Questions for Gov. Heineman on Tax Reform

LB331, offered on behalf of Gov. Dave Heineman as the cornerstone of his 2007 agenda, is scheduled for hearing by the Legislature's Revenue Committee this afternoon. According to high-level sources in the state capitol, Heineman will actually be testifying at this hearing in support of the bill's eliminating the estate tax and changing Nebraska's income tax calculations.

I hope to be able to attend. In particular, I'll be listening for Heineman to answer some of the following, long overdue questions about the plan he's put forward:

1. Does Gov. Heineman deny that the unspoken hallmark of his reduction in income tax brackets is the outright dissolution of the lowest tax bracket, with those qualifying therein (students, retirees, the disabled, the unemployed) seeing a rise in the rate at which they are taxed?

2. Does Gov. Heineman deny that his proposal shifts a greater burden (as a percentage of the total income tax collected) onto working class Nebraskans (those earning less than $50,000 a year) to the benefit of Nebraska's upper-middle class and its wealthiest citizens?

3. Does Gov. Heineman deny that some select low-income taxpayers will see a tax hike under Gov. Heineman's proposal while those in the upper tax brackets will see across-the-board cuts? In fact, won't some taxpayers see a hike in their marginal tax rate as high as 44% (from 3.57% to 5.12%)?

If I'm able to attend the hearing, I'll also try and keep count of how many times Heineman tries to sell his plan as "middle class tax relief," even though the bulk of its benefits clearly rest with those highest on the economic totem pole.

It will also be interesting to see whether Heineman will continue to go on the offensive against alternative tax-cut proposals focusing on Nebraska's supposed property tax crisis. The majority of state senators and the weight of public opinion tend to favor the legislature's breaking with Heineman's lead and pursuing its options on property taxes.

The question now becomes whether those leaders who see the urgency and demand for property tax relief can come together on a single proposal that would both appeal to the average Nebraskan and reveal the many weaknesses of Heineman's plan. Several alternatives are on the table - many of them containing very good ideas - but probably the bill best positioned to succeed is freshman State Senator Tom White's LB453, which would provide an income tax credit up to $500 as a rebate for the property taxes paid by Nebraska homeowners.

The New Nebraska Network is watching White's plan and we're excited by the progressive priorities at its heart - not only encouraging home ownership but also returning a sizable chunk of change to taxpayers without writing a blank check to those with the least need and the most power.

We look forward to contributing further analysis of White's proposal in the coming days. For now, though, it's Heineman and his LB331 in the cross-hairs. Looks like we'll know soon enough just how far out on a limb the Governor's willing to go to get his way rather than doing the people's work.

It's also worth noting that, this weekend, the first signs of the Nebraska media offering some independent analysis of LB331 finally began to show, as both the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Omaha World-Herald made baby steps away from their prior regurgitation of whatever Gov. Heineman was spoon-feeding them.

If nothing else, both articles do a fair job of highlighting the enormous benefits Heineman seeks for those in Nebraska's highest tax brackets. Still a lot that's going unreported about his proposal - particularly its ramifications for Nebraska's poorest wage-earners - but at least the first trickles of the truth are starting to drip into the vast pool of public information.

All I can say is...it's about damn time.

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Dave Heineman's Spokesman Hired By His Mouthpiece

Over the last two months, Governor Heineman's office and the Omaha World-Herald's Editorial board have clearly been working hand-in-hand to lay the groundwork and to pressure the Nebraska legislature into adopting Heineman's generally regressive proposal to reduce the state's income taxes rather than using the power of the state to address our supposed property tax crisis (Exhibit A; Exhibit B).

Not only have they used the same talking points but also the same bait-and-switch tactics to manipulate public opinion (so far, to little avail). With this in mind, the following story really doesn't surprise in the slightest. The Reader's Media Notes reports:

Aaron Sanderford is giving up his post as Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman's communications director to join the Omaha World-Herald as an editorial writer.

Sanderford, 29, spent more than six years at the Lincoln Journal Star before joining Heineman's staff in March of 2005. He reported on business, government, crime, courts, prisons, sports, and entertainment, in addition to serving as the newspaper's night city editor.

