A comeback for P.J. Morgan?

In his Sunday column, Michael Kelly dropped this little political nugget for Omahans interested in next year’s Mayoral election:

Two Republicans mentioned as possi­ble candidates next year are for­mer mayors — Hal Daub and P.J. Morgan.

Kelly then goes on to get comments from Morgan regarding the Mayoral recall drive, with Morgan saying:

“I absolutely think it’s the wrong thing to do. It’s not something Omaha needs as part of our image.”

Morgan suddenly disappeared from the political scene back in 1994, not long after he had been elected to another term as Mayor of Omaha. He took a job with Duncan Aviation, but it was never quite cleared up why it was that he suddenly left the Mayor’s office.

Very popular at the time, Morgan’s name was commonly thrown around as a possibility for the Senate seat that Chuck Hagel eventually won. The landscape would be much different today had the better-known Morgan won that 1996 race.

Should Morgan, now back into his commercial real estate biz, and Daub get in, there would be two 800 pound gorillas in a race that has interested the likes of Councilmen Jim Vokal, Gary Gernandt and Jim Suttle. Of course, should Fahey decide to run again, that would change the complexity of the race dramatically as well.

Oh and by the way, Daub also stated:

“I strongly oppose the recall. I have nothing to do with that.”

Also, remember that it was Morgan who pushed for the renovation of the Civic Auditorium, but at the time rejected calls for a new convention center and arena. But it was Daub who championed the Qwest Center. Wonder where P.J. stands on the new stadium?

***

While Scott Kleeb may have updated his campaign website with “issues”, he is still loathe to voice anything specific in public.

When the two leading Dem Senate candidates appeared in Grand Island over the weekend, they were, of course, asked about the leading issue of the day, Iraq. Raimondo responded by stating that he believes troops should come out within one to three years – max.

And Kleeb?

“We do have to withdraw. But I don't think it's my job to put an actual timetable on it.”

Apparently Scott believe the job in the Senate involves selling shoes.
So I guess we’ll just mark Kleeb down as being in favor of John McCain’s 100 year plan.

[And an important editorial note from Leavenworth Street:

We here on Leavenworth Street believe that Tony Raimondo would be the much stronger general election opponent against Mike Johanns.

Sure Tony doesn’t have Scott’s tight jeans and giant belt buckles, but he is going to be a much more attractive candidate to the majority of Republican and Independent Nebraskans. He’ll sell himself as a Ben Nelson type and, should he raise enough money to send his message, could pose a real challenge to Joahnns.

But don’t bother telling this to Nebraska Obamainiacs. They’re still gazing glowingly at Scotty…]

***
Chuck Hagel on Jon Stewart’s Daily Show tonight. Word has it that Chuck Hagel wrote a book, or something…

Oh, and Chuck also thinks Obama would “bring people together” better than any of the other candidates. But Chuck’s not going to endorse anyone right now. Oh no, he’s not going to do that.

Kleeb: historic driving menace

Nebraska Democrat Senate candidate Scott Kleeb is being raked over the coals for the revelation that he apparently keeps a cinder block on the accelerator when he's out driving.

But this isn't the first time Kleeb's had trouble behind the wheel of a campaign vehicle.

Back in 1996 Kleeb, then an undergrad at the University of Colorado in Boulder, was working for ultra-liberal House of Representatives candidate Gene Nichol. (How liberal was Nichol? Even the Boulder Dems thought he was too far left! Just to give you a little more background on Kleeb.)

In any case, Kleeb was navigating the campaign's 1978 Ford RV, "decked out in blue-and-white campaign banners" towards a bank ATM. And then WHAM! Kleeb knocks off a piece of the drive-though teller overhead.

(We're not sure, but we're guessing the RV looked like the one above.)

The cops show up. And Kleeb discovers that he can't find the the ride's insurance papers.
And Kleeb is cited.

So are we saying Kleeb is unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate because of his past and recent driving records?

No, we're saying: should Kleeb get his license back in September, just remember that no where is safe...from the Hot Rancher Road Menace...

(Sourced from the August 12, 1996 Denver Post. We're not sure of the legality of publishing the whole article, and we don't have a link...)

And, by the way, today is the nine-month anniversary of Scott Kleeb's website going up (from our notice, anyway), and there STILL are no issues or policy positions listed. We'll keep holding our breath...

**Update***

Well, looky-loo, what a little prodding by L St. did. Senor Kleeb put up an issues page! And who said the internets were no good...

Kleeb Can't Drive 55!

Scott "Lead Boot" Kleeb's driver's license has been yanked.

(Senate hopeful loses his license - OWH - 3/26/08.)

