Mike Johanns: Against The Farm Bill Before I Was For It

2008-05-16T14:23:00.002-05:00

Mike Johanns has started to realize that the position he took as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture - opposing farm subsidies - is politically untenable in Nebraska. So, he's doing what any good Nebraska Republican does when presented with a contradiction in their record: He's ignoring it.

See, President Bush is about to veto the Farm Bill - an imperfect bill that nonetheless provides needed relief to Nebraska farmers - because it doesn't fit the model that he and Mike Johanns laid out. Johanns abandoned work on the Farm Bill to run for Senate, but while he was still at the USDA, advised Bush to veto the Democratic version of the Farm Bill that was being considered by the House.

Now, Johanns says, he would have voted for the bill.

Nope, no contradiction there.

Saying one thing in Washington and then coming back to Nebraska and saying another? Why, I do believe that's what Nebraskans are sick and tired of. Enough of Washington "Values." We need more than that from our leaders.

Please, Don't Let This Man Be Our Mayor (Again).

2008-05-15T03:44:00.002-05:00

Hal Daub is announcing that he will run for Mayor in 2009.

Daub's opponent in the 1995 election, and the 1997 election, which he almost lost, got about 80% of the vote in her state legislative primary yesterday.

Daub's opponent in the 2001 election, which he did lose, just secured a 25 year commitment to keep the College World Series in Omaha. Now Daub wants to challenge Fahey.

Really? Do you remember what city government was like when Hal Daub was mayor? Do you really want to go back to that?

One election at a time, I suppose... But let's not forget our history.

The Credibility Gap

2008-05-07T17:42:00.000-05:00

The choice for Nebraska Democrats who will vote on May 13 is becoming clear.

In the last week, Scott Kleeb's Republican opponent in the Democratic primary has aired an ad attacking Kleeb as an "academic," backed out on a debate in heavily African-American North Omaha, and triggered the "Millionaire's Amendment" by loaning his campaign $450,000 - or more than 82% of his total contributions so far.

As a Republican running in the Democratic primary, Tony Raimondo has consistently shown his lack of credibility on the issues. Fortunately for Nebraska Democrats, there is a real alternative.

Scott Kleeb knows the importance of listening to voters. It was the centerpiece of his campaign for Congress in 2006, and it is the centerpiece of this campaign for United States Senate.

He is not a career politician like Mike Johanns, and running for Senate is not about a stepping stone for Scott Kleeb. It is about fundamentally changing the way things are done in Nebraska. And while all three candidates talk about the need for change, Scott Kleeb is the only candidate who can deliver on that change.

Mike Johanns and Tony Raimondo are fundamentally incapable of doing that. As a member of the Bush's cabinet, Johanns would continue those failed and disastrous policies that have precipitated this need for change. As a Republican who was afraid to take Johanns on in his own primary, Raimondo would not be able to take on the interests that block change in Washington.

It's this fundamental gap - the credibility gap - that defines this race for United States Senate. On issue after issue, Raimondo has shown that he lacks the credibility needed to represent Nebraskans.

He criticizes Johanns as a Washington politician with close ties to George W. Bush. He criticizes George Bush's economic policies, but he supported those policies when Bush nominated him as "manufacturing czar" in 2004.

He criticizes Kleeb for "dodging" a debate that both attended on April 26, but he is the only candidate who has dropped out of a scheduled debate.

He talks at length about how the Republican Party left him. He says he became disillusioned with his party, but less than a year ago, he was a George Bush Republican who was running for United States Senate and donating thousands of dollars to the NRSC and Nebraska Republicans like Lee Terry and Adrian Smith.

Now, he wants Nebraska Democrats to believe he'll give Mike Johanns a strong challenge. He wants Nebraskans to believe that he'll change Washington. But all he has to offer is more of the same.

A change...

2008-05-07T16:18:00.002-05:00

This site is going to change focus for the immediate future. I know most of the small audience of this blog read my work at NNN, and most are probably aware that I stepped down from that blog on Monday. As of today, this site will begin to focus less on national politics and random issues and more of exactly what I was writing at NNN - Nebraska politics.