A Louisburg, N.C., native, Sanderford earned a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Kentucky. His last day of work for Heineman will be Feb. 23.

Heineman said the search for Sanderford's replacement will begin immediately.

Whether it's been the Omaha World-Herald writing Heineman's speeches or Sanderford writing the Omaha World-Herald's editorials, it's hard to say that Sanderford's relocation is really going to make a difference. This is just one more indication of how completely the Omaha World-Herald is immersed in Nebraska's power structure - to the point that it is completely, purposefully incapable of functioning as an independent press.

But, I'm not going to blame Sanderford for this situation. He's just a young guy pursuing a new career path - one who's proven himself quite talented, much to the Democratic Party's dismay and probably to Nebraska's long-term detriment. His job has been to build relationships with the Nebraska media and to control the message they carry to voters. He seems to have done an excellent job at these tasks - even if the ever-eager and complacent media made his an easier job than it had any right to be.

The World-Herald, however, should be more mindful of the public's trust - a trust they've violated in their coverage of the tax debate. To this trust, they also owe complete disclosure of how Sanderford got hired for his new position and what exactly that position will entail. For instance, will Sanderford be writing editorials on the very policies he's been pushing as a state employee over the last two years?

What precautions will be taken to prevent conflicts of interest? And, what assurances do readers have that this is anything more than a marriage of convenience that will only further blend Nebraska's disturbingly broad intersection between partisan politics and the state's most powerful newspaper? In fact, acknowledgement that the World-Herald may have crossed the boundaries of ethical journalism with their relationship to the Governor's office the last two months might already be in order.

Is Sanderford changing jobs or just locations? Is this the end result of a relationship between Heineman and the World-Herald that had become far too friendly or does this just make it official...and, perhaps, permanent?

An intriguing situation. A scary one as well. The most interesting question might just be who answers to whom. Sanderford would know - no doubt about it. But, he no longer has to answer questions. His job is now to tell us what to think. Sadly, with the state of the Nebraska press corps, there was never much of a difference there in the first place.

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The World Herald's Big Lie

I really envy our neighbors in the Centennial State for enjoying the services of their very own Colorado Media Matters. For such a small state our press corps sure produces a lot of bullshit and our small (but growing) community of volunteer bloggers just isn't sufficient to keep up with it all. That said, I just couldn't let this editorial* in Saturday's Omaha World Herald go without comment:

Is the apparent end of Initiative 300 going to lead to hordes of corporate interests swooping into Nebraska, snatching up farmland and radically changing the economic dynamics long shaping the state's ag sector? Not likely.

David Aiken, an agricultural law specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was on the mark in a Friday World-Herald article. In many cases, he said, the demise of I-300 would mean that changes in land ownership likely would involve family members wanting to form corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs) to protect their nonfarm assets.

As the article stated: "Most concerns about Initiative 300, Aiken said, were from family members who inherited farms and wanted to form LLCs."

Now, to be fair, the OWH doesn't get it all wrong here. Nebraska's corporate farming ban does restrict the ability of farmers to work their land under the protection of a limited liability corporation... unless that corporation is majority owned by family members who actually work on the farm. That is, family farmers are unaffected so long as the family controls just over 50% of the LLC. The World Herald's claim that such restrictions actually hurt small farmers is both dishonest and disgusting.

Mega-hog farms are another main concern of I-300 supporters. But that legitimate issue is addressed by another development that has arisen through the normal course of events: the adoption, in nearly every Nebraska county, of strict zoning rules against large-scale hog confinements.

That the OWH vocally supports county zoning regulations admirably puts them one step behind the corporate lobbyists they've stolen their rhetoric from, but their argument here is lacking. Zoning regulations help communities place large farming operations appropriately. I-300 serves a different purpose entirely; confronting the critical issue of liability by requiring investors to operate under the same tax rules as most farmers. That's called 'leveling the playing field', making sure our state's tax and legal codes are working for our family farmers, not against them.

Protecting rural American values means protecting rural America... it amazes me how many opinion makers and muckrakers refuse to make that connection. And Initiative 300 is rural Nebraska's first and greatest defense.

