Nebraska
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8:04 p.m.
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State Senator Deb Fischer's victory over Attorney General Jon Bruning in the Nebraska Senate primary was one of the biggest upsets in Nebraska political history and a bit of a fluke. Just how did a little known State Senator who didn't campaign full time and was substantially out raised by long time front runner Bruning pull off this monumental upset? In my opinion, the biggest factor in th...
New Nebraska Network - 6:31 p.m. - 6 clicks 
In a major upset, State Senator Deb Fischer tallied 40% of the Nebraska GOP US Senate Primary vote to earn the right to face ex-Senator Bob Kerrey in the race to replace retiring Ben Nelson. Kerrey has been lagging way behind the expected GOP candidate, so perhaps this is the break he was waiting for--now he can run against Sarah Palin directly. I can see the ads now: "The War Hero vs. Palin's P...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Tue 10:29 p.m. - 15 clicks
Remember this crazy lady at last week's Lincoln City Council meeting? Well, fortunately her twisted views (and those of Husker assistant football coach Ron Brown) have not stopped Nebraska's two largest cities from joining the nationwide march towards equality for all citizens. ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mon 6:47 p.m. - 16 clicks
It's been an interesting couple of days in Nebraska's Republican Senate primary. It pains me that I've been too busy with my own campaign to give this race the attention it deserves. We've all seen for months as outside groups have kept Don Stenberg's campaign alive, touting him as if he's some sort of national hero while tearing down Jon Bruning at the same time. That effort may have...
New Nebraska Network - Sat 7:49 a.m. - 16 clicks
I can totally understand what it must be like. You're an elderly woman in the middle of the prairie. The flat, flat, flat, endless, goes on mile after monotonous mile of prairie. To your east, 57 miles away is Omaha, Nebraska, whose biggest tourist attraction is the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge , a footbridge crossing Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Fri 3:09 p.m. - 15 clicks
That's right. When Johanns, Fortenberry, Terry and Smith voted for the Paul Ryan budget plan, they all voted in favor of allowing corporations to shift their profits to overseas tax havens in order to avoid paying taxes in the U.S. (GOP Senate front runner Jon Bruning is also a supporter of the Ryan plan.) That's because there is a provision tucked away in the Paul Ryan budget plan cal...
New Nebraska Network - May 8 - 15 clicks
One of the most tired talking points from the Republican Party is that the 2009 stimulus bill was a failure and that it didn't create any jobs. A Republican can't talk about the stimulus bill without putting the word "failed" in front of it. However, as well all know here at New Nebraska, there frequently is a big gap between reality and what the Republicans tell us. That is certainly ...
New Nebraska Network - May 6 - 2 clicks
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has an opinion . And his opinion has made conservative nut-job Sean McCoy (R-Omaha) very happy. McCoy offered legislation this year that would have barred counties from adopting anti-discrimination ordinances that go beyond statewide laws. Even Republicans, faced with the fact that this intended anti-gay measure would also strip rights and p...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - May 5 - 2 clicks
Nebraskans needing a little inspiration before getting involved and making a difference in the 2012 election need look no farther than Eugene Browning, an 84 year-old from Omaha whose amazing volunteer efforts were just featured on President Barack Obama's campaign website . We should all take heart from Eugene's explaining why he's worked so hard and will keep on working as long as he is able: ...
New Nebraska Network - May 5 - 3 clicks
On Tuesday night, the three top-tier Republican candidates for Nebraska's 2012 Senate race - Attorney General Jon Bruning, State Treasurer Don Stenberg, and State Senator Deb Fischer - participated in their final debate before the May 15th primary. The debate was sponsored by the Omaha World-Herald and can be viewed on its website . However, it's unfortunate that the World-Herald's c...
New Nebraska Network - May 3
Two weeks ago, I wrote a diary about Nebraska State Senator Colby Coash's $500/person fundraising reception featuring Ted Nugent scheduled for May 10 at the Omaha Hilton. That was at the very height of national outrage over Nugent's threatening remarks towards President Barack Obama at the NRA convention in St. Louis. It took a few days for the Nebraska press to catch up, but - whe...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - May 2 - 3 clicks
As we all know, Johanns, Bruning, Stenberg, Fischer, Fortenberry, Terry and Smith all support the repeal of the landmark 2010 health care reform law. These guys promised a "replacement" plan in 2010 but they still haven't produced one. Apparently, these Nebraska Republicans would be content to return to the unacceptable status quo. A return to the past failed health care system...
