for the final passage of a comprehensive energy bill, which finally overcame a series of Democratic filibusters and passed the Senate in 2005. Thune helped pass another energy bill in late 2007. Thune is a particular advocate of ethanol and wind energy, which are linked to South Dakota's high levels of corn production and its windy prairies. Thune's hometown of Murdo is considered one of the windiest towns in the nation.

Thune, along with South Dakota's senior Senator Tim Johnson, was also faced with the challenge of keeping Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder, South Dakota (near Rapid City) open after the Department of Defense announced plans to close the base as part of its 2005 round of base closures. The Pentagon announced that it planned to move all of Ellsworth's B-1 bombers to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Ellsworth Air Force Base is one of South Dakota's largest employers.

Senator Thune, along with Senator Johnson, lobbied the Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, to keep Ellsworth open. In their lobbying efforts, they argued that it made little sense to consolidate all of the nation's B-1s in a single location due to the risk of a single attack or tornado taking out the fleet. Also, it was discovered that the Pentagon may have overlooked a lawsuit that possibly prevented B-1 pilots at Dyess from engaging in adequate training.

While the fate of Dyess was still in the air, Thune declared that he had strong doubts about issues such as John Bolton's nomination as United Nations ambassador, "I've said all along that I'm going to play whatever cards I have to get the best possible outcome I can for my base," he is reported as saying. Ultimately, the BRAC Commission voted 8–1 to reverse the Pentagon's recommendation to close Ellsworth.

On December 6, 2006, Thune was chosen by Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott to be the GOP's Chief Deputy Whip. Senators Norm Coleman of Minnesota, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Larry Craig of Idaho, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and David Vitter of Louisiana were also selected as Deputy Whips.

Thune also sponsored an amendment (No. 1618) to a troop support bill (S. 1390) in the Senate in July, 2009 that would have created a federal law allowing concealed carry weapons owners to enjoy interstate reciprocity of this right. The bill was defeated narrowly (58-39; 60 votes are needed to invoke cloture).

Thune faced no Democratic or other opposition for his U.S. Senate seat in 2010, and thus won re-election.

Political Positions
The American Conservative Union gave Senator Thune a rating of 100 in 2006,[22] and again in 2010; as of 2010, Thune's lifetime ACU rating was 88.97.[23]

Agriculture
In a tight Senate race in 2002, Thune was instrumental in creating the $750,000,000 Livestock Compensation Program, $50,000,000 of which went to South Dakota.

Faith and Values
Thune has described his religious faith as the most important aspect of his political career: "Having a Christian worldview shapes my decision-making with respect to all aspects of my life. I always respect people in public life who are principled, and those principles have to be connected to something. And my faith is what serves as the anchor and directs my actions."

In June 2006, Thune reaffirmed his strong support to amend the United States Constitution to ban same-sex marriage: "The Federal Marriage Amendment debate simply is an opportunity for us to affirm our support for marriage...It is an important debate to have in this country."

Thune is pro-life and opposes federal funding for elective abortions in accordance with the Hyde Amendment.

Foreign Policy
As a House member, Thune voted for the invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and has consistently supported funding for both wars.

In a 2005 interview with Christianity Today, Thune (now a Senator) supported continuing Operation Iraqi Freedom, expressing a hope that this would result in greater religious freedom: "Liberating Iraq from decades of tyranny and dictatorship, bringing about political freedom, will create an atmosphere of where religious freedom will come to Iraq. And that opens the door, obviously, for the Christian faith there as well."

Health Care
Thune opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

On December 9, 2010, Thune voted against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which would have "provide[d] free medical treatment and compensation to first responders of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack." Defending his vote against the Zadroga Bill to radio host Don Imus, Thune "explained that preserving the Bush tax cuts was more of a priority."

Taxes, Spending, and Budget
In 2005, Thune supported a bill to save $40 billion in the federal budget by cutting back student lending, child support, and welfare programs.

Calling himself a fiscal conservative, Thune spoke out against and voted against certain economic recovery and stimulus spending bills in 2008 and early 2009. However, he voted for the 2008 bank bailout. Furthermore, on Oct. 1, 2008, Thune voted in favor of the bill creating the Troubled Asset Relief Program, "Thune says he doesn’t regret his vote" for TARP. In 2010, Thune proposed legislation that would have halted all TARP spending.

As a member of the House of Representatives, Thune supported the Bush tax cuts in 2001; he voted for their continuation in 2010. In 2008, Thune opposed giving tax breaks to first-time home buyers and home builders.

