We will start today's edition by giving a shout-out to a Leavenworth Street friend who has taken it upon himself to party-hardy in Denver -- sporting a John McCain t-shirt.
That ballsy man is Dayton Headlee (pictured at right with you-know-who), U.N.O. student and author of his CrashingBothParties.com blog. Dayton blogs about his time volunteering at the McCain HQ in Denver and hobnobbing with the reps of both parties, including Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Ben Nelson and Scott Kleeb.
Kudos to Nelson and Kleeb for taking pictures with McCain-garbed Headlee, while perennial grump, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, refused.
We will be following Dayton's vagabonding in Denver and Minneapolis -- where he has a guest pass to the GOP's shindig (he came that close to being an alternate delegate from Nebraska). Be sure to take a look.
***
We mentioned in our last post about Scott Kleeb deciding to take Mike Johanns head-on in the "global warming" debate (and how has your August been?). Well Kamp Kleeb has taken it a step further by posting Johann's closing debate comments on their YouTube site and crowing about it on their Daily Kos blurb.
(Of course, shouting it for Kleeb's chief liberal constituency on Daily Kos and yelling about it on KRVN radio are two different things.)
In any case, it would seem that the Kleeb and Johanns campaigns have a genuine issue that they can battle on:
Should Congress spend people's money and force them to change their everyday life with the hope that it will change the weather?
(If there is another or better way to phrase that, please comment on.)
By the way, the UNL "Center For Applied Rural Innovation" recently conducted a survey of "rural Nebraskans" on global warming, and 53% of respondents said the government needs to respond immediately to global warming. Interesting info for both sides to to chew on.
(In this mail-in survey however, 6,200 mailers were sent out and the survey is based on the 40% that were returned. Were "global warming needs to be fixed now" believers more likely to return this survey? You be the judge.)
That ballsy man is Dayton Headlee (pictured at right with you-know-who), U.N.O. student and author of his CrashingBothParties.com blog. Dayton blogs about his time volunteering at the McCain HQ in Denver and hobnobbing with the reps of both parties, including Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Ben Nelson and Scott Kleeb.
Kudos to Nelson and Kleeb for taking pictures with McCain-garbed Headlee, while perennial grump, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, refused.
We will be following Dayton's vagabonding in Denver and Minneapolis -- where he has a guest pass to the GOP's shindig (he came that close to being an alternate delegate from Nebraska). Be sure to take a look.
***
We mentioned in our last post about Scott Kleeb deciding to take Mike Johanns head-on in the "global warming" debate (and how has your August been?). Well Kamp Kleeb has taken it a step further by posting Johann's closing debate comments on their YouTube site and crowing about it on their Daily Kos blurb.
(Of course, shouting it for Kleeb's chief liberal constituency on Daily Kos and yelling about it on KRVN radio are two different things.)
In any case, it would seem that the Kleeb and Johanns campaigns have a genuine issue that they can battle on:
Should Congress spend people's money and force them to change their everyday life with the hope that it will change the weather?
(If there is another or better way to phrase that, please comment on.)
By the way, the UNL "Center For Applied Rural Innovation" recently conducted a survey of "rural Nebraskans" on global warming, and 53% of respondents said the government needs to respond immediately to global warming. Interesting info for both sides to to chew on.
(In this mail-in survey however, 6,200 mailers were sent out and the survey is based on the 40% that were returned. Were "global warming needs to be fixed now" believers more likely to return this survey? You be the judge.)
The Johanns campaign has expanded on the subject of the Environment here. You may have to try to nail down Kleeb on this in his policy "book". We will take any better links.
[Hey, and don't say we're not fair on the subject: A draft plank in the GOP platform apparently has the following language:
"Increased atmospheric carbon has a warming effect on the Earth. While the scope and long term consequences of this warming effect are the subject of ongoing research, we believe the United States should take measured and reasonable steps today." ]
***
And speaking of Kleeb, he gave an extended interview to the Hotline on Call, published yesterday.
