Open Thread
Jun 23, 08:52 AM CST
“If you say to them, ‘You’re voting against your own economic interest,’ is that true? Damn right, it’s true. But it sounds belittling. It sounds like you’re saying, ‘You’re an idiot.’ No, Democrats, you’re the idiots. They’re voting on their values. They’re voting on something out there, because the other side gave them something to vote on. You’ve given them nothing, and while you’re doing that, suicide rates are up. Unemployment rates are up. Wages are down—it’s a terrible mess in rural America. And you’ve got the economic issues where you can go get ‘em, but you’ve got to get through the culture and through to their values. Don’t act like they don’t exist. Democrats miss that point, and if they get that point, they’re going to win a helluva lot of races.”
—-Steve Jarding, former Communications Director for U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, and author of the upcoming book Foxes in the Henhouse.
– by Nebraska Democrat | Send this to a friend
Public morality, like stock fraud, bilking investors, usary, having a social safety net or protecting the enviroment are the essence of why we have a government. Does the voter really want a bureaucrat determining what his/her moral values are?
Conservatives “values” talk almost wants to turn government into religion. (Of their own choosing, currently right wing Christian, though my idea of Christ is very different than theirs) At the same time, they turn a blind eye to things that government should be working on.
We need to educate the electorate on what government can and should do. And what government cannot and should not do. Government and religion were seperated by the Founding Fathers for a very good reason and we need to be careful. Talking “values” without keeping government and religion separate, and failing to educate the electorate on why they must be separate, leaves Democrats doomed to failure.
Talking “values” without recognizing these differences, is like having a baseball team play a game of football with a football team (sans bats).
— jimdake Jun 23, 08:36 PM CST #
Now the media and Republican’s tell us they keep winning elections because of values and the conservative coalition, but the election result indicate this is not true. It is not a secret that Blacks and Latino voters make up an important part of the Democratic base. Guess who you see most often participating in regular services, it’s not white people. 51% of Blacks and 48% of Latinos regularly attend verses 43% of Whites. Now with that in mind let’s turn to the election results. 67% of non- white men and 75% of non-white women voted for Kerry. Dissecting that further shows us that 88% of Blacks and 53% of Latinos voted for Kerry. So the people that participate most consistently in religious activities voted for the Democrats. Honestly the only reason so many Latinos defected was the 11th hour ploy from Bush about opening the boarders, because let’s face it being exploited in America beats starving in Mexico.
If you still aren’t convinced that the election wasn’t about values ask yourself what the moral values are we talking about? The two that come to mind are abortion and related stem cells research and gay marriage. 81% of American voters believe abortion should be legal. Only 30% of Americans oppose stem cell research. The Conservatives are loosing on those two issues, which brings us to gay marriage. Now ask Americans if they approve of gay marriage/civil union 51% say they support such rights for gays. The 18-24 year olds favor this by 64%. The only reason gay marriage isn’t legal in America today is because the baby boomers voters out number generation x and y voters. It has very little to do with the morality of the issue. What’s immoral here is to exclude two people from marriage based on genetics. That’s right I said it, genetics and Democrats need to be saying it more often. There’s a lot of evidence to indicate it’s genetic and none to indicate it’s a choice.
Ask most people on the way to the polls who they are voting for and they can tell you. Ask them why they are voting that way and they regurgitate a talking point. That’s why so many responded values. It’s all about the way the question is being asked. Ask them if they voted on values, they say yes. Ask them how they feel about specific values you get a conflicting result.
— Crystal Jun 24, 12:32 AM CST #
— Crystal Jun 24, 01:06 AM CST #
— Vince Powers Jun 24, 09:37 AM CST #
Senator Hagel and every other GOP senator and democrats such as Edwards, Fienstein and Clinton went along with Bush and defeated this Amendment which likely would have prevented the wrong war, at the wrong time, against the wrong enemy, (we need to get Bin Laden, then and now)
We owe Nelson his due for supporting the Durbin amendment, while Hagel is a lion on the talk shows and a lamb on the Senate floor, Nelson is an independent voice for a common sense state.
I (as will history) appreciate Nelson’s vote which would have probably prevented the Iraq war, 30 senators were right and 70 were wrong, nice to know I voted for one of the 30. Hagel , as he always does, voted with Bush and then tries to fool people that he differs with Bush.
Here is the Resolution:
(a) AUTHORIZATION.
