Weekly GOP Address...by Sen. Mike Johanns

Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns delivers the Weekly GOP Address.
See it here.



While we're at it, Sen. Johanns also had an article published the other day on Politico regarding "Cap and Trade". (Which, if we're not mistaken, was a hip-hop group from the '80s.)
See Mike's article here.

Heineman: “Very unlikely I'll run for the Senate”

Governor Dave Heineman told the Lincoln Journal Star yesterday:

“...it's very unlikely I'll run for the Senate (in 2012).”

However...(chuckle)

"The only reason I'm willing to take a look (at a future Senate race) is because people tell me they are so mad at Senator Nelson for his vote on health care. And the intensity of that is growing."

Oh, well we won’t throw out our Heineman ‘12! buttons just yet...

***

And to keep you up on that Governor’s race, Heineman’s opponent just said he is in favor of amnesty for illegal aliens.

(Really.)

Take THAT Fremont!

***

Ben Nelson has declared that he wants all groups putting up political ads on TV to say who is funding them!

Hmm. You mean like the one paid for by a certain new Democrat group in the state put up last fall against Congressman Lee Terry?

(You know, we could have swore the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club said they didn’t like these “stupid” “offensive” ads, that are “not the way we do business in the state of Nebraska.”)

Maybe get the ball started rolling with that group. You know, just to show you mean what you say and you say what you mean, Senator.

***

Speaking of ads against Congressman Terry, the latest list by the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee has a list of 60 races they are reserving ad time for.

Of that, they are planning to spend against three GOP incumbent seats.

Lee Terry, currently, ain’t one of them.

Hmm.

Could be that the DCCC has a little less enthusiasm about Tom White than previously thought?

***

And speaking of doing as they say, we were reading Democrat candidate Tom White’s press releases from the other day.

Seems he wants FULL DISCLOSURE to be the name of the game for his bid to become another vote for the Pelosi/Obama Agenda.

So, in that spirit (inspired by a commenter), we ask the following of State Senator Tom White:

We call on State Senator Tom White to come clean to Nebraskans about his cozy connections with Lincoln lobbyists and special interests.

Lincoln lobbyists and special interests are and have been funding the majority of Tom White's campaigns, and he owes Nebraskans an explanation of exactly what he’s promised them in return.

Senator White should disclose the following:

* His schedule for the Unicameral though his career.

* Any and all meetings with lobbyists, both during the day and after-hours, and the topics of discussion during those meetings – issues, policy, legislation, or other matters.

* Any legislative action taken at the request of lobbyists.

* Any statements written by lobbyists in whole or in part and used in floors speeches or read into the Unicameral Record by White.

Senator White's coziness with Lincoln lobbyists has had a direct impact on his voting record.

Oh, we think there will be more to come on Tom White.

What I saw at the Dem convention

As you may know, Nebraska Democrats held their convention in Columbus last weekend.

Since we wanted to get an idea of what went on -- from the inside -- we asked a conventioneer if he would report back to us some of the goings-on.

So, here is a brief synopsis of some of the excitement from last weekend, by the one and only, Democrat, Brian T. Osborn.

Just before I headed out for the Nebraska Democratic Party State Convention last Friday, Sweeper asked me if I would consider reporting on the proceedings from my personal perspective. Since Leavenworth Street is THE place on the web for discussions concerning Nebraska politics, I agreed.


The purpose of the convention, other than the election of the various party officers, caucus chairs, and the filling of other positions on committees and such, is to generate or modify the rules that govern how the party is supposed to function and to construct a party platform. Seeing how those rules and principles are so universally ignored following a convention, maybe it would be best if we just concentrated on electing a Chair for the party, handing him/her dictatorial powers, then adjourning to go enjoy an adult beverage or three.


The discussions concerning the Platform were predictably long, tedious, and a vision of what hell must be like. This is the time that all those in love with their own voices have the opportunity to wax poetic.