Scott Kleeb vs. an Empty Chair

2008-05-07T16:14:00.003-05:00

A pretty humorous press release from the Kleeb campaign today:

What: A One-On-None “Debate”

When: Tonight, Wednesday May 7th, 6:00 – 7:00pm

Where: CTI Channel 22/Qwest 69, Omaha

Who: Scott Kleeb vs. An Empty Chair

Why: Mr. Kleeb is honoring his commitment to Douglas County and North Omaha despite his opponent’s cancellation

Tonight, Democrat Scott Kleeb will take the stage for an unusual event. After agreeing to discuss the issues with Mr. Kleeb tonight, Tony Raimondo abruptly backed out of the debate.

The Douglas County Democratic Party sponsored tonight's "debate," which will air live on CTI 22/Qwest 69 at 6pm. During the hour-long, live telecast, Mr. Kleeb will take questions from both moderator Bill King and Omaha residents.

"Scott Kleeb keeps his word. He made a commitment to North Omaha families tonight and he will honor that commitment," said Kleeb's Communications Director, Joe Zepecki. "Tony Raimondo owes the people of Omaha an explanation: where is he?"

It's Over, He's The Nominee

2008-05-07T15:08:00.003-05:00

The conventional wisdom is shifting, finally, after Obama's resounding victory in North Carolina and narrow loss in Indiana last night.

George McGovern - who is not currently a superdelegate, but will likely be the add-on elected at South Dakota's June convention - endorsed Obama today, saying it's time for the party to unite. Another superdelegate switched from Clinton to Obama today, and Obama's campaign says the magic number to clinch the nomination is 170.

The math is virtually impenetrable for the Clinton campaign at this point, and in 13 days Barack Obama will clinch a majority of pledged delegates. By Memorial Day, Obama will win a majority of the delegates required to clinch the nomination. By the last primary on June 3, Clinton will drop out and endorse Obama.

And the winner...

2008-05-01T04:09:00.002-05:00

Of the award for stupidest thing you can possibly do on the eve of a primary goes to this guy, a Republican Congressional candidate in Indiana who evidently thought it was a good idea to go speak at a convention of Neo-Nazis celebrating Hitler's birthday. The accompanying visual would be comical if it weren't actually true.

Lee Terry, Crime Fighter

2008-04-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you just can't help but laugh.

And, We Reach The Realm Of Ridiculous

2008-04-18T16:22:00.002-05:00

Miami threatening UNO over their use of a similar-looking logo.

Yeah, because they should really be threatened by our tiny Division 2 school.

Morons.

The Reality TV Debate

2008-04-16T21:54:00.001-05:00

I don't know if I've ever seen a debate quite like that. Absolutely disgusting. 45 minutes into the debate, and they had yet to ask a single policy question.

Another Debate?

2008-04-16T17:27:00.002-05:00

Yeah, another one between Barack and Hillary tonight. My patience for these is wearing thin.

Just One More Reason Why Bo Pelini Rocks

2008-04-08T16:07:00.002-05:00

He's a Husker through and through, and won't meet the President:

Bo Pelini went back to Louisiana State to help win a national football championship after taking the Nebraska head-coaching job.

But there was no time to rejoin the Tigers on Monday for a trip to the White House to meet President Bush.

"I was invited," Pelini said, "but obviously I had a little different agenda today."

Gravel Raps

2008-04-03T01:49:00.001-05:00

I can't really describe the inanity of this video. Just watch it.

Words Fail Me

2008-03-31T23:13:00.000-05:00

311 and Snoop Dogg.

Strange, strange show.

Opening Day

2008-03-31T01:52:00.001-05:00

Our national pastime.

Normalcy

2008-03-28T11:36:00.003-05:00

Iraq is returning to normal, Bush says. And that's a good thing.

Trouble is, he's only half right. And it's most certainly not a good thing.

The Mahdi Army, backed by Muqtada al-Sadr, is engaged in heavy fighting with militias backing al-Maliki and the Iraqi Army. This is somehow being spun as a good thing - i.e., the Iraqi military is standing up. The trouble is, that's not it.

