Path to majority

The "Contract with America" was an amazing success in 1994. As the Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Meet the Press we have to be the alternative party not the opposition party. Republicans have to start coming up with solutions and our own ideas. We just cant say no, angry candidates don't win and angry parties don't become majorities. We have to be an alternative to the democrats they have given us a window and plenty of reasons to formulate our own solutions.

Its easier to be the party of "No" we have to be the party of the innovation.

The Sacrificial Lamb

Well, the state democrats are looking at Commissioner Mike Boyle as the democratic nominee for Governor. Mike Boyle, a former Omaha Mayor and current County Commissioner is looking at the race. Boyle, is a weak candidate but look for the Governor to poor it on. Why the democrats would have such a weak candidate at the top is beyond me. Would the Governor survive a challenge from any democrat probably. However Boyle is not a headliner but the democrats don't have a headliner in their party. The democrats are split and fractured which for a minority party in a state such as this its bad.

Doctrine of War

President Obama accepted his noble award this last week. As the President gave his speech many of his liberal allies had to be dismayed. Obama eloquently laid out his role as Commander-in-chief. He laid out the what he believes is his reasoning for defend this country I liked it.

In some other news several veteran blue dog democrats have announced that they are going to retire in 2010. These members of the house all serve swing districts, with independents moving away from the President they are worried. I believe that President Obama's speech was in part to stem the flow of independents away from the democratic party. Will this work? Only if President Obama turns around the jobless rate. Either way the democrats will lose seats in the house its just a matter of how many seats will they lose. The republicans have a chance of taking back but it is a slim chance.

Jobs not that important

To the Obama administration creating jobs must not be a real issue. At the Obama job summit the groups that are responsible for creating 85% of the jobs in the country were not invited. The Chamber of Commerce and Small Businesses thats interesting. Does Obama just want us all to go work at Wal-Mart to get a job or something. This democratic administration has its favorites in business and those are the ones they invite to the table. The jobless rate is at 17% and all businesses should be welcome at the table. But I guess jobs just aren't really that important to the Obama administration as they are to the rest of the country.

It will be interesting

The Unicameral is in an emergency session to fix our budget gap shortfall. I have suggested going to a 4-day work week 10 hours a day. This is one of the items that Utah did in there recent budget crunch. Utah has seen a very quick return on that change, it has saved Utah several million dollars in the first quarter of this year. I have heard that the tax increase the governor wanted on Corn and Wheat farmers did not make it out of committee which is good to see. It will be interesting to see what the overall budget bill looks like. It sounds like lower class individuals who want to go to college those scholarships are being chopped hopefully they will be refunded when the state has the money but that I am sure did not feel good.

Another Democrat for SOS

The Nebraska state democratic party will have a contested primary in the Secretary of State race. Kris Pierce is running for the nomination and now Janet Stewart is about to run for the nomination also. Either the democratic party really dislikes John Gale or they dislike Kris Pierce. Some how I feel that it is a little both. Janet Stewart previously ran for the CD1 democratic nomination in 2004 however felt short to Matt Connealy in the primary. This is interesting because the democrats don't have candidates for AG or Auditor, Treasurer, CD1, not too mention Governor. So to have a primary for SOS is really a reflection on the fractious democratic party, in the primary Janet Stewart will win the primary but it won't keep John Gale from easily gliding to a November win.

Kris Pierce

Kris Pierce is going to run for SOS against John Gale. The happiest man in the state has to be John Gale. Kris Pierce is not even liked by most democrats in this state he would not survive a primary if he is challenged in one. Almost any other democrat would beat Kris Pierce. Not because he is not liberal enough he leans very far to the left. Kris pierce is just not liked he ticked off tons of other democrats the democratic party does not like him. Yet they will be forced to support him but they wont. I am predicting right now that John Gale will receive 80% of the vote at the minimum.

Potential Comeback

Conservative columnist George Will has mentioned a GOP comeback could be brewing for 2010. Will this happen I don't know but it could even thought the more likely scenario is that the GOP will gain seats in the House and the Senate. With Rep. Mike Castle now in the U.S. Senate race on Delaware that race has to be a toss-up. Mike Castle is a former two-term Governor and has been Delaware's lone house member and is serving his ninth term. It is a race that looks a lot more favorable for a GOP pickup in 2010.

Here in Nebraska if state senator Tom White is going to try and unseat Rep. Lee Terry the Senator is going to need President Obama's numbers to move to back to the upper fifties. Even then Lee Terry is going to have a distinct advantage as an incumbent and someone who can work across the isle. Tom White is going to be the top of the democratic ticket in Nebraska which is tough for someone who is running for Congress and not governor. The democrats will have a tough 2010 if Tom White has to carry the ticket. The democrats don't even have anyone who could run for State Treasurer 2010 will be the normal dominance the GOP holds over the democrats in this state.