Never will anyone hear more 'whereases', and 'be it resolveds'. When a simple statement such as, "The Nebraska Democratic Party favors good, and abhors evil," could suffice, we end up, instead, with paragraph upon paragraph of narrowly defined verbiage to assuage the egos of the authors. If everyone's personally favored group or cause isn't mentioned, there comes a flood of amendments, motions, and comments for and against ad nauseam.


Since the Platform discussions take place early Sunday, while everyone is still fresh, they are alloted much more time than those dedicated to the the arguments over the Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) on Saturday.


Never-mind that the C&B are the rules that govern how the party is run, and delineates the authority granted the various officers, caucuses and committees; ignore the fact that the Platform, once adopted never sees the light of day until the following convention, since it is universally ignored by practically every candidate and elected official; it is the Platform that gets the lion's share of attention.


From a personal perspective, there were two or three highlights I would like to share.


Perhaps the most irritating of them took place during the 3rd CD Caucus. Brent Hultine, a member of the NDP Rules Committee, someone you would think SHOULD know better, made a motion to donate $500 to each of the statewide candidates from the 3rd CD Organizations treasury.


Now, let me explain that the CD Caucus and the CD Organization are two completely different groups, however comprised of some overlapping membership, and the CD Caucus has no treasury. I pointed out the idiocy of such a move to the Chair, Marion Bahensky, who basically told me that it was appropriate, since she is the Chair of both groups.


Once the caucus finally realized that error, the Chair then basically said, "That's alright the CDO's Executive Committee can decide to give the money, totally disregarding the fact that the CDO's Bylaws only allow the EC to spend up to $50 without authorization by the group's convened body. I then told her that doing so would result in me filing a complaint with AG Bruning and somebody would be going to jail. Of course, many of the delegates decided that it was I who was the a** in the situation. Go figure!


Sunday morning we were "blessed" by the presence of Sen. Nelson. As the Sweeper's regular readers will note, I consider Sen. Nelson to be nothing more than a Republican in Democratic clothing. He blathered on about a bunch of stuff he'd love to take credit for, and strategically ignored the sins against the Democratic Party that he has so recently committed.


Finally, as everyone at Sunday's meeting wondered just what I was up to when I stepped to the microphone during the time for crafting resolutions (rumors I had spread that I would enter one censoring Sen. Nelson obviously had some of them nervous) were dumbfounded by what came out of my mouth.


I declared that I wanted a resolution to state, "The Nebraska Democratic Party supports and promotes the legalization of medicinal marijuana." After the laughter died down, and Robin Quarles seconded the motion, I explained my reasoning. Anyone who ever watched a loved one die a lingering, painful death from cancer or some other debilitating disease would probably give them anything they could to alleviate the suffering. Marijuana is a God given herb that does just that. It does it better than most of the pain killers manufactured by corporate pharmaceutical companies.


The resolution passed. Finally ... my faith in the NDP was somewhat restored.

And on the speakers...

A variety of speakers appeared before the gathered delegates at the NDP State Convention this past weekend. Some were able to get the crowd pumped up, others could have a great career producing audio recordings to aid insomniacs get some much needed sleep, and others were, thankfully, somewhere in between but brief. A suggestion to anyone that ever finds themselves in the position of addressing such a crowd ... leave the Power Point at home, memorize your speech, make it brief and learn how to use the microphone.

Don Walton wrote about Sen. Ben Nelson rallying the Democrats. That he did, although I personally found it to be nothing but boiler-plate blather in the best traditions of vote pandering candidates - take credit for all that has gone right whether you were directly responsible or not, and avoid addressing those things that could incite a lynch mob to come after you. I saw many in the audience that I know to be harsh critics of Nelson flapping their fins and barking their approval like so many trained seals. I couldn't bring myself to join in. It would have been an offense to the unemployed that Ben has turned his back on.

