50 Days to Make A Difference - "Act Blue Nebraska"

The New Nebraska Network is an entirely volunteer project, and - despite multiple opportunites from various vendors and software peddlers - I have no intention of commercializing the site with hokey advertisements just as annoying as they are debasing. So long as this site can be operated without expense - as visually unappealing as it may be - I would never seek or expect compensation for my meager and altogether insufficient efforts.

Still, this site does have a purpose. And, though I'm not willing to tie that purpose inextricably to that of building the Nebraska Democratic Party and helping elect Democratic candidates, those both seem like pretty good places to start for the time being - hopefully restoring some measure of balance and accountability in both our state and federal government, where Republican office-holders have betrayed their supposed principles and completely lost touch with the needs, values, and interests of the people of Nebraska.

There is still time this year to make a difference in the November election. There are some fine candidates to support, right here in Nebraska, even if they are not on the national RADAR and have not yet broken through the local media's disturbingly singular focus on the disappointingly (from their perspective) lopsided, lackluster, and uncompetitive Senate race.

As Pete Ricketts continues to flounder in the voters' disfavor, there remains a definite window in the media's 2006 election coverage for better able challengers to emerge who might be able to piece together an actual argument for their campaigns.

Four candidates who are in the process of meeting that very task are Scott Kleeb, Maxine Moul, David Hahn, and Jim Esch. To assist them in their respective efforts, I have put together a webpage through the popular and proven "Act Blue" - which has raised over $6 million for Democratic candidates and causes since 2004. Here NNN readers are encouraged to donate what they can in the coming weeks and in the final push to the general election.

While the Ricketts campaign has thus far proven testament to the limits of even the son a billionaire's buying an election, candidates still need all the financial assistance they can get from those people who believe in their campaigns and their cause. As Ricketts has shown, you can't buy victory - you can hardly even buy legitimacy - but a candidate needs money if he or she is to have a shot at either.

I have no idea if this little fundraising plea will be successful in the slightest. If you enjoy NNN, I ask only that you consider giving to these worthy candidates, as soon as possible, while that money can still do the most good for their campaigns. These people have put their names, their reputations, sometimes even their families and their livelihoods on the line because they don't like the direction this state and nation are heading, and they know they would do a better job for the people of Nebraska.

All have sacrificed to get this far, but all have a long ways to go. They need your passion. They need your hope. They need your time. And, right now, I'm asking on their behalf - in the name of the "New Nebraska" that will one day be - for your financial contribution as well.

I've written more thoroughly about the individual candidates and their respective chances for success at NNN's Act Blue page. Please check it out, and please give today. I don't receive a cent. Neither does Act Blue. It all goes to the candidate(s) you choose - where it belongs and where it can do the most good as per the needs of the individual campaigns in these last 50 days to take back Nebraska and to put our country back on the paths of peace, progress, and prosperity.