State Treasurer Race

The State Treasurers office needs somebody who has spent time in Lincoln but does not live there and understands the needs of out state Nebraska. I believe Don Stenberg has had his time in elected office three terms as State Attorney General is enough. How do we know that Stenberg would serve a whole term anyway or would he try another re-match with Ben Nelson. The State Treasurers office could use somebody from the 3rd congressional district such as State Senator Deb Fischer. She is exactly the type of statewide office holder we need. she would be somebody to hold other elected leaders feet to the fire when it comes to budgetary issues. Senator Deb Fischer who represents District 43 has been a strong leader for her district. She is an excellent advocate for the issues that concern her district. Being a rancher and understanding agriculture is a key challenge that all statewide elected officials must understand. It is the opinion of this blogger that State Senator Deb Fischer would be a great candidate and an excellent State Treasurer for the state of Nebraska.

A new State Treasurer

For everybody thinking that 2010 would just be a quiet boring election year in Nebraska well you may still be right. However the republican primary for State Treasurer should be great entertainment.  I hope the names that have been floating around all enter and I hope more candidates jump in the race. I would like to see Sen. Deb Fischer jump in the race she is a strong state senator for the Sandhill's of Nebraska. Plus having a women on the ticket would show more diversity on the republican ticket than the democrats have on their limited ticket. A new State Treasurer will be fun. 

U.S. Senator's

Let's look at a debate that has broken out now in Congress since the death of Sen.Kennedy. That is how Massachusetts will select Sen. Kennedy's replacement. Under Massachusetts law the has to be a special election no sooner than 145 days and no later than 160 days. Which is uncommon since a big majority of states now would fill this seat with appointment i.e. Gov. Charlie Crist's appointment of George Limieux to replace retired Sen. Mel Martinez. This happens often for one reason or another. Some states have provisions that a governor must appoint a replacement from the same party as the previous office holder. Massachusetts does not have this provision setting up what could be a free-for-all senate race.
My opinion is that the Massachusetts law is the right way to do it. I do not like governor's having the ability to potentially change the dynamics of the U.S. Senate but just one appointment that seems very un-republican and not even close to being democratic.

Tort Reform

With the health care debate quickly swirling down the toilet bowl the republican party could save health care reform. By insisting on Tort reform health care costs will not go down dramatically without tort reform. The liberals need to recognize this and tell the trial lawyers that for the good of the country they will concede this point. But they won't liberals they want to eat their pie and divide up everyone the rest between them. Then they will tax you for not having any pie

The 2010 outlook

The Republican party here in Nebraska looks strong for the 2010 election cycle. yes, the democrats have more time to find candidates. so far the only have one official candidate but I am sure with the complaint filed against Tom White that will change. Other than the races for the 2nd and 3rd congressional districts it does not seem the Democrats have much of a field but they don't have much of a bench to pick from though either. Most recently the governor now gets to pick a replacement for Sen. Mike Friend of Omaha. I am sure the governor will do a great job in this appointment. The state Republican party is wanting to add at least two seats to it side of the isle which looking at the races for next year should not be difficult. The continued internal strife of the state Democrats continues to plague the state central committee. The Democrats have strong tradition of track record of fighting the same internal fights they always have.
Democrats from Omaha and some in Lincoln don't think that rural democrats are good democrats and that they should not participate or stay out of the Omaha democrats way. This is nothing new this is also why no Omaha democrat could be elected statewide they just don't get it. Omaha democrats noses are so far up in the air to the rest of the Democratic party that they can't see past the ends of their noses. What does this all mean quite simply a great 2010 election cycle for the State Republican party.

2009 is looking positive

With former Attorney General Bob McDonnell opening up a 15% lead in the latest polls and Chris Christie is extending his lead on Gov.Jon Corzine. 2009 is looking up for the republicans espically for the more fiscally conservative members of us. Both of these candidates are good government law and order candidates. its early still but we could gain two governorships this year that would be a great momentum swing if we do win thes state houses.

Retirement in 2010

We are now in retirement season for members of Congress who are not going to run for election in 2010. Most people are on vacation or starting their school shopping. For members or Congress this is the time to announce your retirement. It gives any potential replacement the time needed to organize a campaign. There have not been any retirements yet this year however there will be, and depending on who does will determine the winds of 2010. There are 15 members of Congress that are not seeking re-election but they are all running for another elective office. I doubt if there will be as many retirements in Congress as there was last year since the political winds have calmed to a certain degree and it won't be a Presidential election year.

A Way Forward

The Republican party needs a way forward, especially a conservative way forward. On the international front we should re-adopt the Weinberger/Powell doctrine when it comes to warfare. We must have a large and robust state department so that we have as much diplomatic influence and soft power as we can. On the domestic front we must stop trying to legislate morality. Being rigid ideologues that do not have a realist common sense approach does not help us either. we must be seen as a party that champions the immigrant that legally wants the American dream and attains it. we must exude confidence in our Public schools and back it up with proper funding. We must always remember that the best government is a constrained and small government.