The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq;
——Here is the Amendment:
SA 4865. Mr. DURBIN submitted an amendment intended t
o be proposed to amendment SA 4586
strike ``the continuing threat posed by Iraq’’ and insert ``an imminent threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction’’
AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
To amend the authorization for the use of the Armed Forces to cover an imminent threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction rather than the continuing threat posed by Iraq,
— Vince Powers Jun 24, 07:10 PM CST #
“Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council took the stage, noting with courageous enthusiasm, “There are some things that are worth fighting for.” He proceeded to talk about the Iraq War, and some very heroic veterans. ... Then he said, “They’re giving their lives as you’re giving your time.”
Think Progress says:
You know, you’ve got a point there, Tony. Just like our soldiers are dying in Iraq, campus conservatives are stapling flyers for an Ann Coulter speech to a kiosk. Basically the same thing.”
— al Jun 24, 08:10 PM CST #
Nebraska ranks last in economic growth
By MATT OLBERDING / Lincoln Journal Star
In 2004, all 50 states’ economies grew. Unfortunately, though, 49 of them grew faster than Nebraska’s, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The bureau showed that Nebraska’s gross state product — a measure of the value of goods and services produced — grew from a little less than $60.7 billion in 2003 to a little more than $61 billion in 2004, an increase of 0.9 percent. That was the lowest among all the states and well below the national average of 4.2 percent.
That paltry growth came despite record farm income in the state of nearly $4 billion in 2004.
Nebraska’s neighbors fared much better, with growth rates ranging from 2.3 percent in Missouri to 8.1 percent in Iowa. Iowa’s growth rate was tops in the nation, according to the bureau, an agency of the Department of Commerce.
Iowa also had record farm income in 2004, but according to a statement from the bureau, Iowa benefited from lower production expenses and was hurt less by drought than Nebraska.
In a statement relayed through his spokesman, Aaron Sanderford, Gov. Dave Heineman said that while he was disappointed that Nebraska was trailing other states in economic growth, “I have every confidence in the entrepreneurial spirit of Nebraskans.”
Heineman went on to say that the numbers in the report fluctuate from year to year, and “a year of good weather could go a long way toward improving our standing, as could our economic development initiatives…”
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said he was somewhat surprised by the numbers but also could cite several reasons for Nebraska’s poor showing in 2004.
Beef industry restrictions caused by concerns about mad cow disease, both on exports to Japan and imports from Canada, had a big effect on the food processing industry in the state, Goss said.
“At least some of the less-than-stellar growth can be traced to the food processing industry,” he said.
Goss said Friday’s discovery of a second U.S. case of mad cow would continue to be a problem for the state’s beef industry.
Another reason for Nebraska’s sluggish economic performance, according to Goss, is the state’s manufacturing industry is heavily concentrated on non-durable goods — products like food, fuel and medicine — as opposed to durable goods — products such as hardware and machinery.
Goss said there has been more growth over the past couple of years in the manufacture of durable goods than in non-durable goods.
Those same factors may have something to do with why Iowa did so well in 2004, Goss said. Iowa has a much smaller beef industry than Nebraska, he said, and its manufacturing sector is much more dependent on durable goods. The bureau, too, noted the differences in the states’ manufacturing sectors as a reason Iowa’s growth was higher.
Goss, though, cautioned about putting too much stock in one year’s economic performance. According to the report, Nebraska’s growth was nearly 3 percent in 2002 and more than 5 percent in 2003. From 2000-2004, Goss said, the state ranked 32nd nationally in economic growth.
Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration, agreed that one year is not a good measuring stick.
He pointed out that going back to 2000, Nebraska is about at the U.S. average for economic growth.
“I think this is just a little bit of the numbers will bounce around a bit year to year,” he said.
Don Mihovk, vice president of public affairs for the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, said the numbers weren’t totally unexpected to him. But he said he does think things are headed up.
“I’ll be real interested to see what it looks like the next time because I think we are on a better pace,” he said.
Goss and Thompson both said they think 2005 numbers will be better. Thompson said he’s “modestly optimistic” about this year, while Goss said he thinks the state will do “reasonably well.”
But Goss also issued a note of caution about the state’s economic prospects.
“Nebraska is just not growing like most economists, most politicians, most business people would like it to.”
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
Economic growth rates
Here are the five fastest and five slowest growing states in 2004 based on gross state product, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
1. Iowa 8.1 percent
2. Nevada 8.1 percent
3. Arizona 6.7 percent
4. North Dakota 5.9 percent
5. New Hampshire 5.8 percent
U.S. average 4.2 percent
46. Missouri 2.3 percent
47. Ohio 2.2 percent
48. Louisiana 2.0 percent
49. Michigan 1.5 percent
50. Nebraska 0.9 percent
For the full report, check out www.bea.gov.