Sen. George McGovern, although a very laid back speaker, enthralled the audience with his tales of how, during WWII as a B-24 pilot, he was more proud of having delivered loads of food to refugees than he was for having dropped bombs on the enemy - not that he regretted having done that. The experience has driven him to fight hunger world-wide as an envoy for the United Nations. He offered up some bon-mots on his political experiences, but preferred, it seemed, to harangue the crowd more about the fight against hunger.

All the candidates had their turns. Tom White and Mike Meister delivered pugnacious presentations that seemed to meet with much approval. Pulling punches evidently aren't in either of their bags of tricks. As the campaigns heat up, I think that Nebraskans will find them to be more than merely entertaining. The ladies, Ivy Harper and Rebekah Davis were much more reserved. Their demure addresses, while heartfelt and well presented, just didn't have the punch that the guys delivered. I have to note, however, that I am more familiar with Ms. Davis, since she comes from my district and I'd have to say that she is doing a much more effective job of communicating than she did earlier on. She is a soft spoken, yet articulate and thoughtful young woman that Rep. Adrian Smith had best not write off too readily.

I'll admit I didn't really listen to the fellow that spoke about unions and such, I was busy working the back of the room. But what I did see and hear, while it appeared to be informative, would have had me snoring like a drunken sailor in short order. But that's just me.

Thanks BTO!

Dems invade Columbus

As Nebraska Democrats gather in that city named after the vile, genocidal, American Indian hating Italian, (Chris Columbus), we will have some fun this weekend taking stock of their party.

Don Walton of the LJS has started the ball rolling, talking to their various leaders (and those who would like them toppled).

So, we find Nebraska Democrat Party Chair Vic Covalt thinks voters in western Nebraska don't like Democrats because the voters are filled with hate.

Got that, rubes west of Lincoln (because that is where “west” starts, right)? You’ve got hate in your ears!

Then there’s Jane Kleeb who has fashioned her own group “outside the traditional party structure”.  She says that INside the party structure there needs to be new leadership.

You got that Vic? JANE SAYS YOUR SERVICES ARE NO LONGER NEEDED.

CAN SHE BE ANY MORE CLEAR???

***

Of course Kleeb’s plan to pump up the volume in Nebraska?

That would be more money from outside Nebraska.

Her vanity-project, which she claims gets the “majority” of its money from a single Nebraska donor, has materials prepared to get money from non-Nebraskans. That way she and her staff of six will have more funds to post funny things on Facebook.

That is “the new”.

“And the new is frustrated with the old,” she says.

Got that Old Man Covalt!

***

Of course, we always chuckle when Mrs. Kleeb is quoted in the paper (and she seems to be the mouth-piece for you Dems these days, eh?).

When Don W. really got her rolling, her line was, “Nebraska is winnable.”

Nebraska is “winnable”?

To whom? For what?

Oh yeah. You see, Jane still sees Nebraska as an “it”, or a “them”.

Not a “we”.

But the only time you’re talking about the whole state as winnable or not, is when there’s a Presidential race.

And, last we checked, “Nebraska” is not going that way. Not by a long shot.

But hey Democrats, good luck with handing over the keys to “the new”.

They have this bitchin’ Facebook page....

***

Oh, and by the way:  Nothing says "new" like George McGovern...

**UPDATE**

Alas.

Meet the New Boss.
(Same as the Old Boss.)

Nebraska Governor’s race poll

Rasmussen has a new poll out on the Gov’s race, and a few other issues.

The poll was taken yesterday to get data on Mike Meister, so here goes:

Dave Heineman: 71%
Mike Meister: 18%
Other: 2%
Undecided: 8%

Yup, 71%.

Back in March, Rasmussen had Governor Dave at 61% and Mark Lakers at 23%.

And here’s just Democrats:
Heineman: 40%
Meister: 46%

Ouch.

Heinman leads Meister 4 to 1 among “Independents”.

On other questions, 66% of Nebraskans support repeal of Obamacare.
73% support passage of an Arizona-like law for illegal immigrants.

See more of the statewide poll results here.