2009 Governors races

The two states which have governors races this year are close races. The race in Virginia continues to be close with Bob McDonnell leading Creigh Deeds 44-41 in the latest polls. The New Jersey race is starting too tighten however Chris Christie is still leading incumbent Jon Corzine 42-37. This means two things that if things keep going the way they are with the economy President Obama will cost his party one governor's maybe two. Most experts believe that Jon Corzine was going to be in trouble for re-election anyway with his poor handling of state issues. But for Creigh Deeds don't expect a bunch of help from President Obama because of the states purple tinge.

Looking at 2010

I was surfing the political websites I usually look at to gauge goings on and noticed a very interesting thing. Even if you take out the incumbents there are still more republican declared candidates than democrats. Now I accidentally labeled Christopher Geary a democrat he is a republican. Also Matt Sakalosky who is challenging Lee Terry in a primary Geary is challenging Gov.Heineman in his primary. As of right now and I am sure it will change the only declared democratic candidate is Rebekah Davis a minister who is challenging Congressman Adrian Smith. Now it is assumed that State Sen. Tom White is going to challenge Congressman Lee Terry while White is trying to lay low before his official announcement when you spend your time at the Morrison-Exxon dinner attacking Rep.Terry its hard to believe that you haven't made up your mind on the race or not. With the democrats trying to recruit State Sen.Steve Lathrop into running as a sacrificial lamb to Gov. Heineman it again brings up an issue that the democrats will have to face.
Both Senators White and Lathrop seats in the Unicameral are up for re-election in 2010 so they have to make the decision whether to pad their political resume with easier re-election campaigns to the legislature or do the risk those seats and and go for higher office. Now if the do seek higher office the republican state party will be overjoyed. the state republican party wants to pick up two legislative seats and with both senators White and Lathrop running for higher office this would open up two more legislative seats that would be put in play in 2010. So the democrats with their limited bench have tough decisions ahead of them more than likely the democrats will not field a full slate of viable candidates for office in 2010.

We must be a symbol

The Nebraska Republican party can be a symbol of political power. We are a party that still dominates its state while that national party is in transition. We have a chance to make transition with new ideas and still be the dominating force in state politics. we as a state party should be reaching out to young voters but we must be careful not to talk at the or too them but with them. We must make our conservative points in a thoughtful manner that does not demonize the opposition. Younger voters do not care for social warfare that dominated the '90's. But many young voters are conservatives they just don't know it. But they are more libertarian in there views which is a conservative view point. We must make our pitch of personal responsibility and individual freedoms. Those are two areas where we as conservatives can recruit younger voters.

They have 60

With the Minnesota State Supreme Court unanimously vote 5-0 against now former Senator Norm Coleman the democrats have 60 seats in the U.S. Senate. Not something that has been achieved since LBJ won a super majority with his election. Now LBJ and the democrats over reached and were swatted in the '66 election cycle. Now will that happen this time nobody knows republicans are not helping the brand any. We as republicans have yet to come up with an idea besides no which does not help. We can run against the message of the democrats of more spending, more deficit, and more government. But when voters ask us what are we for we have to have our own ideas.
Right now lets take a look at former Senator Norm Coleman this is a man who lost as the Republican nominee to Jessie Ventura in '98. Norm Coleman was not a strong candidate to begin with. He said many times that he was a Brooklyn Jewish kid who somehow ended up in Minnesota. That is not helpful either the public wants politicians they can identify with somebody they can see as a childhood friend.
Second Coleman Won his seat six years ago because his opponent died Paul Wellstone and his funeral became nothing more than a partisan rant. Former Vice President Walter Mondale still almost beat Norm Coleman. I am happy that Norm Coleman won but are we really surprised he lost this time. For 2010 the party needs to find youthful articulate candidates that aren't angry and don't frighten people. The key is to find the articulate candidates that can deliver a message for the future that the republican brand has ideas for the future and that if you vote republican you are helping to shape a more positive common sense future for your district, state, and our country.

Run Senator Run

I am hoping that Senator Tom White does indeed run against Lee Terry. Mostly because I believe State Senator Tom White would lose. The Republican party would win double one for holding on to the 2nc CD. Two they would stand a good chance at picking up his Legislative seat which is on the State Republican party wish list. The Republicans want to gain at least two legislative seats in 2010. If Senator Tom White runs for congress his legislative seat would be open since it is an election year or that seat as well. Also the facts are it is easier to have an elective post change party hands when it is an open race instead of an incumbent being involved. So my words are Run Senator Run.