In it, he continues the claim that he lost his first Congressional campaign against Congressman Adrian Smith just barely (a full 10%), and that at some point in the race he was "winning" but lost because of George W. Bush's visit.
(By the way, we've mentioned it before, but be sure to read Stuart Rothenberg's summary of Kleeb's Third District loss, and the full debunkization of the claim that it was "close".)
Just so we don't let those kind of comments sit out there, No Scott, you were never "winning". There is no halftime score in a campaign. And your own push-poll doesn't count either. Further, since we've never heard the end of how horrible George W. Bush has been, how on Earth could he have helped Adrian Smith's campaign?
But the part that really cracks us up in this breathless interview is where Kleeb says the only thing that is preventing him from doing great in Omaha (just like he's doing in the 3rd???) is to meet more people there. Of course that's real hard to do when you're busy meeting with your ultra liberal constituency in Manhattan, Dallas and Washington D.C.
***
Finally, for those fans out there of MSNBC's "Morning Joe", you should watch this clip from the other day of host, and former Republican Congressman, Joe Scarborough GOING AT IT with liberal reporter David Shuster. It gets really heated when Shuster tries to claim that he's an "Independent". Hilarious. They were ready to come to blows...
Posts
50 comments:
I think Iron Mike is asking for more science he agrees with. Talk with almost any teacher or school administator about the friend of education Johanns was. I almost get giddy when a candidate proclaims to the crowd that all important decisions are "faith based" but run to science for help. To admit there is global warming, one would have to admit things were evolving and changing. I just hope and pray that Mike comes out in the next debate and says he believes in evolution because his new found faith in science told him so. Keep on talking.
We all know those good for nothing illegal immigrants are overloading our welfare system, our school systems, and criminal systems. You can blame them for the meth amphetemine problem and increase in food costs. Iron Mike stopped a statewide raid on these plants for one reason: He owed the packing industry and Farm Bureau. They didn't bring you to the dance to let you sit around. Bruning would have been driving the paddy wagon on this one. Its almost an obstruction of justice.
He says it would have hurt the farm economy during a tough time. Johanns is for immigrant amnesty as long as his buddies are getting cheap labor and they are making money. Keep on talking Mike.
No wonder your schedule isn't posted anywhere, and your visits are becoming little drop ins to community leaders that just happen to agree with you. Keep on talking, Mike
Just a note on the last comment:
We get nearly daily updates on Johanns's very busy schedule, which goes out to all the media. It's hardly a secret.
-SS
I fail to see the relevance of the poll of "rural Nebraskans." Public opinion has nothing to do with the massive body of scientific evidence supporting global climate change. If 53% of rural Nebraskans said they wanted the government to spend more money researching invisible unicorns, we wouldn't take that poll into account either.
I love what Dayton Headlee is doing for the Republican Party! I hope all kids (and quite a few adults!) read his blog and see how one person from little old Omaha can make a big difference just by getting up off his chair and offering to help-the getting pop for Rudy is classic comedy!
We need more people like Dayton. They motivate people more than any commercial ever will!
Anony at 11:28
To assist you and any others who want to comment here...
Note that this is not a blog arguing about the science of global warming. It is about politics. Therefore, how voters feel about the science of global warming, and who they would vote for possibly based on that feeling is ENTIRELY relevant.
SS
Good to see Mr. Headlee out there stiring a few things up. You would be suprised at how many young people are up and active this year on the GOP side while a good deal of the adults sit at home.
Take note
I like it when people introduce me to new blogs.
I've added this one to my news reader and will be sure and check it out.
In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to add my own twitter updates to my side bar just like he has on his blog.
Thanks!
Angela
Omaha, NE
If Kleeb wants to be the global warming candidate, great! I read his "book" and he's going to have to do better than that if he wants to combat global warmi..., er, climate change. 'Scuse me. (Gotta get the terminology right when it hasn't been all that hot the last few years). Half a loaf won't cut it according to Gaia's Lord High Priest Al Gore...and we only have 10 years! So, Professor Kleeb, what else do you have up your sleeves to stop climate change? How are you going to get people from using so much oil? Maybe $4 a gallon gas? $5? $10? Remember, we only have 10 years! Don't you listen to your buddies on Kos?