This last point was demonstrated dramatically in a 2002 study (PDF) that compared 433 counties classified as "agriculturally dependent" and concluded that counties in states with anti-corporate farming laws generally had "less families in poverty, lower unemployment and higher percentages of farms realizing cash gains". States with the most restrictive corporate farming laws -Nebraska included- fared even better in terms of cash gains and unemployment.

Essentially, the World Herald's argument that "Initiative 300 has proved a hindrance to Nebraska's farm economy" represents just another attempt to make Nebraska a better place to do business by making it a worse place to live. From a quality of life perspective, the merits of I-300 as public policy are undisputed.

As a matter of law, however, things look pretty bleak.

The Friends of the Constitution deserve a great measure of gratitude from all Nebraskans for their tireless defense of Initiative 300, and Attorney General Jon Bruning certainly deserves credit for exhausting all options for appeal. There appears to be little hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse the lower courts' decision, but there may still be a chance to save Initiative 300 if only we can bring this fight to Congress.

The current legal battle revolves around the "Dormant Commerce Clause", which reserves for the federal government the exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce. However, established legal precedent suggests that Congress can elect to delegate this responsibility to the states, as it did in 1945 by granting states the right to regulate the insurance industry (see theMcCarran-Ferguson Act). Theoretically, Congress could pass a law delegating states the authority to regulate corporate ownership of farmland, and I-300 would be saved.

Considering the wealth of campaign contributions from big agribusiness and the vocal opposition of Chamber of Commerce lobbyists, there remains a pretty wide gulf between theory and practice. But I can't help noticing that six of the nine states with corporate farming bans have Senate races coming up in 2008 -Nebraska included. If we lobby this idea, if we really push it, we may just be able to offer our candidates and senators (from both parties) a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate just how deeply dedicated they are to "protecting rural American values".

*Unfortunately, this editorial does not appear to be available on the new version of omaha.com.

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Nebraska's Progressive Blogosphere On the Rise

In the last month, I've been very heartened to see the emergence of a number of bold new voices in Nebraska's online community. For starters, the UNO College Democrats have re-established their website as one of the best in the state with a flurry of activity. At the same time, the Nebraska Democratic Party's "Blog for Nebraska" has found renewed purpose not only taking the lead on the issues important to voters but also using its voice to build an organization about which we can all be proud.

Even more exciting than either of these more institutional developments, though, has been the arrival of two independent blogs - different in purpose but similar in focus - that have the potential to really contribute something special to those interested in Nebraska political debate and discussion. These websites are Paging Power and Smith Watch, both to which I offer my highest possible recommendations for their short but so-far superior efforts.

Paging Power has offered a wealth of political commentary since kicking-off in December, but its real strength and appeal lies in the extensive coverage it's provided of the Nebraska legislature. In particular, I suspect readers would take some enjoyment from Paging Power's many video offerings of oftentimes unreported but no less important (sometimes extremely amusing) highlights from the floor of the State Senate.

Right off the bat, I'd suggest everyone watch or listen to at least the first ten minutes of State Sen. Ernie Chambers' hour-long scolding of the legislature for its improper and dishonest handling of the state's tax policy, especially with LB344's proposed extension of the do-nothing Tax Policy Reform Commission. Sure, Chambers falls back on many of his familiar rants, but that doesn't change the fact that Nebraska would be well-served by every citizen in the state listening to what he has to say (at least, in this instance).

Smith Watch, on the other hand, is an exciting local example of what was a national trend in 2006 towards distict-specific, online watchdogs dedicated to holding a particular represenative accountable for his votes and for his record. Here, the Congressman in question is none other than the Nebraska Third's freshman Republican, Adrian Smith.

Smith had an undistinguished-to-embarrassing career as a State Senator. If he's going to do any better as a Congressman - or if the voters are going to have the knowledge and the ammunition to rid themselves of him in the next election - a site such as Smith Watch could serve an essential function and prove an incredible resource. Already, I'm impressed by the author's letter to Adrian Smith asking Smith to explain his thus-far insulting votes and pointing-out the continued influence the controversial Club for Growth holds over his every position. I also commend Smith Watch for its challenge to readers and voters of the Third District, reminding them of the role we must all play as citizens to make our democracy what it can and should be.

