Bold Nebraska is on the air with a TV ad featuring Nebraska landowners and citizens concerned about the TransCanada pipeline and eminent domain threats. The ad asks both Fischer and Kerrey to choose landowners over a foreign pipeline company. Landowners Bruce Boettcher and Susan Luebbe know all about TransCanada's bullying tactics that Deb Fischer's eminent domain bill could have fixed to protect landowners.

Editors note: this is a reprint of a story written by independent authour John Avlon and was published on the Daily Beast.

Bob Kerrey’s campaign to retake his Senate seat is surging in the final days of the campaign—bringing him to within two points of his Tea Party competitor, thanks toincreased support from independent voters.

The former Medal of Honor winner, governor, senator, presidential candidate and college president is probably one of the most qualified men to ever run for the U.S. Senate. Kerrey is widely respected in Washington for his principled independence, and ability to create bipartisan coalitions to solve a wide range of problems—which is one reason he’s been guaranteed a senior position if he returns to the Senate.

His opponent, Deb Fischer, on the other hand, is an obscure, socially conservative state senator who defeated a respected state attorney general in a Jim DeMint-backed Tea Party challenge. Fischer’s policy focus is primarily centered on climate-change denial and a belief in banning abortions even in cases of rape and incest—making her an instant ally ofTodd Akin and Richard Mourdock. But those same beliefs ensure that she would be a perennial senate backbencher in a state accustomed to influence in Washington.

Fischer has been endorsed by Sarah Palin and received big dollar donations from the Koch brothers and Joe Rickets.

Kerrey has been endorsed by Warren Buffett, Joe Lieberman, and Steve Martin (in what even The Daily Caller called “possibly the greatest ad of the election cycle.”

Kerrey’s campaign challenge—polls showed him down by double-digits for much of the race—stems from the fact that he led the liberal New School in New York City for the past decade—and was effective enough that some Democrats urged him to run for mayor against Mike Bloomberg, but Kerrey declined and instead chose to answer calls to return to his home state for public service.  The carpet-bagger claim has been hurled against him, but even Republican Chuck Hagel, Kerrey’s one-time colleague in the Senate, dismissed that, saying: “It’s a joke to say he’s not a real Nebraskan and he’s a carpetbagger. Come on. This is a guy who is Nebraska through and through.”

Kerrey’s campaign has been aimed at strengthening the center in American politics. His campaign stump speech addresses the subject directly. “Somebody has to go back there and change Congress. Somebody has to stand the middle ground,” Kerrey says. “We’re going to have to change. And I want to be the person that makes that change happen.”

A primary goal is forging a bipartisan deal to reduce the long-term deficit and debt.  Maybe that’s why he now leads with independent voters by an astounding 24-point margin.

A Kerrey endorsement by the Nebraska Farmers Union this weekend echoed many of these themes, saying: “Bob Kerrey has the ability to navigate the increasingly partisan and dysfunctional political landscape in Congress…Bob Kerrey was a fiscal conservative as a Governor and as a Senator. He made the tough decisions to balance the budget while also having a strategic eye on the future…Bob Kerrey did not sign Grover Norquist’s tax pledge.  Deb Fischer did.  The Club for Growth is targeting all farm and renewable energy programs for elimination.  That is not in Nebraska’s interests.  Deb Fischer made a terrible mistake by trading her own independence and judgment for that of Club for Growth extremists.”

“Nebraskans are independent and cross party lines despite the deep red our state is often portrayed as," says Jane Fleming Kleeb of Bold Nebraska. “You can look to the opposition to the Transcanada Keystone pipeline or allocating an electoral vote to Obama last time or the fact that we passed a state-based version of the Dream Act.”

“Somebody has to go back there and change Congress. Somebody has to stand the middle ground.”

Moreover, says Kleeb, “Kerrey has out worked Fischer, hands down. We have seen Bob in my small town of Hastings over five times in the last few months. That ground game and personal contact with voters is clearly paying off. Fischer on the other hand went to the customary parades and then a bunch of GOP office openings. She has not hit the pavement like Kerrey.”

