The phone scandal of Rick Sheehy could be blown off as another politician taking advantage of his role and being plain stupid. However, Governor Heineman has a major role in this current mess. Heineman is the leader of our state. Rick Sheehy was his right-hand guy. If you did not know what was happening right under your nose, and what blogs and the rumor mill circulated for months, what type of leader does that make you?

It was bad enough when Heineman flip-flopped on the Aquifer, the back bone of our state’s economy. Yet, its worse that he allowed this type of behavior to happen and just looked the other way. That is what it looks like to us as citizens.

Now comes another test. The Governor needs to appoint a new Lt. Governor. State Senator McCoy, king bully of landowners, is on the top of many lists as the guy who will get the job.

This seems to be a pattern with the Nebraska GOP. They appoint someone they want to see climb the ladder so that person is viewed as an “incumbent” making it more difficult for a Democrat to win.

We have a long history of common sense, balanced and progressive leadership in our state. We think it’s time to get back to our roots. It has been too long.

Heineman has “lead” his party on a path where values do not matter as much as the next “win.”

We hope the Governor proves us wrong and really does appoint someone not interested in running for Governor in 2014. We hope the Governor recommits to his position of leadership and promises he will not leave the post of Governor early to pursue greener pastures.

In the end, Heineman–not Sheehy–has a lot of trust building to work on right now. We sit here wondering if he will lead or if he will bang his fist on the table with his my way or the highway mentality.

Time will tell.