Nelson announces re-election bid?

First, a pre-weekend kicky little vid put out by a national conservative group:



***

And just to be even handed, here is an ad published in the McCook Gazette (click to embiggen), paid for by a former Democrat Unicameral candidate, Rick Poore of Lincoln.

(Except, of course, that Nelson said he would have been the roadblock in the conference committee, since that's how it's "played".)

***

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson told the OWH:

I can stand the heat, so I'm staying in the kitchen. I have no plans to hang it up in 2012.

Mmm hmm. OK. Great.

As a commenter noted, what did you expect him to say? "Oh my! With all this negative press and polls I'll be quitting post-haste!"

Anywho, note that Nelson also...

• Demanded the Stupak language be in the health care bill
• Said Reconciliation was a deal breaker for the health care bill
• Via a hug, let Senator Boxer know that he agreed to her abortion language for the bill
• Via crossed fingers, said he really planned to ditch that promise and hold out for the Stupak language
• Blamed the Cornhusker Kickback on Dave Heineman
• Said the Cornhusker Kickback was really placeholder for the USA Kickback
• Said he couldn't hear anyone yelling at the pizza parlor.
• Thinks Diet Dr. Pepper tastes just like regular Dr. Pepper.*

*we may have made that last one up

So you, over there, holding your breath for 2012?
Let it out son. Let it out.

***

On the topic of actual re-election plans, Lee Terry officially plunked down the $1,740 and filed with the Secretary of State for the 2010 ballot yesterday.

We are told that an bigger kickoff will be coming soon.

And here is more info on Terry and White's fundraising for 2009 Q4

***

Dave Heineman, who recently held a funder in Norfolk, will also have an announcement gig sooner than later.

Oh, and we're hearing that the last gasp for a Dem challenger to Governor Dave may be...  state Senator Heath Mello.

Do with that what you will.

***

Now have yourself a happy little weekend!

Ben Nelson's Triple Lindy

So Ben Nelson's latest super-double-flip-flop -- screw it, let's just call it the Triple Lindy -- comes on the topic of reconciliation.

Now outside of the Catholic Church, the term was probably never used beyond of the Beltway.

But as we all understand now, it's the term used when legislation can pass in the Senate without being subject to filibuster. In other words, it only takes 51 votes for such a bill to pass.

Now with new GOP Senator Scott Brown preventing the Democrat super-majority of 60 votes, reconciliation is one of the best ways for the Dems to pass their Health Care Re-form bill. And Ben Nelson says he's ALL FOR THE MANEUVER OF RECONCILIATION.

What's that you say? "You can't mean Nebraska's Ben Nelson! Why he has said time and again that he is against the use of reconciliation for the health care bill!"

Oh really? You mean like:

“Nelson also suggested that he ultimately decided to support the Health Care bill, in part, to prevent Democratic leaders from using the budget reconciliation process — which only requires 51 votes for passage — to push a health care bill past the finish line.”
(“Nelson Blames Republican Governor For Health Care Compromise,” Roll Call, 12/20/09)

“Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, said Sunday that he would vote against using a tactic called reconciliation to push through a Health Care bill.”
(“Nelson: Bipartisanship A Must,” Omaha World Herald,9/28/09)

Sen. Ben Nelson: “If i might add one thing about that 50 votes, that reconciliation process, people in Nebraska are already concerned that we've been rushing things through, and if we went to some sort of a parliamentary shortcut, I think they would be even more alarmed than they are right now. That's what I heard during the town hall meetings.
(CNN’s “State Of The Union,” 9/6/09)

Sen. Ben Nelson: “That’s a deal-breaker. I don’t think it’s appropriate to determine the health-care delivery system, the changes that will be there, through the reconciliation process.”
(“Obama Budget Set for Debate Next Week in U.S. House and Senate,” Bloomberg, 03/27/09)

Sen. Ben Nelson on reconciliation: “Using this procedure would circumvent normal Senate practice and would be inconsistent with the administration’s stated goals of bipartisanship, cooperation, and openness.”
(Letter to Sens. Conrad and Gregg, 3/12/09)

Was that loud and clear enough for you?

Yet now Nelson has POOF! changed his mind.  Surprise! Hee hee hee.

From the wavering and dickering on the fence.
To last minute change on abortion language.
To the Cornhusker Kickback.
To the Double-Agent play.
And now, to the Triple-Lindy on reconciliation.

Thorton Mellon's flip-flops have nothing on Ben Nelson.

If you read this in a novel, you would laugh it off as too unrealistic.
This. Is. A. Joke.

As a local politico wrote to us after the SotU, "I know its only 2010, but there is NO coming back from this."

***
UPDATE

A bill has been proposed in the Tennessee Legislature:

"Ben Nelson Act to Ensure Political Integrity."

It would,

...redefine the state’s definition of bribery to include circumstances in which elected officials agree to vote for or against legislation in exchange for special consideration for their districts.

You can't make this stuff up.

STOP THE PRESSES!: Latest Nelson whopper

OK, grab your hats folks.  You are about to discover that Democrat Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson is actually the wiliest of wiley legislators out there!  A secret-double agent, if you will.

You see folks, when he voted for cloture on the Senate Health Care Re-form bill back in December, after an extensive compromise on the abortion language with Chuck Schumer and Barbara Boxer, that was all just a ruse.  Just a ruse!

His REAL plan (mooooahahahahha!) was in conference committee to DEMAND (with his trusty 60th vote) that Stupak-like language (aka Nelson-Hatch-Casey) replace the compromise!

To the transcripts at LifeSiteNews!

LifeSiteNews: OK, so you were planning on coming back…

NELSON: Absolutely. That is what I was just trying to tell the gentleman who was arguing about the 60th vote.

LSN: What made you think that it had a shot, after conference?

NELSON: Because they needed 60 votes again.

LSN: Right, but before, you voted for it even without it –

NELSON: To get it there. Right. I know – with my language which was better than the language in the bill. But, once it went to conference, as part of the conference, there was still another 60 vote threshold, and that is when I would have insisted and that is what Christy was talking about when I mentioned this on the phone – how we would approach this in conference to say, for my last 60th vote, it has to have Nelson/Hatch/Casey.

LSN: Why didn’t you stop it right then and there and say, “No Nelson/Hatch – nothing.”

NELSON: Because, at that point and time, the leverage wasn’t as strong – you have to play it…

...

