Blog
Knowing they can’t win at the polls, Heineman demands a rule change
Submitted by Missy Wigley on 24 May 2012 - 10:55am
Complaining yet again about Nebraska's split electoral vote system.
"Whenever men take the law into their own hands, the loser is the law. And when the law loses, freedom languishes." - Robert F. Kennedy
It must really sting that the Nebraska Republican Party lost Congressional District 2 to Obama under Nebraska's split electoral vote system.
Back in 1991, State Senator DiAnna Schimek worked to change Nebraska to a split electoral vote. As a result of her efforts, Nebraska is one of two states that allow for the electoral votes in a Presidential election to be split; the other 48 states vote as "winner takes all."
2008 marked the first time that Nebraska actually split our electoral vote for a Presidential candidate with Barack Obama taking a lone electoral vote from Congressional District 2 (Douglas county and part of Sarpy county) with the four other votes going to McCain. So it really chafes the Nebraska Republican Party that Democrats in Nebraska worked hard to ensure accurate representation by giving President Obama an electoral vote.
Since 2008, Governor Dave Heineman and the Nebraska Republican Party have been actively attempting to change Nebraska back to a "winner takes all state." Nebraska Republicans in the Legislature made it their priority to undo the split electoral vote with Legislative Bill 21 since they lost at the polls on November 4, 2008. Thankfully this partisan bill has been indefinitely postponed.
As the 2012 General Election approaches, the Nebraska Republican Party is worried that Mitt Romney is so weak that he'll lose one, if not more, electoral votes to Barack Obama on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Tuesday, Governor Dave Heineman whined about the unfairness of Nebraska's split electoral vote; complaining it's "totally inappropriate." Most Nebraskans wouldn't consider healthy competition unfair or the need to put in hard work to win to be "totally inappropriate."
Of course, Heineman's comments might carry more weight if the Republicans had actually bothered to complain in the nearly two decades after Nebraska switched to a split electoral vote.
Heineman went on to complain that the efforts to keep the current system were "partisan and political," yet he fails to acknowledge that Nebraska Republicans - including himself - have fought for the last year to change Nebraska to "winner takes all." How is this not partisan?
The split electoral vote means Nebraskans have fair and equal representation. The split electoral vote means Nebraska is a battleground state. The split electoral vote means that both the Obama and Romney campaigns could pour millions into the Nebraska economy. Given that Heineman has struggled to close budget gaps, why would he actively work to keep money out of Nebraska? This is nothing more than Heineman's partisan politics and a group of sore losers trying to change the rules at the last minute. Too bad they think their needs outweigh the good of Nebraska.
Just Who is Deb Fischer?
Submitted by Missy Wigley on 21 May 2012 - 4:53pm
The Candidate No One Knows....
Bob Kerrey has accepted the first invitation to debate Deb Fischer, which would allow Nebraskans to discover who can best represent our state in Washington, DC.
So far, the media agrees on one thing about Deb Fischer following her surprise Primary win last Tuesday - no one knows who she is or what she stands for. Leading up to the Primary last week, Fischer did little campaigning on her own and slipped through the Primary due to the outside influence of $254,863 worth of negative ads paid for by billionaire Joe Ricketts, CEO of TD Ameritrade.
The proposed debate, sponsored by The American Legion Cornhusker Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Cornhusker Girls State on June 5th at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, gives Nebraskans an opportunity to examine Fischer's extreme right-wing voting record.
Fischer has been identified by a blog as being in the "96th percentile for conservatism in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska unicameral, and in the 93rd percentile of identified Republicans. That is, only 7 percent of Nebraska Republicans are more conservative than she in recent years."
If Fischer maintains this hard-core ideology and is elected to the US Senate, her views would place her somewhere near Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who is in favor of the Ryan budget, was against bailing out the auto industry, and wished to permit oil drilling & development in ANWR.
So who really knows Deb Fisher? Right now it's a small group of 79,000 voters from the Primary. These voters make up less than 7% of the voting electorate, and the main argument of the Primary election was to vote for "Anyone But Bruning." That's not exactly the way to reach people, discuss the issues, and be elected on merit. Most Nebraskans simply don't know Deb.
Accepting this invitation to debate will help Nebraskans see who Deb Fischer is. Does Deb represent Nebraska values or is she already bought and paid for by billionaire Joe Ricketts?
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Gale urged to investigate Douglas County voting changes
Submitted by Missy Wigley on 4 April 2012 - 9:53am
Two organizations concerned with voting rights have asked Secretary of State John Gale to exercise his statutory authority as the state's chief election officer to "inspect and review" recent actions in Douglas County that sharply reduce the number of voting locations.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Top Election Official Warned Governor of Polling Place "Trouble"
Submitted by Missy Wigley on 4 April 2012 - 9:37am
Democrats fight for the right of Nebraskans to vote while GOP officials warn the closing of polling sites will "likely cause voter confusion".
First Kerrey TV Ads Focus on Character, America's Challenges
Submitted by Anonymous on 13 March 2012 - 1:57pm
Omaha, March 13, 2012 - Former Nebraska Governor and Senator Bob Kerrey's 2012 U.S. Senate campaign launched its first television ads today.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Article Shows How Bob Kerrey is an ‘Authentic Maverick’
Submitted by Anonymous on 12 March 2012 - 11:31am
Let me tell you about one of my favorite mavericks, a Democrat, who served two terms in the U.S. Senate before leaving voluntarily. Facing a tough re-election race in the very Republican year of 1994, he was assailed for having voted to outlaw assault weapons. In a TV spot, he picked up an AK-47 at a target range and said: “Twenty-five years ago in the war in Vietnam, people hunted me. They needed a good weapon like this AK-47. But you don’t need one of these to hunt birds.” Heard anybody make that case recently?
Remembering Bloody Sunday
Submitted by Anonymous on 7 March 2012 - 5:29pm
Posted by Will Crossley, DNC Counsel and Director of Voter Protection on Wednesday, March 07, 2012 at 10:15 a.m. ET
Statement from Nebraska Democratic Party on Senator Kerrey Joining Race
Submitted by Missy Wigley on 29 February 2012 - 3:43pm
Statement from Vic Covalt, Chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party
In Case You Missed It: Kerrey Enters Senate Race
Submitted by Missy Wigley on 29 February 2012 - 3:28pm
Statement from Senator Bob Kerrey
Doing things the conventional way has never been my strong suit. This afternoon, I will file to become a candidate for the United States Senate in Nebraska. I came to realize that my previous decision was the easy one, not the right one. My commitment to serve Nebraska and America, and to be part of the debate about the challenges we face was too strong to dismiss. My family supports this decision 100%. I look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks. We have a lot of work to do.
From the Lincoln Journal Star.
Statement from Nebraska Democratic Party on U.S. Senate Race
Submitted by Anonymous on 28 February 2012 - 9:06pm
Statement from Vic Covalt, Chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party