H Y P O C R I S Y
Folks--you gotta check out the latest post on NNN. They have pictures from the DNC--including several from the very nice lunch for the Nebr. delegation paid for by Novartis.
What a bunch of hypocrites! They rail against PHARMA and their member companies for "ripping off" people with high drug prices, then they eat like pigs for free at Novartis trough.
People are seeing through the Democrat phoniness. Maybe that's one reason McCain is now up 46-44.
This gratuity thing is kind of new to us Democrats. You can't blame the companies for trying to buy influence. When the Republicans sit down at a compny trough it is a thank-you dinner for doing what they've paid you to do. Give us time, we'll eventually get down to your level.
Weather is not climate. Climate is not weather. The difference: I can't reliably tell you whether the high temperature next Wednesday will be higher or lower than today's. But I can tell you with 99.99% certainty that the high temperature 6 months from today will be lower than today's.
It's reasonable for Congress to spend people's money on climate change if there is a reasonable expectation that spending the money will help reduce climate change, in a cost-effective manner.
While China is building one coal-fueled power plant per week, there is no such expectation. If we stop burning oil, the price will go down, demand will go up, and other people will burn more. I have yet to understand why it is so difficult to accept that the science is almost certainly right on anthropogenic global warming, but that there is no currently feasible policy solution. Maybe it's because politicians just can't be seen to admit that some problems are very difficult or even impossible to solve.
It is highly likely that Johanns is wrong and Kleeb is right about the science, and yet Johanns is right and Kleeb is wrong about the policy. Sometimes the only thing you can do is make things worse.
It's like George Carlin said...It's not the planet...It's the people! Another 10,000 years the human race will be extinct from some type of man-made virus...then the Earth will recover...except for the plastic.
C'mon folks ... take a hard look at the study being quoted ( http://cari.unl.edu/ruralpoll/2008climatechange.pdf) - characterizing it as scientifically flawed would be putting it charitably. The sampled population was essentially pre-selected, the statistics were "weighted" to favor an outcome amenable to the position being promoted (i.e., AGW is a foregone conclusion), and several of the questions were phrased/structured to preclude unwanted answers. As just one example, they asked "Which of the following best describes your views about global climate change?", and the choices were, "Already happening", "Will happen in the next few years". "Will happen in my lifetime", "Won't happen in my lifetime, but will affect future generations", "Will never happen", and "Not sure". Unsurprisingly, most pollees (58%) responded "Already happening". Do you suppose the inclusion of "Already happening as a result of normal climatic cycles" might have changed the results??
This is a blatant push-poll masquerading as piece of weighty scientific research, and the ivory-tower perpetrators of such balderdash should be ashamed.
Is global warming (and please, can we call it what it is instead of some fancy-schmancy euphemism like "climate change"?) real? I don't know - I think so, but even if it is, it is far from clear that it is a direct result of human life.
Sorry, Sweeper - I know you said the comments should be about political perceptions instead of the authenticity of GW, but the weaknesses of the quoted study need to be pointed out.
No apologies needed. The veracity of the survey itself is certainly "political" in nature.
Uncle...
I would prefer it be called climate change because that's what it is. Climate happens. Global warming is a term used by politicians...snake oil salesman and fear mongerers.
You think it's bad now...wait until they plant switchgrass from the Dakotas into Oklahoma and the albedo changes. A few more degrees of warmth...greater fire threat and who knows what else.
And to think,,,it was less than 20,000 years ago Nebraska was covered with ice.
P.S. And where are the bees? Some of that "biological" corn pollen doing them in? Like George said..."The planet is fine...it's the people."
Simple...bio 101...THINK, PEOPLE, THINK!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26426382/
This is a new article, basically says the arctic could be without ice during the summer months in 10 years (BTW, that is bad) .
http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=626&gid=42&index=0
This website shows (using pictures!) the glaciers in Glacier National Park. There were 150 in 1850, there are 26 today (and they are shrinking). The National Park Service says that within 15 years there wont be any. Just a bunch of fear-mongering right???