LSN: So, if we got to conference and it was just the Nelson not the Nelson/Hatch/Casey – you would say ‘yes’ because you think it was good enough.

NELSON: I could have but I was going to say – and this was all the plan – that I would insist that it be Nelson/Hatch/Casey.  

So you see people, Playa Nelson was just playing his Democrat colleagues all along...

Got it?

Right?

This is what he is out there selling right now.

Seriously.

***
Update.

By the way, we are reminded of this story in the Washington Post that described the negotiations on the abortion compromise language:

Schumer, who spent more than 13 hours in Reid's office Friday, said the Medicaid issue was settled around lunchtime, and the final eight hours of the talks focused on the abortion language. Boxer estimated she spent seven hours in Reid's offices -- without ever once sitting in the same room, even though they were all of 25 steps apart.

Reid and Schumer kept up the "shuttle negotiation" between the leader's conference room and his top aide's office, Boxer said. Keenly aware how tense the talks were, the White House dispatched two aides who together have decades of experience in the Senate -- Jim Messina and Peter Rouse -- to work with Nelson. They relayed their intelligence to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who monitored the talks from a dinner in Georgetown.

Around 8 p.m., everyone took what was supposed to be a short break, but by 9:30 p.m. Nelson had not returned to Reid's office, stoking fear in the Capitol and the White House that the deal was heading south. Reid and Schumer -- who had barely eaten for the past three days of the talks -- gnawed on Christmas cookies in the leader's offices, according to Schumer.

Finally, Nelson was ready to cut the deal, no matter what the antiabortion groups said. No announcement was made because he wanted to see the final language in writing the next day. According to Schumer, he and Reid shook hands with Nelson. Then Reid walked across his office suites to find an anxious Boxer. "We have a deal," he said.

"It was a moment I'll never forget," Boxer recalled Saturday.

Nelson later joined Boxer at her end of Reid's office, greeting the Californian with a big hug.

So, after ALL that -- eight hours of negotiations, culminating with a hug -- we're to understand that Nelson was going to blow into the conference committee and yell, "Psych!  I'm not doing it!  Ha!"

Or better yet, let's pretend that Nelson is telling the truth: Do you think that Schumer or Boxer or Reid or anyone else would EVER do another deal with him? When he's just going to turn around and stab them in the back in a couple of days?

Nelson may have accomplished both convincing his detractors that he'll say anything to get them back, and convincing his supporters that he'll say anything, but screw them later.

(This would be called a "lose-lose".)

Terry on record fundraising pace

Nebraska 2nd District Representative Lee Terry submitted his 4Q FEC report, and currently has Cash On Hand of over a half million dollars.

The $543,185 is the most COH Terry has ever had at the end of an off-year. The election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, and the DCCC's apparent interest in NE-2 would seem to have been a boon for Terry's fund raising.

The Terry campaign reports that they have raised $793,598 during this election cycle with $281,524 coming during the last quarter of 2009.

The FEC reports are due by January 31st, though no word yet from Democrat Tom White's campaign.

***

However, White is bringing in the big guns from Washington on Friday for his campaign. Democrat Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Chairman of the DCCC, will be in Nebraska for a White fund raiser.

And if Tom White and Chris Van Hollen in the same room together doesn't get you all hot and bothered, well then brother, you just don't have a pulse.

In related news, White also says he's not afraid to take on the Mayor of Omaha. Yeah. You got that right baby. Bring it on!

(No word yet as to whether White will try shoving Van Hollen to see if he's "a man".)

***

The Terry campaign has been distributing the attached flyer touting Terry's experience.

They point out that:

• In a survey of House member, Terry was listed by his Democrat and Republican colleagues as one of the most bipartisan Members.
• The National Journal listed him as one of the leading experts in the House on telecommunications technology.
• Terry's successful record of legislation on energy issues.

They also note Terry's opposition to the current House Health Care Re-form bill (which Tom White said he would support), as well as the omnibus spending bills passed by the Democrat Congress.

From the flyer you can get an idea of where the Terry campaign will be firing as we enter the campaign season.

After the Van Hollen visit, we will likely get an idea of how the DCCC wants White to try to hit Terry.

We will also see if White plans to play the "support the President" card, which had been the original game plan. Since the tide has turned on Obama and the Democrat Congress, it will be interesting to see how much focus either is given.

Happy campaign season everyone!

Terry now "Favored" in NE-2

Nebraska 2nd District Congressman Lee Terry's re-election race has been upgraded to "Republican Favored" by political analyst Stuart Rothenberg.

Terry's race against state Senator Tom White had been listed as "Lean Republican" by the Rothenberg Political Report -- mainly based on Barack Obama's success in gaining the 2nd District's Electoral Vote in 2008.

Oh how times have changed.

And with the changes in President Obama's fortunes, so go those who support him and his policies.

Guys like Tom White.

White had hitched his wagon to Obama and Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson whom he believed would lead him to the promised land.

Instead, that wagon train has lead to a dry gulch filled with cacti, rattle snakes and Jim Backus in that Brady Bunch episode. (In this analogy, Lee Terry would be off eating beans with Jimmy Pakaya...but we digress...)

If it makes Tom White feel any better, his fortune is similar to lots of other Democrat contenders for House races, as well as many incumbent Democrats.

Rothenberg is predicting a pickup of 24 - 28 seats for House Republicans in the fall, "with higher Republican gains possible".  (He even whispers the words "Republican Majority", but let's not jinx it.)

After the Cornhusker Kickback, Ben's Betrayal and the Scott (Brown) Heard Round the World, we're not all that shocked. The rise of Tom White has always been based upon Obama. White's sinking was just as expected.

In the mean time, Lee Terry just continues to work.

Don't think that he will do anything less than run like he is ten points behind. Those who analyzed his 2008 victory showed that Terry won because of his organization on the ground -- that in the year of Obama rallies and HQ openings.

In this off-year expect Terry and his campaign to re-load and never stop.

In the mean time, White is in a pissing match with the Mayor of Omaha. Everyone has their strategy, we suppose...

Nelson pleads his case at Right to Life meet

Ben Nelson crashed** a Right to Life meeting last week, and continued to preach his Pro-Life bona fides.

This we learned from an article in LifeSiteNews.com last week.

The story states that Nelson, "arrived unexpectedly at a private meeting of pro-life leaders Wednesday (1/20/10) to explain his reasoning and insist that he was still devoted to their cause."