The Democrats 6 Months

The democrats in the state of Nebraska are feeling good right now they have majorities on both the Lincoln and Omaha city councils. They also hold the mayor's offices in both and retained the Omaha's mayor office this last year. Thats not a bad 2009 but now that the 2009 election cycle is over so are the democrats chances of actually winning. The democrats at the Morrison-Exxon dinner were feeling rowdy from what it sounds like. They believe they are Goliath slayers ten feet tall and 500lbs. But now they have to find candidates that can compete in state wide elections which means the 1st CD and the 3rd CD will be be voting which means the democrats have to play to voters that are outside of the Lincoln-Omaha metro areas.
The democratic party chairman Vic Covalt insisted that they will field a full slate of candidates which I still hold as a long shot. State Senator Steve Lathrop is already backing down from a race for governor. Maybe the democratic party will dust off Scott Kleeb and make him a three-time loser or maybe even Jay Stoddard. The knight on the white horse is supposed to be State Senator Tom White a congressional candidate is going to headline your parties ticket. This will be good republicans can beat Tom White and get him out of the Unicameral at the same time. It is an election year for his legislative seat next year. The democrats reached the height of their influence. 2010 will be a good strong year for the Nebraska GOP.

It Could be Interesting

As is my normal routine I was checking the various political websites I follow to help make an informed opinion on this blog. CQPolitics.com has at the top of its page the Rep.Lee Terry is a target of the DCCC. Which means there could be an added national spotlight on this race. Why is the DCCC targeting Terry well as we all know Obama won the 2nd Congressional district. The article mentions the State Senator Tom White is considering making a run at the seat. This is because Sen. White was originally thinking of challenging Gov.Heineman being the sacrificial lamb. But the generally is not a good role to play for a pol who wants to move up.
Now CQPolitics.com says that Terry is on shaking ground. Where may I ask is he on shaky ground Sen. White is no Barack Obama he is a one-term State Senator who is a 52 year old white male. Somehow I don't see the same Obama jubilation for Senator White. Yes, previous time challenger Jim Esch made it close a couple of times. Those were also Landslide democratic years.
This will be a mid-term in which Obama's policies are put through the ringer not congressional republican's. I believe that this will be a show of how strong the Nebraska republican party is and Lee Terry will keep his seat. But this does have larger ramifications State Senator Tom White is up for re-election to the legislature. The republicans could gain a seat in the Unicameral and hold onto a congressional seat that is represented by a congressman that fits his district.

Governor's races

I was looking at CQPolitics.com and it showed an overview of all of the upcoming gubernatorial races around the country. The party that I was fairly amazed by is that only one race is considered Safe Republican which means that there is more than a 70% chance that the republican will win. That one state is our very own Governor. Jim Rogers the executive director of the State democratic party has said that the democrats will have a challenger for the governors mansion however viability is an issue. Even in the solid south where there are six state executive races only one is listed as "safe" and the is Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe. Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina are listed as "leans republican" which means that there is only a little better than a 50-50 chance that the republican will win. The sixth race is Florida since sitting governor Charlie Crist is running for U.S. Senate the governors mansion in Tallahassee has been thrown into the "toss up" category. Now the there is ray's of sunshine in the clouds which are the two gubernatorial races this year in Virginia and New Jersey Republicans have a very good chance of taking one if not both races. Let's work and hope that these two races will give us the momentum in 2010.

Limited Government

Having just received my copy of Joe Scarborough's book "The Last Best Hope". Which is stimulating to me. Scarborough brings up an excellent point, either we as conservatives are Federalists or we are not. We as conservatives have to remember that are party is the party of law and order. The rule of law its interesting we decry State Supreme Courts that overturn the popular vote by a decision. But yet many conservatives want there to be a U.S. Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. My fellow conservatives marriage is a state issue lets leave it there. Abortion was on its way to being a state by state issue until Roe v. Wade. I believe as do many conservatives that abortion should be a state issue. Many conservatives agree with limited government when it helps the cause. But when expanding the government can help the cause many so called conservatives grow the government. Let us get back to our Federalist principles the made our party great we must to regain our previous glory.

Good Idea

I was reading an article written by Mike Murphy for Time. The article is "The Ice Age Cometh" it has a red white and blue mammoth. It is good symbolism and fits the article well and Murphy makes good points about the direction of the party. Two of them I completely agree with. Which are young voters and Latinos both of which broke decidedly for Obama. When it comes to young voters Mike Murphy points out that a more Libertarian stance on social issues would attract young voters. We must be smart young voters are not culture warriors and don't want to be and do not have the appetite for it.
The second point that I stand with Murphy on is Latinos, he points out that because of Latinos Obama carried Indiana, solid Republican Indiana. We as a party must modernize to what the demographics tell us. One Latino voters are a growing demographic and will continue to be a growing demographic. Why we remain scared of a small group of anti-immigration zealots is beyond me. They are a shrinking base that we will not win elections with. We don't need to drop our conservative principles but we do need to modernize them in a way that fits with the changing demographic landscape if we are really to avoid a republican ice age.

