Nebraska Politics: Start-Your-Engines!

The old political saw is that the campaign doesn’t really start until after Labor Day (or until every fan at Memorial Stadium has a campaign sticker). So as Ben Nelson and Pete Ricketts get ready to stomp the accelerator in this season of Nebraska politics, Leavenworth Street is going to look back at the month of August to check the change in momentum to their bandwagons as they rev into the post-Labor Day campaign.

1) Lou Ann Linehan temporarily takes the helm of the Nebraska GOP

Linehan provided much experience and a sharp political mind at the NEGOP. This provided a little balance to the two pronged attack of the Nelson camp and the Nebraska Dem Party.

Campaign Momentum Change:
Nelson: Slight Decrease
Ricketts: Increase

2) Ben Nelson’s Hunting Chateau and the taxes thereon
While it blunted just about any criticism he had of Ricketts’ property tax valuations, Nelson didn’t take nearly the hit we thought he would (and should) have. The fact that he basically lied… er, made a mistake to get a tax break, then dismissed the idea of paying the entirety of his back taxes, instead of just the past three years, seemed outrageous to us. The Nebraska press, however, lumped it in with all the other bickering about property taxes. When Nelson joked about it at the debate, it got the biggest laugh of the afternoon. (Oh, those wacky tax-cheats!)

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Slight Decrease
Ricketts: Slight Increase

3) Ben Nelson’s “Western Town in Nebraska” song
It was stuck in my head for an entire afternoon (though not necessarily in a good way). This is the kind of folksy silage people eat-up. (And we’ll admit that we liked the accompanying “Nebraska World Tour” shirt, but we’d like some commission on the use of the Nelson-hair shot.) And Ricketts needs help in the small towns…

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Increase
Ricketts: Decrease

4) First Debate
See our debate reviews here, here and here. The few things that came out of it were the reference to Joe Ricketts’ land in Wyoming, and the Nelson letter regarding his willingness to consider the Fair Tax. We think this really just set the stage for the River City Wrangle © on September 10th.

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Increase
Ricketts: Increase

5) News that Bill Clinton is coming to Omaha in October
Nelson claims that he has never heard of this Clinton person; asks if he is related to Delbert McClinton.

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Decrease
Ricketts: Increase

6) Kate Witek jumps parties
We think Republicans were secretly glad to be rid of her. Now she’s the Dem’s problem.

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Decrease
Ricketts: Increase

7) The August Rasmussen Poll
Slowed down the Ricketts bandwagon, and probably was one of the sources for the President’s hesitancy to campaign in Nebraska for Ricketts…as of yet. Ricketts will need some movement in the September poll.

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Increase
Ricketts: Decrease

8) The Campaign Ads
Early on, we liked the Ricketts-talking-to-the-camera ad. He then expanded his “issues” ads to Immigration and Taxes. If voters are going to get a barrage of them, they should at least be able to tolerate these. At some point, Nelson’s drum-beat about the Flat Tax, and the negative press it has received, may just hurt him.

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Slight Decrease
Ricketts: Increase

9) The Vice President comes to visit
Big Time Republican comes to town -- good for Pete (and the rest of the GOP). Mentions Pete’s name -- good for Pete. Won’t come in to town for Pete -- bad for Pete. Pete rides on Air Force Two (at his expense) to Wyoming -- good for Pete. Doesn’t actually talk to the VP on the flight -- Baaaaaaaaad for Pete.

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Slight Increase
Ricketts: Decrease

10) Nelson tours Nebraska DisastersNelson checks out the drought; names it David. Nelson checks out the wildfire damage in Chadron; names it…Frank? Or Fred? Freida? (Ok we made that last part up, but if he had, they probably would have thrown a parade for him in Chadron.)

Momentum Change:
Nelson: Increase
Ricketts: Decrease

What does it all mean? It means that while this is still a competitive campaign, Pete Ricketts is still lagging behind the pro, Ben Nelson. Nebraskans, even the GOP, want to like their U.S. Senator, and Nelson plays it well. But Ricketts is still keeping pace and Nelson is absolutely not taking him for granted. This should at least encourage the Ricketts camp. The national scene will absolutely influence this race, and we should have a good idea where this is all going come October.