Leavenworth Street dug a little deeper and found out that this was an annual gathering of about seventy-five Pro-Life leaders before the March for Life.

[** Update 1/26/10 ** Kristen Day of Democrats for Life of America informs us that  Nelson was invited to  the meeting, and that LifeSiteNews got it wrong.  We are waiting for answers to some follow up questions to her.]

Well, not only did he attend, he also gave prepared remarks and had a Q&A.

It goes on...

The atmosphere of the room grew tense, however, as it became clear that Nelson had not come to apologize for casting the 60th "yes" vote that dashed the hopes of pro-life leaders counting on the senator to stop the abortion-expanding bill in its tracks.

Instead Nelson rebuffed the idea that he caved on his pro-life position, and said that the “compromise” language that he had offered just before the final senate vote - which segregated the taxpayer subsidy monies funding abortion-providing insurance plans - allowed Nelson to "hold true to my pro-life principles" in voting for the measure.

Continuing...

In a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Nelson expressed frustration when one pro-life leader suggested that Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak, unlike Nelson, stood his ground for adequate pro-life language.

"Excuse me, I don't want to give the impression that I didn't stand my ground," said Nelson. "We might have a difference of opinion about the language that was written, but there are some others who do believe that that was written in a way that it did bar the use of federal funds. It may not have been the language people preferred, I understand.

"But I'm not going to stand here and hear that I didn't stand my ground, because I believe I did."

What's interesting in all of this is the pre-bill posturing and the final language.

In the weeks that led up to the December cloture vote, Nelson stated over and over that he couldn't support a bill that didn't have language like the Stupak amendment in the House version.

Now the legislative director for National Right to Life says that he knew abortion language was not Nelson's number one priority in the bill. He wanted some abortion language, but apparently Johnson knew that Nelson could be swayed by other issues.

National Right to Life (and Nebraska Right to Life) has a series of problems with the language in the Senate version (read more here), but as Nelson will continue to argue, they are problems with what could happen under the bill. In other words, the bill has gaping holes through which abortion supporters could jump to achieve their goals.

But while the bill doesn't have the restrictive Stupak language, it doesn't (seem) to have outright open abortion language. For this, Nelson sees it as Pro-Life, and thus feels that he "stood his ground".

For history buffs, see "Chamberlain, Neville" waving a piece of paper in the air.

So the kicker in all of this, is that Nelson will continue to plead his case that he is "Pro-Life" no matter where he goes. We were frankly shocked that he didn't get pizza-parlored out of the Right to Life meet, but maybe they were just in shock when he showed.

We aren't sure if voters (if there are voters, in the end) will buy what Nelson is selling -- particularly if this version of the Health Care Re-form bill isn't passed.

But it will be interesting if it comes to the point where Nelson is on TV saying "I'm Pro-Life." and there are competing ads saying, "Like hell he is!"

How long 'til he goes on the air with that?

***

And while on the subject of Nelson getting booed, here was one out of...Reno?

This was the Safari Club International meeting in the Biggest Little City in the World, for big game hunters -- one of which Nelson is.

However...

Nebraska’s Sen. Ben Nelson, scheduled to receive honors for his pro-hunter work, was a no-show at SCI, and when his name was mentioned, the crowd booed.

Wonder if they were serving pizza...

***

And piling on the Benator, this from TIME Magazine (online):

The deal now known as the "Cornhusker Kickback" may have been one of the biggest blunders in modern political history. Normally, you'd be surprised if people in Massachusetts even know who the Senator from Nebraska is. But the number of people I talked to who brought up Ben Nelson's name, unprompted, was striking. I'm also told, by some who were doing phonebanking, that they got an earful about it over and over.

Suttle to White: You LIE!

Just re-Tweeting (as it were) a story from the weekend that we want to make sure you didn't miss:

Joe Jordan is reporting on the Nebraska Watchdog about the fight between Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle and state Senator, and Congressional candidate, Tom White.

The squabble is essentially over White's efforts in the legislature to change how Omaha may or may not be taxed over the sewer separation project. White wants to exempt Omahans from a sales tax increase, but Suttle says it will turn into a property tax increase.

Frankly, we're not sure who may be right or wrong in this argument -- we just find it hilarious that these two political Einsteins have decided to take their fight out into the public, sending letters at each other.

Really? Two of the eleven or twelve Democrats in the state can't have a, oh we don't know...phone call?!

What a whacky idea it would be for the Democrat state Senator to coordinate with the Democrat Mayor of the City his legislation affects.

But even if Suttle does disagree with him, calling him a "liar"?

Really? Why not just a neo-maxi-zoon-dweeby, or whatever it is the kids are texting at each other these days?

What is even more laugh-out-loud worthy in this episode, was Tweeted-out by GOP Chair Mark Fahleson in that Suttle wrote what White was saying is a "bold-faced lie".

Um, Jim (or is it Ron Penzkowski in this situation), the term is "bald-faced lie".

Not bold-faced.

Bald-faced.

When you say "bold-faced" you sound like a neo-maxi-zoon-dweeby.

In any case, look for Suttle to trip White in the cafeteria, and for White to potentially throw his orange-drink at Suttle.

Oh, and see you all by the flag-pole after school.

GOP radio hits Nelson

The Nebraska Republican party has a new radio ad addressing Senator Ben Nelson.

Hear it here:



We are told that the initial buy for this spot is in the 3rd "and building from there as
money is raised via www.givebentheboot.com."

Obviously the theme is to counter Nelson's TV ad where he posits that he "listened to you" on the Health Care Re-form bill.

Not bad (though we'd suggest a :30 sec spot).

***

And because some have claimed that we've gone over board on the Ben Nelson news, here is another great line from Senator Mike Johanns -- this time regarding his co-sponsiroing legislation to block the EPA's greenhouse gas regs:

"Congress should not force the American people to step in front of a bus to avoid a freight train."

Are these common phrases? Are these coming from Johanns's library of quips? Is there an intern responsible for these?

Nebraska pols need to know!

***

And, of course, congrats to Governor Dave Heineman and Attorney General Jon Bruning on declaring their candidacies for re-election.

Nelson and the Democrats hiding from the press

Nebraska Democrats won't call Omaha KMTV Ch3's Dave Roberts back. Nor will Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson.

That's what we learned in a recent story on Channel 3.

