My wife and I took the boys to the River City Roundup parade in Omaha this morning. It is the largest and best parade of the year in Omaha, so I put on my Obama pin, loaded up the family truckster and headed downtown looking to have fun with the family, but also to get a pulse on local politics in a heavy red state less than 40 days before the election.
I am a proud Democrat in a state that has a history of populism but has recently been hostile to Democrats. But I live in Omaha where the population is more diverse and ripe for a change. And based on my brief observation of Scott Kleeb at the parade today, my experience of volunteering with the local Obama campaign and the visible signage around town, I'm here to tell you something that many of you will find very shocking . . . .
Omaha could very well go Blue this year and Nebraska could go Purple.
When we got to our spots about 15 minutes before the parade started, several Lee Terry (our Republican representative since '99) surrogates worked the crowd passing out stickers and paper sacks for the kids to put their candy in. I told 4 separate volunteers "no thanks" for the four of us, but it didn't seem to register with any of them that I was wearing Obama '08 on my chest. Some folks put the stickers on, but other than that, no one around me had politic attire on, though a few folks wore red, white and blue. In years past in this the reddest of red states I would have seen "W" stuff all over . . . t-shirts, stickers, hats. Not today.
Within the parade itself the only visible political presence was all from Democrats. The Democratic mayor, Mike Fahey, was all but ignored. Lee Terry had no representation. Former Governor and Senate fave Mike Johanns had zero anything there. Terry's challenger, Jim Esch, who in '06 came as close to beating Lee Terry as any Democrat ever has, was not present, but about 40 people, mostly young families, marched in his stead and distributed stickers and candy. At least one random float bore a "Jim Esch" sign on the front.
Scott Kleeb was next. And while I think he is the least likely of the Obama/Kleeb/Esch combo to attain a victory in Nebraska in this election cycle, I like both his style and his substance. And I think that style and substance is unabashedly and unashamedly Nebraska.
He was energetic. He was on the move. And, as a married man of two, I am not too proud to say he was handsome.
As he ran by and began to cross the street with his back to me, I shouted, "Go get 'em Scott!" as loud as I could. He turned back, pointed at me, gave a grin which genuinely seemed to say "Hey, I really appreciate that" and yelled "Thanks!" as he glided along, glad-handing and beaming all the while. There weren't raucous applause, but people seemed happy to see him. Maybe because he's handsome or maybe because he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Regardless, he got a good response from more than a few people.
I am not saying that this parade is going to make one iota's difference in Kleeb's pursuit of a Senate seat. His name recognition in Omaha is severely lacking. But there is progress being made within Nebraska as far as Democrats are concerned and I am an optimistic enough person to believe that there is a chance Kleeb will ride this tide, if not this year, then maybe as a future Governor. He already has name recognition in the western 2/3 of the state where he also ran a tight congressional rate in '06.
I am saying that change is afoot in Nebraska. The number of volunteers turning out at Obama HQ is impressive. Esch and Obama paraphernalia far and away outnumbers that of Terry, Johanns and McCain. Warren Buffett is a god in this town who has made a lot of money for a lot of Omahans and he supports Obama. People are fed up with the last eight years and looking for the change. We have excellent Democrats on the ballot and people just might fill in the oval for one of them if they seriously think about the significance of this election in the grand scheme of things like the economy and energy and the potential for true leadership and not in terms of the red-state bread and butter issues of abortion, no to same-sex marriage and uber-patriotism.
So, if you are someone safely at home in a blue state throw some cash Scott Kleeb's way. I know that this site has been a tremendous supporter for him and you are truly investing in Nebraska's and America's future.
If you are a current or former Cornhusker or have Nebraska ties and you know that this state can do better, then send a couple of bucks to help out Jim Esch.
I have told my wife and friends repeatedly that the only thing that would make me prouder than waking up on November 5 to the news of "President Obama" would be to know that my friends and family and neighbors and I had a part in bringing him an Electoral Vote from Nebraska.
And upon further reflection, I just might go into cardiac arrest if we also contribute a Congressional representative or two to boot.