Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Quakes at Camp Kleeb


The Scott Kleeb campaign seems to be in a bit of disarray.

As reported by the AP, campaign manager Jeff Jacobs is on the way out and spokesguy Joe Zepecki is in his place.

This isn't exactly Earth-shattering news. Word has it that this was finalized quite a while ago, but is just making it to the press now. Of course, transitions, even at the top, happen in campaigns all the time. The difference is that the successful campaign usually isn't the one making such a move.

Zepecki worked for the short-lived Chris Dodd for President campaign in Iowa. After that he briefly worked for a House campaign in Wisconsin before coming to Nebraska. It's not clear what his chops are for running a statewide campaign in Nebraska. But maybe at this point it doesn't really matter.

***

Speaking of the Kleeb campaign, feel free to take a look at the latest Kleeb commercial, disguised as a "MTV Street Team" report by Kleeb's wife.

A few things we noticed were:

1) Scott won't be replacing Joe Ganz at QB any time soon. Maybe Scott's really left-handed?

2) My, Nebraskans love their hoedown music! Right! Right? Well, that's apparently what Ms. Fleming Kleeb seems to think. At least that's the message that is sent across the internets to the MTV viewing audience. Thanks for furthering a goofy stereotype there Jane.

3) Scott is shown speaking, presumably to the campaign staff, in that low, slow, husky, stunted whispery voice, about "what the campaign is really about". Do you think someone will just throttle him and scream, "speak like a normal human once in a while!"

4) That's quite the look Zepecki is sporting in the parade walk. We'll just leave it at that.

***

The Chuck Hagel for Veep talk just won't quit.

The latest is that Hagel may travel with Barry Obama to Iraq later this summer. There had been word that Obama would be travelling to Afghanistan with Hagel in tow, but apparently that has been scrapped, or possibly delayed. In any case, if the two are chatty on the plane it will increase press jabbering about a possible hook-up between the two.

But we just don't see it happening. What's more likely is that Obama will make himself look all bipartisan by holding hands with Chuck, hint that Chuck is his kind of guy, then eventually go with a veep candidate that the party bosses can tip their hats to. Then he may hint real big that Hagel would be part of his administration.

That's our guess anyway...

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Come meet two of our staffers, John and John, and listen to why Scott brought the team to the Sandhills."

Campaign manager John, press secretary John, and Field Director John apparently weren't willing to share their experiences on camera.

Anonymous said...

How IS Mrs. Kleeb flying under the radar of McCain-Feingold here? Because she's a member of the "media", a/k/a the MTV gig or because she's ED of Young Voters PAC? One would think Don, Robyn or Joe would want to dig into this. And how is the mortgage being paid considering Prof. Scott took a leave of absence (from his part-time job) this summer to campaign full-time? Can the FEC shed any light on what Jane is getting as ED of a PAC? Or is she just pulling extra shifts at Wal-Mart? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anonymous said...

That was terrible. It was pretty much unwatchable and his campaign staff come across as better candidates. My 6th grader has done better work on iMovie. I wonder what the fascination with Bobby Kennedy is among Democrats. Also, have Kleeb's campaign managers read the Constitution, specifically the 22nd Amendment that will guarantee there will be a Change! in Washington in January? I also wonder if Kleeb's national backers are comfortable with all the gunplay? And does Kleeb have any national backers?

Anonymous said...

Kleeb is lacking in any energy or enthusiasm. Is he saying vote for me because Dick Durbin is going to roll over me like a freight train in the Senate? I think he has a promising career as a cure for insomnia.

Anonymous said...

I agree with that assessment - SS.

Very good insight into the nuttiness called Hagel.

Anonymous said...

Check the link.

Anonymous said...

Who is Kleb's driver these days? Is that person listed on his staff roster?

Anonymous said...

Kleeb usually talks like he on prozac. But is that a plug of chewing tobaccy in his cheek?

God, guns and a wad of Red Man.

Why not grow a beard to soak up the drippings? Bib overalls, knock out a few teeth and wear a baldknobbers hat. Banjo music and clog dancing. Ivy league? No way. Pass the moonshine Clem, er, I mean Scott.

Anonymous said...

Either that was a plug of tobacco or he speaks with tongue in cheek a lot.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the Kleebs still get a paycheck from the NRDC? Funny how the press hasn't covered this!!!

Anonymous said...

Though it is a small indicator that Kleeb and the Mrs.'s do not have a clue and are not really NEBRASKANS, a person wearing a "Phil Erdman" T-shirt on their video speaks volumes.

Anonymous said...

The only reason the Dems -- the Party of Freaks and Geeks -- get any traction is because of the fluff pieces written by their brothers & sisters in the news media.

Anonymous said...