See it here (if vid doesn't load for you, here's the link):



Roberts did a story on the new Ben Nelson TV ads, and continually searched for local Democrats, such as Nebraska Democrat Party Executive Director Jim Rogers, as well as Nelson's press secretary to comment on the spots.

But they were nowhere to be found.

Here's the funny thing. The, "Hey I didn't get your call!" used to work in 1977.

But in the era of home phones with answering machines, work phones with voice mail, call waiting, visual voice mail, e-mail, instant messaging (instant!), and cell phone belt clips, if you're not talking to the press you are making an active effort to avoid them.

So why would the Dems, and Nelson, avoid KMTV?

Heck, Nelson is running ads trying to spin his story. You would think they would be calling up the press trying to give interviews left and right -- you know, like Nelson did just after his "Yea" vote on the Health Care Re-form bill in December.

Now? Not so much.

Could it be that Nelson is trying to convince you that he didn't really vote for the bill that Democrats are only now realizing that a majority dislikes?

Well, maybe they were all in a meeting tyring to find some Dems to run statewide. Sometimes when your phone is on vibrate, you can't feel it buzzing.  Same thing when you are in denial.

***

And hey, Dave Roberts! Look, we've all watched enough TV sitcoms to know that 555 is NOT a real phone number!

Why bother!??

***

Btw, for those of you using Internet Explorer, we have solved the problem with the new format, and you should be able to read Leavenworth Street in full.

Now get Google Chrome, or at least Firefox, already wouldja!

Nelson on the air

We finally got our hands on the latest "that Ben Nelson sure is awesome" spot.

See it here:


(If anyone has a better version of this, please send it along.)

In any case, first you'll note that this ad, like the Holiday Bowl spot, was paid for by the Nebraska Democratic Party. Recall that back when Nelson was first touting himself on health care re-form, he paid for the ads from his own campaign coffers.

As others have noted, you have to wonder about how Nebraska Democratic candidates up THIS year (we're sure there are a few) feel about the (potential) 2012 candidate getting all the cash thrown at him.

In any case, Nelson probably just pulled his reviewers off the street and threw them in a spot. No?

Well then, let's examine:

• David Hallberg - Prime Biosolutions/Renewable Fuels, over $2,800 in Obama donations
• Dr. Jessica Meeske -- took part in the Obama "here's your white coat" doctor health care event
• Senator Ben Nelson - remember the "Cornhusker Kickback"? That guy.
• Fr. Jack McCaslin - multiple peace activist arrests
• Carol Yoakum - a 2000 Democrat Presidential elector
• Kate Herres - a 27 year old health care worker (we'll leave her alone)
• Ben Nelson - CK

In any case, depending on where the Health Care bill goes from here, apparently you'll be seeing many, many more ads from Nelson and "regular Joes" who differ from the majority of Nebraskans who don't approve of the job Nelson is doing.

Maybe during the Spring Game?

***
UPDATE

This from Roll Call (subscription):

“Several high-profile Democrats, including North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy and former Sen. Bob Kerrey (Neb.), are said to be in the running to fill former Oklahoma Republican Gov. Frank Keating’s post as CEO and president of the American Council of Life Insurers.”

And we hear of one more high-profile Dem's name being mentioned. One who has first hand insurance industry experience:

Earl Benjamin Nelson (referenced by Kerrey?).

Oh, and the Dems don't have need of his 60th vote anymore...

Fallout from MA

A few thoughts about Republican Scott Brown's U.S. Senate win in Massachusetts last night:

● Leavenworth Street mainly was on MSNBC and FOX last night. If you were there, how many times did you hear "Cornhusker Kickback"? A dozen? More? This whole scandal still has legs and they are all running back to Ben Nelson.

● Not sure if the Chris Matthewses of the Democrat world represent the majority, but if so, WOW are they in massive denial about the implications of the Brown victory. This was a referendum on the Obama policies, plain and simple. Oh sure Coakley had a number of screw-ups, but if this had been 2008, those wouldn't have mattered.

When Matthews was presented with the statement from Sen. Jim Webb that the Senate should delay any more on Health Care Re-form until Brown is seated, Matthews and his fellow heads on MSNBC just continued their conversation on just HOW Reid and Pelosi could still slam it through.

(By the way, Matthews used to work for legendary House Speaker Tip O'Neill, so you can bet the idea of a GOP win in Massachusetts just galls him to no end.)

Their implication was that the Health Care bill is just like the Civil rights bill that LBJ slammed through, and the ends justified the means. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The American people don't want it -- this version anyway, and moreover they're pissed about the WAY this has all happened. Obama campaigned on an "open process" for such bills and instead it has been one backroom deal after another. Think the people are angry now? Just see how they'll react if the Dems try to jam this one up them with an even slimier jar of Vaseline.

● We saw a comment from the state's (unofficial) #2 Democrat, Jane Kleeb, on Mark Fahleson's site that she thinks the Brown victory is just a "throw ALL the bums out statement". Wrong again, Janie! Mark made the factual retort that this follows up a race in Virginia that was another defeat of an Obama surrogate. The people are angry at the Obama Democrats' plans. Health Care, National Security, Taxes, Stimuli, you name it. If the Dems can't see that the message is STOP, they will continue to get clobbered.

● On that note, we remember Don Walton's LJS article yesterday that said, "The 2nd District scrap between Republican Rep. Lee Terry and Democratic challenger Tom White is almost certain to be the most competitive 2010 race in Nebraska." Really? Compared to what? If Tom White still plans to run as Tommy Obama, in this atmosphere, he will be lucky to get Michael Scott numbers. Don't be surprised to see the DCCC's money plan shift.

● Like it or not, Brown's win is an opportunity for Ben Nelson. If he follows the Jim Webb lead and suggests that everyone slow down, he has the chance to at least stop the bleeding in Nebraska. He can either go with the Rahm Emanuel / Chris Matthews plan of smashing everything through, or he can openly recognize the Massachusetts vote -- and the feeling nationwide -- that this thing has been done the wrong way. If he said, "let's start with getting rid of the pre-existing conditions denial, and allow cross-state purchasing, and get the Republicans involved, and end the back-room deals" he could quickly be seen as a hero.
**Update - How much of that do you think Nelson accomplished in his statement?**

It's going to take a big gesture like that to tourniquet things for the Dems.

However, instead expect them to just blame Coakely and ram it through.

***
National Review Online, on how Nelson has damaged his party.

He has done two pieces of serious damage to his party and one piece of minor damage...