The political parties in Iraq are basically armed militias. The political leaders nothing more than warlords. The fighting right now is about consolidation of power, and the U.S. military is being used as a pawn. Because the Bush administration's goal in Iraq is not, in fact, an Iraqi government that can stand on its own, but a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq. It's why in a battle of warlords, the U.S. is backing the pro-Iran Maliki against the nationalist Sadr. Because Sadr has no use for American presence in Iraq. And Maliki can't survive long without it.

What it amounts to is a government that is seen as a puppet regime of the United States against an extremist, nationalist, anti-American militia with a popular leader. It has virtually nothing to do with al-Qaeda, Iran is actually backing some of the pro-government militias, and it's unclear just who the enemy is - and there is no definition of victory. Because you can't win someone else's civil war. The responsible thing to do is negotiate a settlement. But that won't happen until we have a President who cares about diplomacy.

Sniper Fire

2008-03-26T23:14:00.003-05:00

This has turned into comedy gold. Witness the YouTube video above, and then this diary at Daily Kos, which may be the most brilliant piece of snark I've ever read.

I followed, matching her as best I could with the mindless insect hum of lead bees filling my ears and the cracked tarmac clutching at my heels. We ran, time stretching, flattening, the convoy impossibly distant, a cruel mirage, too far, too far . . .

And then, somehow, we were almost there. We had made it, we were going to -

A flat crack and the mournful twang of a guitar string. Sheryl fell, scarlet-splashed splinters from the shattered guitar seeming to hang in the air.

I stopped. Men were flooding out of the brush and streaming around the cars. One approached me, smirking, rifle held casually across his body, smoke still rising from the barrel.

"Every day a winding road," he said in heavily accented English, shrugging a shoulder toward Sheryl's body. He stepped closer, almost close enough to touch. "End of road for her today. And you."

Ah, at least we're getting some good entertainment out of this round of nonsense.

Don't Look Now...

2008-03-25T23:46:00.003-05:00

But Iraq's about to get worse.

Any reasonable assessment of the success of the "surge" in Iraq has to take into account the effect of a cease-fire by the Shiite militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr. Evidently, that cease-fire has now ended, and the Mahdi Army is once again attacking American soldiers.

"The cease-fire is over; we have been told to fight the Americans," said one Mahdi Army militiaman, who was reached by telephone in Sadr City. This same man, when interviewed in January, had stated that he was abiding by the cease-fire and that he was keeping busy running his cellular phone store.

But right now, the Bush administration has no plan to adjust its strategy in Iraq, and General Petraeus is deferring a decision on troop levels until later in the year.

The most responsible thing for the administration to do would be to negotiate a peaceful settlement. But that doesn't seem to be on the table for the Bush administration, and McCain doesn't even understand the players in the Iraqi civil war.

You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me!

2008-03-25T16:02:00.003-05:00

What I want to know: what moron in her campaign thinks that raising this issue is going to help her get the nomination? It may be the only card she has left, but it is a card that explicitly destroys any chance she has of winning the general election. And the people she is making this argument to - the superdelegates who will ultimately decide the nomination - know this. As Ezra Klein put it last week:

Given that the superdelegates would need to explicitly and overwhelmingly reject Obama's candidacy in order for Clinton to attract the necessary delegates, and insofar as the work laid out in today's speech will now become a fundamental part of Obama's candidacy, it seems very hard for the superdelegates to break with the voters and nominate Clinton. Before today, it was just Obama, and his movement. After today, it's Obama, and his movement, and also the party's comfort with the realities of race. How this all plays out in the general election is anyone's guess, but the more the primary becomes about race, the worse off Clinton is. A break with African-Americans would be devastating to the party, and an elite decision to choose Clinton over Obama looks ever more likely to create such a split.

Josh Marshall has more - arguing that this is a sign that the scandal about Rev. Wright is dying.

You can always tell when a scandal story has peaked and is ebbing, almost down to the minute: when your political opponents start to raise it explicitly against you. That was the minute I knew Bill Clinton was going to weather the Monica story -- the moment when Republicans first started hitting him over it. It took a few days. And I remember rejoicing about it at the time. Same thing here with Wright. The Clinton camp can see that it's drifting. So they're deciding to stoke it. Also useful to get the Tuzla stuff off the front page.