The State of Affairs

This year has not started out well for the GOP polls show a third of the party doesn't like the party. However what direction do we go in whatever direction it takes to start winning elections. We tend to hold up Ronald Reagan as a strong conservative symbol yet we don't follow the handbook that he made. The culture wars are over and many conservatives don't know anything else or any other argument. For too long we screamed at the other side and made them into bad people because of ideology. They are not bad people they are bad policies. The biggest thing conservatives need to do is stop legislating morality. President Taft has a quote that is my favorite," The world cannot be saved through legislation". What does this mean government is not the answer to questions. We must as a party tone done the rhetoric that is not helpful to further a debate.
The job of a political party is to win elections thats the point. In order to govern you have to be able to win. That means new fresh ideas not the same old manufactured ideas that voters are not buying anymore. I think we should all read Joe Scarborough's new book.

It Wont Happen

The poll question and the posting today are of the same vein. Will the democrats have a full slate of candidates for statewide offices. The answer is "no" they will not. The democrats don't have the bench to do it or the will power to do it. State Senator Tom White will most likely try for Rep. Lee Terry's seat in Congress. Eight other democrats are up for re-election to the Unicameral. And not all of them may run for re-election or even be re-elected so the bench continues to shrink. Having Christopher Geary at the top of the ticket is not going to provide any coattails. The democrats are putting all their eggs in one basket which will be the 2nd congressional district race. The democrats in the state of Nebraska have no message but they are trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice. Don't bet on it the democrats will have a lot of rhetorical fluff but thats about it.

He Just Does Not Get it

I was checking out democratic gubernatorial candidate Christopher Geary's website. I noticed that on his platform page he is against capitol punishment which is fine. He mentions that an innocent person could be put to death. Absolutely as long as humans are filling the jury boxes and are involved with the process there is always going to be the human error. I do not have an issue with Mr.Geary on that point. Mr.Geary's third point is what I have an issue with on capitol punishment. It states and I quote "I believe that life imprisonment is a more appropriate punishment than the death penalty because it gives people a longer period of time to regret what they have done." Mr.Geary is assuming that the people who are on death row have a conscience. If the people on death row had one they would not have done what they did to be put there in the first place. Mr.Geary assumes that the person regrets the act they did to begin with. Generally if someone ends up on death row they have earned it and they have earned the right to die. Thinking about there past crimes generally gives these individuals pleasure. As for what Jesus would do I am not qualified to answer that question and neither is Mr.Geary. But as the title says he just doesn't get it.

"41"

The number "41" for Nebraskans does not mean much nor should it. While checking out Governing Magazine.com I noticed the number 41 at the bottom of their page. So I clicked on it and it lead to a screen that said "41" was the number of times that Nevada Governor Jon Gibbons vetoed legislation from his legislature this past legislative session. It set a record that had stood since 1864-65. You might think good for the governor he is protecting the public I see it differently. I see this amount of vetoes as a signal in communication brake down. Certainly the governor would know the office numbers of his legislator's and they certainly would know where his office is. This an example of just bad governing all the way around. A state in Nevada which has a budget deficit and yet the legislature and governor can't get together and find common ground for the good of the state.
Stories like this just exemplify the excellent job that our own governor and the legislature did in communicating positions on legislation and working together. Earlier this week the governor stated that passing legislation on 6 major issues made this past legislative session a huge success. I would say in light of the "41" vetoes in Nevada the accomplishments of our legislature and it's willingness to work with the executive branch is absolutely amazing.

It Will Pick Up

This right now is the lull before the 2010 election cycle. This is the time when potential candidates a deciding whether to run for office or not. This is not an easy decision to make. It is a sacrifice for any family involved especially for a candidates family they are pushed back to a back burner during the campaign.
The Omaha World Herald recently said that the conservative nature of our legislature was evident because of the new state senators. Term limits have made our legislature more conservative basically. Looking at the list of legislative races of the 24 it is very likely the legislature will become more conservative. The State Republican party believes it can pick up at least two seats and will be focusing hard on two seats too pick up and helping in others.
Two democrats I would go after are Dist. 26 Amanda McGill who won her seat by a couple hundred votes. The second is Dist. 46 Danielle Nantkes who now has her third DUI which her opponent or opponents can should and will use in the campaign. After that Dist. 8 Tom White is most likely to run for Congress challenging Rep. Lee Terry. One has to believe the state party would love to take that open seat from the democrats and beat White in a congressional race.

George Tiller

Yes, the OBGYN which did perform abortions in Kansas was murdered in church. Yet MSNBC.com reports that top anti-abortion leaders are quietly distancing themselves from this. Are we serious as a law and order conservative I believe that the killer of Dr.Tiller deserves the same fate. We as conservatives do ourselves harm if we do not completely distance ourselves and decry this murder. This murder which it was, was done by an extremist and as conservatives we should be outraged that this individual uses our words to justify this act. If the murder itself was not bad enough but this individual murdered the doctor in church how much more does this extremist have to slap good conservatives in the face. I have not heard any others but I will be the first conservative call for the execution of this murderer. I hate abortion but our constitution strictly forbids vigilante justice and this was not vigilante justice this was an outright murder.