ASG...
Climate Change...
What happened to the ice fields across plains a short 20,000 years ago? Who was responsible for their retreat? Mammoth gas?
I think we also had a great inland sea...and it was less than 2000-3000 years ago the Rockies were loaded with marshes. Climate change.
Which "global warming" model are you using? Fear mongering.
1/3rd
Of course there has been naturally occuring climate change throughout history. The change happening now is man-made, not natural. Think of it like this: Billions of tons of smoke and polllutants are being dumped into the air every year, that has to be having some affect right??? No your right, fear mongering.
RWP: I, too, can confidently predict that the temperature 6 months from now will be cooler than today and it has nothing to do with man. I can see why the totalitarians on the left would like to believe in anthropogenic climate change. Control of the economy, restriction of personal freedoms, crushing regulations. What's not to love? But if Kleeb thinks what he's proposed will fulfill the demands of Gaia, then he's mistaken. He needs to fish or cut bait.
SS
That isn't a bad video, this one is a little though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1wSZBTAXRs
Wow that was bad, forgot a word. "That isn't a bad video, this one is a little better* though."
Just to remind everyone:
Brian T Osborne guaranteed that Scott Kleeb would be Mike Johanns.
Sorry...
"beat" Mike Johanns.
Not "be" Mike Johanns.
Carry on.
Maybe if Scott Kleeb could "be" a credible candidate, he could "beat" Mike Johanns.
I was lucky enough to go to school with Dayton and participate in the UNO Republicans with him. He is truly a very, very great guy. It's so awesome that he's doing such great things in Denver, and he totally deserved to be an alternate for the RNC. There's always 2012!
Go Dayton!
-Sarah Brumfield
Macdaddy:
Fishing and cutting bait are both violations of Gaia. Fishing involves the cruel killing of our fellow living creatures, and cutting bait is even worse (and messier). If you were truly in tune with Planetary Harmonies, you'd use a more peaceful metaphor, like 'weed or eat carrots'.
Have you ever *really* considered veganism?
(BTW, I hope everyone realizes that Kleeb brand is on faux-leather, made from 100% organic hemp, not the skin of a fellow mammal)
RWP...
I think veganism is great...right next to my 10 oz. sirloin. What better way to reduce cow methane releases into the atmosphere. I wonder if I can earn some carbon credits by eating beef?
So...what "corrupt special interest group" paid for the Nebr. Dem's dinner last night in Denver?
Not a word about that in the latest article posted on NNN. Maybe they were embarassed by their hypocrisy of attacking drug companies on one hand and then eating like pigs at the trough at the Novartis-sponsored luncheon.
I doubt they all went without food--unless they had to pay their own way.
I guess Jim Esch is "sick as a dog" in Denver, according to the OWH.
Maybe the following news release will help him recover--just like the stimulus checks have helped the economy:
August 28, 2008
ECONOMIC REPORT SHOWS STIMULUS CHECKS WORKED
OMAHA—A new report out this morning on the economy’s performance in the April—June quarter proves that U.S. Rep. Lee Terry was right in voting for taxpayer-friendly ‘stimulus checks’ earlier this year despite shrill criticism from his opponent.
“We just learned this morning that the economy grew in the past quarter well beyond what the projections were going to be,” Terry said. “Much of this is directly attributable to the economic stimulus checks that have returned taxpayer funds to the taxpayers. This report shows that I was right to vote for the stimulus checks. My opponent was wrong to oppose them.”
The Commerce department report stated the nation’s gross domestic product increased at an unexpectedly brisk 3.3 percent annual rate. The Associated Press characterized the economy as shifting “. . . into high gear” as export rose and “. . . tax rebates spurred shoppers” nationally.
Terry voted for the economic stimulus checks earlier this year in the U.S. House. His opponent, meanwhile, has opposed the rebates saying the money should be sent to the nation’s mayors instead.