I am grateful for all the work that has been done by both of these sites. It's my sincerest hope that they will be able to maintain the energy and momentum they've already built - no doubt benefitting our entire state in the process. The New Nebraska Network simply can not devote the time and focus to the legislature and to Adrian Smith that both, respectively, deserve. I trust readers will enjoy the work done by Paging Power and by Smith Watch, generously offering them the active readership and encouragement it sometimes takes to feel our continued efforts are truly worthwhile.

The New Nebraska Network won't be around forever. This state needs more dynamic voices - more discussion - more challenges to the status quo. That requires helping one another out and acknowledging each other's work. If Nebraska's progressive community is to ever be anything more than a collection of disparate voices in the wilderness, it will take real effort at building that community into something worthy of the interests and ideas it claims to represent.

Consider myself and the New Nebraska Network dedicated to this cause - this building of something greater - for as long as we are able. We don't all have to see eye-to-eye on every issue. But, together, we will do a lot of good for this state we love - standing side-by-side, looking to and fighting for a better future.

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Jeff Fortenberry Takes Offense (& the Offensive)

On Friday, Nebraska's First District Republican Congressman, Jeff Fortenberry, responded to a Daily Nebraskan editorial a week earlier challenging his controversial vote against a Democratic-led proposal to cut student loan interest rates in half over the next 5 years. Fortenberry wrote:

A recent editorial examined my vote on a student loan issue before the United States Congress. Instead of focusing on the serious policy questions of this vote, the editorial board of the Daily Nebraskan chose to question my political motives and launch offensive insinuations.

The U.S. government is involved in helping students in a number of ways. It provides grants and direct loans and guarantees loans made by the private sector. Many of these programs have empowered more persons to access higher education than ever before.

However, I remain concerned that college tuition rates have greatly outstripped inflation, and there is reasonable apprehension that government programs, particularly borrowing, are correlated to these tuition increases. Nonetheless, in the last Congress I voted to increase borrowing limits for new students, decrease fees paid by students when obtaining a student loan and increase grant aid for low-income students. We also significantly increased fees on private sector loan providers in order to fund these new benefits for students.

This year, I carefully reviewed the proposal to increase the taxpayer subsidy, which may, in effect, encourage further indebtedness and fuel tuition increases. Instead of supporting legislation to temporarily reduce interest rates - providing benefits for graduates exclusively - I backed a measure that would have provided lower interest rates to low and middle-income college graduates and those serving in the Armed Forces. I'm disappointed you did not report on this important vote.

Another overlooked point by the editorial board is the fact that my office spends considerable time and resources working with the University of Nebraska to enhance projects and educational opportunities.

I would hope that more objective standards be applied in the future.

Sincerely,
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry

Oddly, Fortenberry failed to mention his vote to cut federal aid to college students by $12 billion last summer. It's also more than a little bit ridiculous that he would use as a defense his vote to "increase borrowing limits for new students," as if more debt at higher interest rates was to anyone's benefit but loan providers' (and big-time Republican contributors) like Nelnet.

One wonders if he will be similarly defensive and arrogant in his response to UNLs student goverment after declaring their formal disapproval of both his and Rep. Adrian Smith's votes against the College Student Relief Act.

Fortenberry claims he wants objectivity, but what this really reads like is a call for the Daily Nebraskan's silence and complicity as he votes against the interests of students, parents, and the state of Nebraska.

He expects the same kids' gloves treatment he received from the media in his first term, but it's a new year, a new Congress, and new rules apply. Though we're not there yet, as a New Nebraska takes shape, Fortenberry had better change his expectations or expect to pay the price.

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GOP Petition Targets Chuck Hagel

The New Nebraska Network does not endorse the following petition, but the extent to which it demonstrates that Republican activists are mobilizing online against Sen. Chuck Hagel is not only relevant to Nebraska politics but also offers a glimpse into the discontent and disunity swallowing the Republican Party whole from the maelstrom that is the no-good-options/no-positive-outcomes war in Iraq.

