Nelson will oppose Kagan

Democratic Senator Ben Nelson has said he will oppose Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan. Since Kagan has five Republicans and presumably the rest of the Democrats voting for her she will be easily confirmed so losing Nelson doesn't mean much. so lets look at why Nelson will vote against her. Can anyone say looking towards 2012 even though Governor Heineman is leaning against running for Senate in 2012. So who is going to challenge Nelson Attorney General Bruning he wants to be governor but he could beat Nelson turn around run for Governor and appoint his own successor. This is doubtful to happen I think if Governor Heineman turns down the Senate bid then you can look for Congressman Fortenberry to probably jump into the Senate race. If Heineman is out, Bruning is the Republican candidate with the best chance of beating Nelson but its no secret that Bruning wants to be Governor and if he beats Nelson the question would be will he even serve a whole term in the Senate if elected. If Bruning and Heineman both choose to pass on the Senate race the Republicans could be in real trouble to knock off Nelson. The rest of the republican state wide office holders don't pose much of a threat to Nelson. The three Congressmen from Nebraska would be hard pressed to raise enough money and none of them have ever ran a statewide race. So Nelson voting against Kagan has big implications for 2012 but Senator Nelson knows this.