In the mean time Leavenworth Street will be dutifully watching.

Forever in Blue Jeans

Here’s all you need to know about Saturday’s Gubernatorial debate at the Tractor Pull:

Democratic candidate David Hahn wore jeans.

(Actually, Nebraska Party candidate Barry Richards wore the exact same thing as Hahn, so noodle that one as well…)

There is a real potential for Dave Heineman to go over 80% here…

Candidates for governor face off at State Fair – OWH – 8/27/06
Heineman, Hahn fence at debate – LJS – 8/27/06
Candidates for governor face off at State Fair – AP – 8/27/06

We Pity Da Fool

As Ben Nelson sent out press releases concerning the last debate, he described his latest policy initiative in a curious way (high-lighting added):



Considering the fact that the main foods the US imports are stuff like shellfish, booze and chocolate, maybe the Senator’s “dangerous” scare tactics are, as he describes, foolish…

Separated at Birth: Kate Witek

While we were going to post about the Governor Debate tomorrow (snort) or on what kind of shots we are going to buy at the Holiday tonight for Dan Welch and Mike Fahey (snark), instead we're going with a Separated at Birth!

Party changer, Kate Witek
and
Bedsheet changer, Alice from the Brady Bunch!

The Omaha World Herald: Much Smarter Than You

In their editorial section today, the Omaha World Herald takes on Alaskan proponents of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). (Don’t be fooled – OWH – 8/24/06.)

The OWH believes Nebraskans should not listen to what Alaskans think should be done with land in Alaska because Alaskans are too self-interested in what should be done with land in Alaska. (Try switching those two state names, and see how that works for you.)

However, the OWH believes it is NOT self-interested in this debate about Alaska’s land, even though their guy Ben Nelson has staked out the exact opposite position on this from the Alaskans and his Senate opponent Pete Ricketts.

As far as the issue of ANWR itself goes, there are arguments on both sides. However, the OWH’s arguments against drilling are:

• We wouldn’t see the results for another seven years. (Uh, OWH, this is an argument FOR drilling now.)
• We wouldn’t get THAT much. (So it’s better to get it all from the Middle East?)
• And…that’s pretty much it.
• Oh yeah, the lands are, “environmentally important” and “pristine”. (You’ll just have to trust them on that.)

And, by the way, Ben Nelson “provided a vital vote” against the drilling in ANWR. (And do you think the OWH doesn’t realize that this is a major issue on which Nelson differs from conservative Republicans?)

The OWH goes on to say:

Political observers suggest the ads may get louder, more frequent and possibly nastier as the fall election approaches. Nelson, of course, is up for re-election.

Because stating a position which is the opposite of the OWH’s is “nasty”. Hmm…

And as long as we’re here, let’s look at the OWH’s other editorial today:

In the “Midlands Voices” section, State Sen. Philip Erdman of Bayard, (who, by the way, the OWH fails to even recognize as a State Senator) takes on another recent OWH editorial which ridicules State Senator and 3rd District Congressional candidate Adrian Smith for his associations with an out of state group – calling them carpetbaggers. (Midlands Voices: Carpetbagger label was wrongly applied – OWH – 8/24/06.) Yet, as Erdman notes, Smith opponent only recently moved to Nebraska before deciding to run for Congress – the very definition of a carpetbagger.

But instead of letting Erdman make his point, the OWH comes back in the same edition, with another editorial, this time attacking Erdman’s point of view. (A sense of proportion – OWH – 8/24/06.)

So let us sum up the OWH’s position on all things that you should think:

• Cover your eyes and ears if an ad comes from outside of Nebraska. (And even if they want to give specific facts, the OWH will “refute” them.)
• Advertising by someone with a lot of money is bad. (Spending lots of money is obscene and Nebraskans just don’t like it, no matter what.)
• Editorials by someone who disagrees with the OWH are incorrect. (And the OWH will write its own follow-up to prove it.)

You see, there is ONE statewide voice in Nebraska. You should listen to that ONE statewide voice. It is Nebraskan, and therefore correct. And that voice is the Omaha World Herald. And it is the voice of Nebraska.

Just ask them.

Heineman brings it

In the August Rasmussen poll:

Dave Heineman: 71%
David Hahn: 18%

And 54% of Democrats support Heineman.

