Sunday, December 21, 2008

2008 Quotes of the Year

2008 Quotes of the Year

January

I stayed loyal but obviously Fred’s campaign didn’t have the flair I had hoped it would.
- early Fred Thompson supporter, Lee Terry


Scott Kleeb's Senate fever may be fading away. Kleeb is apparently having trouble getting the financial backing needed to make a Senate run.


All 100 Senators oughta be on the line on this. If you want a safe job, go sell shoes.
- Chuck Hagel to his Senate colleagues


And we have a mortgage. And you wouldn’t believe who’s paying for that mortgage. My wife as you know, as Kris alluded to, is on TV quite a bit, she’s on FOX News believe it or not. She’s the Democrat on FOX news. She and Alan Colmes. So I’m here to say thank you to Shepherd Smith. To say thank you to Sean Hannity. To say thank you to John Gibson for paying for my mortgage. That is absolutely the best thing that FOX News has ever done.
(Kleeb's wife later reported that she actually doesn't "make a dime" from  her appearances on FOX...)


I lost by 10,321 votes ...not that I counted.
- Kleeb (who actually lost his 2006 race by 20,641 votes)



February
Scott comes out of education. I come out of business. What has business had to do with the last two decades. Change. Change. Change.
Kleeb said the biggest difference between the two is that he, unlike his opponent, has always been a Democrat.
- OWH


March

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.
- Chuck Hagel, on whether he would serve in an Obama cabinet


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


We shouldn't have sped, we should have timed it better. I take full responsibility.
- Scott Kleeb after losing his license to drive.



April

Leavenworth Street has learned that (Tom) Osborne will retire his position as Athletic Director and will mount a late write-in campaign for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate against Mike Johanns.


There is one blog on the Republican side that I absolutely love. And it's called "LeavenStreetWorth.'"
- Jane Fleming Kleeb


Husband and parent
- Scott Kleeb ad bullet point (as opposed to his 2006 ads: "Bachelor playboy")


I think I'm going to have to go back and read Roe v. Wade. What am I missing here?
- Tony Raimondo


We'll pay whatever it costs to take this test to prove that I'm not taking drugs. Obviously, I have nothing to hide.

May

...The best Democrat to face Johanns


Esch says he's convinced Raimondo is the most qualified candidate.
- when Esch endorsed Raimondo over Kleeb


If Mr. Esch was still in law school, he would have been kicked out.
- Lee Terry campaign manager David Boomer on Jim Esch's website plagiarism


We are going to be the best person to beat Mike Johanns
- Scott Kleeb


I'll think about that later.

I don't intend to be and don't expect to be on any ballot this year.  I don't intend to be or expect to be in any administration next year.
June

MECA is one of our more prestigious boards, and there are many qualified and deserving people in our community.
- Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, after kicking David Sokol off the MECA board


Mayor Mike Fahey was advised this morning that the private funding for the new downtown baseball stadium would be in jeopardy if David Sokol was not reappointed to the MECA board.
- statement from the Mayor's office, then next day...


Fahey’s act of booting Sokol from MECA for not being a registered voter here was dirty pool.  (And re leasing it after the new NCAA contract was signed? Interesting.) This was about the mayor wiping out an adversary.
-OWH's Tom Shatel


It's hard to imagine that (delegates) are going to vote on someone at the Democratic Convention who's anti-choice, anti-civil rights for gays and anti-gun control.

Thank you all...I have to go since I promised my wife I'd take her to Sex and the City tonight and it's starting in four minutes!


July

Nebraska families cannot afford Jim Esch.
- Former Dem House candidate Richard Carter, endorsing Lee Terry


I could get an axe murderer, I could get a serial rapist and put him up here and say ‘this is Jim Esch, vote for him, he’s here with you.’ and everybody would clap. They don’t know what he looks like. Is Jim Esch here now? How are you going to vote for him? They sent a flunkie because black people are so dumb and so easily tricked that the white man sends his flunkie.
- State Sen. Ernie Chambers

It's time for a new Mayor to take up where I left off.
- Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey



August

Who's going to be the keynoter at the Democratic convention?
Oh, my money's on Chuck Hagel.
- MSNBC's Chuck Todd answering Tom Brokaw (it ended up being Virginia's Mark Warner)


I think the Right to Life side is a little more extremist
-Jim Esch


The on-the-ground impression I got was that this region is in a very difficult place right now.
- Jim Esch, reporting from Ahghanistan

A cowboy is somebody who’s concerned with things in the world in which he lives. The creak of leather as you’re riding a horse. The shadows as the sun sets. Dew on a cow’s back. The smell of rain. The smell of cut hay.
- Scott Kleeb waxing nostalgically to New Yorkers



September

I’ve now been told that, as a condition of his early support, Ben Nelson told Barack Obama that Chuck Hagel should not, could not and would not be called to serve in a new democrat administration. That pretty much solves the Hagel as Secretary of Anything question.
- L. St. correspondent Jordan McGrain at the GOP convention