But the short-term benefits of Clinton making these comments will be just that. Failing to see the bigger picture has long been a shortcoming of her campaign - her certainty that this race would be over on February 5th assured her defeat in the remaining February contests. With a month left until Pennsylvania, this won't gain her anything with the voters, and superdelegates are not going to look kindly on Clinton continuing this smear, explicitly.

Because in order to win the nomination, she doesn't just need some superdelegates - she needs a supermajority, at least two-thirds of the undeclared superdelegates, to back her.

That's looking increasingly unlikely.

Monday Links & Notes

2008-03-24T17:31:00.005-05:00

Iraq Veterans Richard Carter and Max Yashirin, both candidates for Congress, are the subject of a World-Herald story.
Josh Marshall on the absurd spin from the Clinton campaign.
Sen. Amanda McGill sponsors a resolution to declare March 31 "Joba Chamberlain Day" in Nebraska.
James Carville still doesn't get why comparing someone to Judas on Good Friday is offensive.
"Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo" looks hilarious.
April 11, 2007: In Dice-K's Fenway debut, King Felix arrives.
On how the speech on race is changing the tone.
Senator Robert Byrd, an outspoken opponent of the war in 2002, comments on 4,000 American lives lost in Iraq.
On MSNBC about an hour ago, DLC Chair Harold Ford stated that "the winner of North Carolina is going to be the Democratic nominee."
Tomorrow morning: MLB Opening Day in Tokyo!

4000.

2008-03-23T23:04:00.002-05:00

Washington Post:

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in southern Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, bringing the number of U.S. military deaths to 4,000 since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The statement on Monday said one U.S. soldier was wounded in the attack on the patrol.

Hillary Can't Win

2008-03-21T15:07:00.004-05:00

The Politico starts to focus in on the emerging reality of the race:

One big fact has largely been lost in the recent coverage of the Democratic presidential race: Hillary Rodham Clinton has virtually no chance of winning.

Her own campaign acknowledges there is no way that she will finish ahead in pledged delegates. That means the only way she wins is if Democratic superdelegates are ready to risk a backlash of historic proportions from the party’s most reliable constituency.

Unless Clinton is able to at least win the primary popular vote — which also would take nothing less than an electoral miracle — and use that achievement to pressure superdelegates, she has only one scenario for victory. An African-American opponent and his backers would be told that, even though he won the contest with voters, the prize is going to someone else.
People who think that scenario is even remotely likely are living on another planet.

It seems she wants to play this out until June, but in the coming weeks, I hope Obama's people are pushing superdelegates on this: she can't win the nomination without killing the Democratic Party. Young liberals and African-Americans will desert the Democratic Party, and she will lose in November. The longer she stays in, the more she damages Obama's chances for the fall. She lost this race when she chose to ignore voters in every state that voted after Super Tuesday, focusing on Texas and Ohio instead. The only thing perpetuating the myth of a close nomination contest is the media.

Obama/Richardson?

2008-03-21T10:56:00.005-05:00

Bill Richardson endorsed Barack Obama for President today. This is an important endorsement for Obama - Richardson is one of a handful of superdelegates with significant influence in the party. But the most interesting thought I had about Richardson's endorsement was how great he's starting to look on a national ticket. Richardson is not a skilled speaker or traditional attack dog, but Obama's campaign isn't really about fierce attacks, anyway. What Richardson brings to the table? A long resume of extensive foreign policy experience, significant Latino support, and - as a governor - an outsider status that meshes well with Obama's message. The more I think about this potential ticket, the more I like it.

Clinton's General Election Support Collapsing Among African-Americans

2008-03-20T16:21:00.003-05:00

PsiFighter37 at Daily Kos has an interesting note from a Rasmussen poll today.

Clinton gets 55% of the African American vote against John McCain.

Needless to say, if that is her level of support in a general election matchup, she will get crushed.

Colbert on Daily Kos, Obama, and McCain

2008-03-20T12:23:00.002-05:00

Further Reading