Update, 5:45pm, August 16: Jon Bruning personally dropped off some sleeping bags today at the Bold office. Actions matter. We also added a new drop-off location in Omaha where you can drop-off a sleeping bag. And, we created an Amazon wish-list so you can just buy one from your computer and ship it to our office. We will be collecting sleeping bags until the end of September.
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On the Attorney General’s website, Jon Bruning lists among his duties, “Uphold and protect the civil rights of all Nebraskans.”
This principle is held by so many of us that it is unreasonable to dispute, regardless of politics or ideology. It’s based on fairness and respect. It’s a strong principle separates our country from so many others.
That’s why it’s unconscionable to hear comments about an entire group of people spoken by Nebraska’s Attorney General, the state’s top law enforcement officer who helps set the tone and culture for our state.
And, that’s why I am challenging Bruning to two things today.
1) Step down from his role as Attorney General so he can focus on his campaign and feel free to say what he will about our fellow Nebraskans without tainting the high-level position he currently holds. His prejudices against an entire group of Nebraskans prohibit him from objectively doing his job.
2) At each campaign office, agree to collect new sleeping bags for kids. As we start our school year, we have far too many homeless kids whose parents are trying to squeeze by and often have to sleep on floors of friends’ and families’ homes. Welfare is a safety net, and the sleeping bags can be a welcome comfort for too many kids in our state.
By now you may have heard that Attorney General Jon Bruning, and candidate for the GOP nomination for the US Senate, compared individuals on welfare to scavenging raccoons.
The person that defines his own job duties as upholding and protecting the most vulnerable of our society just described an entire group of people as animals. His defense is that his comments were “inartful.”
Such a term suggests that he believes the views that he expressed; he just wishes he had expressed them differently.
Worse than the statement itself would be for Bruning and others to simply pass it off as a “campaign faux pas.”
For those following Bruning’s past, maybe his campaign should have shrugged off his comments as further “youthful indiscretions.” Even his most staunch defenders must find it hard to continue to argue that he has matured because these are most certainly not the comments of a person that has matured.
Most Nebraskans would prefer he revisit his roots and take heed to the comments he made before he became blind with political ambition. Bruning wrote these words while he was a law student writing for the newspaper:
“I believe in helping those who are less fortunate than I am. While conservatives may believe that the poor must be born poor because they want to be, otherwise they’d be rich, I think we need to help out our fellow citizens. If a person who is born into poverty can become a more useful contributor to society through a government-sponsored education program, I’m thrilled to see my tax dollars spent in such a manner. If a single mother needs assistance to raise her child, I think the government should help her get on her feet. If elderly people need health care, the government ought to make sure they’re getting it.”
Action:
If you agree Bruning should resign, please write a letter to your local paper asking him to do so.
Bold Nebraska is pledging to collect 100 sleeping bags since that is the estimated number of homeless kids currently in the Lincoln, Omaha and Hastings Public Schools.
You can drop off a new sleeping bag to the following locations:
Bold Nebraska, 1141 H Street, 3rd Floor, Lincoln
Jane Kleeb’s Home, 1010 North Denver Ave, Hastings
Ryan Sherwood Office: 3919 S 147th, Suite 120, Omaha (behind the 24hr Fitness)
Buy a sleeping bag online, we created a wish list where you can just click and send to us!
Why sleeping bags?
Bold Nebraska is collecting sleeping bags because lots of kids whose moms and dads are on welfare often sleep on the floor of friends/family homes and a sleeping bag of their own is a welcome and needed item.
All of us Bold Nebraska combine politics with ideas, issues and action. We think that combination is often missing in politics and we try to do our best to always give people an opportunity to act on their values and on issues they care about.
