Nebraska Democratic Party: Superdelegate Achelpohl Announces for Obama

Superdelegate Achelpohl Announces for Obama

Apr 19, 09:13 AM CST

NDP State Chair and Unpledged PLEO Delegate (aka Superdelegate) Steve Achelpohl announced his support for Barack Obama.

In announcing his endorsement, the Obama campaign released a statement from Achelpohl citing the senator’s ability to “put states like Nebraska in play” during the presidential election this fall.

“Sen. Obama continues to transcend ‘politics as usual’ and focus on the issues that really matter to American families and workers,” Achelpohl said.

“Our party can unite behind Sen. Obama and his positive campaign.”

Obama, he said, will “unite Americans from all walks of life behind his historic movement for change.”

Achelpohl waited 10 weeks after Nebraska’s Feb. 9 Democratic presidential caucuses to commit his superdelegate vote.

Nebraska Superdelegates Senator Ben Nelson, Steve Achelpohl, Kathleen Fahey, Frank LaMere, and Vince Powers have all committed to Obama. The Party’s Vice Chair, Audra Ostergard, has yet to announce support for either candidate.

The State Convention will elect an additional Add-On Superdelegate.

On the Web:
National Convention Information
State Convention Information

The Nebraska Democratic Party does not endorse in contested primary contests. We attempt to provide the same opportunities to all candidates.

– by Eric Van Horn | Send this to a friend

Thanks, Steve, for joining the majority of Nebraskan Democrats in declaring for Barack Obama!!
— Peg O'Dea Lippert Apr 20, 06:28 AM CST #
Shoot, I was holding out for that Gravel endorsement.
— Mike Nellis Apr 20, 10:31 AM CST #
Steve Achelpohl’s endorsement is disappointing but not at all unexpected. I’m Disappointed not only in his endorsement of Obama over Clinton but in his timing of the announcement, immediately before the PA primary.
— Blu Apr 20, 11:01 AM CST #
I think all of our superdelegates should have waited until after the primary … even though I know the vote won’t count … to see what the majority of Nebraska democrats really think. The caucuses were not as representative as I had hoped they would be.

Does the information in the following article mean anything to any of you? Just curious how you see this aspect of things shaping up.

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/4/20/151123/430
— Marian Ingwersen Apr 20, 09:53 PM CST #
Also, for Peg O’D-L to say that Obama is supported by the majority of Nebraska Democrats is a bit of a stretch. We won’t know this prior to the primary and we might not even know it then … since some people might not bother to vote for the president. It will be interesting to see what happens between now and then.
— Marian Ingwersen Apr 20, 10:01 PM CST #
Beyond Obama’s Beauty