Holy crap...

Republican not pulling Republicans

Nelson and the gang have a laugh at the GOP’s expense…

Ben Nelson is still holding Pete Ricketts at arm’s length in the August poll by Rasmussen Reports.

Nelson holds a 55% to 32% lead over Ricketts, down 2% from last month’s poll, but equal to the average of the last three months.

Ricketts has a 45% to 52% favorable vs. unfavorable rating, with Nelson taking a 74% favorable.

Nelson also still garners 41% of GOP voters.

Question: Who are these 41% of Republicans, and can Pete Ricketts track each of them down before Election Day? And will the rest of the Nebraska GOP help him?

Who Convinced Kate?

"She joined us, we didn't join her."
-Vince Powers of Lincoln, commenting on Kate Witek becoming a Democrat

Oh really, Vince? I wonder if Kate considered that if she switched parties, she could run for Auditor again…

“I have no idea if any of that (a draft) is even possible. I've not looked into it.”
- Kate Witek, the day before the State Democratic convention.

No, Kate? Well, SOMEONE must have looked into it:

“It's our understanding that the law provides the opportunity for that to occur, and we'll be discussing it at our state convention.”
- Democratic state executive director Barry Rubin.

Now we're getting somewhere. Democrats, could it have been Barry Rubin’s idea to get right-wing Republican, uber-Pro-Lifer Kate Witek to switch parties and run as a Democrat?

And some Dems are less than pleased about this.

Here’s Maxine Moul trying to claw her way back into the fold. Here’s newcomer Scott Kleeb, who has an outside shot of beating a Republican out west. Here’s David Hahn coming up to his debate with Dave Heineman, trying to get some press.

And Kate Witek comes in and sucks all the oxygen out of the room.

Of course, Witek received a less-than-unanimous 61% for her nomination at the convention. With the OWH reporting various comments such as,

“This is an action of a party without principle and a candidate, or officeholder, who will do anything to retain that office,”

and,

“This just about getting a 'D' behind someone's name. . . . Shame on us we couldn't get a real Democrat to run.”

(Questions surround Witek's new race for auditor – OWH – 8/19/06.)

Or if you want a more complete version of how some Dems feel, take a look at the editorial entitled, “Question to Democrat Hierarchy: What were you thinking about?” at David Hahn’s own Nebraska State Paper.

Let’s let the Barry Rubin get a word in edge-wise:

“We enthusiastically welcome Kate to the Democratic Party.”

Oh, and you might want to suggest that Kate change the “Important Links” on her “State Auditor Kate Witek Campaign 2006” website.

Witek: New Party for the Old Job

Guess what Kate Witek JUST discovered? If she switches to the Democrat party, she can get back on the ballot for her job as Auditor! How ABOUT THAT? Well that was just a happy coincidence of her switching parties! (Switch could put Witek on ballot – OWH – 8/18/06.)

Uh-huh.

When Tom Osborne offered to take Witek on as his Lt. Gov running-mate, she figured she had hit the jackpot, since nearly everyone (including Leavenworth Street) figured Dr. Tom had all the Lotto-numbers for a win. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that Osborne’s run towards the middle during the primary turned off enough GOP voters to give Republican stalwart Dave Heineman the nod.

Since Witek:

• Was hoping that Dems turned Republicans would give them the votes they needed;
• Refused to stick with her party against Ben Nelson;
• Had a running feud with Dave Heineman;
• Was still peeved that Chuck Hagel had supported Heinenman over Osborne;
• And, oh yeah, figured out she could RUN again…

…well, the Democrats don’t seem so strange after all!

So when Kate Witek says the Republicans were “only looking at controlling all the offices,” just consider the REAL reason Witek is switching parties – right before the state Democratic convention. (Witek leaves GOP - LJS - 8/18/06).

And by the way Kate, don’t expect too many of those Big Tent Democrats like Fahey and Nelson to join you at the next Pro-Life rally. (Come to think of it, have they EVER showed up to one?)

Separated at Birth: Debaters

Busy times in the "real" world have left us unable to update recently.
So in the mean-time we'll chuck out to you a little Separated at Birth:

Pete and Ben's debate Garanimals (yes they still make them)!