Dems find a "someone"

First to start your Monday morning, a little Separated at Birth for ya...

New Nebraska Democrat Gubernatorial candidate, Mike Meister, and the late, great, John Candy!

***

When we first saw (on Saturday) that Meister had reserved the Scotts Bluff County courthouse for an announcement, we knew that he wasn’t there just to announce his announcement at a later date. (a’la Chuck Hagel’s Presidential aspirations...)

So of course we went immediately where anyone would go for the latest 411: Meister's Facebook page.

But Meister had clicked up the latest privacy settings on his page, and now one can only see the most basic info.

Which is why we copied it last week.

Here’s the thing. If you are thinking about running for office -- or even if you’re not -- at least have your page private to only your “friends”. Just a suggestion.

So what do we learn about the REAL Mike Meister from that last bastion of internet honesty?

Well...

Relationship Status:

It's Complicated

OK, we can dig that. We won’t dwell.

Mike Meister Why do women think that telling you your a great guy or your a nice guy blunts the effect of flaying you open and laying you bare? Anyone...?

May 20 at 10:50am

Um...er...we don’t really know Mike.

Mike Meister Ever had one of those days where it just felt like "Crap on me day"

March 15 at 4:15pm

Is that, like, a request? Or an observation? In any case, we’ll just say that, yes Mike, we too have had bad days. (We don’t always go public with said...crap...but you get the gist.)

Mike likes Mark Lakers for Governor.

Well, sure. Who didn't?

Mike Meister How did I get home last night?

January 17 at 11:17am

Not usually the thing you want to hear out of your candidate...

Mike joined the group Mike's Time Is Now!! Boyle for Governor 2010!!

If only Mike M. If only...

So there ya go, readers. Mike Meister, as only his Facebook friends know him. If you want to know the rest, and how he really was planning to run for Governor all along, and how awful he thinks DH is, and his plans to change Nebraska...well...maybe you won’t find all that on the news.

But we wish him good travels across the state. (And would suggest a driver.)

We will likely have more on Meister after his announcement at 3pm today.

***

The quarterly fundraising numbers are out for the Congressional races.

In NE-2, we wonder what the DCCC will think of Tom White's showing. One usually expects a targeted race to build up its fundraising numbers as the campaign progresses--but White is going in the other direction.

FEC reports show White raised $150,000 in the first quarter of 2010 but then dips --$140,000-- in the second quarter.

We wonder if come autumn, the DCCC and the rest of its partners will have their attention pulled to races where they are playing more defense than offense.

***

You may have noticed that the comments section here on Leavenworth Street took quite the bounce in the last few days.

Crazy enough, it coincided with the establishment of “Bold Nebraska”, the Jane Kleeb led group which plans to reintroduce liberal Democrats to Nebraska -- apparently one comment at a time. (You get the impression they cut and paste from Daily Kos a lot...)

You see, Bold Nebraska has a paid staff of at least six -- and another four or five who get invited to the after-hours parties, and well, they have clearly found their voice here on Leavenworth Street.

It is good to know that Mrs. Kleeb, who used to be found on Fox News and MSNBC and the Hawk and Dove and Tune Inn, now finds joy for herself and her staff here on L. St.

Heck, we welcome other voices.

It would seem however, that Mrs. Kleeb is not so welcoming.

How else to see her pique -- nay rage -- at the new competing ultra liberal group on Facebook, Boulder Nebraska. Boulder Nebraska has staked out positions supporting Arlen Specter, Joe Biden and the combined ticket of Obama-Pelosi-Tom White.

But Kleeb doesn’t like the cut of their liberal jib. And she has attempted to silence Boulder Nebraska from their Facebook readers.

Why?

Well, for one, Boulder Nebraska has asked about the funding of Jane Kleeb’s group, Bold Nebraska.

(Boulder Nebraska states that they are unpaid.)

