Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Lee TV: The Economy

New Lee Terry ad out. See it below:



Pretty straight forward. Basically Terry is hitting Esch on his statements that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts were the wrong move.

But there is also another message when talking about Esch's belief on the stimulus checks:

Esch, personally, doesn't need a stimulus check, so he doesn't understand why people do need them.

As Terry's campaign manager put it:
"I can’t blame Jim for his ignorance—he just can’t relate. He lives off of a trust fund and hasn’t really worked a job in years."
Ouch! Welcome to the hardball of the final month of the campaign.

***

The Nebraska delegation voted as a block against the Wall St. bailout bill: Terry, Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith, all "No". Mike Johanns also said he was against the House bill.

Which is interesting considering that Terry is the only one who has anything resembling a close race. Though apparently the administration tried their best to get all of their votes -- Vice President Cheney going after Smith and OMB Director and former Rep Jim Nussle going after Terry.

In the end the bad bill and the shouts from their constituencies carried the day.

Campaign-wise, it is hard to say this was a bad move. If the markets collapse there could be some blame thrown, but, as noted below, everyone is on the same page.

And considering how close the vote was, one would think there is a good chance some kind of bill will be passed soon.

***

And in case you think this was a Republican thing, note that Democrat Congressional candidates Jim Esch and Max Yashirin and Democrat Senate candidate Scott Kleeb said they support the "No" votes of the Nebraska House Republicans.

Not that Nancy Pelosi was twisting their arms though.

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35 comments:

identity said...

I dunno, Sweeper ... everything I can find indicates that, while Johanns is pretty much against the bail-out (as you state), Kleeb's position is MUCH more "nuanced".

There's a film clip of him on KOLNTV's website talking about how he agrees with the plan.

If you have other confimation, I will yield, but at this point Kleeb looks to me like he is on the wrong side of this issue.

By the way, am I the only one who has noticed that the Scooter has adopted the Ryan Seacrest mussed-up hairdo look lately? His 'do always looks like he just rolled out of the sack.

Anonymous said...

Terry has had a change of heart and when the new proposal comes to the floor I can promise you he will support it, also it is likely to have more oversight and maybe a lower figure than the $700 billion that was previously proposed.

Street Sweeper said...

UW:

I don't doubt that Kleeb may be nuancing it up. But we're drawing info from the OWH article:

"Democrat Scott Kleeb, said Monday that the bailout plan was not 'ideal' but chastised Congress for doing nothing."

"Kleeb said the proposal gave too much power to Paulson with too few restrictions placed on executive pay. He said, however, that was no 'excuse' for Congress not to take some action to address the nation's financial crisis."


So maybe he was for it -- but didn't like some parts?

Then again maybe he just would have voted "Present".

Anonymous said...

SS,

On LeeTerry.com this ad is entitled 'Cut Spending and Keep Tax Cuts in Place'

Street Sweeper said...

On the Terry campaign's YouTube site it's called, "Economy".

(We added the "The".)

SS

BB said...

Lee likes to use Jim's own words against him. Jim has certainly given him a lot to work with. That is what happens when you have a campaign staff composed of family members and stupid undergrads. Jim said earlier in the month that he would not be on TV until October. It seems that was essentially the case, despite the DCCC stepping in. This tells me they are not doing much to help. Perhaps they realized their money was better spent elsewhere.

On another note, and only slightly off topic, Esch and Lee have pretty good sign showings around the NE 2. Esch's primarily in mid-town, and Lee's primarily in West O and Sarpy county (where elections are won and lost). Johanns signs are everywhere, but I have not seen a single Kleeb sign. Has Anyone seen one?

Anonymous said...

In all the neighborhoods around my home in West O, I don't see any Lee signs. I only see Esch signs.

I don't even see any signs for Lee on my way to work, I see Esch signs on the way down.

Anonymous said...

Ooh! I saw a Kleeb sign in the windshield of an old beemer at the Husker game. Car was from out of town. I thought maybe it was Kleeb's but surely he could have gotten better parking than under the overpass.

Nice ad by Terry, but aaarrrrgh! I hate it when they add a tagline after the approval statement. Why not: "The money belongs with you. I'm Lee Terry and I approve this ad." I did like the padlock graphic, though.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Anon knows the irony of "I only see Esch signs on the way down"? LOL

Other Anon, perhaps you should not make promises about a person's vote until you have watched them do it. I am guessing that "The Bill" would have to be significantly different to overcome Congressman Terry's veto of the Bill. It is a core value thing, look at how he votes on a regular basis. Spending taxpayer dollars with little assurance that they would not be back in a short few years is never a conservative value. People need incentive to trust the financial world. Let's hope that those incentives are in any new Bill and the garbage is not put back in the old one!

Anonymous said...

I think its funny that only now, when the repubs out of power in congress are the fiscal conservatives coming out against spending lots of money. Pray tell where was this indignation when they were in charge?

Anonymous said...

It is nice of you to lump all republicans together, when the reality is that many have voted against off budget spending for years. Omnibus Bills are a disgusting way to try to force the hand of an elected official, "Vote for the "Boondoggle" or turn children away from the school lunch program."

How about everybody throws away their "Gotcha" hat and puts on their "Responsible American" hat!

Anonymous said...

Mr. Deregulator's first comments were we needed more "simple" regulations. Johanns and his buddy Bush were on the same team that sent this mess to hell in a handbasket. The Republicans believe in the free market/free rein theory, but without someone guiding the horse, it's just another runaway. My retirement is in the tank, grain prices are falling, and they want to bail the bastards out. Might be cheaper to just pay off the loans, and give these people a paid off mortgage.

If they bail out Wall Street, there shouldn't be a single executive or manager that owns a home, a retirement account, or any assets. They should have to put their gains back into the pot.