***

The latest in the series..."Hitler finds out Scott Brown won".

Coakley blames Nelson already!

The campaign of Democrat Massacusetts Senate candidate Martha Coakley is already pointing fingers regarding who is to blame for her free-fall in the polls, and potential loss to Repulbican unknown Scott Brown.

One man?  Ben Nelson.

In a memo, the Coakley campaign says:

Coakley's lead dropped significantly after the Senate passed health care reform shortly before Christmas and after the Christmas Eve "bombing" incident. Polling showed significant concerns with the actions of Senator Nelson to hold out for a better deal. Senator Nelson's actions specifically hurt Coakley who was forced to backtrack on her opposition to the abortion restriction amendment.

There are a few things to note here:

1) "...concerns with the actions of Nelson to hold out for a better deal", would seem to point to the Cornhusker Kickback. Though, the second part of Coakley's finger-point makes that less clear.

2) Nelson's holdout to change the abortion language screwed up Coakley's strategy -- which just shows that neither the Pro-Life nor Pro-Choice sides seem to like the bill.

Coakley had been saying all along that she would never -- NEVER -- vote for a House version of the Health Care bill that had Stupak-like abortion language.

But then when Nelson lobbied for and got Stupak-Lite -- which Pro-Lifers aren't happy with, of course -- Coakley then had to say that she could go along with it.

This turned into flip-flop allegations against her, when people claimed that it was enough like Stupak that she should oppose it.

Of course, even today, Sen. Barbara Boxer said that Nelson's abortion language was

"only an ‘accounting procedure’ that will do nothing to restrict [abortion] coverage..."

So, Nelson is getting hit from all sides on the national scene.  Ah. life on the fence.

MA repercussions in NE?

As we noted in our recent post, the there is no doubt that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson's actions have affected the U.S. Senate voters in Massachusetts.

The Health Care Re-form Bill has based that race on national issues. The anger that Nelson fomented, particularly with the Cornhusker Kickback, helped to fertilize the Bay State grass roots, and in turn the Scott Brown momentum.

So, as we asked the other day, what happens if the polls hold and Republican Scott Brown wins?

He would provide the 41st vote to hold a filibuster in place. Will the House try an end run? Will the Senate go the reconciliation route?

Or, if the filibuster holds, will it give Ben Nelson an out to vote AGAINST the bill (on whatever issue he could come up with)?

Some have suggested that a Brown win will be a boost for President Obama and the Dems, because it will force them more towards the middle.

Hmm. Maybe. We'll believe that when we see it.

But how will affect the down-ballot candidates?

Will a Dem House candidate such as Tom White be stuck even more as he's married to ObamaCare?

If the Democrat Congress jams through ObamaCare, will 2nd District voters take out their inevitable rage on White?  And will the national Dems be able to afford to support White (as Don Walton stated again), while defending other more vulnerable races?

As the results air this evening, the new Shot Heard 'Round the World may be well heard in Nebraska.

Not to mention, who do you think Nelson and White are rooting for?

¡Feliz cumpleaños!

We almost forgot:

Leavenworth Street - the talk of Nebraska politics, turned FOUR yesterday.

Since our first post on January 17, 2006, we haven't missed a week.

Through work, vacation, summer, winter, elections, off years, births, deaths, blizzards and heat waves.

Leavenworth Street has been talkin' politics.

But most importantly, THANKS FOR READING!

And we'll continue to do our thing.

Half Nelson

By now you've most likely seen the OWH poll which showed that only 48% of Nebraskans gave Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson a "favorable rating". Even less than those, 42%, approved of the job he was doing.

While most of you probably said, "It's that high?", Ben Nelson let everyone know what the reason for this is:

TV ads.

Yup, it's those darn TV ads about health care that have caused Nelson's woes.

Not his voting for the Health Care bill after withering and wallowing.

Not his betrayal of the Pro-Life groups.

Not the Cornhusker Kickback.

Not his claim that he is listening to Nebraskans on this issue.

Not his inability to recognize that nine out of ten Nebraskans DON'T support him.

Here's the funny thing about the OWH's story: They make this little point:

Nelson has been aggressively arguing his case on radio shows and in meetings with newspaper editorial boards. The Nebraska Democratic Party has spent more than $350,000 on a media campaign in support of Nelson.

Whoops!

And that doesn't even take into account the President's pulpit and NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and MSNBC. (Oh, but FOX! FOX!!!)

But at least Nelson has one other staunch defender: the LJS's Don Walton.

Say's Don:

Most of those ads helped fuel anger and fear about health care reform legislation and played a big role in creating the environment that drove down Nelson's approval numbers in Nebraska after he voted for the bill.

See Nelson as the face on the giant Kool-Aid pitcher and Don drinking a big, red glass-full.

Well, you know what they say: It's NOT just a river in Egypt...

Here's a good Q though: If Scott Brown wins, and provides the 41st vote for cloture on the final Health Care re-form bill...does that give cover for Nelson to change his vote?

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...

We'll be watching tomorrow night with interest.

The Bob Kerrey Kick-back

Bob Kerrey has lived in New York City since he left the Senate in 2001, yet he's still always listed as "former Nebraska Senator".

Alas, for Nebraska.

Because Kerrey continues to make an ass of himself when he is quoted by national publications on issues on which he'd be better off keeping his yap shut.

Quote in point, referring to Republican Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown, in the New York Times, Kerrey babbled:

"If he’s running against 60 votes and wins, that is not good ... It says that in Massachusetts, they are willing to elect a guy who doesn’t believe in evolution just to keep the Democrats from having 60 votes."

Uh, except that he apparently completely made up the point about evolution. (Oh, and Kerrey is also the guy who failed to provide health insurance for his restaurant and fitness center employees.)

To their credit, the Brown campaign replied:

"Scott Brown believes in evolution but in the case of Bob Kerrey he's willing to make an exception."

Here's the funny thing. This appeared in the Times' web edition on Saturday, for the Sunday edition. But the ""evolution" part quote was removed from the story by Saturday evening (not sure if it appeared in the print edition).

In any case, you can still find the quote in-full in places like the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which reprinted the original.

And frankly, wanna know why Scott Brown, a practical political unknown in the Bluest of Blue states may upset the Dem for "Teddy Kennedy's seat"? It's because of statements like Kerrey's -- just plain political crap that pisses people off.

Or, if you really want to start pointing fingers, look no further than Nebraska's own E. Benjamin Nelson.

