34 Days To Election Day! With just over a month left to go, and only 16 days left to register new voters, my next five weeks will be spent getting young Democrats on campus to get out there and vote. We got an early start on Monday, with the beginning of early voting. Many YDs from Nebraska Young Democrats camped out and waited in line at the Douglas County Election Commission to be the first to vote. There should be more on that at the
UNO Democrats Blog soon, but photos from the campout are already up.
Inside, all the news from the past week in Nebraska:
NE-Sen: Pete Ricketts' shameful attack ad.
NE-01: Moul and Fortenberry's first debate.
NE-02: Lee Terry's ties with Mark Foley; Esch casts his ballot.
NE-03: Scott Kleeb joins us at Daily Kos.
NE-Gov: "Sick" Heineman postpones debate.
Plus: TABOR, Kate Witek, and Chuck Hagel's possible successor...
NE-Sen: Pete Ricketts put out an absolutely shameful attack ad against Ben Nelson this past week. (Watch it
here) You really do need to watch it to understand how pathetic it is. Even die-hard Republicans in my political science classes found it to be a terrible ad. Ricketts has given up on running anything resembling a positive campaign, and with his negatives increasing each month, it seems very unlikely that Ricketts can win this race.
NE-01: Maxine Moul is finally going on the offensive against Bush rubberstamp and freshman Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. In Monday's debate, Fortenberry stepped around the question of Hastert's resignation. It's premature, Fortenberry said, to call for his resignation. Of course, Hastert was in Lincoln not too long ago stumping for Fortenberry. Seems like easy ad material for the Moul campaign.
NE-02: Jim Esch's campaign has been on the offensive for months, knocking on doors, hitting the grassroots to get the message out, and challenging Lee Terry stronger than any Democrat in this district ever has. Today, the Esch campaign called out Lee Terry's close ties to Mark Foley. I've been beating the drum for this race around here for months, but I have to urge you once again to help Jim out. He is not taking any PAC money, so every individual contribution matters.
Jim also got involved in the early voting spirit Monday, loading up buses in North and South Omaha to take people out to vote at the Election Commission office. Jim cast his ballot there as well.
NE-03: Scott Kleeb stopped by Daily Kos on Monday, and answered questions for everyone. I don't have much to add that isn't already summed up well in that diary and Scott's subsequent comments, so if you haven't checked it out yet, take a look.
NE-Gov: For someone who seems to be coasting to "re"-election Dave Heineman sure is afraid to debate his Democratic opponent, David Hahn. Heineman postponed last night's scheduled debate because he had a "stomach flu. Maybe the Governor, a panderer in every sense of the word, was a little afraid of David Hahn's common sense approach against his style of waiting to see which way the political winds will blow. Perhaps that brought on a bad case of the flu. Who knows? We'll find out, as the debate is scheduled now for this coming Monday.
State Auditor: Kate Witek, the recently converted Democrat, uncovered some outrageous spending by disbanded Class I school districts (the subject of a referendum on the ballot this fall). Meanwhile, her opponent and the Republican Party are trying to claim that she's not doing her job well. Read more about the hypocrisy of another Foley - Mike Foley - here.
Initiative 423: Even "Weird Harold" is against 423. For much, much more on all the TABOR ballot initiatives across the country, see sandlapper's diaries.
Attorney General Jon Bruning is running unopposed for Attorney General, but is still running ads, possibly suggesting that he is planning on a Senate run in 2008 should Hagel decide to run for President or VP. This is one reason I am seriously disappointed in the NDP's failure to find a candidate in this race. Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey has hinted that he may be interested in running for Senate someday, and if Hagel does vacate the seat, Fahey is the most logical choice for the Democrats to run. But without presenting serious opposition to Bruning, the Democrats have given him a stepping stone to a Senate nomination in 2008 without trying.
Until next time, Go Big Red and Turn Nebraska Blue!