Nebraska Blogging

Say hey kids.

We hate to go more than a week without saying anything, so here is a brief post to say hello, and start out a new comment board, if nothing else.

Oh sure, the big news this week has been about the travails of Nebraska State Treasurer Shane Osborn and his family. If that is not a sad story, we don't know what is. Many commenters here on on L. St. have been anxious to make declarations one way or the other about the case, who is right, who is wrong etc.

We are not going to stop you from discussing it, but we would simply ask that you use your best judgment here and consider that there are three young children in the balance. Please try to keep it to the political issues. Your comments should show them and their family respect at all times.

**UPDATE**
Treasurer's wife drops request for protection order

***

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey is going out of office with a bang. Freezing wages, closing pools, reducing library hours (people still use libraries?). Of course many of these problems are of his own making, so he should propose fixes as well.

However, we can't get over the statements, or lack there of, of his successor, Jim Suttle.

Suttle declined to comment Thursday. His communications manager said Suttle would follow Fahey's recommendations.

"We support everything Mayor Fahey has done," spokesman Ron Gerard said. "We are fully apprised of the situation."

OK, that's fine and all, but nothing? Nothing from the Mayor-to-be at all? He's got NO suggestions? No tweaks? No proposals?

Well, we suppose at least he is being consistent from his campaign, when he didn't propose any ideas then either...

***

Senator Ben Nelson is getting more heat from Democrats. A national group, "Change Congress" is hassling him for the position he has taken regarding the goal of President Obama to nationalize the health insurance biz.

The group claims, essentially, that Nelson is beholden to the insurance industry because they've given him lots of campaign cash.

Of course, they seem to miss the point on Nelson -- pointed out by his spokesman:

Nelson, he noted, has been an insurance executive, an insurance industry regulator and a senator representing Nebraska - "arguably the insurance capital of the world."

So, maybe, just maybe, Nelson is getting the insurance money because he supports their positions, and not the other way around.

Expect Nelson to get some more face time as the Supreme Court vote heats up.

Not that he doesn't enjoy the attention. (smirk)

***

We leave off this week with a note about one of our fellow bloggers of the Left.

Kyle Michaelis's blog, New Nebraska Network has been up for around four years, about a year more than Leavenworth Street.

During that time he has written about political issues from his Democrat/Liberal/Progressive stance, and frequently criticizes us. And we enjoy criticizing him. We think he is wrong 90% or more of the time and believe that if his positions took hold in the state or country, they would have a disastrous effect.

That being said, Kyle, and some of his blogging compatriots at NNN, are very good (if not sometimes verbose) writers, and they often make their case (however wrong it may be) eloquently.

Kyle has recently suggested that his blog may go the way of the Bugeater moniker and fade into Mike Tyson's Bolivian. We think this would make the Nebraska blogging community a less interesting place.

The back and forth between Republicans and Democrats and Conservatives and Liberals and Libertarians and Progressives makes for a healthy debate. When you argue, you fine tune what you think, you make the other person think, and hopefully, we shape a better community.

Now we also enjoy the pure politics of it, and one of the reasons we get into it is because it's fun. If it wasn't fun, many wouldn't bother being involved. Having someone to argue with is a much better time.

So we suggest that after you're done reading Leavenworth Street, you hop on over to the NNN, give it a read, and possibly comment (it would make it much easier if Kyle dropped his sign-up policy -- we understand why it's there, but you have a trade-off with it). Tell Kyle why what he writes is goofy, and that he write more of it.

We hope he sticks around.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

As we get ready to bust out for the weekend...

How did we know the College Humor thing was going to come up again?
As noted by the OWH, the state vote counters on the new (gawd awful) license plates are now looking at recounting, based on the CollegeHumor.com's intervention.

As noted on their site:

The state government claims that our votes weren't counted, but it's pretty clear that no one would vote for that power-point-presentation worthy design because they liked it. They also claim that Collegehumor votes came in evenly over all the choices. We ruin a lot of polls in the hotlinks section. They usually display the results, and I can assure you that, that never happens.

Will this end?

**UPDATE at 11:25am**

And, they changed their mind. They're announcing that they're going with the Meadowlark plate -- like we had suggested all along.

***

Lee Terry was recently noted as a "House Heavyweight" on Telecom by the National Journal's Congress Daily.

More than two dozen other lawmakers and administration officials shine, and while they don't command as much attention as this power trio, they are well-positioned to leave their imprimatur on public policy...

Not One to Tarry: Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., joined with Boucher in co-sponsoring legislation to revamp the Universal Service Fund when Terry was in the majority. He's now returning the favor with Boucher in charge of the Communications subcommittee.

Rock on Lee.

***

We don't really get the point of it all, but Leavenworth Street is on Twitter, if you're into it and want to "follow" us (or whatever the hell the latest slang is for the latest web obsession).

We don't Tweet (shoot me) very often, but we do occasionally note new blog posts there, or updates. Frankly, it's just another hassle for another thing to update, but whatever.

***

Finally, this weekend, take a moment out of your Memorial Day to remember the men and women of our Armed Forces who let us sleep soundly in our hammocks because they're sleeping in tents or foxholes or in the sand.