This was a Good Week

This week saw Treasurer Shane Osborn have a protection order put out against him and then withdrawn. This week saw the Unicameral stand up act like grown ups and reverse a horrible court action and reinstate a method for executions. For the anti-death penalty people they should remember retribution is a constitutional reason for having the death penalty at least according to the Supreme Court.
The Unicameral did excellent work especially in its final week. The Unicameral passed a strong budget that will keep us heading in the right direction. The Governor did not veto anything this session which is always a plus when the executive and legislative branches can work together. Now its is onto the election cycle which will mean fundraisers and speeches seeing our public officials out in public more. Let the 2010 cycle begin oh yeah !!!!

David Hahn or Stormy Dean

Well the democrats have a candidate for governor and one has to ask whether he will be more like David Hahn or Stormy Dean. The candidate is current martial arts instructor and former Marine Christopher Geary. Now Mr. Geary has had his own business in Omaha for 15 years which is an accomplishment. But outside of being a Marine and teaching Martial arts what qualifications does Mr. Geary have. He is not a current or past office holder of any kind, we don't know if he knows how to even run a campaign.
What about the issues if Mr. Geary believes that he can have a successful campaign without having any detailed ideas then he is mistaken. That strategy only works once an election cycle and Jim Suttle already used it. What does Mr. Geary know about agriculture if you look at his website Mr. Geary does not mention agriculture once. The state largest industry does not even receive mention. Mr. Geary is quick to point out the negatives that the human race has done to the planet.
Mr. Geary seems to be an anti-ethanol man which is fine but its going to be hard to keep the farmers and ranchers to vote for you with that stance. Mr.Geary has several nice pictures of different parts of Nebraska but we don't know if Mr. Geary know anything about greater Nebraska. His platform reads like an insulated Omaha liberal that does get real Nebraskans. After looking at Mr. Geary the democrats better wish that David Hahn or Stormy Dean runs a again but in governors races the democrats are used to being the lambs lead to slaughter.

New faces are needed

What we need in the GOP is too have more Rep.Eric Cantor and Rep.Paul Ryan. The party needs to realize that we need young faces to start carrying the conservative mantle. I am a fan of the old bulls such former U.S. Senators Trent Lott and John Warner but they are gone and retired. Reps. Cantor and Ryan have something that this party desperately needs which is youthful articulate leaders which it seems like in the Senate there is none. When Sen. Barrasso and our own Sen. Johanns are the symbols of youth in the GOP there is an issue. I am not saying the democrats are better but somehow they are connecting to younger voters better than we are. We have to show our support for youth because youth are symbols of the future many of the leaders in the GOP are not those symbols.

The Lethal Injection Debate

With the Unicameral taking up the debate over the changing of the death penalty from electrocution to lethal injection or to just get rid of the death penalty. It behooves us too look at how we got to this point. The State Supreme Court showed extreme judicial activism in this instance. The State Supreme Court took up a case in which all appeals had been with drawn by the defendant. Which means that the Court took a case that was not even up on appeal.
The State Constitution does not allow the State Supreme Court this power. There is no wording any where in the State Constitution that the State Court could rely upon in justify taking this case and or giving a decision on it. The is made up of seven appointees of former Governor and current U.S. Senator Ben Nelson. This activism of the State Supreme Court should leave lovers of the constitution state and federal disgusted.
Now we move to the legislature this is the priority of the state speaker and it is with great hope that the legislature does the just thing. Pass the bill and have lethal injection as the mode of execution in this state which will not only serve justice to the families of the victims. But it will hopefully send a message to the State Supreme Court that activism will be met with a legislative branch that will keep the court on the straight and narrow.

Latinos can be part of the solution

Our beloved republican party is in a difficult position many in the party want to keep a strangle hold on the direction of the party as anti-immigration and pure ideology. This is not what a political party is. Political parties are in the business of running and winning elections, and if you win enough elections then you receive the chance to govern.
But we can kill two birds with one stone how to expand our base with social conservatives and grow the minority ranks in our party. He can do this with Latinos social they have very conservative culture which fits with our party. The Hispanic culture's dedication to its family structure is something to admire. The issue is how do we recruit these good conservatives and many are excellent business people. Three tenants that are very strong to our party these are capitalist's they hate socialism as many of us do. Many of them have lived under socialist governments and the understand the shortfall's of the socialist ideal's. These are people who we can talk to we just have to do it. Now I am not advocating amnesty at any level I do believe we need a path to citizenship in someway. President George W. Bush did receive 44% down to 31% for John McCain. My fellow republicans we need to have strong recruiting efforts in all communities but especially ones that already share many of our value's.