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> By KENNETH BLACKWELL
> February 14, 2008 The New York Sun
> Forwarded article is from the NYSun.
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> Untitled 134 Ken Blackwell – Columnist for the New York Sun
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> It’s an amazing time to be alive in America. We’re in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.
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> We won’t truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won’t arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender. Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.
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> The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.
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> Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He’s not. He’s the next George McGovern. And it’s time people learned the facts.
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> Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton. Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.
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> Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he’s not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant. Mr. Obama talks about getting past party, getting past red and blue, to lead the United States of America. But let’s look at the more defined strokes of who he is underneath this superficial “beauty.”
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> Start with national security, since the president’s most important duties are as commander-in- chief. Over the summer, Mr. Obama talked about invading Pakistan, a nation armed with nuclear weapons; meeting without preconditions with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who vows to destroy Israel and create another Holocaust; and Kim Jong II, who is murdering and starving his people, but emphasized that the nuclear option was off the table against terrorists – something no president has ever taken off the table since we created nuclear weapons in the 1940s. Even Democrats who have worked in national security condemned all of those remarks. Mr. Obama is a foreign-policy novice who would put our national security at risk.
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> Next, consider economic policy. For all its faults, our health care system is the strongest in the world. And free trade agreements, created by Bill Clinton as well as President Bush, have made more goods more affordable so that even people of modest means can live a life that no one imagined a generation ago. Yet Mr. Obama promises to raise taxes on “the rich.” How to fix Social Security? Raise taxes. How to fix Medicare? Raise taxes. Prescription drugs? Raise taxes. Free college? Raise taxes. Socialize medicine? Raise taxes. His solution to everything is to have government take it over. Big Brother on steroids, funded by your paycheck.
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> Finally, look at the social issues. Mr. Obama had the audacity to open a stadium rally by saying, “All praise and glory to God!” but says that Christian leaders speaking for life and marriage have “hijacked” – hijacked – Christianity. He is pro-partial birth abortion, and promises to appoint Supreme Court justices who will rule any restriction on it unconstitutional. He espouses the abortion views of Margaret Sanger, one of the early advocates of racial cleansing. His spiritual leaders endorse homosexual marriage, and he is moving in that direction. In Illinois, he refused to vote against a statewid e ban – ban – on all handguns in the state. These are radical left, Hollywood, and San Francisco values, not Middle America values.
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> The real Mr. Obama is an easy target for the general election. Mrs. Clinton is a far tougher opponent. But Mr. Obama could win if people don’t start looking behind his veneer and flowery speeches. His vision of “bringing America together” means saying that those who disagree with his agenda for America are hijackers or warmongers. Uniting the country means adopting his liberal agenda and abandoning any conflicting beliefs.&nb sp;
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> But right now everyone is talking about how eloquent of a speaker he is and – yes – they’re talking about his race. Those should never be the factors on which we base our choice for president. Mr. Obama’s radical agenda sets him far outside the American mainstream, to the left of Mrs. Clinton.
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> It’s time to talk about the real Barack Obama. In an election of firsts, let’s first make sure we elect the person who is qualified to be our president in a nuclear age during a global civilizational war.
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> —-
— David Davisson Apr 23, 06:56 AM CST #
Hitler was an eloquent speaker, also, and look at how many people were miss led by him. I am by no means comparing Obama to Hitler, but he is not a proven politician. He should wait for the next election and then run, based on what “He” has accomplished, not what the Kennedy Family and the rest of the good old boys of the Democratic party says. For someone that claims he is for “Change”, he is sure hanging onto the “Past”, ie. his paster and the old Democratic ways. He is nothing more than their “Pawn”. How many of these people are endorsing him just because they don’t like Bill Clinton? He should prove himself first. I just don’t feel that he is ready to lead our country. I am not a racist, I have an African American son-in-law that I love dearly and look forward to having grandchildren soon, but I do believe that Hillary has a better chance at beating Mccain and is a proven “candidate”. She has weathered the storms of scrutiny and survived. We still do not know very much about Obama or his character. I will reserve my vote for Hillary, because of what I do know about her.
— David Davisson Apr 23, 07:17 AM CST #
If Obama was any kind of a gentleman, then he would step aside and give the nomination to Hillary. This would do a lot to heal the wounds in the Party and he would always have another chance to run for president. It would, also, guarantee him the women’s vote next time and my vote. I am looking to see what kind of character he really does have. Is he more interested in furthering his own goals or the Party’s. He has plenty of time to become “President”. Make him prove his character and what he is really made of, is he a gentleman or just another politician that wants to line his own pockets….............
— David Davisson Apr 23, 10:01 AM CST #
I would encourage any democrat out there that thinks Hillary Clinton is our best chance at winning the White House to write to their local papers in the next few weeks explaining the reasons and telling the people of Nebraska to make their vote known in the primary … even if our vote means little in this race.

Not counting individual votes for a person, as is being advocated by Mr. Obama and his campaign, is not the democratic way in my opinion. Go Hillary!
— Marian Ingwersen Apr 23, 12:06 PM CST #
Thank you so much for endorsing Senator Obama. We are very proud you have joined us in supporting him.
— Laurie Apr 24, 12:14 PM CST #