God bless.

***

UPDATE

For those who may have missed it, see the Mano-a-Mano between President Obama and former Vice-President Cheney on national security, as edited, back and forth, by the Washington Post:

Broken news

This...

...yes this, is what is going on your car. 

Not to be confused with this:

Heck, next time just go with the Bar Code.  It has more pizzazz.  

Ah, Democracy...

(Btw, here are the reader submitted designs to the LJS.)

And just to mix it up, here is what the Platte Institute had to say about this:

Nebraskans Pay For "Ugly Betty" License Plates

Nebraska residents will soon discover what their new license plates for motor vehicles will look like. There has been plenty of public comment – mostly unfavorable – about the amateurish designs being considered. Regardless if you love or hate the new designs, you’re getting new license plates in 2011.

Only a government would operate in this fashion. Not many businesses would long survive long if, when customers walked into their store, they handed you an unattractive product and then told you to like it or lump it. Clearly governments don’t exactly play by “free market rules."

(Click here to read the whole thing -- which is about more than just plate designs.)

**UPDATE (thanks to a commenter)**

Did the College Humor website decide Nebraska's plates?

Is someone checking into this?

Has Nebraska been compromised?

(sigh...)

**UPDATE 2**

And from a comment, we couldn't resist adding the "New State Motto" to the plate:

**UPDATE 3**

We've been pointed to Paul Hammel's Friday OWH story that pointed out the CollegeHumor.com site (we didn't read that far in the article...):

Beverly Neth, the director of the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, said Friday that her department has been monitoring "hits" from that website and does not think it's influencing the poll.

How convenient

A few days ago an OpEd ran in the OWH by former "Mayor" during the Fahey Administration, Paul Landow. 

This OpEd ran three days AFTER the Mayoral election. Three days after Mike Fahey's endorsed candidate won.

Remember that candidate? Along with pledges to build a bridge to Iowa and the Pope Benedict Slide, you will remember that Jim Suttle promised that he would not rule out raising taxes.

Huh, what?

And what does Mayor Landow write?

"Mayor-elect Suttle will have to raise taxes."

Hmm. Wouldn't THAT have been a nice item to have BEFORE the election?

But of course, the gall is that Landow lists a bevy of items -- pension reform, debt, AAA bond rating, and taxes -- that the new Mayor should, nay, MUST fix.

Or, you know, they could have been addressed DURING THE PAST EIGHT YEARS!

Can we yell that loud enough?

Not only is someone suggesting that all the problems get fixed -- it's the guy who should have done it in the first place!

Jaded? Why would we be jaded?

***

In case you thought the Presidential campaign was over, if you were watching, you would have noticed that MoveOn.org and their buddies are still hunting for scalps.

Since the John McCains of the world aren't evil enough any more, now they've set their sites on the "conservative" Dem Senators. One of their top targets? Yup, E. Ben Nelson.

Take a look:






You see, Nelson had the nerve to suggest that everyone shouldn't roll over and play dead as the Obama Administration takes us on the quick jog towards socialism.

Tinker to adjust the Health Care system? Nah, put the insurance industry out of work!

Because who knows better how to fix the health care and banking industries than a Chicago community organizer?

European (or is it Asian?) Socialism is such a dandy system, lets demand that it operate here!

Oh any by the way, your Nebraska activist Dems think Ben Nelson is a traitor for doing this. "Next time I would even vote for Pete Ricketts," they'll tell you.

But no, Voter, you keep on voting for your personalities like Obama and Jim Suttle. Don't make them tell you what they'll do when they're elected -- just feel good about their speeches and hate on the other guy.

You'll like what they do after the elections, right? Right???

***

WolframAlpha... you ain't no Google.

GOP's Future in Omaha

On this day-after, let us make sure we state the obvious, lest someone try to argue otherwise at a future date:

Hal Daub beat Hal Daub on Tuesday. The election was a referendum on Daub, pure and simple.

No one (with any sense) went to the polls and said, "that Jim Suttle guy has the right ideas for Omaha!" Of course that is mainly because Suttle offered no ideas during the campaign. He simply drove the "I'm not Hal Daub!" sound car up and down the streets so that people knew they could check his name.

Daub pointed out in his election night speech that he wouldn't have done anything differently in the campaign. And how could he have? People knew who he was, knew he had all the ideas, knew he was the superior intellect and manager, and just over half the voters still decided they didn't like him. He was never going to change his personality.

And Daub was stuck at times. His negatives were always high, and he had a difficult time besting 40% in some polls. So he was forced to go negative against Suttle, to raise Suttle's negatives (which were basically in the "unknown" department prior to that). That gave Suttle the opening to go with the "same old negative Hal Daub" line. And it worked.

Daub could have tweaked some of his ads (we weren't nuts about he Suttle-sled one), but he really ran into the same problem, so to speak -- he is, was, and ever shall be Hal Daub.

But note that being "Hal Daub" nearly got him elected again. And it let him lead a successful city previously as Mayor. It let him be a successful lawyer and businessman. It let him be a successful member of the MECA board. It let him be a successful Congressman.