Gee anony10:27, who would that be? Hannity? O'Reilly? Gibson? Hume? Coulter? Limbaugh?

Anonymous said...

Hey, anybody here know how I can get tickets to the big fundraiser at the Strategic Air and Space Museum next Wednesday? Looks like they're working on bankrolling the Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wisconsin Republican parties.

What? No cash for Nebraska? Oh, that's right, Nebraska is just a piggy bank for them to dip into. Hey Lee Terry, any of that cash coming your way?

Anonymous said...

Get a job, Matt -- um, I mean, Ed....

Anonymous said...

Scott speaks like Ben Nelson votes. Both seem to have run into Jesse Jackson and his appendage-cutting utensil.

This morning on KFAB, Senator Nelson said his own opposition to drilling in ANWR was “not an issue” since both presidential candidates also oppose drilling in the Arctic. He said “now is not the time” to discuss ANWR because it’s a “divisive issue.”

In the same breath, Sen. Nelson blamed the soaring price of oil on the weak dollar – which he said is the result of our trade deficit.

A reminder for Sen. Nelson: Petroleum imports accounted for a majority (55%) of the U.S. trade deficit in the fourth quarter of last year.

An extra million barrels a day of U.S. oil from ANWR would make quite a dent in our trade deficit.

Funny how both Scott and Ben duck and dodge the ANWR issue. Last time I checked, those tractors in the corn fields aren't running on solar power.

Anonymous said...

Is that red-headed guy in Kleeb's commercial the same guy on the Millard School Board?
I thought he was high up in the Republican Party. Did he switch or something?

Anonymous said...

What is with the gun toting, dixie music, good old boy ad here? I wonder if these staffers, you know, the ones that Jessie Jackson held and the one who is "against" Bush know what the second amendment means. I wonder how many of them supported Bush's two Supreme Court nominees that all but guaranteed this right only a few weeks ago.

I love these guys - a bunch of liberals who want to change Nebraska and world...one clay pigeon at a time. LOL

Anonymous said...

Drilling....why don't you get the Republicans that are bought and paid for by the oil companies to crack down on their backers once and for all.

First, drilling has increased 361% in the last 8 years, yet that increase has not kept prices down.

Second, in just the last 4 years alone, oil companies have bought, and sat on over 10,000 permits for drilling in areas with oil, but are doing nothing.

Third, there are currently a total of 47.5 million acres of on-shore federal lands that are leased by oil and gas companies, but they are only actively drilling on 13 million acres. Also, currently oil and gas leases 44 Million off-shore oil-producing acres, but are only actively drilling on 10.5 acres. That means they hold leases on nearly 68 million acres that they aren't producing on.

There are also millions of barrels of oil in reserves off shore that aren't accounted for, but held back to keep demand up.

ANWR - a recently Dept of Energy report concluded that oil would not be coming onto the market for 10 years if drilling started tomorrow, and only at an estimated savings of 75 cents per barrel. As it is, that oil would most likely not come to the US.

So with all that information, explain to me how more drilling, an drilling in ANWR would solve the problems? Why not demand the oil and gas companies drill on what they have right now, while finding ways to move away from oil and gas use in daily life? If they did, they could produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. That would double total U.S. oil production, and increase natural gas production by 75%. It would also cut U.S. oil imports by more than a third, and be more than six times the estimated peak production from ANWR.

Source: House Committee on Natural Resources, and Department of Energy.

Anonymous said...

Our trade deficit does not have a impact on oil prices. The deficit that does have an impact is the budget deficit. When the value of our currency is lowered because of continuous borrowing (mostly for senseless tax cuts or idiotic wars) then that makes the things we as a country need to import (oil) more expensive. "But we need more drilling" you will say, yes we do. Lets start with 68 million acres already leased for it. See anon 1:48

Anonymous said...

U.S. military operations comprise less than 4% of the Federal Budget.

Source: Congressional Budget Office.

Save your talking points for Ben's speeches to his environmental nuts and the green Nazis.

Anonymous said...

The reason that oil companies do not drill on every single acre that they have leased is very simple: there may not be oil under many of those acres. With oil at $140 a barrel, do you think for a second that Exxon would pass up the chance to produce another, say, 100,000 barrels a day? That's another $5 billion in their pockets. The reason for $4 gas is myriad and includes a weak dollar and foreign governments subsidizing oil for their citizens. Now that China and India are cutting back on their subsidies and we are cutting back on our use, the price of oil should come down. Increasing refinery capacity, cutting out the 20 different types of gasoline formulations, and increasing drilling would also bring oil prices down. Maybe we can't drill our way out of this, but we sure can't conserve our way out of this either. But wait. Don't liberals want the gas prices to go higher? Isn't the goal to use less oil so we can save the planet? Actually, no. The goal is to control people. Liberals accuse the oil companies of controlling our economy, but they have no problem with the government trying to control our economy, hence the emphasis on conservation and opposition to drilling. Climate change is just the tool. The real goal is totalitarianism. And something tells me that Prozac boy would willingly sign onto whatever socialist scheme his Party puppet-masters have cooked up.