Towards the end of this guy's blog entry, he makes a few points about being at the debate and other "power-outfits" of politicians.

Debate Wrap #3

Aside from the obvious question of whether KKAR’s Brian Barks took it easy on Pete Ricketts because they obviously share the same barber, this U.S. Senate debate between Ben Nelson and Pete Ricketts wasn’t too bad as far as back and forth between the candidates went. From Iraq, to education to gas prices, each candidate directed responses at the other, and the other came back with their own retorts. This wasn’t exactly the British Parliament, but it made for a pseudo-interesting hour.

But of course, as the two are prepping, they’ve always got their canned lines at the ready. So our first question was: Were notes legal? Nelson seemed to have a box of recipe cards with notes on all the different issues that could come up. He pulled out one of the cards when he was quoting various politicians on the Iraq question, and was clearly reading off it on other answers and zingers he was going for. Ricketts didn’t seem to have anything as obvious, but we’d still be curious to know what the agreed upon rules were.

And Nelson also came armed with a bag of zingers – one of which seems to have had everyone all a flutter post-debate (all quotes paraphrased):

1) On drilling in Alaska: “My opponent is for an Alaskan solution, and I’m for a Nebraskan solution.” (That’s cute, but can you rhyme something with “Keya Paha”.)

2) On the consumption tax: “It’s a tax shift…where the shiftee gets the shaft.” (This was good until the little part with the constituent’s letter.)

3) Going back to the drilling question, Nelson had prepped, with a grin on his face and a letter in his pocket, the issue of Noble Valley, WY. Apparently Rickett’s father sent a letter to Nelson asking him to stop drilling there. (And as an aside, between the original property tax protest, and now this letter from his dad, is the Ricketts family aware that when running for office, those things don’t happen in a vacuum???) Ricketts seemed genuinely unaware of Nelson’s reference, and taken aback by it later on in interviews. As a matter of fact, you can imagine later where Pete calls Joe and says, “Dad, what were you thinking?!” (But really, you can’t compare ANWR with Noble Valley at all – one is high up in the Arctic Circle occupied by some caribou, and the other is in one of the most active tourist areas in the country.)

Ricketts was prepped with a few lines as well, but didn’t seem to have the sound-bite worthy versions that Nelson had:

1) On border security: “Ben, we don’t need another Great Wall of China.”

2) And his (really, pretty lame) close: “I’m Pete Ricketts and I approved this message.” (What we’d like to know is, who approved that line for his close?)

So all in all this was an interesting lead-in to what should really be a brutal free-for-all in the next debate in Omaha. The news market is larger and Ricketts may find that he needs to really make some news to put Nelson on his heels. Nelson is always prepped for situations like these and will probably have a bigger bag of gunk to chuck back at Ricketts. That could really be the most exciting of the three.

In the meantime, all the MSM will continue to pooh-pooh all those horrrrrible commercials…

Debate Wrap #2

The debate on Friday had a couple of results: it showed that Pete Ricketts can hold his own against the wily old pol, Ben Nelson. And it showed that Nelson still can bring it and rarely slips.

Ben Nelson did not lose this debate and you can definitely argue that he “won” it. But in any case, he did not come out of it with a major gaffe or point that Ricketts can now hammer. That would make it a loss for Ricketts.

Ricketts, on the other hand, still needs to shore up the Republican base if he has any hope of winning in November. He may have helped that by showing the base that he can think on his feet and can develop ideas, in the ninety seconds given him in this format. It should have softened any negatives that may be harbored against him.

Or at least all that would be the case if ANYONE was watching or listening. Noon on a Friday? Are you kidding? Who has the time in the middle of the work day, to find a TV to sit in front of to catch this? Sure, maybe a few people who can listen to the radio all day had a shot, but even if you tried to catch it over the lunch hour, you probably missed the very beginning and end. And even the World Herald barely squeezed out an article about it-- before going back to analyzing the two candidates’ ads.

We’ll do one more post to explore a few of the topics discussed and, particularly, the (attempted) zingers. The World Herald should do one of their little online polls to see how many people watched or listened to the debate. In that one, my money is on “I have no opinion.”

Debate Wrap #1

Nelson: Well, I Didn't MEAN What I Wrote...