New Nebraska Network - May 1
That is the question I'm posing to Bruning, Stenberg, Fischer, Terry and Fortenberry because they are on record in support of the repeal of Obama Care. Do you stand with the people of Nebraska or do you stand with the insurance industry? That will be a key issue in this election cycle. I presented this question because the non-partisan and respected Kaiser Family Foundation issued a ...
New Nebraska Network - Apr 26
I've been very busy lately and I haven't had time to chime in here about the remarkable conclusion to the most recent session of the Nebraska Legislature. What we saw was the Unicameral standing up to Governor Dave Heineman's bullying and bluster on the key issues of tax cuts, allowing the state to resume paying for prenatal care for pregnant women who are illegal immigrants, and allowing ci...
New Nebraska Network - Apr 23
Source: Los Angeles Times TransCanada is back with a revised route (pdf) for their proposed Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska. The new route takes a jog to the east, but still crosses the fragile Nebraska Sandhills and the vital Ogallala Aquifer. In fact, "the Ogallala underlies most of the proposed re-route," the TransCanada report noted. The Los Angeles Times describes the ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Apr 20
We all know a dangerous extremism has taken hold in rightwing American politics. There's probably noone more representative of this than the infamous Ted Nugent, who shocked the country and invited the Secret Service's ire with his jihadist rhetoric threatening President Obama and others at last weekend's NRA convention. We've seen the DNC respond with an online video and petition ta...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Apr 20
A dangerous extremism has taken hold in rightwing American politics. Unfortunately, my opponent in the District 27 legislative race - Lincoln State Senator Colby Coash - has invited one of its most outspoken and spiteful representatives into Nebraska. Not only has Coash rolled out the welcome mat for Ted Nugent - he's also expecting to be very well-rewarded for doing so, featuring Nuge...
New Nebraska Network - Apr 19
On Friday, Gov. Dave Heineman and the Nebraska Republican Party showed themselves to be more desperate than ever to stop the Legislature from restoring our state's 30-year commitment to prenatal care for every Nebraska child. For seven years, Heineman has expertly manipulated Nebraskans' opposition to illegal immigration to serve his political purposes. It must come as quite a shock ...
New Nebraska Network - Apr 16
9AM CDT Update: At the 8AM forecast update, the SPC extended the high risk area to include a much larger area than it did last night. Oklahoma City, Tulsa, most of eastern and central Kansas, and a large chunk of Nebraska are now under the high risk zone, with areas just around that under the moderate risk zone. I've uploaded the new maps and included them below. Still looks like we're on track...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Apr 13 - 2 clicks
Due to complications a fetus could not survive to term. Instead of inducing the delivery the law prevents doctors from doing so. What followed was a slow lingering death for the underdeveloped fetus and torture for the mother and family as the experience took it's course. A course that took TEN DAYS! "They could do nothing to make it better but tell us to wait, which made it worse," Daniell...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Apr 3
Bob Kerrey (Union Square Ventures/CC BY 2.0) Public Policy Polling (pdf). 3/22-25. Nebraska voters. MoE ±3.1% (±4.7% for Republican primary sample). ( 9/30-10/2 in parentheses): Bob Kerrey (D) : 37 Jon Bruning (R) : 54 Undecided : 9 Bob Kerrey (D) : 38 Don Stenberg (R) : 52 Undecided : 10 Bob Kerrey (D) : 38 Deb Fischer (R) : 48 Undecided : 14 Jon Bruning (R) : ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mar 27
A few weeks ago I called attention to a local news station in Omaha, Nebraska that had done an uncharacteristically bold piece on the link between ALEC and the Voter ID law being introduced into the state legislature... I ventured back to their website yesterday, curious to see if there were any new developments, and OMG! This station is engaged in actual journalism! Details ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mar 26 - 2 clicks
I am surprised that nobody got lynched in Nebraska during the winter of 1890-91. Tempers were a little tense on the prairie that winter, and the newspapers all had a dog in the hunt, so to speak, and they could not be trusted to be neither fair nor accurate, and certanly unbalanced. In the election on November 4, 1890, the Republicans and Democrats spilt between them seven seats in the sta...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mar 18