Anonymous said...

What's with Kleeb's campaign manager's shirt? It's like he just stepped off the plane in Havana with Fredo and looking for a banana daiquiri.

Anonymous said...

Global warming is the new religion of the Godless left. And Al Gore is their high priest. It doesn't matter if Ben Nelson isn't wearing a white colar as a preacher of the holy-rollin' left. He still attends the same church. For that reason alone, he needs to be held accountable.

Anonymous said...

535 billion dollars so far in iraq. BTW those are only direct costs, not the related and secondary costs. Goes a very long way to solving that budget deficit.

Anonymous said...

If you paid 1,000 in taxes, this is the breakdown, not %4.
Of the $1,000 you paid in taxes:
$420 goes to Past and Current Military
$220 goes to Health
$100 goes to Interest on Non-Military Debt
$90 goes to Anti-Poverty Programs
$40 goes to Education, Training & Social Services
$40 goes to Government & Law Enforcement
$30 goes to Housing & Community Development
$30 goes to Environment, Energy & Science
$20 goes to Agriculture, Commerce and Transportation
$10 goes to International Relations
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/cms/tax_dollars_notes

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous at 1:16. That's John Breenan in the red hair and he is not a school board member. Didn't you watch the video?

Anonymous said...

Kleeb needs to be real here. He needs to grow a pair and tell us what he really belives.

Anonymous said...

Be careful about growing a pair...Jesse Jackson may cut them off!!!!....lol You have to admit the video is cheesy

Anonymous said...

Jesse is right in there with Marge Sanger ---- she had the same thing in mind when she started Planned Parenthood.

Anonymous said...

Anon at 3:50PM. Guess you missed that part about those acres having oil. So lets make it clearer. The 68 Million Acres the oil companies are sitting and doing nothing with right now are KNOWN TO HAVE OIL AND GAS. Just like the areas they want to get their hands on, they already have 68 Million acres with oil and gas on them. Now, why would the oil companies want access to leasing more and more land when they aren't producing on what they have? Could it be that they want to control everything so they can continue to control the flow of oil into the market? I know there are other reasons with greed and power involved. Do you still want to keep shilling away for them and spouting their talking points, when they have us all by the cojones already?

Anonymous said...

Ok oil conspiracy nut, those acres are low density oil deposits and have geologic structures that require multiple wells being drilled to pump a small amount of oil out. Most of the easy oil is already being tapped in the lower 48 states. At millions of dollars a well, with no guarantee that drilling will produce oil in a meaningful quantity, why would you drill and lose money. ANWR's geologic structure is like putting a straw in an olympic pool. So please stop with the conspiracy theories.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, but conspiracy theories are more fun and anyone can play! All you really need is the inability for abstract thought.

Anonymous said...

The Erdman Shirt in the video is very comical. Erdman is one of the most conservative members of the Nebraska Legislature and has endorsed Adrian Smith and Mike Johanns. Probably not too many Kleeb/Erdman voters out there - save the one wearing the shirt.

Anonymous said...

Kind of like the Obama-Terry voter.

Anonymous said...

I seem to have missed something. Isn't "Hope, Change" suppose to be about working together in a bipartisan manner, to get legislation passed that addresses a problem, thus eliminating gridlock in Washington?

Isn't that what Lee Terry does and has been doing since his City Council Days? It seems that the proof has been provided that Lee is more than happy to work with both sides of the aisle to pass legislation that helps families, businesses and communities. Are the Esch people changing Obama's mantra definition?

Where is Jim's proof that he can work with the "other side". Just because "most" (according to Jim) of his family is Republican does not get him a seat at the table. As far as I can see, he just lost his seat at the Dem table by trying to be too much of both.

BTW, do Democrats for Life know that Jim is on record as being pro embryonic stem cell destruction (I mean research)? Their National umbrella is categorically opposed to endorsing candidates with this position. I wonder who handed out the endorsement certificates for this group? They should know, that their Charter is probably in jeopardy for endorsing outside the guidelines of the Democrats for Life platform.

Anonymous said...

It'd be interesting to go through and count the number of scenes and transition shots that begin with someone cocking a shotgun. You can tell by the smiles on most of those kid's faces that they've never held a gun before and are loving the irony of a liberal holding such a hick stick.

Anonymous said...

"another" anony 2:05: didn't Sir Cheney shoot a buddy of his a few years ago with one of them there hick sticks?

Anonymous said...

Yes, Cheney shot his friend with a shotgun. And your point is?