Towards the end of the U.S. Senate debate on Friday, Senator Ben Nelson was asked his views about the consumption tax (aka the Fair Tax). Nelson responded that it’s a bad idea, would raise taxes on everyone, then used one of his many prepared lines that when taxes are shifted, “the shift-ee would end up getting the shaft” (chuckle-chuckle-chuckle).

Pete Ricketts pointed out that Nelson had said, in a letter to a Nebraska constituent, that he “would welcome the opportunity to hear the testimony of experts representing both sides of the issue”. (Click here for the text of Nelson’s letter to Gary Brown.)

And Nelson’s retort?

Well, this was a constituent that had sent in several letters on the issue (gasp!) and Nelson just decided to be nice to the guy and tell him what he wanted to hear, instead of telling him where to go.

So, remember this Nebraskans: You may get a letter from Ben Nelson, but (wink, wink) he doesn’t necessarily mean a word of what he says.

(More debate wrap coming soon…)

Nelson Reneges On 5-Day-Old Promise to Pay Fair Share

On Friday, August 4, 2006 in a press release from his campaign, Ben Nelson put forward the following statement:

"If the county assessor determines that this land—and similar land held by other Sarpy county owners—should be designated differently, Senator Nelson will readily pay his fair share." (Emphasis added.)

On August 9, 2006, the Nelson camp's description of the idea of paying his "fair share":

"Silly."

Nelson has said he'll pay the $14,000 in back taxes from 2003 to 2006, since the Sarpy County Assessor determined Nelson was not entitled to his claimed Greenbelt designation. But that leaves out the approximately $12,000 plus interest (our guess) that Nelson skipped out of paying by claiming Greenbelt status from 1999 through 2003.
(And for the record, Assessor Pittman said he revokes Greenbelt designations about once a week.)

Fair share???

Multi-millionaire Ben Nelson, can, and should, pay back his Fair Share to the people of Sarpy County, just like he promised just five days ago.

Senator Nelson, pay your taxes.

Nelson: I Won’t Pay All Back Taxes

Senator Ben Nelson’s spokesperson said Nelson WILL NOT pay the property taxes that should have been due on his Sarpy County hunting retreat from 1998 through 2003.

The idea that Nelson would pay the taxes he owes from that time was described by Nelson’s spokesperson as “Silly” (GOP official says Nelson should pay all tax to '98 – OWH – 8/9/06).

Silly? Silly is a full page ad featuring the Cat in the Hat.

Paying full restitution on taxes on which you got an illegal break is called Fairness.

Let’s review: In order to receive a TAX BREAK through the Greenbelt designation, one must APPLY for it, by filling out a form for the property. The designation DID NOT come with the property (no matter what Nelson claims). And why would it? The designation is for land that will be used for agricultural purposes. Who’s to say what the new owner of the land will use it for?

But we KNOW this: Ben Nelson applied for the designation, TWICE, in 1999 and 2001. The land was not, and is not, being used for agricultural purposes. Nonetheless, Nelson, a millionaire many times over, received a tax break that he did not deserve from 1999 through 2006.

So Ben Nelson should pay his fair share of taxes that he failed to pay during that period.

While Sarpy County can only, by law, make him pay the taxes he cheated out of for the past three years, he SHOULD pay the taxes he owes all the way back to 1999. That is only fair.

Nelson claims the matter is “resolved.”

Well, let us DISAGREE.

The fact that Nelson twice signed documents to get a tax break he didn’t deserve was bad enough – you’d think a lawyer, former Governor, Senator would know better than to sign something like that, if indeed it was by mistake. But the fact that he now REFUSES to make up for all the undeserved tax breaks can only be described with one word: Outrageous.

Sarpy County GOP chairman John Strawn was right to call Nelson on this, but he shouldn’t have had to. Ben Nelson brought this issue upon himself. His mocking of Pete Ricketts caused people to take a second look at all of his properties, and now when Nelson’s been caught red-handed, he has refused to make restitution.

Senator Nelson, pay your taxes.

Nelson Signs, You Decide

Speaking to the Omaha World Herald, Sarpy County Assessor Dan Pittman stated that Senator Ben Nelson’s application for Greenbelt status for his Sarpy County hunting retreat could have been an “honest mistake” by Nelson (Nelson tax flap likely 'honest mistake' – OWH – 8/9/06).