Daub, and the Daub campaign, should have no regrets and no apologies. Sure you can always come up with something that you would do differently as you look back. It was close. Whaddaya gonna do.

***

Now, a few notes about Hal Daub and some other candidates.

There is an argument floating around that Hal Daub should have stepped aside and let Jim Vokal (or maybe Dan Welch) run for Mayor because Daub (and Maxwell) should have known that he couldn't win the General Election no matter who he ran against.

It is certainly the case that Daub knew he would have had a much more difficult time against Jim Vokal than he did against Jim Suttle. There was a reason why Daub went after Vokal and not Suttle in the primary.

But the idea that Daub should have stepped aside for Vokal (or that Chip Maxwell should have done the same for Brian Buescher) has no merit.

If Vokal or Buescher couldn't win in the primary on their own accord, they don't deserve to be in the general. Daub lost in the general by 1,463 votes -- less than 2%. Maxwell lost by less than 500 votes. It is too convenient for the Vokal and Buescher proponents to come in now and declare who could have won those races.

We think that both Vokal and Buescher were and are outstanding candidates. They both have a bright future in Omaha and Nebraska politics, ran good campaigns and would have been excellent in the positions they sought.

But no one inherits a right to a candidacy. To suggest that someone else step aside "for the good of the party" usually means that you want them to do it for the good of your guy. Next time we suggest running a more effective campaign yourself. You control your own destiny, not the other guy.

>***

Suttle's win in Tuesday's election ended a fantastic and tumultuous career for Hal Daub. While Daub will likely be around for a long time more and continue to be a mover and shaker, it is unlikely (we think) that he will run for another major office.

So where does that leave the Republican Party in Omaha?

We look at Omaha, mainly because Dave Heineman still has a firm grasp on the Governor's office. And back locally, Lee Terry isn't leaving any space in a GOP Primary. (If Terry ever leaves or loses, there would be a cut-throat in-party battle for his seat.)

So lets focus back on Omaha city government. There is certainly a vacuum right now for the Mayor's office in 2013. Think that's too far off? Ask Jim Suttle when he decided to start running for Mayor.

So who would you point to for a challenge to him?

Running down the list of elected Republicans you could look at (in theory) Chuck Sigerson, Franklin Thompson and Jean Stothert on the Council. (Keep in mind that Suttle was a one-termer.)

There are Jim Vokal and Dan Welch who recently left, and could possibly be interested in a return.

Others interested? Dave Kramer? Dave Nabity? Someone else with enough money or influence to build up name ID? (And by the way, don't think this isn't one of the MAIN responsibilities of the state and local party apparatus.)

We're interested in your suggestions. It may give a good indication of what will happen in the nearer-than-you-think future.

Mayor Suttle

Well Omaha. You got what you wanted.
Congratulations.

We'll alert the Vatican.

........................................................VOTES PERCENT

        PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 284).  .  .  .  .       284  100.00
        REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL .  .  .  .  .         0
        BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL.  .  .  .  .  .  .    74,141

       Omaha Mayor
        Vote For  1
        Hal Daub.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    35,970   48.74
        Jim Suttle .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    37,433   50.72
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       401     .54

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT ONE
        Vote For  1
        Pete Festersen.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     6,826   61.90
        Sharon Chvala .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     4,125   37.41
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        76     .69

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT TWO
        Vote For  1
        Ben Gray.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     3,980   57.00
        Frank Brown.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     2,981   42.69
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        22     .32

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT THREE
        Vote For  1
        Chris Jerram  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     4,607   52.29
        Chip Maxwell  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     4,123   46.80
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        80     .91

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT FOUR
        Vote For  1
        Joseph P. Velasquez .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,360   20.34
        Garry Gernandt.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     5,276   78.90
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        51     .76

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT FIVE
        Vote For  1
        Jon Blumenthal.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     4,199   36.71
        Jean Stothert .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     7,200   62.95
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        39     .34

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT SIX
        Vote For  1
        Franklin T. Thompson.  .  .  .  .  .  .     8,449   56.88
        Walt Peffer.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     6,357   42.80
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        48     .32

       Omaha City Council - DISTRICT SEVEN
        Vote For  1
        Chuck Sigerson.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     9,993   93.18
        WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       731    6.82

Countin'

Early (and all) returns can be found at the Douglas County Election Commission.

You get them when everyone else gets them.

That being said, we are told that the returns are counted and posted as follows:

8:00 PM City wide pick up of votes from open to lunch (1:00 or so)

8:52 PM Early votes and votes in person made before today

9:30 PM City wide afternoon pick ups

TBA Other remaining afternoon pick ups

Keep watchin'!

Votin', votin, votin'...

A quick post before the evening begins...

***

Word has it that turn-out may be lower than 31%. Rumor has it that the election commissioner’s office has told some members in the media that turnout might be 27-28%.

So, able readers, does that help Daub or Suttle?

Arguably, Daub has more hard-core supporters than Suttle.  So you figure that they are going to be more gung-ho and vote. 

Then there are the Daub haters. Sure they're out there -- but are they really motivated to get up out of the barcalounger and vote against Daub? For Jim Suttle? (It's the Jim Suttle part that is more likely to keep them in their chair, than say a Fahey would.)