Kleeb ends on an intriguing note considering the independent-minded centrism of Nebraska voters. “In this last week, it will be interesting to see if her stance on making abortion illegal in cases of rape and incest comes to the forefront. While our state is largely pro-life, there are a lot of moms who cannot fathom if they or their daughter got raped not having the choice for a safe and legal abortion.” As George Will once said, “the four most important words in politics are ‘up to a point.’”

Kerrey has closed a double-digit deficit with Fischer in the past weeks, buoyed by strong debate performances that highlight his bipartisan vision and policy depth.

In a field filled with phonies, Bob Kerrey has always been the real deal.  And the day the Omaha World-Herald endorsed Mitt Romney over President Obama, their front-page headline summed up the promise of Bob Kerrey’s campaign for Nebraska and the nation: “Kerrey Seeks to Bridge Partisan Divide.”

That’s why Kerrey’s surge in the polls matters and why his success in this campaign should matter to you no matter what state you live in.  We need Bob Kerrey back in the Senate, no matter who is elected our next president.

Bold will show the documentary Pipe Dreams in Lincoln on Saturday. Since the movie (only 40 minutes long) features Nebraskans and folks from the Michigan tarsands spill, we thought it was a good time to show the movie because of the big Huskers vs. MI game!

We are also showing the "Our Land" TV ad that airs starting next week on network and cable stations in Nebraska.

DETAILS

Who: Bold Nebraska, Sierra Club, Farmers Union

What: Movie screening of "Pipe Dreams", distribution of New Energy Voter Guide and showing of the "Our Land" TV ad that starts next week.

When: Saturday, Oct. 27th (4:30pm doors open, 5:30pm TV ad and movie starts, 6:30pm game on big screens)

Where: Bourbon Theatre, 1415 O St. Lincoln

Why: Since NE and MI play each other on Saturday (go Huskers!), we want to bring awareness to the devastating tarsands spill that happened in MI as well as make sure voters know where candidates stand on the pipeline and other key issues facing our state.

What Else: Food from Pepe's Food Truck will be served for free and info on the New Energy Voter Guide will be handed out including new posters designed by an Omaha artist. ***Also we will show the TV ad that will be aired throughout Nebraska next week asking Kerrey and Fischer to stand with landowners***

LINKS

New Energy Voter Guide: http://newenergyvoter.org/

Our Land TV Ad: http://www.youtube.com/boldnebraska

Pipe Dreams: http://pipedreamsdoc.com/

Pepe's Food Truck: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pepes/80783326241

Read today's news from around the state and country. Each day in the Roundup we cover politics, always with a side of bold humor. We think politics should be fun, informative and encourage us all to take action.

Some big things are happening right now that underscore the importance of our fight against the KXL pipeline. TransCanada had to shut down (again) Keystone I and they are being scrutinized by Canadian officials for safety violations. 

The last of the Presidential debates came and went without climate change being discussed for the first time since 1984. It seems climate silence is the code for both candidates. We should note that Gov. Romney said he would build the pipeline with his own hands on day one if he becomes President. On the other hand, President Obama denied the pipeline because of citizens, Gov. Heineman's request and the science behind the route being too risky. We wrote a few blogs about where Romney and Obama stand with lots of quotes, links and reminders of basic facts on this issue.

In early December 2007, John Ewing received a phone call from Mike McLarney, President and CEO at United Way of the Midlands. He wanted John to serve as the Advisory Chairman of the Von Maur Victims’ Fund—an account set up to aid the families of the eight people killed and the four injured by a teenage gunman at the department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha. John’s first thought was that he must have been at the bottom of a long list of people who Mike had tried to recruit. McLarney assured John that he was at the top of the list, given his unique qualifications as Douglas County Treasurer, a minister at Salem Baptist Church, and a former Lieutenant of the Special Victims Unit and Deputy Chief in the Omaha Police Department. Who better to administer funds but also counsel grieving and distraught families? John’s second thought was, “This will be the end of my political career.”

Update, 10/23: The line has restarted according to TransCanada. We still have NO report on this anomaly or the 3 others they found in Nebraska last year.

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Read today's news from around the state and country. Each day in the Roundup we cover politics, always with a side of bold humor. We think politics should be fun, informative and encourage us all to take action.

The Keystone XL pipeline was discussed for a good portion of the Presidential debate. Gov. Romney said he didn't understand why President Obama denied the Keystone XL pipeline.

Here are a few reasons:

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