Sure the Bay Staters are angry about the Health Care Re-form bill being jammed down their throats.  But what else has really stoked that anger? The WAY it was done. "Cornhusker Kickback" anyone?

When Ben Nelson told everyone that his vote was for sale, the rest of the country was pissed. And that's when the real grass roots shoot up and start making things happen.

If Scott Brown wins tomorrow, you can thank people like Cosmic Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson for giving people somewhere to focus their anger.

***

Clavin for Senate!

BTW, at a Scott Brown rally over the weekend, they had Doug Flutie, Curt Schilling and...Cliff Clavin!  Yes John Ratzenberger appeared, and gave this line:

"This isn't the Democratic party of our fathers and grandfathers. This is the party of Woodstock hippies. I was at Woodstock — I built the stage. And when everything fell apart, and people were fighting for peanut-butter sandwiches, it was the National Guard who came in and saved the same people who were protesting them.

So when Hillary Clinton a few years ago wanted to build a Woodstock memorial, I said it should be a statue of a National Guardsman feeding a crying hippie."

And you know, its a little known fact that Ratzenberger built the stage at
Woodstock, and modeled it after Mesopotamian architecture...

Ben Nelson and PIZZA-GATE

This morning, The Politico reported on an incident of Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson getting booed at a pizza restaurant in Omaha.

We here at Leavenworth Street fleshed out the details, as follows:

Friday night, at Dante Pizzeria Napoletana, a customer hailed Senator Nelson to his table as Nelson walked by, saying, “Ben, Ben, Ben!”

Simultaneously people at the the other table started booing and giving him the "thumbs down".

The person who hailed him said to Nelson “I’m very disappointed in your vote Senator.”

Nelson replied, “Ok, thank you.”

But the booing continued and as Nelson picked up the pace to get out of there, a woman yelled very loudly “Somebody get him the hell out of here!”

Responding to The Politico, Nelson spokesman Jake Thompson stated:

“If somebody yelled that comment, Sen. Nelson didn’t hear it, and he did hear positive comments from others in the restaurant.”

But this morning on KFAB, Omaha attorney, and former (1994) Democratic 2nd District Congressional candidate James Martin Davis reportedly said that he and his wife were at the restaurant with Senator Nelson and his wife and another couple, and 

"...it absolutely never never happened!  It's a fiction!"

Davis reportedly said a couple of people came to their table to say "Hi Senator", and that there was some woman who said, "Bad vote", but there was no shouting, etc.

(David followed up by saying "I don't know what Politico is..."  Shocking.)

Now, maybe Davis was in the restrooms at the time, but his account couldn't be more different from that of local dentist Dr. Tom Lewis, quoted in The Politico, or of Leavenworth Street's source.

**Update**
A caller on KFAB's Scott Voorhees show says that he was next to Nelson when all this was happening.  He said:

1. Davis was already gone, so he wouldn't have heard it anyway; and 
2. there's no way Nelson DIDN'T hear all the comments and derision coming from the patrons.  So, Nelson's official spokesman is wrong too. 

Who is telling the truth?

Well, we know where we stand on Pizza-gate.

And, we're guessing, so do the Nebraska voters.

Nelson BOOED at Omaha restaurant (and cutting new ads)

“It was definitely a scene in there."

Those are the words of Omaha dentist Tom Lewis, speaking about Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson getting booed out of an Omaha restaurant recently.

The story is featured this morning on The Politico website.

The Politico continues...

Nelson and his wife were leaving dinner at a new pizza joint near their home in Omaha one night last week when a patron began complaining about Nelson’s decisive vote in favor of the Senate’s health care bill.

Other customers started booing. A woman yelled, “Get him the hell out of here!” And the Nelsons and their dining companions beat a hasty retreat.

The pizza place is the relatively new Dante Pizzeria Napoletana on 168th and Center in the Shops of Legacy. (We hope to update with additional details.)

**UPDATE at Noon**

Here are the details Leavenworth Street has received from someone who was there:

Friday night, at Dante Pizzeria Napoletana, a customer hailed Senator Nelson to his table as Nelson walked by, saying, “Ben, Ben, Ben!”

Simultaneously people at the the other table started booing and giving him the "thumbs down".

The person who hailed him said to Nelson “I’m very disappointed in your vote Senator.”

Nelson replied, “Ok, thank you.”

But the booing continued and as Nelson picked up the pace to get out of there, a woman yelled very loudly “Somebody get him the hell out of here!”

***

Now, we here at Leavenworth Street frankly don't condone such behavior.  Nelson and his wife should be able to go out to dinner in peace.

But... how much of this has Nelson brought upon himself?

He goes on for weeks and weeks about how he won't support the Health Care Re-form bill "unless", then changes his terms, sells out, gives Nebraska a horrible name nationwide, and goes on TV during the Husker game claiming he's been "listening" to Nebraskans.

Really? Listening?

***

Well, Nelson isn't done with his damage control.

We've learned that Nelson's film crew was shooting a NEW commercial near the Security National Bank on 64th and Center. This time, instead of speking to the camera himself, Nelson is using third-party testimonials from others to tell how swell of a guy he is for voting for the bill.

Amazing that someone who says nine out of ten people support him and claims not to care what the polls say, is already on his second round of ads -- two full years before he is up for re-election.

But considering the visceral reaction Nelson is causing in people, it's no wonder that he is still in massive damage control.

While he criss-crosses the state, and even hints that he could vote against the final bill, Nelson knows that this is the sort of thing that could frame his entire political legacy.

Ironic his choice of pizza places then, eh?

Separated at Birth: ¿Quien es mas Macho?

Suggested by a long-time reader, this one sort of pained us to put up.
But then we thought about it, and it probably pains the Dems more.
So...

Separated at Birth:

GOP U.S. Senate Candidate from Massachusetts, Scott Brown and former Dem U.S. Senate Candidate from Nebraska, Scott Kleeb.

(FWIW, Brown took in $1.3 in contributions yesterday. Kleeb raised just a little over that in his entire campaign.)

Ben Nelson: an Obama man

Don Walton of the LJS put up a story yesterday crowing about the "independent" Ben Nelson.

You see, Congressional Quarterly published an analysis of Nelson's voting record showing that he "voted opposite a majority of Senate Democrats 37 percent of the time".

And from that nugget, Nebraskans are to stoke a little warm bonfire in their tummies knowing that their Senator bucks the system.