Well, Pittman is certainly entitled to his opinion -- as are we, and as are you. We simply point out the applications that Ben Nelson signed twice (1999 & 2001).

We will revisit this issue when Nelson’s check arrives sometime after August 18th.

Nelson: Cheater? Waster? Both?

Ben Nelson is wasting your tax dollars.

Nelson admitted last week that the primary use for his Sarpy County hunting retreat is not agricultural. He later said, he didn’t know anything about the Greenbelt designation that gave him up to a $4,000 tax break for each of the last seven years, after he signed two separate documents stating that the land was for agricultural use. But he followed up by saying he would pay IF the Sarpy County Assessor found that it didn’t have an agricultural use. IF!

Here’s our question: Why wait for the Assessor, Senator?

You know that it’s not for agricultural use. You know that you owe the money. But instead of telling the Assessor that the check is in the mail, you have the Assessor driving around wasting tax dollars.

Nelson made Sarpy County Assessor Dan Pittman drive out to Nelson’s property, in a County vehicle, with gas burning at three bucks a gallon, only to have him stand outside Nelson’s giant “N” gate, because Pittman couldn’t get inside to take a look at the land. (Senator Loses Tax Break – KMTV – 8/7/06.)


Sarpy Co. Assessor wastes his time at Nelson's hunting retreat

Pittman finally made a decision, went back to his office and took the time to write a letter to Nelson (we’ll assume that included the money for stationery, stamp and the time for an assistant to put it all together an mail it) informing Nelson of what we’ve ALL known – you, me, Nelson, Nelson’s Senate staff, Nelson’s campaign staff – that the land is NOT Greenbelt land. And now Pittman has to wait for Nelson’s response. (Tax reduction for Nelson could be reversed – OWH – 8/8/06.)

What’s the hold up here, and why is this even happening? Nelson was wrong and owes the money. At this point, we don’t even have an apology. And the County Assessor is traipsing all over the county, meeting with reporters, taking calls, when none of this should be happening.

Is this good government? Is this what we expect from our elected officials?

How much more money are you going to take from Sarpy County, Senator Nelson?

(And on a separate note: If it had been Pete Ricketts who pulled a stunt like this, Nelson and his Democrat henchmen would be out with ads from Dr. Seuss, Dora the Explorer and Clifford the Big Red Dog by now. Just to add a little perspective.)

Nelson's Tax Dodge: Signed Documents

(See below for full documents.)

Let’s take a couple of E. Benjamin Nelson’s quotes from today (Nelson calls land's status news to him – OWH – 8/7/06.) :

“I have not sought anything to which I am not entitled.”

Well, Nelson sought a Special Valuation for his hunting retreat in Sarpy County, even though the Special Valuation is only entitled for farms. How do we know this?
Because it’s AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE ON THE APPLICATION HE SIGNED.

“I was not aware I received a benefit (from the Greenbelt
designation).”

Again, let’s read from the HEADER of the document he signed:

In bold, “Special Valuation Application for Special Valuation Treatment of Land Zoned and Used for Agricultural or Horticultural Purposes.”

Hmmmm. Not aware he received a benefit from a special valuation treatment?

Let’s see Senator Nelson is an attorney, no?
And he’s on the Senate Agriculture Committee, right?

Oh, and by the way, he applied for this tax break for farmers TWICE. (Two pieces of land that he joined for his whole property.)

And how about the fine print above the signature that begins, "Under penalty of law..."

Click here to see Nelson's 1999 tax break application and here for the 2001 tax break application.

Nelson: I won’t pay unless someone makes me

Nelson out Farming

Here’s the story from this point:

· Ben Nelson bought property in Sarpy County to be used as a hunting retreat.

· Nelson applied for Greenbelt consideration, KNOWING the land was not for agricultural purposes.

· Under Nebraska law, in order to receive Greenbelt consideration, the land must be used for agricultural or horticultural purposes.

· Nelson’s spokesperson said the land was NOT for agricultural purposes, but for hunting.

So why doesn’t Nelson pay his share of the back taxes NOW?