Smart politics

I think that the presidents pick of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman as U.S Ambassador to China is very smart politically. Huntsman is a pragmatic non-ideologue governor of a very conservative state. Also an individual who has very solid international credentials and a potential 2012 Presidential candidate. Huntsman is absolutely qualified for the ambassadorship in China speaks fluent Mandarin and has been an ambassador in the two previous Bush administrations. This is a solid competent conservative that could have been a solid challenge to the President in 2012. I like Huntsman and he was steadily growing on many political lists as a potential candidate. Good move by the President and a show of bi-partisanship but also very shrewd politically.

Add another constitutional office

I would like to see Nebraska have a Secretary of Agriculture that is constitutionally elected. Just like all of the other constitutional officers. Nebraska is a top agriculture state and I believe that the top Ag official in the state should be elected by the people. Not that I have a problem with Gov.Heineman's choice it's just something that I happen to believe should be in the hands of the people. Whether it would be officially a partisan office or not I don't know. The Unicameral is non-partisan but everybody knows what party they belong too. So when it comes to that issue I believe a partisan election would be just as good. I would like to see a campaign where the issues revolve around agriculture for the most part. Simply put I believe agriculture is just too important to the state too let a single individual decide 0n who that Secretary or better yet they could have the title Commissioner of Agriculture.

Ideology and Pragmatism

The debate in the republican party is on whether to have party purification whatever that is it kinda scares me. Or make a bigger tent which is a legitimate argument. Conservatives love to talk about Ronald Reagan but to many don't know or don't look at his history and time in office. They simply say he won the cold war and the liberals blocked Robert Borke. These are both true but he also we have drinks many nights with Tip O'Neill the very liberal Speaker of the House. Conservatives today would want to execute Uncle Ronnie for that today. People forget the Neo-cons railed against President Reagan when he was in office hated the fact that he talked with the Soviets. They were very quick to take credit for the ending of the cold war though.
Neo-cons are not conservatives they are big government activist ideologues. Neo0cons are not pragmatic. They don't subscribe to the belief as Reagan did that somebody who agrees with me 80% of the time is my friend. If there is any purification that should go on its the neo-conservatives that should receive a kick in the pants.
Pragmatism is how conservatives will win back the day, not ideology. Common sense conservatives should start to fight back. The job of a political party is to win elections and have a design on how there way of governing is better. NRSC chairman Sen. John Cornyn has said that we need to pick regional candidates that fit their particular states. But some how people aren't listening.
The party seems to have a cardboard cut out of the perfect conservative. Its all based on a social hard line ideologue that believes that dis-likes higher education and has a southern accent. Its like some leaders just want to have conservative factory in Georgia and just send out southern conservative clones to every state and run them as candidates. We have to stop legislating morality and feel good legislation. We must return to to states rights and have a foreign policy agenda that promotes less U.S. involvement in everybody else's business.

Focus for 2010

Now that the Omaha races are over the politics can turn to 2010. In Nebraska the 2010 races will not have a U.S. Senate race however all of the constitutional races will be on the ballot plus several legislative races are scheduled for 2010. In 2010 there are 24 legislative races two incumbents are term-limited from seeking re-election to the legislature. There are 13 republicans and nine democrats up for re-election. Many of these incumbents will not have challengers and some may not run for re-election. We will have more on the legislative races in the coming weeks and months.
Onto the constitutional officers of course at the very top is Gov.Heineman he is seeking his second full term as governor. The governors race is probably going to be a no contest my guess is that the democrats will find a Stormy Dean like candidate thanks for the sacrifice. The Attorney General's race in most states is usually where the minority party targets its efforts is to have the top cop in the state. However with the popularity of the current AG Jon Bruning and his proven track record plus his ability to raise money. It will be hard to see who will challenge Bruning its doubtful any democrat would give up their seat in the Unicam to take on Bruning which is where his challenger would most likely come from.
The State Auditor's race may be a race that the democrats are looking at but Mike Foley has a very good record of cutting out waist and he is a formidable candidate. The democrats may make a run at him but I don't see this seat changing either. So far Republicans 3 and democrats 0. State Treasurer Shane Osborn has not indicated what he is doing for 2010 with the Treasurer in a divorce that could leave an opening for democrats too shoot but as far as we can see with the State Treasurer's website and complete open door policy with the state money he would be hard to beat on the issues.
Now comes the one race that the democrats could really target. The Secretary of State race the office is held by three-termer John Gale. Since Gale ran un-opposed last time it is hard to believe that against a three term incumbent the democrats are going to find the answer.
So that 5-0 for the republicans over the democrats. The democrats don't have the bench to run in all of the races and not a only that most democrats don't believe they can win those races.