It is an interesting question, seeing as Bold Nebraska has become an arm of the Tom White for Congress campaign, providing him with “trackers” to stalk Lee Terry (and his family).

And Bold Nebraska has provided talking points on many issues against Terry and Governor Dave Heineman and various other liberal causes on different websites, etc.

Which is fine -- except that is usually the purview of the political parties. The ones who have to tell you who is giving them money. And, generally, how it is spent.

Jane Kleeb and Bold Nebraska have invented a way to avoid all that nasty reporting, etc.

Well, that’s interesting, huh? Wonder if the MSM will follow-upt?

In the mean time, it’s good to know that SOMEONE is making a decent wage to write on this blog...

***

And just to throw this out...we are hearing rumblings about a possible "special guest" for the Connor Oberst concert/protest of the Fremont law on 7/31.

We'll just say that our info is sketchy, but that said-special-guest was born in Brooklyn, has run for President and has hosted SNL.  And we can't for the life of us see why people would think he would be effective in Nebraska.

But if this never happens, fugeddaboutit.  If it does, you heard it hear first...

Everything but a Dem candidate

A strange amount of political posturing during this hot July in an election year. But is it full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? Well...

First there’s Mike Meister of Scottsbluff, who would seem to be the current go-to guy for the Dems to have a candidate for Governor.

Meister said he is 98% committed to running for Governor.

But, ah, that last 2%.

It seems that Meister is not crazy about that little bugaboo of running for office: fundraising. It sounds like he essentially wants the state Democrat party to be his campaign fundraising arm.

How much he would be involved in actually dialing for dollars is unknown, but it would be an unusual partnership. Maybe not unworkable, but certainly not the usual relationship.

***

So what does the state Democrat party do in the mean time? Well, if you’re Chairman Vic Covalt, you send out a fundraising email!

From Covalt:

Unless you, as our dedicated Nebraska Democrats, send in contribution to support a Democratic campaign for Governor. Otherwise, Nebraska will have no choice except Dave Heineman....

It is time for every Nebraska Democrat to step up with a donation. Help us help you recruit and support a good candidate for Governor.

Now. Not later. Or it will be too late.

Awesome Vic! Because who wouldn’t want to send you a bunch of their hard-earned money for a completely unknown campaign, for an unknown candidate, to your tightly run organization. Sounds like money well-spent to us!

***

But who IS running the Nebraska Democrat party these days, anyway?

Heck, don’t ask them.

Is it Vic Covalt? One wouldn’t think the party elders are nuts about him right now.

How about Dem national committeeman Vince Powers? Is anyone consulting him on things?

Anne Boyle? Well, she successfully torpedoed the Mark Lakers campaign from within, essentially dooming the Dem’s Governor candidate without a “Plan B” anywhere in sight.

Ah, but then there’s that stealthy group out there, previously unknown, but now coming to light. We speak of “Bold Nebraska” (we know they are “bold” because it’s right there in the name).

Bold Nebraska has run some lame ads earlier in the year that no one remembers, and are responsible for the recent trackers/stalkers on behalf of Tom White against Congressman Lee Terry.

So who is running BN? Well, it’s a laundry-list of used-to-bees in the state Dems. If you’ve followed along, you know that “In the Neb!” Jane Fleming Kleeb is running the show. But the top name on their “Board of Directors”? Former Dem state chair Steve Achepohl.

You remember Steve. When asked last fall if he had anyone to run against Governor Dave Heineman, he responded, “I’m not God.”

So are there some bitter grapes from Achepohl after he was essentially rousted from the party? Does Vince Powers have any idea what is going on at the underground-party HQ? Who have the likes of the Boyles -- and Ben Nelson -- blessed to be really running the show for the group-that-answers-to-no-one?

Dunno. But that convention in a few weeks could possibly be a good show.

***

But that’s not the ONLY new Bold group out there! Because what’s the only thing that could be more-Bold than Bold Nebraska???

Why that would be “BOULDER NEBRASKA”!