According to the Weekly Standard, Thune "is a defender of earmarks," and reportedly tried to "build opposition" to an earmark moratorium proposed by Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina.

However, a later report from the Weekly Standard indicated that Thune had changed his mind and come out in support of a two-year earmark moratorium. He has been called "one of the worst GOP earmark offenders in the Senate."

In 2008 he requested $252,490,000 in earmarks and received $240,081,050. At a 2010 speech at the Heritage Foundation, audience members "pressed Thune about the fact that he still seeks earmarks for South Dakota. Thune responded by explaining that he’d reduced his earmark requests by 57 percent since 2008 and offering a tentative defense of the practice—something that won him no fans in a gathering of movement conservatives."

Thune opposes federal spending on infrastructure, saying "I understand the goal, but right now this is going to be — anytime you talk about 'investment' it means new spending." This position has put him at odds with the United States Chamber of Commerce.

In the summer of 2010, Thune unveiled a deficit-reduction plan. According to the Weekly Standard, "Thune’s proposal does not address the entitlement reforms that are what will ultimately stave off bankruptcy."

Vice Presidential and Presidential Speculation
Prior to the selection of Sarah Palin, Thune was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential pick for Republican Presumptive Nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Thune publicly played down the speculation. According to one source, McCain was looking for a "game changer" and did not believe that Thune would have a "game-changing" effect on the campaign.

Significant speculation arose regarding a potential 2012 presidential bid by Thune. Thune was encouraged to run by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who called him "a consensus builder."

One Wall Street Journal article stated that Thune possesses "name ID in the parts of the first caucus state of Iowa that get neighboring South Dakota media, a $6.9 million bank account he could use for a presidential run, and a national fundraising list of 100,000 names from his race against [former Senator Tom] Daschle."

DNC Executive Director Jennifer O'Malley Dillon publicly stated that "among a field of generally flawed (in one way or another) Republican presidential candidates, there is one who genuinely scares her. 'This is personal[,] but John Thune is somebody that I have nightmares about,' she said. 'I've worked for Tim Johnson and Tom Daschle and he is just a guy you can't ever count out.'"

According to multiple commentators, a Thune candidacy could be helped by his personal appearance (he "looks like a president"). However, Jonah Goldberg of the National Review wrote that "Thune will probably discover early that his Senate colleagues’ telling him to run isn’t necessarily a compliment. In many respects, Thune is the GOP version of John Kerry: a candidate with very presidential hair who seems 'electable' despite not having done much of anything."

Assessing his potential candidacy, statistician Nate Silver wrote the following: "There is nothing especially distinct about Mr. Thune, whose chances I consider to be somewhat overrated. . . . The Washington establishment, of course, has not been popular of late — and Mr. Thune has cast some votes that he will have to answer for, like the ones on the federal bailouts."

Assessing his potential candidacy, the Weekly Standard stated that if Thune were to become the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, it would be "because he is an exceptionally skilled retail politician who can communicate a kind of midwestern, common sense conservatism that is ascendant in reaction to liberal profligacy... It also helps that he’s cultivated the nationwide donor base that gave him $14.5 million to defeat Tom Daschle in 2004. And that South Dakota borders Iowa. And that he’s good on television. And that he’s a devout Christian who can quote Scripture without seeming to proselytize."

However, the Weekly Standard also observed that "there are many obstacles. He has virtually no national profile. He worked briefly as a lobbyist. He voted for TARP. He is a defender of earmarks. He would be running against Washington from Washington." Similarly, Michael Crowley of Time Magazine noted:

Thune is not without his problems as a national candidate. He cast some hard-to-explain Senate votes, like one in support of the 2008 bank bailout — a potential deal breaker for Tea Party foot soldiers. Thune also struggled to defend the roughly $100 million in earmarks he tucked into a spending bill late last year, another irritant for party activists. (He argued awkwardly that he backed the projects but opposed the bill.) In Washington, some Republicans are skeptical that Thune has the fire in the belly for the brutal campaign process and note that he has yet to make a mark on policy issues.

In February 2011, Politico noted that "Thune isn’t raising money like he’s running for president," and that "[w]hile Thune has been considering a presidential bid, he hasn’t set foot in any of the early states and hasn’t aggressively courted consultants or tried to build infrastructure."

On February 22, 2011 Thune announced he would not run in the presidential election in 2012.