And to this we say... BEN NELSON VOTED AGAINST REPUBLICANS 63% OF THE TIME!

Try that on for size. Shouldn't that be the headline? Or at least a subhead?

We keep on hearing how "conservative" Nelson is. And you can bet your butt buck that was Nelson's selling point back in 2006.

But as we await Nelson's 2009 American Conservative Union rating, know what he got in 2008? Sixteen percent.
Compare that to the Chucks, Hagel and Grassley, in 2008, who were 73% and 76% respectively.

And we're supposed to be excited that Nelson is the least Democrat of the Democrats?

Big fraking deal.

Oh, and buried at the end of Don's story is the stat that Nelson has voted with President Barack Obama's legislative agenda NINETY PERCENT of the time.

90%.

FYI, Senator Mike Johanns has been with the President 52% of the time.

You can decide on your own who more accurately represents Nebraskans.

But enough with the accolades for Nelson for simply being what he is: a Democrat.

Adios Cornhusker Kickback

Word from the U.S. Senate is that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson's Cornhusker Kickback will be stripped from the final Health Care Re-form bill that comes out of the conference committee.

Liberal Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold -- apparently still questioning whether Nelson's deal was legal -- said,

Well, whether that provision was legal or illegal, it shouldn’t have been done. I understand that Sen. Ben Nelson has already indicated he knows he’s probably not going to get it in the end. I think it’s going to get stripped from the bill.

So here's the question: If the Cornhusker Kickback doesn't become the Countrywide Kickback, will Ben Nelson vote against this massive unfunded mandates on the states?

Nelson has said -- in one of his many excuses for his special deal -- that based on the Cornhusker Kickback, individual states could choose to opt out of federal funds for Medicaid in the future. If then, the provision isn't in there, will he vote for the bill? Will there be a Medicaid opt-out provision for all states?

And, can't he just swing another deal for Nebraska, like lots of other states got? Heck, Harry "Obama is a light-skinned Negro" Reid said "that's what legislating is all about. It's compromise."

So how about scoring Nebraskans some-more-a-that-there Compromise! Louisiana sure got their share! We've been led to believe that's what this bill is all about, right? Everyone with their hand out?

Or does Nebraska once again get the shaft, along with all the bad press it has received over the past month?

Or could this Bill be defeated, as Senator Dodd has suggested, and a majority of Nebraskans seem to want?

When is a conservative not a conservative?

The UK's Telegraph recently published their list of the Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives and Liberals in the United States (100 through 81, so far).

A few notables on the Liberals list...

#97 Jesse Jackson
#95 Robert Byrd
#92 Chris Matthews
#91 Michael Moore
#86 George Soros
#81...

Ben Nelson.

That's right, The Benator, Nellie himself, is now on the Liberals list.

Remember when he was the Dem's favorite conservative?

The Telegraph notes:

When he became the 60th vote for the Democrats on their healthcare bill in the Senate, Nelson was vilified by the Right and received precious little credit from the Left.

The Right hoped that this would lead him to oppose the healthcare bill but a string of financial gifts for Nebraska (which became known as the "Cornhusker Kickback") helped sway him.

And a local politico suggested to us:

Nelson's legacy as a moderate or conservative official is in serious danger of being permantly damaged by the health care vote -- and his potential votes on cap and trade, card check, and Stimulus 2 (Electric Boogaloo*).

Who knows? By next year Ben Nelson's refusal to block these very liberal major pieces of legislation may place him in the Top 20 of their list.

*Editor's suggested title.

Nelson clearly hasn't shed the rotting grain stench of the Cornhusker Kickback from his coveralls. None other than the Governator himself, Ahhnold, called Nelson's swaying by the Nebraska perks to be illegal.

And Nelson's response? "Oh yeah? Well California has tons of debt! So there!"

Nice. Nice comeback.

Think Nebraskans are getting tired of this? Note that you don't see defenders circling the wagons on behalf of their Nebraska brother.

So the Telegraph asks:

Could he change his mind again and vote against final passage of the bill?

Well...only if his vote won't matter.

To divvy or not to divvy?

Nebraska State Senator Beau McCoy has filed a bill in the Unicameral to change Nebraska's Electoral Vote apportionment process. His bill would change Nebraska's divvying up of the votes by Congressional District to the way the rest of the states do theirs (except Maine) -- winner take all.

You'll remember, of course, that President Barack Obama swung the 2nd District's EV in 2008 -- the first time a Dem has done so since the current system went into effect in 1991.

Dems such as State Senator Heath Mello calls the bill "sour grapes". Well of course he does, because the Dems benefitted by it in the last election.

But, the OWH says that "Republican lawmakers have tried nine times to repeal it. They managed to pass two bills — but then-Gov. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, vetoed both."

(My his bryl-creamed head keeps rearing itself, does it not?)

So that pretty much ends that argument.

But we received an email last night from a UNL Law Student who sees the politics of it this way:

Assuming that two votes will not decide a presidential election, wouldn't a concerted effort by the Nebraska GOP to change our electoral laws open the party up to the "assault on democracy/anti-democratic" argument?

Nebraska voters are traditionally conservative but they have also repeatedly shown a streak of independence. The NE GOP already plays kingmaker anytime a new statewide elected office becomes vacant (e.g. Daub being forced out of the Senatorial race so that Johanns could breeze to victory);

I wonder if the combination of the above "anti-democratic" and "kingmaker" arguments could be combined to create some sort of independent populist avenue for Democratic success.

Here was my (late night) response:

If it passes, NE would simply be in line with the rest of the country.

In the mean time, who knows if a Prez race could come down to 1 or 2 EVs? Who would have thought it would have been about some hanging chads in FL?

I think Nebraskans like being mentioned, more than anything else, when the point about splitting votes comes up. Sort of like being the only state with a Unicameral.

(Frankly, what needs to happen is an overhaul of the voting system so that the Primaries aren't so heavily front loaded. But that's a whole different animal.)

I'm not sure I feel strongly either way. I'm not sure it would be very bad or good either way. (And ask Hagel and Heineman about kingmakers.)

I really think people would shrug.

So just some food for thought on your freezing cold Friday afternoon.

Your thoughts?

Plowers (still) for Daub!

A reader pointed us to a video on Omaha KETV Channel 7, where Kevin Brown, President of the Civilian Union Local 251, discussed the difficulties of plowing all the snow in the Metro Omaha area.