To be honest with you, I don't read the blogs because I think I'd go insane probably.
- Jim Esch

I'm sorry you don't understand the process, but yes it was. It was a standalone bill incorporated into the energy bill.
- Lee Terry, responding to Jim Esch on the Hill-Terry Bill


Has anyone ever personally asked for your vote like I am now?
-  Scott Kleeb after crashing an Omaha Bar Assoc. gig


You never know when you're going to stumble across an idea that actually works.
- Jim Esch


Obama-Terry Voter anyone?
- Lee Terry ad


Scott (Kleeb)might have hurt his back leg on that, because that's the biggest stretch I have ever heard.
- Mike Johanns


It is ironic that (Congressman Lee Terry) is mocked so snidely by some in his district, given the reality that he has pursued a serious-minded, unegotistical approach to his public service.
- OWH Editorial


He was just a ranchhand, and he worked here probably a total of seven or eight months.
- Scott Kleeb's former boss, on Kleeb's career as a cowboy.


Energy: All options are on the table.
- "Jim Esch for Congress" website


My feeling on ANWR is to take that off the table.
- Esch, the week before the election.


We don’t breathe the same air as Cheney or Rove. We cancel social engagements if we look at the list and see that they’re on it.
-Mrs. Chuck Hagel



November

I love this state and I believe I love it more than Adrian Smith

Can you imagine what it would be like today if your mill levy was sixty-two and a half cents a hundred?
- Hal Daub


I don't talk to channel 7.
- City Councilman Frank Brown






December

Look, I understand that the whole world is going “green” right now, but I don’t think that means we have to recycle our mayoral candidates.
-Mayoral candidate Jim Vokal


You look at how high it's gonna be, and how you could do twists and turns all the way down into the infield, and uh, how you could generate snow...-Mayor candidate Jim Suttle proposing a toboggan run inside the new downtown CWS baseball stadium


The council needs be in lockstep with the Mayor.
- Councilman and Mayoral candidate Suttle



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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Vote third party.....just to screw with things" by the Ron Paul guy sign guy

One Out In The Third said...

Great post Sweeper...I think it is a tight race between Kleeb and Hagel as "Nebraska Politician of the Year." I think this is a race Kleeb might actually win...or come out close in...well maybe lose by 1 or 2 percent.

The Chinese New Year will be ushered in as the Year of the Ox in 2009...The political New Year though will be just another "Year of the Weasel(s)" I'm afraid. It may even be deemed the "Year of the Bailout."

May you be the first in the know of Nebraska politics in 2009. I look forward to the wonderful things the Unicameral...Governor Heineman and ol' "Earmark" Ben have up their sleeve for us in 2009. Should be an interesting year both hither and thither.

Merry Christmas and a Happy and hopefully prosperous New Year to you...and all the regulars here.

Even to you BTO...Lisa and Kyle.

Anybody file a missing persons on the Kleeb's yet?

Anonymous said...

Hands down any award for quote of the year must go to Ernie Chambers on Jim Esch.

That was the most impactful, scathing indictment Esch could have possibly received. As hard as the Buffett...er, Obama people worked North O, in on swift swoop, ole Ernie pulled the coattails right from under Esch.

Anonymous said...

"


."


Max Yashirin
January-November

Anonymous said...

Hagel's "go sell shoes" comment alone should secure politician of the year. That comment was uttered during debate over his Iraq war resolution. 48 hours later, Hagel voted against that same, and his own, resolution, proving he is nothing BUT a politician.

Anonymous said...

Im actually just shocked that Fred thompson had supporters

Anonymous said...

Well, looks like Jon Blumenthal now has a website up for a run for city council. Pretty sad looking website, in my opinion. It looks cheap.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and they can't even spell his name right in his opening paragraph. Sheesh.

Anonymous said...

Now, Jean Stothert's website looks professional. She wins so far.

Anonymous said...

Links please?

Anonymous said...

I don't think we're allowed to put links up, but they're:

www.jonblumenthal.com
www.jeanstothert.com

We'll see if StreetSweeper deletes this post! :)

Street Sweeper said...

Ordinarily we don't like self-serving links, but seeing as these are for both candidates, we'll let it fly.
SS

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Blumenthal's "plan" for the city was written by the same person who wrote Lee Terry's energy "plan." Can these guys be any more vague?

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...well, they fixed the spelling of Blumenthal's name. Guess he's reading here today...

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmmm, seems as if they had to be told that they spelled their candidates name wrong. How pitiful, must be a sign of how his race is going to be ran.

A sign of the deep thought that this candidate is going to bring to the race. What a joke.

Anonymous said...

Are the crazy Stothert supporters going to hijack every post for the next six months? I'm already sick of that race and its not even January.

Congratulations Stothert folks - you have a better website than Blumenthal. That and 15 votes would get you a seat in the legislature. Please stop hijacking these posts with your nonsense!

Anonymous said...

Since when does Anon 8:35 get to decide what is and what isn't nonsense?

Anonymous said...

Since 8:35 PM last night.