Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska continues to betray America’s working families at a fast pace this year. Nelson was the only Democrat to vote against cloture for the jobs bill. Thankfully, enough votes were cast to end debate on the bill. Staying true to form, Nelson was the ONLY Democrat, and one of only 28 Senators, to vote against the jobs bill.
Nelson’s ‘nay’ votes show that he’s not willing to stand up and fight for good jobs for the hardworking men and women in his state or his country.
This is the second time in less than a month that Nelson has slammed the door on working families. He became the first Democrat to announce he would not vote for Craig Becker to serve on the National Labor Relations Board despite Becker’s stellar qualifications as a seasoned labor lawyer.
In joining obstructionist Republicans in voting against Becker, Nelson offered a lame explanation that Becker would pursue a personal agenda on the NLRB. Nelson owes working families an explanation on why he thinks President Obama would have nominated someone he did not think would pursue the administration’s agenda.
Nelson has forgotten what he wrote in a Nov. 17, 2005 op-ed published in the Omaha World Herald regarding President George W. Bush’s nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The president’s nominees, especially to the Supreme Court, deserve an up-or-down vote, even if the nominee isn’t popular with the special-interest groups in Washington," Nelson wrote.
Nelson also wrote that in his meeting with Alito prior to his confirmation hearing that the judge assured him that was "carrying no political agenda to the bench." Nelson was willing to take Alito at his word, but not Becker, who has made the same vow to Congress.
Could Nelson’s real reason for voting against the jobs bill and against Becker’s nomination is fear of angering the business community that harbors anti-worker sentiments?
The real shame is that Nelson is not up for election until 2012, and the working families of Nebraska will have to continue to bear the brunt of his anti-worker votes.