After getting his sixth traffic ticket in twenty-two months, Kleeb can't get his license back until September at the earliest.

And this is all pretty bone-headed too. Every candidate for a major office has someone drive him or her around. The candidate is usually on the phone, sleeping, reading or thinking about the latest poll, fundraiser or speech. They shouldn't be driving.

Anyone that thinks this makes Kleeb more of an "ordinary Joe" for driving himself is dopey as well. It's a danger to himself, a danger to others and a danger to the campaign. Kleeb has had enough professionals around him, including his wife, that someone should have straightened this out long ago.

We don't know if this is a trend in Kleeb's campaign or not. He has a website up with nary a position-paper or issue on it. His campaign couldn't respond to a simple request for his position on the top issue in America today (Iraq). And then they've sucked up the bad press for at least a few days (and counting) by not being able to commit to a debate with a very real opponent.

Kleeb has been living it up as the national glamour boy for a race he lost to a not-exactly overpowering opponent, Adrian Smith. And now his campaign, which never really ended after 2006, is still pulling bush-league moves.

It will be interesting to see if the Tony Raimondo camp will capitalize on putting together a more professional and business-like act. And whether Nebraska Democrats respond...

**UPDATE 3/27/08**

Jeff Koterba's cartoon in the OWH today:

Stand Up Hagel

First, a little Separated at Birth proposed by...Senator Chuck Hagel!

Chuck Hagel and Mac Davis.

(Here is Mac's Wikipedia link for you youngsters who never saw him perform at Ak-Sar-Ben.)

Now the good Senator didn't suggest it directly to Leavenworth Street. It was on the very interesting audio piece the Lincoln Journal Star put together of Hagel narrating a slide show of photos through his life. Throughout Hagel shows off the dry wit that many know and appreciate about him

For the shot above:

"That's a picture of Mac Davis. A great entertainer."

With Senator Pat Robert of Kansas:

"They don't laugh much in Kansas...try to steal our water most of the time..."

A shot of him looking at his watch, carrying a suitcase:

"My staff's no good...lazy. It's not easy being a Senator...I have to do it all."

A celebratory campaign photo:

"Just gotten word that...I'm not under indictment or out of detox."

And with Tom Osborne, showing a shot of a young football playing Hagel:

"This is someone most Nebraskans would not recognize -- Tom Osborne. Coach Osborne acknowledged that he and Bob Devaney missed one of the best recruits they could have probably ever had. There was one conclusion that they all came to: Hagel was not very big...but he sure was slow."

(Now if he had only come up with something witty for the pic of his non-announcement, announcement...)

He'll be here all week ladies and gentlemen! Try the roast beef. Be sure to tip your waitress.

***

Scott Kleeb and Tony Raimondo have agreed to debate some time before the May 13th Democrat primary. Well, at least Raimondo has agreed.

It would seem that the crucial part about having a debate is actually agreeing on the date you're going to debate, right? That's sort of the clincher. So while Raimondo has agreed to show up on April 12th, the day proposed by the Lancaster County Democrats, Kleeb just can't commit yet.

We're guessing he's very busy trying to decide which campaign logo to use on his website. You know, the same website that doesn't list a single issue or position of his...

***

And speaking of campaign websites, we have this to report on Jim Esch's $40K site: "Coming Soon" (day 30 and counting...)

Same story, new chapter

All across the internets today we're reading about how Senator Chuck Hagel says in his new book with fly-fisherman Peter Kaminsky that America needs a third party.

We're just checking but haven't we seen this before?

Oh wait, yeah, we talked about it RIGHT HERE in January of last year.

And then there was the whole thing with Bloomberg.

So this is news...how?

Oh wait, Hagel also thinks George Bush and Dick Cheney are dummies. No, he thinks they're "astonishing" dummies. Or is it "historic" dummies?

Well, all we can say is that it's a good thing Hagel wrote all this down and put a hard-cover on it, because otherwise we would have never been sure.

**UPDATE 3/21/08**

As seen in Friday's edition of "The Politico"!

***

And over on the "Recall-Fahey" front, we're watching all this curiously to see if this "movement" really has any steam. We would scoff at it, except that many people scoffed at the Mike Boyle recall as well.

We'll also give the "we hate the new stadium so let's try to get rid of Fahey and maybe the stadium won't get built then" people a short shout-out for their compendium of on-line polls.

But we also listen to people like City Council President Dan Welch when he throws down the gauntlet that "he doesn't think Recall Fahey will collect enough signatures to force a special election."