— vince powers Jun 25, 03:12 PM CST #
Young Republicans gathered for their party’s national convention… were asked: “Would you be willing to put on the uniform and go to fight in Iraq?”
In more than a dozen interviews, Republicans in their teens and 20s said, some have friends in the military in Iraq and are considering enlisting; others said they can better support the war by working politically in the United States; and still others said they think the military doesn’t need them because the U.S. presence in Iraq is sufficient.
“Frankly, I want to be a politician. I’d like to survive to see that,” said Vivian Lee, 17, a war supporter visiting the convention from Los Angeles.
Lee said she supports the war but would volunteer only if the United States faced a dire troop shortage or “if there’s another Sept. 11.”
“As long as there’s a steady stream of volunteers, I don’t see why I necessarily should volunteer,” said Lee, who said she has a cousin deployed in the Middle East [...]
Others said they could contribute on the home front.
“I physically probably couldn’t do a whole lot” in Iraq, said Tiffanee Hokel, 18, of Webster City, Iowa, who called the war a moral imperative. She knows people posted in Iraq, but she didn’t flinch when asked why she wouldn’t go.
“I think I could do more here,” Hokel said, adding that she’s focusing on political action that supports the war and the troops.
“We don’t have to be there physically to fight it,” she said.
Similarly, 20-year-old Jeff Shafer, a University of Pennsylvania student, said vital work needs to be done in the United States. There are Republican policies to maintain and protect and an economy to sustain, Shafer said.
— vince powers Jun 25, 03:16 PM CST #
I’ve just been reading up on this eminent domain decision that just came down. Now on the face of it it seems like a really bad decision. But it’s based on, from what I’ve just read, very good jurisprudence.
That being said. I think we’ve got a winner here. The party really should be getting ahead of this. This is already a big deal around here and we should be doing what we can to look like the good guys on this. Traditionally, Democrats are the good guys on this.
The court stated, as has been the case for a long time, that legislative bodies have the right to define the rule of eminent domain as limited by what the public good is. This has really been the law for quite awhile anyway. It was just clarified a bit.
Now what should we be doing about this?
1) Pushing resolutions in the city council limiting the definitions of public use as pertains to eminent domain. The city has a right to do this.
2) Pushing legislation in the Unicameral to do the same. They also have a right to do this.
It’s so easy to frame, too.
How about the:
Stop Unchecked Land-grabs Resolution.
Or the:
Stop Land-grab Abuse Resolution
We could even make it a ballot initiative. It has the added bonus of making the Republicans think twice about their “pro-business” stance. We know when they say “pro-business” they don’t mean pro-business, they mean “anti-little guy”.
My 2 cents.
phat
— phat Jun 25, 08:42 PM CST #
There has not been a liberal on the supreme court since thurgood marshall retired in 91. Ginsburg is a moderate, Breyer is a moderate to conservative (he wrote the sentencing guidelines for goodness sakes), Stevens and Souter are your basic republican conservatives;
kennedy and oconnor and rhenquist are hard core conservatives, and scalia and thomas are radical, activist, extreme rigth wing judges.
The Court knows Rhenquist is retiring so the hard core right wingers and radicals want another extreme right winger on the bench to add to scalia and thomas. Thus there were inflammatory dissents written, not to help legal scholars but written for hate radio and the right wing echo chamber.
The idea is that if the radicals can pretend that there are so called liberals on the court who have allowed government to favor wealthy corporations, then the country needs another scalia.
Remember that the robber barons who owned the railroads in the 1800’s had government taking farmers’ lands in order to put a railroad track from the atlantic to the pacific. Those are for profit railroads that benefited from government seizures of private property. Airports were built which benefit huge airlines, and worse, they had “inverse condemnation” which allowed planes to fly over homes at low levels ruining the private property; we have streets like widened to benefit churches and businesses, we have always allowed government to take property for the “public good”. When you read the case you will agree with the supreme court’s ruling.
Unfortunately if they can fool enough people into thinking that there was this new, bad, pro government ruling, then they are 3/4’s of the way to getting another radical activist on the supreme court. The goal is to undo the new deal, they need the supreme court to invalidate government’s rights to impose safety standards on business, to strike down laws that require states to prohibit discrimination, to allow public schools to become religious schools, etc.
I strongly sugget one read the opinion and oconner’s 1984 opinion which allowed a similar taking prior to commenting on the case. Now o’connor dissents, remember this is the judge who was upset when she learned theat Gore had won florida, well, we know how that turned out.
This decisoin would have been much ado about nothing if there were not openings coming on the supreme court.
.