“My opponent wants to give stimulus checks to mayors. I want to give them to the people,” Terry said.
Terry said his opponent’s opposition to the plan shows he “is out of touch” with the realities and struggles that middle-income families are now experiencing.
I think the fish missed the memo on being vegans. And why are plants so picked on? Aren't they people, too? We really should be sustaining ourselves through nourishment from the air, processing molecules in a gentle, non-threatening way.
Personally, if i were a vegetarian it would be because I hated plants, not because i loved animals
As far as Jim Esch beng "sick as a dog" in Denver yesterday: do you think it was Afghanistan or Absolut?
I see the Dems are being fed by Union Pacific today.
Senator Obama's 'ethics' bill, his greatest legislative achievement, specified that lobbyists could buy legislators lunch only if the legislators were standing up, not sitting down. I sure hope none of our local Dems sat down and were thereby corrupted!
@3:17
The answer to your question is 'yes'.
Right Winger, I can only imagine the two positions the Republicans are in when they get it from the UP. Basically it is the same position you have put the middle and the working class in.
So Republicans are mocking Obama's set for tonight's speech. Well, I think you should go back to the 2004 GOP Convention in New York and look at the set design the night the President gave his acceptance speech. Roman-like columns to make "All-mighty" Bush look Emporor like.
Can you spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200808280015
Ink,
Of course the economy will have a short little 'bump' from getting 150 Billion dollars thrown into it. But it was a short term fix and now that the money is spent, we are back where we were.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26441463/
A very good article. Employers have cut jobs every month this year, wage growth is trailing inflation, (says so in the article, i didn't bother to check myself). Ernie Goss said that the stimulus checks would produce a short term bump, but that in the long run they are bad for the economy.
Who said, "The Republican brand is in the trash can ... If we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf."
Ink - Do you or Lee think we are better off today than we were 2 years ago? 4years ago?
Do you or Lee believe the funamentals of the economy are strong?
Do you or Lee believe this is a good economy?
Ombamaesch:
Here's my answer--times are tough for a lot of people. You don't make it better for them by raising their taxes--which is what Esch has proposed.
Gas prices are too high. You don't bring them down by opposing expanded drilling--which is what Esch has done.
The country faces a number of big challenges. You need someone who can work the legislative process--like Terry has done in gaining passage of the major energy conservation bill enacted in years, Hill-Terry.
You don't get that by sending someone to Congress who (after three years of campaigning) hasn't yet learned the difference between a "bill" and a "resolution" (i.e. declaring national tulip week).
Ink,
You don't get solutions to the problems our country is facing by sending the same people who created the problems back to DC.
You don't solve our economy crisis by supporting a quick-fix stimulus which will do nothing to solve our problems long term.
You don't solve our energy crisis by shouting "more drilling," when that will just be a temporary fix at best also.
I want a congressman who has some new ideas and is a visionary. Someone who actually wants to work with others to try new things to help this country.
Not Lee Terry who just toes the party line and doesn't have an ounce of foresight in his body. He only acts when an issue is hot. He should have started working on these things 10 years ago. Not just when gop.gov told him to.
Anon 9:36,
Here's a vision for you:
Jim Esch actually working at a real job, not one his mom and dad created to make him look employed, but he doesn't earn enough to live off of-let alone get engaged this year!
I want an elected official, at EVERY level, to be an example to my children. Jim Esch is a sorry excuse for the Dems to put up as a proposed "Leader" for our community. The only thing Jim Esch will lead any one to is a party.
Any medical confirmation on Jim's so called disease that he caught while romping around Kabul? Maybe his tummy ache on Thursday morning really was related to a medical issue: Too much partying on the Pharma Pac's dime in Denver!!!LOL
Here's a slogan the Lee Terry Campaign can use, free of charge:
"Vote for Lee Terry, he will actually work for you in Congress because he doesn't have a Trust Fund or Ag Subsidies to fall back on!"