Daub, the Republican Issue

Was Hal Daub the issue that republicans seem to be having across the country? The republicans seem to be having a struggle in finding new young faces of the party. Not the Hal Daub is not a well qualified capable person. But voters usually don't go for the past one more time. Rarely have governors or mayors been able to recapture their old jobs after they have left. There is something about voters and the executive branch. Once a politician has been in done it for awhile then leaves voters say o.k. you had your time, lets move on to someone new. Its only happened once in presidential history i.e. Grover Cleveland. With history not on Hal Daubs' side and in a city that is majority Democrat this result is not a real surprise.

Well, Suttle Wins

Omaha has decided that it was time to give Jim Suttle a chance instead of returning Hal Daub to the Mayors office. In the Omaha World Herald they brought up the point that Suttle received as many votes for him as Daub had against him. So does this mean that a pro-suttle slash anti-Daub coalition pushed Suttle over the top.
Generally this plan in campaigns does not work i.e. John Kerry with the anti-Bush vote in 2004 for. A campaign of "vote for me because I am not the other guy usually does not fly" with voters. The truth is that in registered voters Omaha is 44% democrat and 35% republican. Granted most of those democrats are conservative and many times vote republican. But is this a sign or a signal of things to come. Jim Suttle ran towards the democratic party and used it and exploited East Omaha. Suttle seemed to be able to answer questions about his lack of details in his plans to govern by stating "that he waned to listen to Omahans to help with solutions for the problems in Omaha". Thats a fine Utopian Wilsonian view but that does not usually govern very well. Suttle has challenges ahead of him and its hard for me to see him lasting more than one-term. As for Hal Daub he has lost two races for his old job now and his political future seems uncertain.

Legislatures and Perks

When it comes to perks many legislatures go all out for themselves. It is one of the toughest and most abused part of being a member in a state legislature. The Massachusetts state legislature is actually divided on the issue of perks when it comes to the legislature says the Boston Globe. The Chicago Tribune says that the Illinois state legislature is only now beginning to talk about ethics and perks reform after the fall from grace by former Gov.Blagojevich. The perks of being a state law maker range from sate to state. however there are two areas where Nebraskans really need to think about when it comes to the Unicam. The first is term limits which in many states are being declared unconstitutional by courts or being repealed by legislatures themselves. Unseating an incumbent because you can't beat him at the ballot box so you block him from running for re-election is completely undemocratic the only exception is the President.
The second issue that voters must look at is the pay of our legislators. $12,600 that in itself excludes many people from being candidates. Talented people in business or other areas are excluded because the salary is not enough to raise a family on or largely contribute. The citizen legislature which is what we have in Lincoln is great and does an amazing job. I don't believe they receive enough credit or pay.

The Terry Primary

Lee terry has an interesting primary in 2010. Against Omaha businessman Matt Sakalosky who seems to be from the ideological only side of the Republican party. It makes you wonder if candidate Matt is Pat Toomey junior. Lee Terry has a solid conservative voting record and yet candidate Sakalosky believes for this one vote Rep.Terry no longer deserves to represent the 2nd district. This is what you call an ideologue pure and simple Rep. Terry is no moderate but he is no ideologue either. For the exception of Rep.Fortenberry Nebraskans traditionally don't vote for ideologues. Nebraskans usually vote for candidates that have a pragmatic approach, principles are a good thing but you govern with pragmatism.
You must also challenge candidate Sakalosky, in his positions page he says he wants to role back TARP. How does he plan to do this in the minority party and as a freshman congressman.
Also we must look at when he speaks of taxes fair for all citizens what does that mean. Is he for a flat tax or not what does his tax policy mean. His stance against stem cell research is he for any medical research if he is he doesn't say so. He simply takes the ideological stance of no embryonic stem cell research but does not say what he is for.
Candidate Sakalosky is starting in a whole and the DCCC is probably overjoyed too see Rep.Terry however with Sakalosky an ideologue they should save their money on the general election.

The early vote

It has become a trend in the past couple election cycles elections. It is the early vote to have people who would vote absentee or not even go out and vote to vote early by mail. Both Hal Daub and Jim Suttle are pushing for the early vote. The battle for early votes is too get your base and other solid followers to vote early then have them help in the campaign so it can focus on the independents. It is a good piece of strategy for a campaign it started as a way for underdog candidates to make a real good hard charge at embattled incumbents or open seats. Now that incumbents have started to pick up on the early vote it has enabled some incumbents to secure the base early and have them vote then focus on the middle.

a little political stirring

With the Omaha Mayors race heating up and already looking like its going to be a bloody affair and not a whole lot else going on in politics in this state we can talk about it. That and the upcoming debate on the death penalty.

The First post

I created this blog for open discussion on all things political across the state of Nebraska. All views are welcome unless they promote violence in the political system or violence against any specific politician or office holder.
I want people to discuss any race they fell is important to talk about from City Council races to President. I would like too keep a more state focus of this blog. If there is a race in another state worth bringing up I am not against it. The only way to be good students of our political system is to learn from many areas and other states have some good races too.