Instead, Nelson says, “he was willing to pay the full tax if the designation is found to be in error.” (Emphasis added.) (Nelson calls land's status news to him – OWH – 8/7/06)

Ben Nelson doesn’t need the County Assessor to tell him he’s wrong here. The State Statute is crystal clear. He should send a check to the Sarpy County Assessor, TODAY and personally revoke the Greenbelt consideration.

Update and Correction, 8/7/06:
Nelson's spokesperson did not say the land would be used for hunting. She said something about having "a place where the senator can go and have the land in its natural state." We here at Leavenworth Street take that to mean," having a place to blow away turkeys. " But we'll accept her at her word that the primary use of the land is not for ag use.

"Farmer" Nelson in Deep

Nelson out farming?

After repeatedly questioning his U.S. Senate opponent about his dealing on his property tax valuations, it has now come to light that Senator Ben Nelson may have been cheating on his Sarpy County taxes for the past five years.

By claiming that his hunting retreat was a farm, it appears that Nelson was jobbing the Sarpy County system meant to assist actual farmers.

Nelson -- a millionaire many times over and the wealthiest member of the Nebraska-Iowa Congressional delegation -- is no stranger to getting his property tax valuations lowered. He succeeded at lowering the valuations of both his Regency mansion in Omaha and his second home in Washington, D.C.

But, while those valuations were apparently legal, the Sarpy County tax dodge could land Nelson in serious trouble – owing around $14,000 in back taxes. That number doesn’t even take into account the first three years of Farmer Nelson’s tax dodge – for which the assessor can’t go after him.

Let’s all recognize that Nelson brought this entire matter upon himself, jeering at Pete Ricketts when Ricketts legally contested his valuation.

The little matter of tax valuations may have just changed the course of this Senate campaign.

NELSON A TAX CHEAT???

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE OMAHA WORLD HERALD

For those you who don’t have an OWH account, below are the essential facts from the article. Click on the link below to go to the full story.

Tax reduction for Nelson on acreage scrutinized – OWH – 8/4/06

A property-tax reduction that Sen. Ben Nelson receives by declaring that the acreage around his Platte River hunting cabin is used primarily for agriculture is coming under scrutiny.

…

(Nelson's campaign spokeswoman Marcia) Cady acknowledged that the primary use for the cabin Nelson built in 2001 was not for raising turkeys.

…

At issue is a 2001 application Nelson signed in which he said all of his 90 acres would be devoted to agricultural or horticultural use. His application, which was approved by (Sarpy County Assessor Dan) Pittman, allowed Nelson's land to be admitted into the state's "greenbelt" program.

Greenbelt is a special property tax category dating to 1972. It is a way to protect farmers from being taxed out of business in the face of encroaching urban development.

Under the law, the valuation of farmland near urban development must be based on its agricultural use - not the land's market value.

…

That meant Nelson paid about $4,400 less in property tax last year than he would have if his land were not in the greenbelt program, according to Sarpy County records.

…

When determining whether land qualifies, Pittman said he puts a heavy emphasis on the "primary" use of the land and whether it is for production of agricultural or horticultural products, such as raising corn or logging trees.

…

"Once a person applies and they have stated that they are an agriculture or horticultural use, unless we have any reason to believe that's not right, we take the person at his word," Pittman said.

He said he would seek the senator's permission to walk the land next week.

If Pittman determines it is not primarily used for either agriculture or horticulture, he will send Nelson a letter informing him that he could owe three years' back taxes.

…

Three years is as far back as the law allows to recover such taxes, Pittman said.

Leavenworth Street will be adding its own commentary soon.

NDP is Scared of Lou Ann Linehan

Barry Rubin has made it clear that he is freaked-out by the thought of Lou Ann Linehan, Senator Chuck Hagel’s Chief of Staff, coming in to run the Nebraska GOP for the month of August.

Rubin and the boys put out a release Friday morning, threatening to turn Linehan into the Senate Ethics Committee, because they claimed it was unethical for a staffer to take a “Leave of Absence”. By cherry-picking words from the Ethics manual Barry wrote, “Ms. Linehan is in clear violation of Senate Ethics Rules.” He goes on to quote the manual, saying, “the Senate does not recognize a ‘leave of absence.’”