***

From a Commenter in District 3, voting at 50th and Pine:

I was (voter) #107 at 1:30 pm.

For the primary I was # 70 at 2:00 pm. Went back & checked at 6:00 and it had exactly doubled to 140. So... it appears turnout is stronger today than for primary for whatever that's worth.

***

Scott Voorhees on KFAB this morning:

"Frank Brown is a race-baiting, tub of goo."

This, after Brown called Ben Gray an "Uncle Tom".

***

Nice to see that the Dems have kept their streak alive of trashing opponents signs. We HOPEd there would be CHANGE on this front.  Apparently we were mistaken...

Omaha's last great Write-In candidate: Wack for Mayor (1981)

A little political/pop history for you on Election Day 2009.

We take you back to the Year 1981. New President Ronald Reagan was recovering from being shot. Xerox has just introduced something called a "computer mouse". And a young Kim Carnes was singing to us all about "Bettie Davis Eyes".

However, to avoid the aforementioned Ms. Carnes, in Omaha you would rock on over to Z-92 (92.3 KEZO) and get your fill of Foghat, Skynyrd, and Zepplin. (Playlist hasn't changed you say? Yeah, well, anyway...)

Z-92's morning DJs ruled Omaha. Otis Twelve (aka Otis XII) and Diver Dan Doomey were Omaha classics who had shows within their shows that still stand up today.

"Mean Farmer", "Lance Stallion, Radio Detective" and "Space Commander Wack" were a few of the 3-4 minute long shows they had on during your AM drive. (You can hear an episode here , and they can be found on iTunes, among other places.) Each was a sort of farce comedy bit, with bad special effects and overacting. People memorized them daily.

It was Space Commander Wack (Space CoMMANder!) who put a dent into Omaha politics.

We asked Otis about the show and what happened when Space Commander Wack (with sidekick Stupid Larry, and Glorf, the Dead Martian Dog [whomp]) decided to run for Mayor. Here is what he had to say:

It was 1981. Mike Boyle was running against then incumbent Al Veys . Al was a wonderful old guy - a South O grocer by trade - who wore glasses that were as thick as the windows on one of Jacques Cousteau's deep diving submersibles.

Al had won four years previously as a write-in. He was real salt of the old earth and loved telling the story of how, during his visit to Omaha's Japanese sister city, Shizuoka, the mayor there had asked him, "How often do you have erections?"

Al was shocked... dumbfounded... set aback... until the mayor continued, "We have our erections every four years." Al loved telling that one, god love him.

We really abused him - satirically speaking - and no one laughed harder than he did. He continued to invite us to parties and get-togethers long after he had left office... really a class act. A sweet man whom I still remember fondly. Still friends with Boyle as well.

And the inspiration...

Our show on Z-92 was really taking off. Wack was big and it seemed like a fun thing to try. We had no consultants or research, in those days (codger clears throat and spits into empty Pabst can) the whole idea was, "Let's do a show!"

We really had no idea what we were doing. Anyway, the inspiration was "WTF".

And then it began to snowball...

We had printed up five hundred "Wack for Mayor" bumper stickers -- which came back from the printers as "Whack for Mayor" - no problem as far as we were concerned.

Those 500 were gone in two days. Printed a thousand more. Those lasted a week. Think we ended up doing 7K plus. The public thirst for hope was unquenchable. Also did about 2000 buttons.

Local bands composed and recorded campaign songs. Ratings soared. Alcohol soaked, drug fueled, sex-laced bachanales (sic) reached into the "dark-thirty" hours. The local TV stations did features and we ripped all the powers-that-be along the way.

The mob was primed. It was a perfect scam for two would-be anarchists.

And this was the truth. You'd drive across town and see almost as many "Wack for Mayor" bumper stickers as you'd see "Boyle" or "Veys".

And Z-92 also ran their "Wack for Mayor" ad-song non-stop, (buzzy-whistle -bwang "Vote Wack For Mayor..."). It was viral marketing before viral marketing.

So then, the Election.

We had an election night "defeat party" at Peony Park" - in the Grove - with bands and the one and only in-person appearance by Wack, Stupid Larry and Glorf the Dead Martian Dog. Three thousand plus - by Peony estimates - showed up.

Local news covered our rally live like we were a real campaign. Wack's speech was a clarion call to revolution (Had I pressed the issue, I think the mob might indeed have burned down one thing or another at my direction - but cooler heads prevailed.)

We were awarded a new lucrative contract on the spot and having finally attained great wealth immediately distanced ourselves from the unwashed masses who had supported us up to then.

As for the results... well it was a very close election between Boyle and Veys. I think the final totals given (officially) were Boyle 50.1% and Veys 49.5% with "Others" at less than 1%.

But the election commissioner stopped counting the write-ins because Wack had not legally registered. (We chose not to in order to avoid any equal time problems)

But sources inside the election office (oh yes, we had listeners everywhere) subsequently informed us that Wack had received more than 4% of the vote cast. Which meant that the mayor, Mike Boyle, had been elected with a mere plurality. The government quickly covered up the truth with the collusion of the local MSM.