***

Is it just us, or do we hear crickets chirping when anyone mentions the Carter-Esch or Kleeb-Raimondo Democrat primaries? What happened to all the attention these races were supposed to garner?

We're looking for something to write about here people!

Look who is FOR a new stadium

As the "Save Rosenblatt!" and "Recall Fahey!" rhetoric heats up, it is interesting to see who is on which side of the issue.

And as we were browsing the OWH today, we saw this letter in The Public Pulse from the owner of what is arguably the best known ice cream pavillion in college sports:

Look for greater good

My business partner and I are the owners of a modest little Omaha ice cream shop on South 13th Street across from Rosenblatt Stadium called Zesto. Fifty-seven years ago, my father, Tom Kelley, played in the first game dedicating Rosenblatt Sta­dium.

I feel great personal and financial disappointment in the stadium over­sight committee’s decision to build a new stadium. While I hate the decision itself, I very much respect the people who made it.

While the manner in which Mayor Mike Fahey has handled the stadium issue over the past 12 months can be debated, the integrity and intentions of this mayor should not be ques­tioned. We will never have a mayor who is more honest or better-inten­tioned than Fahey.

While I sincerely appreciate the ef­forts of the Save Rosenblatt Commit­tee, it is now time to unite as a city and get behind the new stadium in order to ensure a long-term renewal of the contract with the NCAA for the Col­lege World Series.

We all need to put our own personal agendas aside for the greater good of Omaha. As for Zesto, I can only hope that pandas eat ice cream.

Mike Kelley, Omaha

Now it's interesting that the owners of one the places that has the most to lose out of the whole new stadium gig are getting behind the new park, not to mention the Mayor. (Of course, you gotta think that there will be some form of "Zesto" in or around the new stadium, right? But it still won't be the same...)

In any case (assuming he's not purely profiting from the deal) you'd sure think the Zesto guys would be strong proponents for the "Don't Recall Fahey" forces. (And would make a nice TV spot...)

Charlotte's Website

First up, suggested from a loyal reader, Separated at...Hair:
Tony Raimondo and Ferdinand Marcos!

What else is going on? Well, campaigns are getting up and revving. And that means creating websites, right? But no one, other than probably Mike Johanns, really has their campaign site up and finalized.

Scott Kleeb is asking everyone which logo makes him look most like a real-life cowboy. And Tony Raimondo and Max Yashirin apparently don't believe in showing people what they look like yet.

Jim Esch has decided that $40,000 wasn't enough to spend on a website, so he is working on a new one, just waiting to be exposed. As a matter of fact, Jim expressed that one of the things that got him to run again was seeing that his and Barack Obama's websites "had the same feel". Wow! Thank God for Al Gore and his internets or Jim wouldn't be sure when to run.

Moving along, Lee Terry's new 2008 site won't be up for another couple weeks. Adrian Smith only has the splash-page working presently. Jeff Fortenberry's seems to be pretty much 2006.

And the guys running the Recall Mike Fahey site have their own plans on how to spread the word.

Using the CafePress.com site, the Recall-Fahey.com folks have made their own shirts to express their desire to...recall Fahey. So let's take a look at their master plan for getting the message out.

That's right: website name, in Arial font, on a gray sweatshirt. Hmm. Pretty straight forward, we suppose. Go to the website, right? And you can always cut off the sleeves and rock it Ernie Chambers style!

Then we also like the model-dude sporting the sweatshirt on "view-larger" page and we realized that this was the same pose the Jim Esch is working on his website! Well alll-right! (We're this close to buying that tie Esch is selling.)

So there you have it, interweb fans. These sites will all probably change in the coming weeks and months, but be sure to look at them now. Because, you know, that's what Friday afternoons are for, right?

(And, you know, consider it an open-forum on the old comment board at this point. You would anyway...)

Could Fahey be recalled?

The "Recall Fahey!" drive has just begun, but there is an inkling that Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey could be in trouble if the drivers get enough votes to put the recall question on the ballot.

A recent online poll went up on Omaha KETV Channel 7's site, asking if Fahey should be recalled. As of 12:45 pm on Tuesday, March 11th, 485 people had clicked and the votes were 62%-38% in favor of the recall .

Now we don't want to get to absorbed in an online poll, which can easily be skewed one way or another. But still...that's a decent sample size, and couple that with the recent New Stadium hearings Fahey has been holding and you start to wonder.

Not to mention that the most recent hearing was held at Westside High School (as opposed to, say, South High School), and the 600 people that showed up there were more than a little peeved.

Now obviously most of this is based on replacing Rosenblatt. But unless we're missing something, we have a feeling that the new stadium IS going to happen. They're not going to renovate Rosenblatt. They are going to build it downtown. And Omaha will stave off the NCAA's Indianapolis crowd for twenty years, or so.