Well, we here at Leavenworth Street are here to provide a service. And that includes providing to Maryland’s own Barry Rubin, as a matter of courtesy, the rest of the paragraph:

With respect to the question of leave time to perform outside employment (including campaign work, and regardless of compensation), it is the Committee’s understanding that the Senate does not recognize a “leave of absence”. The Committee has ruled that it is proper for a Senator to either reduce the salary or remove the employee from the Senate payroll when the employee intends to spend additional time on outside activities, over and above accrued leave time or vacation time (see I.R. 194). However, in order to receive any level of Senate salary, pay should be commensurate with actual duties performed for the Senate. An employee may be terminated from the Senate (without) pay and return at a later date. (Emphasis added.)

So! It IS legal to leave your job in Congress and go work on a campaign, or at the convention, or where ever, as long as the Senate’s not paying you. How about that? So Barry and the boys were just wasting our time all along. Who’d a thunk?

And just for the record: Dr. Seuss ads; Parade Hecklers; Bogus press releases. That’s what you get when a Kennedy-bred pol, like Barry Rubin, comes into Nebraska.

We’ll wait patiently for the Omaha World Herald’s editorial on this…

Really Mad-Libs!

Remember the book of Mad-Libs that your mom would give you for those long car rides to your aunt’s house? Well, apparently someone has been handing those out to the various newspaper editorial boards across the state. Here’s one for your write your own editorial:

We here at (name of Nebraska newspaper) are (exclamatory verb, past tense) at the (really mean adjective) ads in the United States Senate campaign between Ben Nelson and Pete Ricketts. When there is (serious world issue), (very serious world issue), and (very, very serious world issue – that newspaper recently editorialized about), all the Ricketts and Nelson campaigns want to talk about is (whatever the campaigns are talking about).
It’s time that Nelson and Ricketts realize that they are running for a (high-falutin’ modifier) office and Nebraskans deserve a (same high-falutin’ modifier – so the two idea agree) debate on the issues. We suggest that both sides end the (word other than “negative” – since it’s overused) attacks and stop throwing (mucky substance) at each other so that Nebraskans can hear a debate about issues that are (happy modifier) to them.

And just so Leavenworth Street doesn’t get accused of doing nothing while the campaigns drag in the Dog Days, here, for your weekend delight, is a Separated at Birth!

Lee Terry and a Democrat/Nelson Hooligan!

Poltical Roundup

As the mad dogs and Englishmen trot around in the afternoon sun, we here on Leavenworth Street are viewing the political landscape.

First the House races: According to various rumors, there are three House seats in play this election, and Carter Lake odds makers are accepting wagers. However, we have no evidence to confirm that there is an election for any of these seats, and we will stick with that position until we hear otherwise.

In the Governor’s race it’s all about the debates: David Hahn wanted nine. Governor Dave Heineman said he’d give him none. Then he announced that he had accepted debates at three Nebraska locations, and if he wanted, Hahn could show up and watch him debate as well. Hahn was outraged. Then he tamed his outrage and agreed to the three debates. But he still wants six more. Heineman reportedly patted Hahn on the head and gave him a stick of gum.

In the Senate race, media consultants are verrrrrrrrrrrry happy about the way things are going. Pete Ricketts is running ads. Senator Ben Nelson is running counter ads. The Nebraska Republican Party is countering the Nelson ads. The Nebraska Democratic Party is countering those counter ads. Media consultants are making down payments on Vail condominiums. To date we have the following information:

Both candidates have really nice houses.

Countering the ever popular Dr. Seuss ad run by the NEDems, the NEGOP has now run its own ad talking about the $145M nuclear waste compact settlement, among other issues (unfortunately, this theme doesn’t lend itself to funny hats).

In the end, the one ad that we actually like was the recent Ricketts ad where he’s talking directly to the camera, says what he thinks about the Nelson spots, and then says what his campaign themes will be in the next 90 days. (Though we’re still trying to decide if we like the five o’clock shadow he sporting…) This isn’t terribly different from what he or Nelson has been running in the past few months, but it somehow comes across infinitely better than the evil sounding narrator in the other ads (sometimes contrasted with the sweet female voice when talking about positive things).

No doubt the Nelson camp will counter with a similar ad. And we have a feeling that the grumpy editorial boards at the OWH and LJS will be happier when these versions hit the airwaves.

And we can guar-an-tee the media guys will be…