Yes, we have been contacted by the new group, Boulder Nebraska, who describe themselves thusly:

Our motto is: "Sometimes being BOLD isn't enough, it's time to be BOULDER!!!!" We want to bring Boulder Colorado Values to Nebraska!!! We are not financed by some rich billionaire or tied to the Cult of Personality of one politico, we are Boulder!!!

They even have a Facebook page up which describes themselves as:

We are a group of liberal progressives trying to bring Boulder Colorado values to Nebraska.

They have numerous posts up already, and seem to be pretty progressive. And pretty bold. REALLY bold.

They seem to really be pressing for the Obama - Pelosi - Tom White agenda.

We are informed that they are not funded by George Soros.
(Not YET, anyway...)

**UPDATE 7/15/10**

We received this rather harsh statement from Boulder Nebraska, who asked us to post this here:

We at Boulder Nebraska have seen the mistatements Jane Kleeb has made about our group. We are not a part of any political party or under the direction or control of the Nebraska GOP. We are not funded by anybody and we are not a front for some out-state organization. We are also not an ASTROTURFER organization like BOLD NEBRASKA that will not reveal its funding sources and what it pays its mouthpiece Jane Kleeb. We thought transparancy in politics was a progressive virtue apparently for BOLD NEBRASKA that is not the case. Furthermore, we are not about promoting any individuals unlike BOLD NEBRASKA, we are about discussing Progressive issues with Nebraska voters. Trash us all you want Ms. Kleeb but the truth remains you are a paid political hack moving from gig to gig.

Sincerely
The non-paid organizers of Boulder Nebraska

***

Oh, and we almost forgot this little item that was sent to us the other day (by a country-club "tracker", ha!):

Tom White campaigning at the Field Club pool (with his man-bag over the arm).

Now that's some voter out-reach!

***

Then just to round things out around the the Third District, Congressman Adrian Smith and Democrat candidate Rebekah Davis seem to have a new opponent in their midst.

Dan Hill has said he is going to run as an Independent in this race.

Hill says that he used to be a Republican, but doesn’t like the party anymore. In any case he said he would have a nearly identical voting record to Smith.

Uh, so there ya go.

With that plan, why wouldn’t you blow a bunch of your own cash on yard signs and hotel ballroom rentals and gas money and fast food?

***

But just to show you that Mr. Hill there isn’t the only one getting ahead of himself, look no further than the 2013 campaign for the Mayor of Omaha!

(The what?)

That’s right, none other than Christopher Geary has already set up his Facebook campaign page for that office.

So here’s our plan: Instead of constantly having Geary and Mort Sullivan and Jerry Odom and maybe Pat Flynn and probably this Dan Hill constantly running for Mayor and Governor and Senator and President, why don’t we just have a separate primary for them?

Whoever wins gets to be the nominee from the “Perpetual Candidate Party”, and they can pool their resources and votes. Think how much more crowded their post-election parties would be! And you’d have just one website you would have to visit, or just one robo-call to receive.

Someone needs to get working on this, pronto.

***

And finally, KETV informs us that Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle will hit the Dundee Dell bar at 1AM on Thursday to celebrate the extension of closing time for Omaha bars to 2AM.

Because that is just the time bar-goers will give coherent, well thought-out suggestions to the Mayor. (Our over/under on the number of times the wobbly guy tells the Mayor that he’s “awesome”: 13.)  But where to park the Durango?

Just remember Mayor, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay there.

4th of July 2010

The rainy 4th of July produced a dearth of parade photos from your favorite pols.
We received few, and the ones we did receive were fairly...lame.

Thus, no awards to anyone.
Ah well. Maybe next year.

Nonetheless, here ya go...

Lee Terry at J.E. George in Omaha

Tom White at J.E. George

Adrian Smith at Oshkosh

Mark Stoj in Seward

Don Stenberg in Tekamah (his hometown) and Ralston.

Thanks to all who sent in pics!