Unk, you are hung up on hair styles, again. What's with that?

Anonymous said...

Anyone else irritated to read how Lee Terry has played politics with this whole economic bailout mess?

In the Omaha World Herald yesterday in went in detail about him refusing to take calls from the OMB director, then waiting until the last second to vote because Boehner asked him to. He also was calling different people to ask them how he should vote. Yeah, how many of those people he called for their opinion were "regular folks." You know they were his big business donor friends.

Two weeks ago he said we had to do something immediately, now not so much. He also has said he couldn't have foreseen any of this without his "crystal ball."

Is this the type of leadership we need to help us out of this mess? Dear Lord.

Street Sweeper said...

That's an interesting spin except...

The OWH notes that Terry spoke to Creighton economist Dr. Ernie Goss for advice. And I HOPE (and am sure) he talked to business leaders -- you know, people who deal with these issues on a daily basis.

And he knew what Nussle was calling him for and ended up speaking to him later. Big deal.

As far as waiting to vote -- note that the reason was to prevent others from jumping to "No" simply because a large group did at the start of the vote. It ain't a secret ballot.

Anonymous said...

Wow Street Sweeper, you sure have a lot of insider information on the Terry timeline. Why is that? And why are you so "sure" about who he talked to?

Street Sweeper said...

Try reading the OWH article.

(YOU TOO can be an "insider"!)

Anonymous said...

Pipsisewah: I find it amusing that you would try to lay the blame at the feet of the Republicans, despite all the video evidence to the contrary. Feel free to do a google search some time so you can find a video of Barney Frank getting quite incensed that anyone would DARE suggest there was a problem with Fannie/Freddie.

As for Lee Terry, I wish he had voted yes, but you know who else voted no? 5 committee chairmen, the entire CBC, and most of the Hispanic caucus. If Pelosi can't even get her committee chairs to vote yes, she has zero business trying to pin this on Republicans. The chairs will do what she tells them, or else. Hmmmm. Maybe she told them to vote no? Wouldn't be the first time she's lied.

Anonymous said...

Does anybody else think its odd that the Bankrupty Laws were changed in 05, right when the first warning signs of the subprime mortgage mess were coming in?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Lee was waiting to see which way the vote would go before he voted. That way, he could go either way.

Typical. Just like multiple other votes that Lee has taken. Wait to the last minute to make his decision.

What a joke.

Street Sweeper said...

As any "insider" who read the paper can tell you, Boehner asked him to wait:

From the OWH:

Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, had asked him to wait as long as possible to vote. Boehner was afraid that if too many no votes were cast early, others would abandon the cause.

Terry walked up to Boehner on the floor and told him that time had run out and that he had to vote against the plan.

"He shrugged and said, 'You gotta do what you gotta do,'" Terry said.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, again, playing politics with our country's future. Boehner's doing it, Lee's doing it....

Street Sweeper said...

Boehner was trying to get the bill passed. That's what you have to do. Maybe if Madam Speaker had actually worked as well, she would have gotten her bill passed.

Ah well...

Anonymous said...

Oh, I understand the political games. It's just a shame Lee likes to play along with them every single time he votes on a major issue.

Anonymous said...

Too bad he is told by leadership what to do when to do it. I'm honestly surprised that he bucked leadership and voted, no.

Too bad, he said yes before he voted no. What a joke.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, why did Lee have to check in with Boehner before he voted anyway?

Anonymous said...

And, it's a shame that you like to play along with your Party every time you open your mouth. Now go away, go back to Jimmy's Blog and NNN because no one cares about you here or wants to listen to you be so B*t*h*y!

Anonymous said...

I am glad that I only have to read the stupid comments on here. If I had to actually hear the whiney voices that go along with them I might have to deck somebody.

READ THE ARTICLE!!! He did not have to "check" with Boehner, he was giving him notice that he could not wait any longer to vote no. Boehner committed to Pelosi to get every vote he could. He did not commit to guaranteeing a Republican passage of a bad Bill. John Boehner is the Republican Leader and deserves the respect of his Conference. Lee Terry told him he could not vote for such a bad Bill, but was willing to let the Republican Leader attempt to Whip the vote. When the Whipping was done, the vote needed to be cast. Is that really too difficult for your mind to grasp. A Member of Congress being respectful of his Party's Leadership and fellow Conference Members?

Maybe you are more of the PROBLEM than the solution.

Anonymous said...

Oh give me a break.

I've worked in Congress before. I know all about whipping and what is involved. I also know what it is like to work for a Member of Congress who didn't feel like he had to go running to the Majority Leader right before he cast a controversial vote to let him know he "couldn't wait any longer."

You want to talk about whipping? Yep, it actually fits Lee Terry perfectly. Whipping boy of the Republican Conference.

Anonymous said...

Correction -- sorry I meant "Minority" Leader where Lee is concerned. My boss was in the majority when I worked for him.

Anonymous said...

Anony, you sound old and bitter.

Anonymous said...

I love how fast the Terry people jump to personal attacks when they can't defend their candidate anymore.

Old? Yeah, I'm old. Doesn't bother me. The older I get, the more life experience I have.

And bitter? Yeah, I'm getting really bitter over the way our representatves in government have screwed our entire country the past 8-10 years. Funny how it perfectly coincides with the years that Lee Terry has been in office. Yep, Lee Terry definitely leaves a bitter feeling in my life.

Anonymous said...

You should talk to someone about that. Have you considered professional counseling services?

Anonymous said...

Nope, counseling not needed. Seeing Lee Terry voted out of office in November will be all I need. :)

Anonymous said...

I wonder where Ink has been hiding???

Anonymous said...

you only wish you were YKW, because I am You Know Who, and you know squat!

btw, who says ink's been hiding? Maybe he's right in that office with you and you don't even know it?