But all-in-all, we were gratified to discover just how seriously our fellow citizens treated their sacred right of suffrage.

We here at Leavenworth Street still recall listening to election updates from Z-92 on the kitchen radio -- with the Election Commissioner reporting that they were ending Space Commander Wack's vote count. Alas...

And what happened to Otis? Well, you can still hear his voice over at classical station 90.7, KVNO. And thanks to the miracle of the internets, you can find Otis at his Facebook page, his website, and you still hear Space Commander Wack, Mean Farmer, and Lance Stallion, among other places, on iTunes.

Thanks for our joining us back in the 80's!

***

As we get more info in, and definitely later in the evening, we'll have more updates.

In the mean time, if you have any sweet intel, have a good photo, or just something you want to get off your chest, please feel free to email at LeavenworthSt@Gmail.com.

***

For Leavenworth Street's predictions in the major races, click here.

For our last Separated at Birth of the campaign, click here.

For various videos from the campaigns, you can click on the YouTube page for Leavenworth Street, Hal Daub, or Jim Suttle. (You'll also find with an easy search that many of the Council candidates have YouTube pages as well.)

***

And remember to vote early and often!

Odds and Evens

Per tradition here on Leavenworth Street, we give you our odds for the candidates in tomorrow's Omaha Mayor race and competitive City Council elections.

As required by State Blogging Law, we state that these odds are for recreational purposes only and specifically may not be walked across the Bob Kerrey Loitering Bridge and slammed down before a riverboat book maker, while screaming, "Gimme the Over!"

Without further ado...

Mayor's Race

While Jim Suttle had shown some cockiness regarding this race, our feeling is that the Daub camp has worked hard to get their hard-cores to turn out.  Furthermore, Suttle's ambivalence to giving any details about his plans as Mayor has soured many toward him.

We believe the Undecideds will side with the Devil They Know, as it were, but nonetheless believe it will be a relatively close race.

Both sides will be working hard until the last bell. But who will work harder?

Hal Daub - 1:4
Jim Suttle - 2:1
Over/Under Daub - 52%

***

City Council

District 2

Ben Gray won the Primary by six votes. But then just 3,900 people voted. What will happen if more turn out? We think the Ernie Chambers backed Frank brown will pull it out. Are there any big reasons for voters to kick Brown out of office? Anything glaring?

Anyway, we started with Gray's name up. Then switched to Brown. Back to Gray. Then landed on Brown. Really, it's essentially what happens with Ben Nelson's hair stylist...

Frank Brown - Even
Ben Gray - 2:1
Over/Under Brown - 51%

***

District 3

Again, we're all over the board on this one.

We're going back and forth on Maxwell. With larger turnout, he has the name ID. He lost his County Board race, but that was to Marc Kraft, who also had good name ID. 

Then again Jerram has had plenty of money to get his name out. And for what it's worth, Jerram would have gotten NRL's pro-Life endorsement with Maxwell, but they focused on Chip's past as being uber-pro-life. And Jerram is Catholic too (with the whole Cathedral vs. Holy Cross dynamic).

But we're leaning Maxwell now, mainly based on name ID. Maxwell has also sent out a "comparative" mailing, so he's not sitting back -- having learned from his last race.

Of course the thing that gives us pause here is that it's a majority Dem district, and the Democrats prevailed over the Republicans in the Primary 54%-46%.

So could this go either way? Sure. But ya gotta put the odds somewhere...

Chip Maxwell - Even
Chris Jerram - 3:2
Over/under Maxwell 52%

***

District 5

Jean Stothert beat Jon Blumenthal 65% - 35% in the Primary. Both sides have worked hard, but we see no real reason why these numbers change much.

Jean Stothert - 1:20
Jon Blumenthal - 40:1
Over/Under Stothert 60%

***

District 6

Walt Peffer has been charging hard with TV and mail to knock Franklin Thompson. But Peffer's charges against Thompson are fairly difficult to nail on one person. 

We don't see them ringing true, and don't see him flipping this race much from the 56% - 44% of the Primary.

Franklin Thompson - 1:2
Walt Peffer - 4:1
Over/Under Thompson 53%

***

What say you, Commenters?
(You can't gloat later unless you post a prediction of your own, under a name or sobriquet.)

***

Note sure where to vote?

Click here to find your polling place.

Election Eve

First with your Monday morning coffee, a little SAB, courtesy of tomorrow's Omaha Mayoral election:

Former Mayor Hal Daub and Family Guy's Mayor Adam West:

And Councilman Jim Suttle and Jeff Dunham's puppet, Walter:

***

From Sunday's OWH article about Suttle and Daub, Jim Suttle was quoted as saying:

"Details, details — you guys always want details."

Now, can you imagine that? Voters want some details about the plans that a candidate wants to put in place?

Or better yet, in Suttle's case, they simply want the plan.

"I want 1,000 new jobs" is not a plan.

"I want to lower crime" is not a plan.

"I want kids to graduate" is not a plan.

Those are all laudable goals -- but they are barely even that. Who doesn't want lower crime, more graduate and more jobs? Does one even need to say that? A candidate shouldn't even need to mention those things, unless he's against them. Otherwise, we'll just assume he's pro-pro things.