Today is the 7th birthday of Kyle Michaelis' New Nebraska Network . For seven years, Michaelis has too often stood alone holding elected officials accountable and offering a better vision for Nebraska's future. For lack of competition as much as anything else, NNN has had the curious distinction of being Democratic Senator Ben Nelson's strongest online defender and most consistent p...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mar 14
The Omaha City Council has voted 4-3 to extend anti-discrimination protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The proposal, put forward by Councilman Ben Gray, would apply to employers, employment agencies, job training programs, labor groups, public accommodations and businesses that contract with the city. It also would provide exemptions for religious organizations. I...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mar 13
Investigation: Just Who is Behind Voter ID ? Why would they (ALEC) be writing OUR Laws? A bill introduced in Nebraska is part of a national trend to require voters to show ID to vote. Action 3 News, Feb. 24, 2012 Action News Reporter: Liz Dorland Link to Video Report partial transcript: We're told we need changes own voting laws to make sure nobody cheats on ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Mar 10 - 2 clicks
In what would have been an almost certain loss of a Senate seat this fall, it appears that there may be good news coming out of Nebraska..... ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 27
The ALEC-inspired attempt to introduce a voter-ID ( read voter suppression) bill in the Nebraska legislature is being countered by a threatened filibuster from progressive senators. But while no one was looking, the Douglas County Election Commission decided to halve the number of polling stations and poll workers. ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 26 - 2 clicks
Joke stolen from jeffmd For any who may be reading this series for the first time : this is a thought experiment where I try to see what would happen if the size of the House of Representatives were doubled to 870 members from 435. And yes, I know Republicans have the trifecta in Nebraska and there's split control in Missouri. This entire series is theoretical to begin with, gimme a break...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 10
Sen. Ben Nelson (D) Via Politico : Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska will announce today that he is retiring after two terms, a serious blow to Democratic efforts to hold onto their majority in the chamber next November. Nelson is scheduled to hold a press conference back home in Nebraska as early as today to make his decision official, said several Democratic insiders close to t...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 6
At last! Someone realizes the turmoil is taking place in Nebraska over the TransCanada. And that it completely undercuts the political garbage that is getting spewed out of the Republicans in Washington. ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 6
This diary is of three maps I did of three small states, Nebraska, Maine, and New Hampshire, which did not warrant stand alone diaries. Since each state has 2-3 districts there is only so much you can do with each from a partisan perspective. Each state was gerrymandered from a different partisan perspective. ...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 6
Or so I am told by Republicans and TEA Partiers. This is certainly not a new theme by the American Republican Party. They have been throwing this label at Liberals for years and it ramped up soon after 9/11. I have been extensively blogging on McCook Gazette's web page for years. I lived in McCook for four years and it became a home to me. So when the opportunity came t...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Feb 6
Earlier today I posted my prediction that the Democrats would barely hold on to the Senate. Ben Nelson of Nebraska must have seen my analysis, because he's hanging it up . The 70-year-old conservative Democrat, whose seat is being heavily targeted by Republicans in 2012, said in a statement that “while I relish the opportunity to undertake the work that lies ahead, I also feel it’s time for m...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Dec 27 - 3 clicks
From the New Nebraska Network : This spring, I attended a forum hosted by the Nebraska Department of Insurance on the state's implementation of the 2010 health care reform bill. Our Republican Governor Dave Heineman sat in the back of the UNL Student Union's ballroom throughout the presentation by two young policy analysts - Michael Sciullo and John Paul Sabby - who were hired by th...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Nov 1
As top Pennsylvania Republicans openly explore splitting their state's electoral votes by congressional district in order to benefit Republican candidates for president, Nebraska Republicans are working to move to a winner-take-all distribution of their state's electoral votes in order to benefit Republican candidates for president: The Nebraska Republican Party is showing a startling ne...
DailyKos (Nebraska) - Sep 14