What was good, was the item pinned to Kevin's cork-board behind him (circled by us):

Here's another angle.

Not sure where you've seen that?

Try this.

Someone send Kevin one of these!

EBN: Keeping it...fun

We really have to thank E. Benjamin Nelson here on Leavenworth Street.

If he hadn't been talking and talking and talking and goofing and goofing and goofing for the last four months, we would have been stuck parsing all the goofy things the Omaha Mayor says.

Case in point: An excellent breakdown of Nelson's explanations for the Cornhusker Kickback (the "CK") ever since the original negotiations, by The National Review's Daniel Foster.

He breaks down the progression of Nellie's excuses for the CK like this:

1. Nelson was “comfortable” that the CK took care of Nebraska. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "You’ll find a number of states that are treated differently than other states. That’s what legislating is all about. It’s compromise."


2. It was all Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman's idea! Heineman asked for it, and Nelson just passed the idea along to Reid! In fact, it should be called the "Heineman Exemption"! (A major mistake by Nelson. Had he called it the "Heineman Hotplate" or "Dave's Double-Dip", it might have stuck...)


3. No wait, the CK was a “legislative strategy” that would lead to a Medicaid opt-out provision for all states in the final version of the bill!


4. Ya see, the deal “was not intended to be a special perk for Nebraska, but rather a vehicle by which individual states could choose to opt out of federal funds for Medicaid in the future”. It was a "placeholder".

We're pretty sure that in a year's time, Nelson will claim that the Cornhusker Kickback was actually a reference to the 1963 game where Bob Devaney called a 3rd down punt against Missouri, thereby pinning the Tigers on their own three.

Politicians are awesome...

***

Btw, you may have heard that Warren Buffet is supportive of Senator Nelson's vote on Health Care.

But note the Oracle of Omaha's reasoning:

But tackling health care reform now is "the right thing for the country."

"This bill is not going to be perfect," Buffett said. "There will be some unintended consequences and some surprises."

But it's time to start, he said, and then modify the legislation as needed.

Which is interesting because Nelson just said the other day that now was NOT the time for new Health Care debate and legislation. Nelson said we should have WAITED -- knocking Buffett's point.

Oh well.

Oh, and interesting that Buffett -- a HUGE abortion rights proponent, who puts his money where his mouth is on the subject -- is all for the bill.

Let's you know where Pro-Choicers really stand on it.

Where is EBN on Card Check?

The National Right to Work Committee has decided to pile onto Ben Nelson regarding the vote on Card Check.

See their ad here:

No word on a buy for this one minute spot.

Said Doug Stafford of the NRTC:

Recently, Senator Nelson has claimed that he’s against both ‘Card Check’ and binding arbitration. But he refuses to say how he’ll vote on cloture.

Now where have we heard this type of position from Senator Nelson before?

Hmm. Hmmmm...

Suttle's foul mouth

On KMTV, Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle set it straight what he thinks about the @#$%-ing S-N-O-W:

I think we're truly finding that "snow" is a four letter word.

Geez Jim.

You can call a spade a spade, but you don't have to call it a...snow shovel.

(Wonder what he thinks about the upcoming sewer projects...)

Nelson in the Rumor Mill

**UPDATE at 3:15pm**

Salazar not running for governor, backing Hickenlooper

Oh well...

***

This is purely from the rumor mill kids...but...follow us here...

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced he will not run for re-election.

Word has it that the White House has blessed a decision by Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to head back to Colorado to run for the office.

Sooooooooo....that would leave the Interior Department empty....

Who to fill it...who to fill it...

An embattled Senator who may have a tough time in a few years? One who organized a visit to Nebraska by the Interior Secretary last year?

OK we'll say it: We've heard that Ben Nelson's name has been bandied around for this spot.

Now, a few problems with this:

1) Dave Heineman would then get to pick his replacement, thus losing the Dem's edge for a filibuster proof majority. That's a big one.

But, maybe that's the price for Nelson's vote on Health Care?
Could be too expensive for such a vote...maybe.

2) Would Nelson really want that gig? Probably less time at the turkey farm. Pretty much zero time in the limelight ever again.

But a cushy job, if he'd really be interested.

We doubt it.

But, you know, we always encourage more info out there than less!

Have fun.

***

Of course there are a zillion related Nelson stories, but the biggie lately (and linked by Drudge) is the Fremont Tribune story where Nelson dropped the...

“I think it was a mistake to take health care on as opposed to continuing to spend the time on the economy.”

Of course there is still time for Nelson to kill the bill then, no? That fence Nelson lives on top of must have a jacuzzi and a bowling alley for it to be that comfortable.

But the true whopper from the story is this one:

Nelson said the “Cornhusker Kickback” -- $100 million that was included in the Senate bill to help Nebraska cover Medicaid expenses -- was not intended to be a special perk for Nebraska, but rather a vehicle by which individual states could choose to opt out of federal funds for Medicaid in the future.

No wait, the REEEAL whopper was this one:

“I’d have to say that nine out of ten people that come up to me thank me.”

Guessing that Nelson was referring to his Christmas dinner, and the tenth who said nothing was an Uncle snoozing on the couch...

Boyle out before he gets in

Douglas County Commissioner and former Omaha Mayor Mike Boyle announced that he will not be running for Nebraska Governor in 2010...on Facebook:

Mike Boyle

After a family meeting, I have decided a run for Governor is not in the best interest of my family. Anne and I have sixteen grandchildren - 13 in Omaha. I can't put them through a campaign that will undoubtedly sink to the lowest level. The stakes are too high for Dave. My family comes first. I appreciate all the support you have given to me. It is gratifying. Thank you, Mike Boyle

It's cute that Boyle, who has been a political animal his entire life, implies that Dave Heineman would bring the campaign to a low level -- and cites the children (oh, the children!).

Here's something Boyle knows:

The stakes are ALWAYS high when you run for statewide office. It's the big time. For whomever is running.

The fact that Boyle doesn't want to commit to the race is fine. But better he just say that he and his family don't have the heart, and leave it at that.

What Boyle's grandchildren have to do with anything, we don't know. To suggest that Governor Heineman would somehow pull them into a campaign is frankly beyond the pale for even Boyle.

While Heineman hasn't done a thing, Boyle is already taking shots at him as he cowers away.

Thanks Mike. We hardly knew ye.

And next time, just send a Tweet.