Well, Ink - Im glad that we had a one quarter recovery. Because it was reported today that Incomes plunged as spending slowed.
Personal Income fell by 0.7%. An inflation gauge tied to consumer spending rose over the past 12 months by 4.5 percent, the biggest price jump in 17 years, led by higher costs for energy and food. Without the big jump in prices, consumer spending would have actually fallen by 0.4 percent last month after dropping 0.1 percent in June, underscoring just how weak current activity is.
"Consumers pulled back on real spending in both June and July in the face of weak employment conditions, higher energy prices and further declines in household net worth," said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight, a Lexington, Massachusetts, forecasting firm.
Economists worry that with the stimulus payments fading quickly, consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of economic activity, also will falter in coming months.
Bethune said he expected overall GDP would slow to just a 1 percent growth rate in the current July-September quarter and will actually turn negative in the fourth quarter.
Even that 1 percent GDP forecast could be too high if automakers' efforts to boost lagging sales by offering attractive rebates in coming weeks are unsuccessful because of all the headwinds facing consumers, including higher tighter lending standards by banks struggling with billions of dollars of losses on bad mortgage loans, he said.
"We think the worst is yet to come for consumers," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, another forecasting firm in Valhalla, New York. He predicted that consumer spending will decline in the current quarter. The last time that happened was during the 1991 recession.
Looks like those stimulus checks really did the trick for long-term growth of our economy. That money could have been better spent on creating good paying jobs rebuilding critical infrastructure. This would have had a much longer lasting effect on the economy and would stimulated the economy in a way that stimulus checks could and will never work.
The stimulus checks did exactly what they were designed to do: pump up consumer spending. The second quarter numbers prove it.
The difference on this issue is Esch didn't want any families in NE2 to get a $300, $600 or $1,200 check. He wanted to send the money to the nation's mayors--like the Democrat in Detroit.
Not surprising given his background as a trust fund slacker. He has no reality of the situation middle-income families face.
Terry wants to give the checks to taxpayers. A big difference between the candidates.
Here is the problem with that type of attitude, sir.
We are delaying the fundamental progression of an economic recession and prolonging the pain that people will feel by a long-term downturn in the economy.
The major elements of the “economic stimulus” package we’re heard about will accomplish next to nothing. As we Stimulate the economy with short-term consumer spending by distributing borrowed money, this will not provide an adequate rationale for any businesses to expand, because after the money has been spent by the recipients, we will be right back where we started.
Did the stimulus checks help those that had homes foreclosed on?
Did the stimulus checks help the family who had a major health care emergency that wiped out their entire life savings?
Did it fix any bridges?
Did it increase American productivity?
This was not investment in the American economy, this was all about consumption and spending. Misguided economic policy at best.
This policy is feel good politics at its worst.
"It's an economic slap in the face to send us a check for a couple hundred dollars. It's flash over substance."
How many jobs did the stimulus checks create? None. We are still in the same place economically as we were before the checks went out. All it did was delay the enevitable.
Do you think the fundamentals of the economy are strong? Do you believe we have a good economy?
Are we better off today than we were 4 years ago?
And you think Lee has any idea what middle-class people are facing?
Give me a break, dude.
Do you have any idea what middle-class people are facing, Dave? Probably not, you northeastern Elitist.
Oh and by the way, how is former governor and convicted felon John Rowland doing?
It is truly frightening just how short-sighted Lee Terry and his minions are.
Anonymous 8:24--if you edit your comment to "Northwest Lincoln" you'd be more accurate.
I've lived in downtown Lincoln since '97. Sorry to confuse your post with the facts.
Anonymous 8:29--all fair questions that you raise. And, for once, I'll compliment a lib troll for actually saying something relevant without making personal insults. Maybe other lib trolls will follow your lead, although I'm sure they aren't capable of that.
Scroll up for my answer--I already stated it.
The debate over this issue comes down to one basic point: Terry supported the stimulus checks to taxpayers. Esch did not.
That's the debate. Let's let the voters decide on the issue. It's really pretty simple.
Post a Comment