What voters want is info on HOW one plans to accomplish those goals.

The irony is that the article title is, "Omaha voters asked to take leap of faith".

Well with Jim Suttle, that is absolutely true. Since he is not giving any details as to what he wants to do as Mayor, the voter is left hoping that maybe he'll do something good, possibly.

Of course he may just take the same tack as he did as Councilman -- running behind people's backs, not getting the support of the council on his plans, and planning for his next big gig four years hence -- and not making any plans in the mean time.

Think it's a "leap of faith" with Daub? Really? 

If you don't think you're getting someone who literally works 24/7, has boundless energy, a million ideas, a love for the city and serious plans for the future, then you haven't been paying attention.

Those who vote for Daub take a leap of logic. A leap of confidence.

With the other guy, you're voting into the abyss.

***

Leavenworth Street Odds coming later today!

HDTV: Economy

New Hal Daub for Omaha Mayor ad up, entitled, "Economy".

See it here:



Once again, the only Omaha Mayoral candidate giving you specifics about what he will do if elected.

To see Daub's detailed plans go to his website.

Radio, Radio

A new Hal Daub for Mayor spot, on the radio, entitled, "Endorsements".

Take a listen here:



And then there are a few more, put out by the Nebraska Alliance for the Private Sector. These three ads feature former Gubernatorial candidate Dave Nabity, and Omaha City Council President, Dan Welch.

Nabity sticks it to Jim Suttle for his campaign-long flirtation with any details on what he would do as Mayor.

Listen here:

Nabity #1



Nabity #2



Dan Welch



Exciting weekend a comin'...

***

We'll be posting at various times over the next four days, so be sure to check back.

City Counciled

There are a number of interesting City Council races in Tuesday's election that may come down to the wire.

District 2, Frank Brown vs. Ben Gray could be a nail biter.

District 3, Chip Maxwell vs. Chris Jerram, the battle of St. Cecilia vs. Holy Cross as the OWH has chosen to call it, features another Republican who could beat a Dem in a Dem district.

District 6 has incumbent Franklin Thompson battling City Hall veteran Walt Peffer, who comes at Thompson from whatever party will have him -- though we still think Thompson will take this with some ease.

But the one that the commenters like to rant and rave about here on Leavenworth Street is District 5, Jean Stothert vs. Jon Blumenthal.

Ordinarily, we would treat this race like the blow out that it has shown to be. Stothert beat Blumenthal 65% to 35% in the primary. The matchup hasn't changed since.

Oh sure the Police and Fire pension issue has come up in various ways. And Blumenthal actually has a little money to get his counter message out.

But we don't see any real reason why the numbers on this race should change.

Do you?

Let's put it this way: If Blumenthal should get to within 5%, or even (gasp) win, we would put the Blumie campaigners as a likely Pols of the Year.

But, come on. Likely?

Nah.

We're guessing that some of you have opinions on these races.

Svoboda out of Lincoln Council

Former Lincoln Mayoral candidate and Lincoln City Councilman Ken Svoboda lost his re-election bid yesterday, coming in fourth in the catch-as-catch-can Lincoln City Council election. The top three vote getters were Jayne Snyder (D), Adam Hornung (R), and Eugene Carroll (D).

This was apparently a pretty dirty race at all levels, but frankly we just didn't follow it that closely.  But sometimes info is hard to come by.  For instance, Svoboda was "unavailable for comment" by the LJS last night. Unavailable? No cell phone? Didn't make a statement at his campaign party?  

Think there's room for a Lincoln politics blog?

And was Svoboda's loss by a mere 600 votes due to his Selleck-esque mustache? We have no idea.

***

The OWH endorsed Hal Daub today.

The gave the standard reason that everyone knows for voting for Daub:  whip-smart, never stops working, a million ideas, superb record.

But what was telling was how harsh the OWH decided to go on Suttle.  Example:

Then there is the issue of temperament. Daub isn’t known for being warm and fuzzy. But neither is Suttle. Far from being the nice guy who supposedly can make peace with everyone, Suttle has left a City Council record marked by his strained relations not only with his fellow council members but also with Mayor Mike Fahey. The record shows it.

Four council members took the highly unusual step of voting to strip the funding from a $200,000 project Suttle had proposed. Suttle showed poor diplomatic skills when he disrespected Fahey by going to Washington, D.C., and attempting to negotiate for a bridge without Fahey’s knowledge. Due to that and other disagreements, relations between the two men were remarkably strained for years.

Early this year, Suttle handled matters with neighborhood associations during a public forum in such a way that leaders with seven of those associations wrote The World-Herald to express their opposition to his statements

Ouch!!!

And that's not even the whole thing.  Take a look yourself.

(We still think Daub has a good chance in this election, even with the OWH's endorsement...)

***

The last you'll care about the money contest in the Omaha Mayor's race: Hal Daub clobbered Jim Suttle in total cash taken in, $1,012,558 to $693,020.

You remember hearing from Suttle partisans prior to the primary about how Suttle's fundraising shows how much support he has.

Will they give Daub his due here?