Frankly if we were living in the shadow of Zesto's, we'd be pushing for ways to make the Zoo expansion happen, not to mention the "Wolf Lodge" ideas. Near as we can tell, both of those operate 52 weeks a year, as opposed to just the 2 for the CWS.

And that's probably what Fahey is hoping as well. But there's also a sentiment that Fahey has gone about it all wrong.

• That these public meetings should have happened about six or seven month ago.

• That Fahey has a track record of jamming things down the public's throat (see the annexation of Elkhorn and the dinky hotel across from the Qwest).

• That luxuries have been put ahead of necessities (see the pedestrian bridge and the north O sewers).

So while we think much of this is simply a shift from "Save Rosenblatt!" to "Recall Fahey!", we also wonder about the undercurrent. Can the Recall! folks gather up 21K signatures in 30 days? Yikes. But...maybe.

And if that happens, will the idea of a shiny new ballpark save Fahey, or sink him?

Well, we know that if it doesn't work this time around, all we have to do is wait another 12 months...

SecDef Hagel?

There have been numerous stories lately about Senator Chuck Hagel's life after he leaves the Senate this year. Most of them have centered around his becoming a member of a Presidential cabinet.

Barack Obama's cabinet.

This of course is unusual seeing as Hagel was one of John McCain's original supporters against then Governor George W. Bush of Texas, back in 1999 (when, by the way, Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns had endorsed Bush).

Hagel started much of this when interviewed last week by CNN. John King asked:

KING: Will you support John McCain?

HAGEL: Well, I've not been involved in the primary and I am still not involved in any of that. At the appropriate time, then I'll have something to say about it.

KING: Are you saying you might not support the Republican Party's nominee?

HAGEL: I said at the appropriate time, I'll have something to say about it.

And then regarding Obama, the following exchange:

KING: Could Barack Obama potentially get your support in a race against John McCain?

HAGEL: I think he is a worthy candidate for president, as is Senator Clinton, as is certainly Senator McCain, others.

The Times of London then stepped things up with this:

Senior (Obama) advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defence secretary. Some regard the outspoken Republican as a possible vice-presidential nominee although that might be regarded as a “stretch”.

Asked about his choice of cabinet last week, Obama told The Sunday Times: “Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much.”

And while seeming to play coy, Hagel, last night at a forum at the University of Florida, more or less confirmed his interest in a job in an Obama administration:

Hagel said he thought the next president ought to appoint a person from the opposite party for one of the "big three" slots: secretaries of defense, treasury or state. He says he wouldn't rule out serving in any of the current candidates' cabinets.

"If I'd have an opportunity to play a significant role in a significant position - if all the right pieces were there - sure you'd have to consider something like that," Hagel said.

So as Hagel abandons his friend John McCain, and abandons the Republican party, one question that maybe should be asked is, is Hagel qualified to be Secretary of Defense?

This is a legitimate question, seeing as Hagel's main experience in his Senate tenure has been on Foreign Relations Committee matters, and not Defense matters. Sure his service in the military is part of the equation, but no one is going to claim that every sergeant in the Army is ready to be the SecDef. The rest of Hagel's background is business related --cellular phones, investment banking and the like.

But his Senate tenure has been focused on foreign relations, as opposed to questions of military strategy, troops, equipment, relationships with Generals and the rest of the Department of Defense. Now if you said Secretary of State, Hagel may be a much better consideration. Problem is, it's unlikely that the Dems would give that plum of a job, the face of America abroad, to a Republican.

And of course, this all depends on Obama winning the Presidency, right? You don't hear Hillary picking cabinet officers. And we're guessing that Hagel's inability to endorse his former friend McCain is going to keep any Republican White House doors closed to Chuck.

And by the way, we're still wondering if Chuck will tape some ads for the Mike Johanns campaign.

Or if Johanns would want them...

Kleeb: no time for Iraq

There is an editorial in the York New Times (“All the Print That’s Fit to News”?) by also-blogger Brian Bresnahan of the High Plains Patriot. Brian was a Major in the Marines and served in Iraq, Somalia and Bosnia.

It is then not surprising that Brian’s interest is in military policy as it relates to the U.S. Senate campaign in Nebraska.

Brian’s piece in the York paper and his follow-up on his blog aren’t terribly shocking as far as the policies the various candidates laid out, but it is worth the read. Pat Flynn, Tony Raimondo and Mike Johanns all responded with positions that you would generally expect from them. (Flynn and Johanns both spoke with Brian, and the Raimondo campaign replied with a detailed e-mail.)

