Monday, December 17, 2007

What's Tony waiting for?


A lifelong Republican plans on running for the United States Senate as a Republican.
Frustrated with his poor odds on getting the GOP nomination, he makes a career changing, major decision:
Switch parties! Become a Democrat!
That way he can...he can...sit around for a month and think about it?

Tony Raimondo said over the weekend that he would announce his decision for the Senate sometime after the holidays.
Well, if he's NOT going to run, then why switch parties?

Raimondo, who was announced as the Manufacturing Czar for the President of the United States, who is friends with Senators (well, Senator, anyway) and employs hundreds of people, traveling the world in his position, is waiting for former ranch-hand Scott Kleeb to make up his mind.

And apparently if Kleeb decides to run, Raimondo will drop out.
(And would he then switch back parties?)

In any case, the embarrassment to the Nebraska Democrats of even suggesting that they'd embrace Raimondo, has now turned into an embarrassment for the 67 year old Raimondo. TR gets to hold his hat while a kid less than half his age, with no experience doing anything, twiddles his thumbs making impassioned videos about nothing.

Way to get out and lead there, Tony.

***

Cosmic Bob Kerrey made some news over the weekend by endorsing Hillary Clinton.
Kerrey said:

"I think his capacity to influence in a positive way without spending a penny the behavior of a lot of underperforming black youth today is very important, and he's the only one who can reach them."
Oh, wait. He was talking about Obama there.
Oh well. But really, he thinks Hillary is awesome.

***

Word is that Nebraska Democrat Party Executive Director Matt Conneally is trying to get Jeff Fortenberry to run against Jeff Fortenberry for the 1st District Congressional seat. No word yet from Fortenberry.

24 comments:

Unknown said...

It's actually the same reasoning for why Kleeb is waiting to make his decision: media. No one's going to be paying attention these next two weeks. Then, of course, there's the Iowa caucus. We won't see any movement until after Jan. 3, I suspect.

Anonymous said...

Here ladies and gentlemen is my prediction for the year of 2008.

Part time rancher, part time (adjunct) professor and part time Marlboro Man will do what he should do “for the children”, his children --- stay home and be a full time dad.

Let Jane be the breadwinner bringing in the big bucks with guest appearances on Fox News. The boy wonder from Dunning can still go around the state of Nebraska feeding the faithful with his cheesy say nothing rhetoric until his wife gets him an appointment in D.C. where the two lovebirds can live happily ever after.

THE END

Anonymous said...

Might I suggest to you a Dan Fogelberg/Kyle Michaelis SAB???

http://www.grabow.biz/images/DanFogelberg.jpg


http://myspace-566.vo.llnwd.net/00421/66/55/421915566_l.jpg

Anonymous said...

I wish you guys would take Tony back. We can't use him anyway.

There's a little thing called Section 6 of the Nebraska Democratic Party Bylaws that very clearly states, "no person shall be permitted to file or be filed on a primary ballot of the Democratic Party as a candidate for nomination, election, or preferential vote who has announced his/her intention to be a candidate for public office on the ticket of any political party other than the Democratic Party."

Any officer of the NDP that would encourage TR to run would be in violation of the NDP C&B, an impeachable offense. I don't think our State Chair, Steve Achelpohl, a noted attorney, once nominated for a Federal judgeship, would ignore the rules of his own party, would he? What kind of a judge would do that?

So please, please, please, in the spirit of Christmas, forgive Tony for his momentary lack of faith in your party and let him back inside. It's getting cold out there.

Anonymous said...

Since when would either party not make a creative interpretation of their "bylaws" if they are in need of a candidate? Steve Achelpohl's only hope of ever getting his dream job on the Federal bench (early retirement with great pay and benefits...not chasing ambulances) is to try and get some Dem friends elected to the US Senate...no matter who they are.

Anonymous said...

Dear Omasteak,

Ask any Judge if his salary was larger in private practice or on the bench. I am no Achoo-pole fan, but I will point out that he like to be in positions of public trust, he's just not willing to risk ever being a candidate that could be shut out.

As for the Fortenberry "breaking news", he is his best opponent and should straighten up before he makes everyone in the 1st stay home next November!

Anonymous said...