Meister-Meister and the Trackers

Newer-ish news on the “who will” and “who won’t” of the Democrats for Governor.

KHAS and Joe Jordan are both reporting that lawyer Mike Meister of Scottsbluff is the latest to be considering a run against Dave Heineman.

Meister was the Dem nominee for Attorney General against Jon Bruning back in 2002 when Bruning was elected the youngest AG ever in the USA.

Since then, Meister apparently considered running for Congress in 2006 when Tom Osborne gave up his seat. (Democrat Scott Kleeb eventually lost to Congressman Adrian Smith for the 3rd District seat.)

We will have more on Meister if he confirms his interest.

***

And speaking of the Kleebs, KHAS has confirmed that neither Mr. nor Mrs. plans to run for Governor. (Whew! We were wondering when we would get word!)

Anthony Pura interviewed the Hastings Kleebs on the “issue”, basing his story on the musings of certain “blogs and gossip sites”. And he skims L. St. in his report. Without showing the name of the blog of course.

Oh, we’ve got our eyes on you, Anthony...

(And did you know that Scott Kleeb was providing a public service with his new little company? Why THANKS Scott! Thank you! WE should be paying YOU! Oh, wait...)

***
National Review Online’s Jim Geraghty notes,

(The Nebraska Democrats’) dilemma may be the strongest argument for amnesty for illegal immigrants, as they appear to have finally identified a job that an American won’t do.

Chuckle.

(And hey old Lakers’ campaign: Shut off your auto-emailer. Reporters are still receiving your July1st “newsletter” about why you want to be Governor...)

***

And, you really should listen to the interview by Jack and John on KLIN of Nebraska Democrat Chair Vic Covalt for his reasoning why there are no Democrats who want to run for Governor:

It doesn't pay enough.

Really.

You see, there are lots of Dems who make a half million dollars a year, and Governor is just too much of a pay cut.  If it paid the big bucks, there would be Democrat candidates in droves.

That's the reason.

That's your leader Nebraska Dems!  We're amazed that Vic can't find you a candidate!

***

And it’s summer campaign season, so let the stalking begin!

The Democrats and the Tom White for Congress campaign apparently have THREE stalkers following Congressman Lee Terry around at events.

Of course, while they’re busy following Lee, they are also blocking the views of people that would actually like to see the Congressman, and pursuing his wife and kids as well.

You stay classy out there, Democrats.

(Here is an idea: stalk some Dems who might want to run for Governor. Or Attorney General. Or Auditor...)

***

In the mean time, Tom White is refusing to state how he would vote on various bills in the House -- like the recent $34 billion unemployment benefits extension vote. White would like to convince you that he would have dived in an carved up the bill to his liking.

As Joe Jordan asked him, aren’t you the same guy who couldn't pass the sewer bill in the legislature?

***

And the Nebraska GOP reports that they will have one U.S. Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts speaking at their convention in Fremont at the end of the month.

Brown will be in the state to thank Ben Nelson for the Cornhusker Kickback that infuriated so many Massachusetts voters and helped Brown to win “Ted Kennedy’s seat” in the Bay State.

(He’s not going to thank Nelson? Well, that’s O.K. He probably high-fives him in the Senate corridors.)

That should be a crowded speech at the convention.

We hope to be there.

***

And we have done our fair-share of knocking Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, so let us give him a shout-out on his latest idea to legalize fireworks in Omaha.

(Of course this is about a two weeks late, but still.)

His point is that people fire them off anyway and no one enforces the current ban.  So why not sell them, tax them, educate people on safety, and everyone wins?

Of course, had a Republican suggested this, every Democrat would scream that the Mayor hates kids who blow off their hands.

Nonetheless, we give him a two bottle-rocket (hopefully not in the eyes) salute.

(Next up: Meth labs! We kid. We kid.)

***

We will be posting the July 4th Parade photos that we’ve received, next week. There is still time to submit your candidate’s shots!

Any Democrat for Governor?

