(For Mike Nellis of DraftKleeb.com, currently experiencing technical difficulties on Dkos)

Last night, I reported that WE. DID. IT.

Scott Kleeb IS running for United States Senate in 2008! He filed this morning, I was there! It was an incredible moment, I was honored to have been invited to attend.

If I haven't already, I want to say thank you. Thank you to the thousands of people who got involved in this campaign to change the face of Nebraska politics. It is about time that we have a People Powered candidate in our fine state. Because of you, we have one - and because of you we will win the primary in May against establishment candidate (Former Republican and failed Bush nominee for manufacturing czar) Tony Raimondo and in November against consistent quitter Mike Johanns!

But it will not be easy. As much I would like to believe that Scott will crush Raimondo in May, I believe that Raimondo will make it tougher than people think. Which is why we need to make sure our candidate wins in three months.

So it begins.

Cross-posted on the New Nebraska Network.

I still believe I learned everything important about politics long before I ever knew about parties.  Here's one of the first political stories I heard:

My dad is a behavioral therapist who specialized in the so-called lost cause.  He spent his career as one of a small group of "gentle teachers" making waves worldwide, and gradually built for himself a reputation for helping people thought too far gone to be reached.  When an institution wanted to transfer a particularly troublesome resident from their custody to a prison, a judge might order a last ditch review to consider if any other options remained.   That judge called my dad.

A fascinating and encouraging editorial from the hometown newspaper of North Platte, Nebraska today calls on 2006 congressional candidate Scott Kleeb to step up to the plate and run for Senate:

Kleeb is interested and has shown poise and moxie. He represents the fresh voices of Nebraska who speak as true moderates.

Kleeb did much better in the House race than observers ever thought a Democrat would. In the last couple weeks, he appeared to be winning. Then he was hit with some smelly last-minute campign tactics from Republicans, who fired both barrels.

Kleeb would have to run long and hard to win the Senate seat. At this stage, he must be considering if it would tarnish his image in the opinions of thousands of casual voters if he were to lose two consecutive elections.

That would be a shame. Kleeb shines. He's intelligent and educated plus he knows how to "cowboy up". He came through the last campaign with a smile and high ideals. He continues to care for and work to build the best things in Nebraska.

This is Tom Osbourne's district.  Rural Nebraska, the heartland of America. Sixty nine counties spread across 65,000 square miles of rolling brown fields and small towns, the exact point on the map where the Midwest becomes the West.

It is, and has always been, a bastion of Republican strength.  Bush racked up a victory of 75% in 2004.  Bill Clinton finished a distant third in 1992.  It rarely votes Democrat in Senate and Gubernatorial races, and has never sent a Democrat to the House.  But it's about to be won by a 30-year-old ranch hand with no prior political experience and a "D" next to his name.

I am becoming more sure of this every day: Scott Kleeb is going to win in NE-03.

Why?  You'll just have to see after the flip.

Okay, I had to read this and re-read this over and over again to make sure I got it right.  I even picked up a couple different papers and checked the internet to make sure this wasn't the result of an honest mistake.  But they all repeat the same thing:

The Omaha World Herald is now reporting that Democrat Scott Kleeb, a rancher with a PhD from Yale on International Relations, has taken the lead in the COH race against his Republican opponent, State Sen. Adrian Smith in the open seat contest in NE-03.  Taken the lead by a lot, actually.  According to the article, Smith currently has a warchest of $105,000, while Kleeb has nearly three time as much in the bank: $277,000.  And this is in the sixth most Republican district in the entire country.

More on the flip.

Vice President Dick Cheney has just announced a $200-a-plate (and $2,100-a-photograph) fundraiser for ultraconservative state Senator Adrian Smith, who's running for Congress NE-03 ( Here's the story in the Nebraska State Paper ).   This is the sixth most Republican district in the entire country, with a partisan index of R +24.

Why would the national Republican party be sending in the big guns to one of their safest seats, even after the Club for Growth has already pumped an impressive $390,000 into Smith's coffers?  Because, against all odds and expectations, a political newcomer by the name of Scott Kleeb has suddenly come within striking distance of scoring the first Democratic victory this district has ever experienced.   (for a quick overview of Kleeb's credentials and campaign, see my earlier diary at: Scott Kleeb and the future of red state Democrats )

More after the flip

As a lifelong Cornhusker, I can't tell you how much Senator Ben Nelson broke my heart this week with his positions on the Federal Marraige Amendment and the estate tax.  Though I can't imagine a sscenario in which I would vote against him in a general election (having a Democrat, especially one as popular as he is, holding a Senate seat in a state this red is just not something I could easily discard), I am tired of time and time again seeing this great political talent advance Republican rhetoric -the "death tax", etc, at the expense of opening up an honest dialogue on such issues and presenting Nebraskans with a true choice between the conservative norm and progressive change.

More on the flip

If we are to have an effective 50 State Strategy, then we need to recruit strong candidates and run effective campaigns in every race for every seat in this nation - especially those contests which seem most out of our hands, especially in those districts which have most definately slanted against our party in recent decades.  How many more districts, how many more states can we afford to write off until we find ourselves permamently locked out of majorities in the house, Senate, and electoral college?  Maybe these are just the desperate pleas of a liberal Democrat voluntarily stuck in one of the reddest states in the nation, but I firmly believe that it is our duty as one of only two political parties in this great nation to offer a clear choice for voters in every district and every state, every cycle.  Here in Nebraska, our party has not always lived up to that promise.

More below the fold...