BTO -- the readers of this blog must be impressed with the high standards and integrity of the NDP.

Under Section 6 --- Since Kate Witek did not run in the "primary" there was lattitude to run in the "general" without anyone being impeached.

Then again --- our leader a few years ago was wondering about the definition of "is".

GO DEMS!!!! Let's keep doing what we have been doing and expect different results.

We stink as a party and need new leadership. We are not the party my parents took pride in that led our country through the Great Depression championing the poor. We have been hijacked by weirdos like George Soros and Emily's List.

Anonymous said...

Gretchen,

I hope to convince some of the more moderate Republicans, Independents, and 3rd party voters that there is a movement within the NDP to ensure that we, as a party, DO stand by our stated principles. My goal is to reform the NDP so that those who left, because of such shenanigans as the Witek affair, will come back home.

For too long the Nebraska Democratic Party has not represented the voice of the people. It has represented the voices of a very small group that only give lip service to the ideals of our party. That is going to change. It will take time and a lot of work, but I've already seen some promising signs that change is around the corner.

I'm fighting right now with those "leaders" of the NDP that are arguing over what "intent" intends. Let's hope they look it up in their Funk & Wagnalls.

Anonymous said...

The problem with the Democratic Party in Nebraska is people like btosborn, who think that the way out of the wilderness is to move farther and farther to the left. This is a populist, independent state. It is not Massachusetts. The answer isn't in polarizing the electorate even more and moving the party to the left. The worst thing for the GOP is Democrats who talk about sensible tax relief, controlling spending, and supporting legislation that preserves and protects families.

Sorry, btosborn. The Soviet Union is a thing of the past.

Anonymous said...

Simply put...he hedged his bet. Had he not registered as a Democrat by December 7th, he would have been ineligible to file his candidacy as a Democrat and have his name placed on the primary ballot. By changing his registration, the only negative consequence is that he is stuck voting with the Democrats in May...painful as that might be for him. He left his options open and is playing it safe.

Anonymous said...

Voice of tReason,

You must be one of those right-wingers that thought Barry Goldwater was a damned Socialist.

Democrats can talk about sensible tax relief, controlling spending, and supporting legislation that preserves and protects families without crawling into George W. Bush's lap. God knows HE has done so much for our country (sarcasm intended.)

The Democratic Party has done an awful lot of good in this country, just ask some of those old timers that would have lost everything without the programs the FDR Democrats brought in. And if you weren't a WASP you'd certainly appreciate all the social legislation enacted in the JFK/LBJ years.

We don't have to go overboard and lean clear past the boundaries of Socialism and Communism to do what is right for Nebraskans and the American people, but we sure as hell can't keep going the direction that Bush and his cronies have led us in.

Anonymous said...

BTOsborn you must have been educated in the era of revisionist history now taught in government schools. FDR and Democrats have saddled the US taxpayers with the largest ponzi scheme ever...namely Social Security. LBJ's Great Society initiatives are objectively the greatest failures in social engineering seen outside the old Soviet Union. Socialism has been and will always be a failure. Most Democrats are socialists, it's that simple. I'm not saying the most Republicans are any better either, just not quite as bad in looking to government for everything. All you Democrats have to do is take a look at the progressively failing socialist economies in Europe to see where all of your party's major efforts would take us if enacted.

Anonymous said...

Omastuck,

Thank you for clearing up any doubts we had as to whether you were a card-carrying John Bircher or not. The truth is the truth, not what you say it is.

Is it possible for you to present an argument without resorting to pre-prepared right wing talking points?

Why is it you wannabe fascists have such a hard time with sharing the benefits of our country's wealth with anyone other than yourselves - especially at Christmas time? You should go visit the Wizard and see if he could find you a heart.

Anonymous said...

Omasteak --- BTO is so compassionate for the poor that he will gladly give the shirt off of someone elses back to help them out.

Anonymous said...

Freud,

At least I am compassionate.

Hey, whatever happened to that friend of your's that used to blather on a about "passionate conservatism?" Was that just another of his (countless) lies?

Anonymous said...

>Why is it you wannabe fascists have such a hard time with sharing the benefits of our country's wealth with anyone other than yourselves

You confuse 1) being required, under threat of force by the government, to give what you have earned to those who have not earned it (what Dems want) with 2) voluntary charity.