We will expect that right around the time Jim Suttle tells us how he plans to bring in 1,000 new jobs to Omaha. He has only had four years to think about it.

***

Dem's Love Lee Terry!

You heard Jim Esch tell you that Lee Terry was one of the most partisan, least easy to get along with, hated by the the Dems so-and-so this side of the Rockies. 

You have heard it from the state and local Dems about Terry. And you will no doubt hear it from Tom White or whomever the Dems trot out next to take on Terry.

But one group you don't hear it from? His Democrat colleagues.

In a survey by The Hill of the House of Representatives, Democrats found Lee Terry to be one of the ten most bipartisan Republicans in the chamber. (The most partisan Democrat? Speaker Nancy Pelosi.)

Keep stories like that -- along with statements from Democrat Chairman John Dingell -- in mind the next time you hear the local Dems ranting and raving about Terry. They obviously don't know him.

Terry's Democrat colleagues in the House obviously do.

(Btw, Terry has a new official website.  Check it out here.)

Suttle TV: Disco kid

Jim Suttle has a new ad out called, "In The Past".
See it here:



This spot, by Murphy Putnam out of Alexandria, Virginia, of course is misleading.

The immigration bill that is referenced, that may have done all sorts of "reforming of immigration", also provided a giant amnesty for illegal aliens.   And Hal Daub voted against amnesty for illegal aliens.

And you should note that when asked, Jim Suttle said that as far as amnesty for illegal aliens goes, "I really have an open mind on that whole issue."

Of course Hal Daub has stated his position against amnesty over and over, but Suttle thinks the vote is a big "Gotcha!" on Daub. (And of course we already pointed out that Suttle's comparisons to Daub on the tax issues are not apples to apples in any case.)

But hey, Murphy Putnam, ya know you, eh, left the "Starsky & Hutch" chase-scene music going while you're talking about Suttle. So when you get right down to it, when people hear the "wocka-wocka-wocka" music, they're thinking Jim Suttle in a pair of bell-bottoms. (Once again, not a visual we are happy about.)

And what is it you have against aerobics? A glance at the Prairie Life group schedule  says that the "Step Jam" class is at 8:00 AM on Saturdays...

***

From the OWH: "Suttle declined to say Monday whether he would support a tax increase to address the city’s budget shortfall."

Suttle not giving specifics about his plans if elected???  Shocker!

Here, we will lay it out for you:  All Omahans who want higher property taxes should vote Jim Suttle next week.  There.

***

Nebraska Right to Life has their endorsements in the Omaha Mayor's and City Council races, as well as the Lincoln City Council races:

Mayor: Hal Daub
Dist 1: Sharon Chvala
Dist 2: nobody
Dist 3: Chip Maxwell
Dist 4: nobody
Dist 5: Jean Stothert and Jon Blumenthal
Dist 6: Franklin Thompson
Dist 7: Chuck Sigerson

Lincoln City Council: Adam Hornung and Ken Svoboda

Annnnd the OWH made their Omaha City Council endorsements as well:

Dist 1: Pete Festerson ("down-to-earth manner")
Dist 2: Ben Gray (Frank Brown has a "reputation as an officeholder who can be difficult to work with")
Dist 3: Chip Maxwell (has a "proven ability and dedication to tackle tough budget and tax challenges")
Dist 4: Garry Gernandt ("comfortable in mingling with constituents")
Dist 5: Jean Stothert ("demonstrated the ability to work effectively"; has "a capable opponent")
Dist 6: Franklin Thompson ("has a strong backbone")

Dist 7: Chuck Sigerson ("a beautiful head of hair*")

An OWH endorsement should not necessarily be held against a candidate.

*quote may have been fabricated

HDTV, a new poll, and voting now

New Hal Daub for Mayor ad up, entitled "Enforce".

See it here:



Pretty straightforward spot on Jim Suttle's dismissal of the illegal immigration problem.

Suttle is against enforcement and apparently is all-for open borders. By the way, Suttle refused to speak to Joe Jordan on camera about this issue, lest, you know, someone call him on ANY specifics.

***

Sunday's OWH poll showed Daub ahead of Suttle in their recent poll of 384 registered (note registered, not likely, voters) 42% - 39%, with 18% undecided. The poll has a margin of error of nearly five points, so it's a statistical dead heat.

We would note that these numbers are immediately skewed, as the primary showed that while the 2008 voter registrations increased significantly, it was essentially based on the cult-of-Obama effect -- and many of those new voters don't care a whip about voting Hal Daub or Jim Suttle.

In any case, we still found the results to be a poor showing for Suttle. Why?

Well, as noted in the article, Hal Daub carries high negatives. He has been around for a while, and people have an opinion of him -- positively or negatively. So we've seen polling that shows Daub's negatives around 38 or 39%. Yet Jim Suttle still can't poll above that?

So Suttle pulls in the Daub haters. Fine. But that maxes him out. The fact that Hal Daub pulls in a solid number, save the undecideds, despite the Dem to Repub advantage in Omaha, says a lot for him.

Of course it still means his supporters have to get out and vote -- and bring their friends. But if Jim Suttle thought his internal polls showed that he has it all wrapped up, he may just want to break into that package and see what it really holds.

