LIVEBLOG: Kleeb for Senate

I want to take a moment after last week's remarkable primary victory here in Nebraska to say thank you.  Thank you to the Netroots for all the support you have provided to our race, and especially to McJoan for all she has done.  Truly, I will never have words to thank each of you enough.  

What we did was nothing short of incredible.  Facing a well-liked and well-funded opponent, we won with nearly 70% of the vote.  We did it the democratic way -- through pounding the pavement, making phone calls, organizing new voters and new Democrats, and running a full grassroots campaign rather than a TV-only effort.

Now for the best news: after the strength of our primary showing, we have received blanket news coverage across the state.  Our general election opponent even took the first shot at our campaign.  Soon after he accepted his party's nomination, he made a point of saying that there are clear differences between himself and us -- all of us.  I agree with him.

In the next day's newspaper, I said that he is right; there are clear differences.  He thinks the health care system in this country is fine.  Well, it is...if you are the former Secretary of Agriculture.  It's not fine if you're one of the 47 million Americans -- or 1 in 8 Nebraskans -- without coverage, and one of the many millions more who struggle with skyrocketing premiums.  

He said our Iraq policy is working.  We say that if we want to truly "support the troops" then we need to develop an exit strategy beyond simply "stay the course," we need to start bringing our soldiers home and redeploying them responsibly, that we need to pass and sign a "GI Bill for the 21st Century," and we need to improve the VA and base housing system so we no longer have neglected soldiers like we did at Walter Reed and Fort Bragg.  

This is personal for me.  I grew up on a military base and many of my friends bear the brunt of this war policy and this Administration's failure to support our troops.

My opponent implied that our tax policy and economy are working just fine.  I point out that wages have been stagnant, costs have been rising, and housing values have been falling at rates unseen since the Great Depression.  My opponent suggested that we still need to let science have its say on climate change.  I noted that 99% of American and international scientists already have had a say and that they agree: climate change is real and we must do something proactive about it now.  Let's not forget the domestic impact such an effort can have on job creation, research and development, and economic competitiveness -- all while improving both America's standing in the world and our national security.

My opponent is right.  This campaign is about differences, real ones...it's about a change from the mistakes of the past to the potential of the future.

This race has only just begun. We face an opponent who served in the Bush Administration, which means that we will face the entire GOP establishment.  But we did that already, in 2006, and nearly pulled off an upset in the 5th most conservative district in the country.  

When you combine the tens of thousands of new Democrats who have joined our effort since the February presidential caucus with the 77% of Nebraskans who feel our country is on the wrong track...

When you combine the thousands of people already engaged in this campaign as contributors and volunteers with the hundreds of thousands who know that we need a change...

This is our opportunity.  This is our year.  This is our time.

Thank you for contributing and being a part of it.  I'm here to take your questions.