There was just an extensive study out that shows that Republicans give vastly more to charity than Dems (see "Who Really Cares" by Arthur Brooks).

And maybe, given that one of the main reasons our Founding Fathers started this country was the protection of property rights, Democrats should be less eager to violate those rights.


>At least I am compassionate.

Men who vote Democrat need to have their estrogen levels checked.

Base policy on reason, not emotion.

Anonymous said...

Anonymouse,

Your very narrow minded reading of what our nation's founding fathers considered when they established our Republic is an indication of your ignorance. Fortunately education can cure that. I hope it wasn't stupidity, because that has no known cure.

So, let me get this straight. You owe nothing to anyone else for what you "earn" right? All the infrastructure within our nation and the military that protects you and your business (yeah, I'm a vet), have absolutely nothing to do with your profits have they? Dream on Mr. "I am a legend in my own mind."

Having some doubts about your own "masculinity" too I see. Being a compassionate person certainly has nothing to do with a person's sexuality. Those who make an issue of that, however, are usually hiding something. Been toe-tapping in those bathroom stalls again?

Anonymous said...

Any democrat running for any house seat or against Johanns? It's Alomst the first of the year and the pathetic State Party of the Nebraska Democrats has yet to field a candidate. Quit beating your chests about the unicameral and Lincoln, you are not bigtime if you can't even find a candidate for the 4 federal offices!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your military service, regardless of political disagreement, I appreciate it.

Now back to bashing:

>Fortunately education can cure that.

Oh crap, and I only have a BA and a law degree from a top tier law school.

I'm sure you're better educated, right? Is it Dr. Osborn? Or do you have an LL.M?

You need to read some Locke, Rousseau and Hobbes, as well as the Federalist (and Anti-Federalist) papers. You clearly do not understand the social contract theories of government upon which our nation was founded, as demonstrated by your inability to separate wealth redistribution from defense spending.

But I'm sure you're already well-versed in these. I'm sure you could write a dissertation on the spot regarding the influence of classical republicanism and social contract theory on the Founding.

The estrogen comment was obviously a joke - but one that seems to have hit a nerve. (Although your "I'm not girly for advocating emotion over reason, you're gay!" comeback was unintentionally hilarious.)

Anonymous said...

Calm down people, it's Christmastime!

:-D

Anonymous said...

BTOsborn,
If you can refute that the Social Security system is anything other than a Ponzi scheme please do so. Same goes for LBJ's Great Society programs. That isn't from anyone's talking points, it's demonstrated fact. Failure to learn from history is another hallmark of democrats...or their union controlled failing government schools.

Anonymous said...

One does not need to go to a top tier law school....ANONYMOUS!!!

Anonymous said...

Am I gay if I can't stop looking at the Kleeb.com website to see the Brokeback Marlboro Man logo on the website? He's a new brand of politician for Nebraska allright. However Toni Raimondo does nothing for me....lol

Anonymous said...

Anymouse,

Having a degree doesn't make you smart. Hell, even I've got one of those and I was probably smarter before all that freshman year beer destroyed all those brain cells. For that matter, George W. has an M.B.A. and it hasn't kept him from publicly displaying his stupidity on any number of occasions.

I don't need to know what a lot of dead people wrote to know more than what I hear from my own neighbors and see with my own eyes and ears. Books are not the only avenue to education. And theories are just that . . . theories. I'll stay grounded in the real world if you don't mind.

Your high school level "estrogen" jokes are about as welcome as the guy in the next stall wanting to play "touchy feely" under the divider, and as lame. And you still need to find a heart somewhere in that dark soul of yours.

Omastuck,

You're the one calling SS a Ponzi scheme, you're the one that needs to offer the proof. I have also not seen the "demonstrated facts" about the LBJ era social reforms, unless all it takes to become fact is to be spoken by Rush Limbaugh.

I guess we'll have to assume that you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and attended a private school since you're so damned much smarter than those of us that received a "union controlled failing government school" education.

Moniker,

Sorry, that is as nice as I get. I'm a grumpy old fart . . . even at Christmas time.

Purph,

Yup, you're gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that.