Mark Lakers quit.

Joe Jordan says Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook isn’t going to run.
Anne Boyle said on KFAB this morning that her husband, Douglas County Commissioner Mike Boyle, isn’t going to run. (Say, who wears the pants around there, Mike?)

Those were the main suspects to take on Governor Dave Heineman in November.
So who’s up now?

The first name we have heard is Omaha lawyer Dave Domina.

Domina has a brief history as a Gubernatorial candidate.
He ran for Governor back in 1986, as a 35 year old lawyer out of Norfolk.
He ended up coming in second in the Democrat primary to former Lincoln Mayor Helen Boosalis 44% - 26% (Boosalis eventually lost to Kay Orr in the first Gubernatorial race in teh nation to feature two women.)

Since then? Domina has racked up a quite a few miles as a plaintiff and criminal defense attorney.

But other than those legal beagles wandering the Douglas County courthouse, does anyone know or remember his name? (We’ll give you a hint. “No”.)

Now maybe this is Domina’s plan to position himself for a better run in 2014. But note that he’d be 63 then. Maybe not too old, but not exactly a new and exciting young Democrat either.

So who else could take on Heineman this year?

Well, we have heard that DiAnna Schimek is the current choice of the Nebraska Democrat Party folks.

And after Anne Boyle took her husband out of the running, she mentioned Jim John Cavanaugh. Everyone sounded like he wouldn't do it.

Oh, and if none of them will step up, then we suggest that the Dems choose Anne Boyle, whether she wants the nomination or not.

You want to point to someone who got them in this mess, direct your finger at Anne Boyle.

Sure Lakers screwed up, but it was Anne Boyle who really threw him under the bus. Lakers could have skated along, straightened out the donor thing (in theory), and could at least have been A candidate. You would think he would have been better than nothing.

But that ship has sailed, thanks to Boyle (and to a lesser extent Hassebrook). So if no one else steps up, we nominate Anne Boyle. And she can see what it’s like to get dumped on statewide.

Happy Independence Day!

More on all the races come Tuesday, but for today, here's a vid that has been making the rounds.



Enjoy and be safe!

-Street Sweeper

Lakers dropping out of Gov's race!

Leavenworth Street has been informed by a credible source that Democratic nominee Mark Lakers will be dropping out of the race for Nebraska Governor.

(Confirmed and posted by the LJS about minute before us...)

We had been informed in the last few days that Lakers was unable to pay staff, and had spent quite a bit of time recently out of the state, not bothering to campaign.

The Lakers campaign has been on rocky ground ever since his campaign finance filing was shown to include hundreds of thousands of dollars in "pledges" that could not be substantiated.

In the past weeks, several prominent Nebraska Democrats had called for Lakers to drop out of the race, because of this.  Lakers had stated that he was staying in the race.

Our understanding of the law is that a new Democrat nominee will be chosen at the Dem's state convention in Columbus, Nebraska on July 23, 24, and 25.

***

OK folks!  WHO WILL BE THE NEW NOMINEE???

Mike Boyle?  Anne Boyle?  Chuck Hassebrook?  Mike Fahey?  Scott Kleeb?  Jane Kleeb?

Let's hear it.

Nelson is IN for 2012

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson announced on KLIN this morning that he WILL run for re-election in 2012.

"I'm raising money and at this point in time I think I'd have to say that I'm going to run."

(Last ten seconds of the podcast here.)

Can't get much more definitive than that kids.

Cornhusker kickback.
Dave Heineman. (Jon Bruning?  Stenberg?  Osborn?  Etc?)
The holograms.

Nelson doesn't care. He is wading in.

Consider it ON now.

***

And for you National Democrats throwing your $.02 into the Nebraska Democrat waters, ask around to see just who exactly could challenge Ben Nelson in a primary.

Bob Kerrey?  Scott Kleeb?  Mark Lakers?

We're dying for your wisdom here, because the Dems have so many choices in the Cornhusker state....