Sen. Johnson Refuses to Apologize to GOP 'Taliban'

Democrat Sen. Tim Johnson, who barely "won" in South Dakota's fraud-plagued election of 2002, refuses to apologize for referring to Republicans as a Taliban.

Appearing Sunday with Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle at an event in Sioux Falls for U.S. House candidate Stephanie Herseth, Johnson said: "When Stephanie Herseth fills this seat, we are going to have a rising star in the House of Representatives. And how sweet it's going to be on June 2 when the Taliban wing of the Republican Party finds out what's happened in South Dakota."

Herseth's GOP opponent, Larry Diedrich, issued a statement Monday saying: "I am deeply disappointed and offended by Senator Johnson's comments. Our campaign has the support of farmers, seniors, young adults, and just so many folks throughout our great state - and to insult them by likening them to the Taliban is simply unconscionable."

Johnson's handler Julianne Fisher said today that the senator would not apologize. She claimed that two years ago outside groups compared Johnson to Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. She failed to say which groups.

'Terrible Hypocrisy'

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said today: "In a recent speech, Tom Daschle expressed his disappointment over the coarsening of political discourse in this country. Daschle's refusal to repudiate these reprehensible comments made by a member of his own party are a sign of terrible hypocrisy at best or a striking lack of moral courage at worst."

The obstructionist Daschle himself faces a serious challenge in November from GOP candidate John Thune. Democrats have reserved their outrage for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has dared to campaign for Thune.

America's most famous former Ku Klux Klansman, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, recently raged: "What has become of civility, old-fashioned civility? What has become of comity? What has become of comity in this branch? It used to be unheard of for Senate leaders to seek an active role against each other in campaigns. That time has apparently gone. Gone! Has honor gone too? Who cares about honor when a Senate seat might be gained?"

So far the ex-Klansman has failed to comment on Johnson's "civility" and "honor," or lack thereof.

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