***

And now something that all of Nebraska can really get excited about: The new license plates!

Once again, someone took approximately fifteen minutes out of their day and whipped together four plates with zero character or individuality to represent Nebraskans as they make their way to Wally World each summer.

Let's take a look! (In our own order...)

Number 1:

Oh, my freaking gawd. This is really a choice? Seriously? What was the inspiration here? The generic beer can from the 70's?

And what's the color-scheme here? Early 1970s communist bloc? Did someone really come up with this, or was this just the template they were working from, and couldn't come up with a fourth choice?

Lordy...

Number 2:


"The Good Life" And what says, "Good" more than a plain blue outline? It's almost as if Nebraska is its own little island surrounded by an ocean of bluest blue.

Except that the way it fades on the right, it would seem that Iowa may just be creeping into that Good-ness -- and that's something we just can't have. Thanks again for a whole lot of 100% un-creativeness. (It's a word.)

By the way, nice font choice. What is that, MS Reference Sans Serif?

Number 3:


"The prick of the Plains". Yeah, yeah, everyone is so psyched about their state capitol. Except that ask anyone from another state and I'll bet they'll ask why there's a skyscraper on the plates. And another question will be, with a snicker, "Is that Nebraska's skyscraper?"

And then you'll spend another ten minutes arguing that Nebraska has several skyscrapers and their state's football team sucks and to shut the hell up.

So that brings us to...

Number 4:


The Meadowlark and the Goldenrod. OK, fine. If this doesn't win, someone is just screwing with you. If the point of all this was, "Give them the Meadowlark and three others that no one would choose," then mission accomplished.

I'd argue that the bird could be positioned better, or whatever, but considering the alternatives, I guess I'll just keep my trap shut. ("Oh, the bird's no good? Well then here's your plain-label plate, buster!")

So there you go Nebraska. By the way, you need to click here , to get to the voting page, since they've managed to hide the link on their main page in a crawl. Geez.

More 2010

Ah, 2010. The year we will finally be driving flying cars, wheeling around in jet-packs, and having a delicious dinner provided by a single pill.

At least that's what we were told back in the 70's. (For those of you not born yet, we were also told that we were going to rock and roll all night and party every day. But anyway...)

So some are thinking about 2010 more than others. Those include Rebekah Davis, the Democrat who moved back to Nebraska in order to challenge Congressman Adrian Smith for the 3rd District Congressional seat. There are State Senator Steve Lathrop and industrialist Tony Raimondo whom some have speculated may try for the Dem nomination to take on Dave Heineman.

And then there's the 2nd District Congressional seat. Much was made about President Obama's victory there in 2008, capturing an Electoral Vote. But you will remember that even with the Obama coattails, Democrat Jim Esch couldn't make it past Congressman Lee Terry.

In the meantime, as of 12/31/08, the Esch for Congress committee was still over $200,000 in debt. (Wonder if the state Dems help him out of that...) But will we see Jim again in the Year of the Flyin' SmartCar? Not likely.

But that doesn't mean others aren't up to it. For one, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has said they plan to target those 29 Republican Congressional districts where Obama won in 2008. Of course, they're not going to throw good money after bad, so it certainly depends on the candidate.

For some time the rumored Dem has been State Senator Tom White (he of the Kramer-esque doo), and White has certainly been pumping his name to elevate his status. White is likely to check the political winds to see what his odds are before committing. Will the DCCC be the breeze that tilts him in?

In any case, as newsed about the other day, a Republican has decided he will challenge Terry in the 2010 primary.

His name is Matt Sakalosky -- or Mat Sak -- and he's having his coming out party tonight at the German American Society.

Sakalosky already has his website up and running, and has a campaign manager named Lois Akers.

His website and press releases state that the thirty-seven year old has not been involved in Republican politics, or any other politics before. He states that he has "great support from active party members", but won't yet divulge who is supporting his quest to unseat Terry in the primary.

His original website had a section entitled, "Opponent Profile", but that is not included in his present edition. He has noted that he doesn't agree with Terry's original TARP vote.

Depending on what sort of resources Sakalosky can muster, Dems will be overjoyed by his entry into this race. Sakalosky's positions are the standard list of traditional Republican points, and will probably force Terry to lean hard right into them. Of course this usually means that Terry would have to run back to the center in the general -- possibly against an uncontested Democrat who has been positioning him or herself there for a year.

It will be interested to see where all this leads. Is it a bad thing for Terry to be contested? Get his name out a little more? Make him defend his GOP bona fides? Or will it just make a general election battle that much more difficult?

Think about it as you have that bacon-and-eggs-with-a-side-of-toast pill for breakfast.

***

And so that the Jean Stothert and Jon Blumenthal supporters can go at each others throats on the comment boards here, we direct you to the OWH story that states that, should she win, Jean Stothert's husband will have to resign his $58,000/year job as part-time medical director for the Fire Department.

Stothert says she just found out about that after the primary. Jon Blumenthal says that it shows her ties to the Fire Department, and would make her one-sided in negotiations.

Followers of each camp should wipe the spittle off the corners of their mouth while commenting, lest they ruin their keyboards.