Plenty of news stories, random thoughts, ideas, etc. cross our emails and twitter accounts over the weekend, so we thought we would throw a few of these ramblings into a post. Feel free to debate them, offer your ideas or just tell us something is simply not true.
A look ahead:
Nelson Goes GOP?
Many pundits are on the TV and web giving their take on what Senator Ben Nelson is going to do next. Some are saying that he is going to switch parties and go with the GOP. We don’t see that happening. For one, he has been a Democrat his entire life. Unlike Johanns, Bruning and Sheehy, we do not see him switching parties. (Yes, all of those NE Republicans were once Democrats. Johanns, in fact, was going to run for NE Dem Party Chair at one point.)
While Nelson is a conservative/moderate Democrat, we do not see him turning his back on the values of his party. Nelson would also never switch because he constantly clashes with the NE GOP. Does anyone really think after criticizing many of the decisions of Heineman that the NE GOP would welcome Nelson with open arms? (We’ll give you a moment to picture Governor Heineman trying to hug Ben Nelson… Good?) Let’s not forget the NE GOP is also currently running a “Give Ben the Boot” campaign. Nelson party switch = not happening.
Other ideas that have surfaced are Nelson being offered the Senate Ag Committee Chair spot. He would be a perfect fit. And yet another idea is Nelson will be challenged in the primary by someone from the Left. Competitive primaries can bring excitement to a party, and who doesn’t like a party with flair? But, Senator Nelson is brushing all of this aside and focusing on the job at hand — governing, not campaigning.
Bruning’s Exploratory Committee
Either we don’t understand this FEC brochure on “exploratory committees,” or Bruning does not. Our interpretation is that a potential candidate can have an exploratory committee and raise or spend up to $5k before he has to officially declare his candidacy. There are some other thresholds also.
Bruning’s words in his press conference and radio apperances (and his personal conversations with people who have contacted us) point to a very clear run for Senate in 2012. He has hired four people to run his campaign. He switched his Attorney General campaign site into his “exploratory committee” campaign site (we’re not sure that’s legal).
So, the bottom line question is why not just be honest with Nebraskans and say you’re running? Does Bruning still need permission from Heineman? We thought the deal cut between Bruning, Johanns and Heineman during the 2008 primary was that Bruning got out so Johanns did not have a primary opponent, and then the next office Bruning wanted a shot at he got a cleared field? Tell us more readers…
LWS Gossip
So, many people approach us and tell us the anonymous gossip blogger on Leavenworth Street (or Street Sweeper as they like to call themselves) is Heineman’s Communications Director, Jen Rae Hein. Recently, that rumor was given credence when the Sweeper broke the story that Heineman was not running for Senate in 2012. Not to mention the fact that there is never a “bad” story or gossip about Heineman that graces the gossip blog.
We understand this would not be the first time Jen used her work computer while she is supposed to be on the clock for taxpayers. Unless someone can prove otherwise, we think Heineman has a responsibility to ask Jen if she is moonlighting as the Street Sweeper and if not, ask his party why they need an anonymous blogger to spread gossip in the first place?
TransCanada Inflates Its Numbers
Lastly, and we will write more about this on Monday, TransCanada came out with bogus and inflated job creation numbers. We knew their numbers were false when their CEO opened his mouth and every time a different number came out. The OWH covered the story today. The bottom line for us is two things: One, TransCanada says they are “Nebraska’s friendly neighbor,” and yet tell Nebraskans half-truths all the time. Two, let’s just say they were going to create 100,000 jobs in Nebraska for Nebraskans — what amount of new jobs worth risking the nation’s largest body of clean water and the lifeblood of our state residents and farmers?
That’s all the ramblings for today. Now we want to hear from you.
