To the OWH: The Truth Hurts

Recently Harold Andersen, in his Omaha World Herald vanity column, suggested that Pete Ricketts’ ads “linking (Ben) Nelson with liberal Democratic senators like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ted Kennedy” were “negative campaigning”. (Harold W. Andersen: 'Stop Over Spending' campaign stands out for loony rhetoric – OWH – 10/26/06.)

This exact same sentiment was expressed in an OWH editorial back in June 2006 after Ricketts began his ads which stated that a Democrat majority in the Senate, of which Nelson would be a part if the Dems take over, would have the likes of Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton running the show.

But now national Democrats are using the exact same reasoning for promoting Democrats in other states. New York Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer is traversing Rhode Island far and wide stating that while Republican Lincoln Chafee is a good liberal, they need the Democrat elected in order for Dems to take the Senate.

The New York Times editorial page recently endorsed the Democrat opponent of long-time NYT favorite Christopher Shays, saying, “Mr. Shays has been a good congressman, but not good enough to overcome the fact that his reelection would help empower a party that is long overdue for a shakeup.”

The New York Times, the national Dems, Pete Ricketts and every House candidate in Nebraska realizes what is at stake in this election, and that the party you vote for matters.

The Norfolk Daily News endorsed Ricketts on Wednesday, stating:

But partisanship is undeniable reality in Washington, D.C. The party that controls the U.S. Senate for example controls the agenda and, in many cases, controls what bills will and won’t be passed.

Given Sen. Nelson’s oft-stated independent nature, what does the national Democratic Party think of the Nebraska lawmaker? Apparently they like him enough to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into the coffers of the Nebraska Democratic Party in order to help boost his re-election bid this year.

Yes, there are examples of Sen. Nelson voting with President George W. Bush and against the interests of his political party.

But there also are more than a few examples of important bills where Sen. Nelson has been in lockstep with his Democratic colleagues.

Do Northeast Nebraskans think it is important for the U.S. Senate to continue to be controlled by the Republican Party? Do they think it is important for a majority of senators to have conservative viewpoints on a variety of issues?

We think they should, which is one of the important reasons for voters to consider backing Republican challenger Pete Ricketts in this year’s U.S. Senate race in Nebraska.

So it’s pretty much just the Omaha World Herald that has its head in the sand, trying to say that party affiliation doesn’t matter in this election.

You bet it does. And with 200,000 more Republicans in Nebraska than Democrats, Ben Nelson knows it too.