— vince Jun 26, 12:01 PM CST #
Karl Rove
How well did the Republicans prepare for War? Lets ask our Senior Senator Chuck Hagel R
“It has tormented me, torn me more than any one thing,” he said with a grim look on his face. “To see what these guys in Iraq are having to go through and knowing what I know here: that we didn’t prepare for it, we didn’t understand what we were getting into. And to put those guys in those positions, it makes me so angry.”
He lays part of the blame on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who argued before the war that he needed only 150,000 American troops in Iraq. That caused more casualties than were needed, Hagel said.
“We still don’t have enough troops,” he said. “We should have had double or triple the number.”
Omaha World Hearld June 26, 3005
Karl if you’re going to make outlandish statements at least some of it has to be true.
— Mike Driscoll Jun 26, 05:47 PM CST #
I have seen / read little to give even a small amount of encouragement for the “emerging” U. S. Supreme Court membership.
With the Bush Administration keeping their options very well hidden, it seems quite apparent they are salivating at the possibility of being able to appoint one or more justices to the Court. Rehnquist, O’Connor, and quite possibly Ginzburg could announce their retirement; all have commented on that possibility over the course of the past year.
It is not surprising to discover that the high court has been tending to the Right since the retirement of Thurgood Marshall.
It does appear to be a “lull before the storm” as we anticipate the retirement of members on the present Court.
— Frank D. Adams Jun 26, 10:42 PM CST #
The article referenced above about our state’s dismal economic performance needs to be ammunition #1 in the next election. A Republican-controlled statehouse needs to be held accountable by all Nebraskans, from both political parties, regardless of race, color, greed, etc.
— KPW Jun 27, 08:46 AM CST #
A number of issues and events seem to be coelescing now to create opportunities for the party and for Democrat candidates, if we can spin it right:
1. The eminent domain interpretation in Connecticut and the recent local attempt at property seizure have brought property rights legislation to the forefront. Democrats could do the usual ineffective finger-pointing and divisive name-calling, or we could just spend our time working toward solutions, and putting ourselves as part of the solution not part of the problem. Property rights could be the issue that bridges the gap between the two parties, and could help us appeal to a larger part of the population (more on this later) Even that bastion of conservatives-Republicans the Farm Bureau Insurance Company would have difficulty coming up with a reason to oppose individual property rights and protections. I suggest the party draw a line in the sand on this issue and see which side the Republicans fall on. It could be very telling.
2. The recent death of the great JJ Exon reminded me of what a unifier and common touch man this gentleman was. His story inspires me to think about how to build the party into something with broad appeal, the party that even in Nebraska elected 3 Democrat governors in the past 25 years, and at one time in recent history could boast of both our US Senators as Democrats. Not bad for a State where, what is it, the Reps outnumber Dems by 100K?? Anyway, Exon’s life and record comes on the heels of the bruhaha over Rubin’s comments, that I won’t go into the details because I don’t know what they are, but could serve as inspiration for Rubin to become less combative and more unifying. Nebraskans, let’s take back our Party from the radical Easterners who have usurped it and given us a black name recently.
3. I sense that the tide will turn eventually in our favor, but we can’t just wait for it to happen. (In 2004 when I ran for Legislature in District 1, I placed 3rd out of six candidates. I was the youngest and the only Democrat. And this against 2 prolifers and an NRA member) We must flood the ballots with Democratic candidates, including the upcoming Governor’s race. The people deserve a choice. Since the population seems bent on having only two major political parties, two that resemble each other more and more in their ability to spew rhetoric and trash talk, let’s at least give them two choices for governor or representative or legislator or whatever race or campaign is current. Let’s leave the trash talk to the Republicans and concentrate on serving the people. Let’s stop wasting time on issues that affect very few people-abortion, gays, stem-cell, and focus on the things that people actually deal with every day, like worker rights and protections, equal pay, family leave, transportation, property rights, rural issues, health care, and education.
Incidently, do the Democrats have a candidate for Governor yet?
(In regards to the transcontinental railroad. Yes, the land was seized, but not from whites, from natives. The US government then gave the land, 12 miles on either side of the ROW, to the railroads, who then sold it to finance the railroad construction. I don’t know how the land was aquired in the East, but I imagine the title “robber baron” was deserved.)(In regards to economic development, remember that Nebraska and most of the high plains states were settled by non-natives thru 19th-century economic develpment. We removed a native culture, replaced it with our own, and now, only 150 years later, are facing a similar depopulation of the landscape. Stemming the tide of farm depopulation could be another Democratic flag issue, but I fear it’s about 30 years too late)
Thanks for your rapt attention.
Mike Powers
Palmyra, NE
— Mike Powers Jun 29, 09:03 AM CST #
— Mike Powers Jun 29, 09:07 AM CST #