And Scott Kleeb? Well, Kleeb’s campaign told Brian that they:

"...were still building their campaign and not yet ready to answer detailed questions on these issues."

Wha-huh?

Iraq and the U.S.’s military policy is only probably the predominant issue of the day, and has been since at least 2003. And, oh by the way, troops were in Iraq back in 2006 when Kleeb ran for national office and lost to Adrian Smith. Did he have an opinion back then?

And, oh by the way, Kleeb has been raising money, non-stop, since at least last summer, if not before, for his campaign of “A new brand of politics”.

Now you’d think that Kleeb, and his campaign, could give his positions on Iraq while sleeping. But I’ll let Brian sum it up here:

We'll have to wait for his answers to one of the "biggest issues facing America," and see how influential his contacts with the radical, far left defeatists at the Daily Kos are to those answers.

Thanks Brian.

Primary colors

Filing day was yesterday and the candidates are lined up for the primaries.
(We're only going to discuss the House races today. We may get into the legislature, county and other races at another time, but not today. So please save your thought on how "Szerbiwicz is going to kick-ass in District 174" for a later date.)

***

In the 1st Congressional District Jeff Fortenberry and Max Yashirin will coast through their primaries. We would suggest that Max not spend too much time measuring drapes for his new Congressional office. Just a thought.

***

Back to the 2nd District, Lee Terry picked up a primary challenge in perennial candidate Steven Laird. Laird garnered around 16% of the vote in 2006. And he's a step up on many of the other announced candidates in that he has a website up and running. He has a lovely wife and is in favor of "starting a garden".

As was expected Rich Carter and Jim Esch will be competing for the Democrat nomination in the 2nd. Esch still doesn't have his $40,000 website updated yet, though we're sure when it is up, it'll involve 3-D holograms and virtual Obama rallies. It's interesting to see that on some of the Dem blogs, there are suggestions that Dems are not happy that Esch jumped in at the last minute after Carter made the effort to get in the race.

We'd also note that while Esch's work background is regularly questioned, Carter is now going on blogs and such declaring that he is an "Economist". He does apparently teach Econ 101 at Metro, but we weren't aware that teaching a course gives you that moniker. We would venture that one needs to be employed as such to declare that you are that. I.e., just because you teach Math, that doesn't make you a "Mathematician". Or just because you were a "Ranch-hand" that doesn't make you a "Rancher". (Oh wait, have we been down this path before?)

***

And things picked up fairly quickly in the 3rd. As of yesterday, Adrian Smith was standing alone in the massive district. Now he has a primary challenger and there are a couple of Dems who also plunked down their $1,600 filing fee to get their names on the ballot.

First there's Adrian's GOP opponent, Jeremiah Ellison.
Never heard of him? Well, that's why God and Al Gore invented Google.

It would seem that Mr. Ellison is 28 or 29 years old and is a computer programmer for JC Doyle Ltd in Grand Island.
But the main thing that Mr. Ellison is, is a RON PAUL FANATIC.

Mr. Ellison really, realllllly, REALLLLY digs Ron Paul. The FEC shows that he gave $2,242, nearly the max allowed, to the Ron Paul Presidential campaign. Not exactly chicken-feed.

He generally posts either under his name or under the screen name "enjerth" and has been very punctual in posting on forums after Paul appeared in various GOP Presidential debates. You can find his work on MSNBC, the LA Times and on the main Ron Paul forums.

It's not clear if he has adopted all of Ron Paul's positions, but one post indicates that he may be in favor of eliminating:
The Department of Education
The Department of Energy
The Department of Homeland Security
The FBI
The CIA and
The Patriot Act.

A full plate for a freshman Representative, no?

***

And then on the Democrat side of the 3rd, a couple of party-stalwarts are involved.

First is Jay Stoddard, also of Grand Island. You may (or may not) remember Stoddard as Secretary of State John Gale's 2006 general election opponent. Stoddard received around 33% to Gale's 61% in the general.

And Stoddard also ran for Secretary of State in 2002.

And Stoddard also ran for Nebraska Regent in 2004.

So he has...um... the campaign "experience" factor going. We'll say Stoddard probably has a leg up on Osmond, Nebraska resident Paul Spatz, leader of the Pierce County Democrats. That should be a barn-burner of a primary.

***

There are some interesting non-Congressional races out there as well, and we'll try to get to them all in due time. IF you're really champing at the bit to throw out an issue or a website or whatever, send us an email with the subject line "Candidate" and we'll see if we can address them later.

Rock and roll everyone! Start your yappin'!