Driven by the right-wing blogosphere and called "the NRSC Pledge," the petition reads:

"If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution."

This pledge - which currently claims more than 27,000 signatures - does not target Hagel by name, but its orchestrators at Townhall.com most certainly have. One such commentator, Dean Barnett, states:

FOR SIX YEARS, SERIOUS CONSERVATIVES have responded to every betrayal from a Lincoln Chafee or a Chuck Hagel with continued support for the organizations that enable them like the NRSC. This support in the wake of each and every disappointment said in effect, “Thank you, Senator. May I have another?”....

The time has long since come when Republican voters should demand that their office-holders be serious about the war. The anti-surge resolution is a frivolous thing, a pathetic exercise in rear-end covering. While differences regarding the war tactics urged by the White House are fair game, nakedly playing politics with matters of life and death is not.

The sooner the Republican Party gets serious about the war, the better it will be for both the country and the party.

Obviously the Republican Senate caucus isn’t capable of taking the lead in showing such resolve. But perhaps Congressional Republicans will be able to follow the lead of their supporters, supporters who are very serious about becoming “former supporters” if the party continues on its current trajectory.

Certainly an intriguing development - I don't have the heart or the stomach to gloat at the mess in which the Republican Party now finds itself - mainly because it's a mess from which none of us can wash our hands as Americans or as citizens of the world.

I am not so lost to partisanship that I can take pleasure in Hagel's predicament. Although against my better judgment, I must even admit to pitying President Bush for this evil situation he has done so much to create.

And, while I have vehemently opposed the Iraq War since well before it began, I can't help but relate with and respect the signers of the above pledge as they vow to put their money where their mouth is in standing for what they believe is right.

This is not a time for easy answers. There are none to be had. Our only hopes rest in introspection and investigation; honest debate and open questions. We have paid the price for our failure in both regards, as have so many others. We will continue to pay that price for years to come - it remaining largely a matter of form and substance measured by the untold, unknown blood and sacrifice to be exacted.

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Jeff "Bought & Paid-For" Fortenberry

You've read it all before, but now see it in actual print. You're beautiful, Daily Nebraskan:

Nelnet officials defended their contributions to the political campaigns of two Nebraska congressmen who voted last week against a bill that could cut interest rates on student loans.

The legislation, approved by the House last week and awaiting Senate approval, could affect the profits of large private lenders, including the Lincoln-based National Education Loan Network, Nelnet.

Nebraska Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Adrian Smith, who both voted against the House legislation, received thousands of dollars in contributions for their 2006 campaigns from Nelnet.

Representatives from Nebraska's congressional delegation have strenuously objected to allegations that the votes of any of Nebraska's House representatives are influenced by campaign contributions.

Fortenberry has not been available for comment since Tuesday.

Nelnet officials said Congress plans to pay for the interest-rate cut by "squeezing the lender incentives that could otherwise be passed on to students." In other words, they worry the cut in interest rates could end up costing students more.....

Federal Election Commission reports show that approximately $26,000 of Nelnet-affiliated funds made it to the campaign chest of Fortenberry for his 2006 congressional campaign....

Smith received $5,000 from Nelnet's PAC for his 2006 campaign.

The entire article demands a read. The only glaring omissions are the mentions that Nelnet was the largest contributor in the nation to the House Republican Campaign Committee in 2006 and that - surprise, surprise - the Bush Administration just negotiated a deal that allowed Nelnet to keep almost $300 million in ill-gotten, tax-subsidized profits without suffering any penalty.

When it comes to money, power, and politics, all rivers run together. This article doesn't explore all the streams and tributaries, but it at least does a good job of showing that, with Fortenberry and Smith, the flow is against the people they represent (Pardon the metaphor).

Luke Swarthout, a spokesman for U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (U.S. PIRG) puts it very succinctly:

"These tremendous (financial aid) subsidies are directly affected by congressional policy....

"Campaign contributions and lobbying payments are seen as and treated as greater investments in greater return and greater revenue."

College students will put up with a lot of crap: from higher tuition to one-hundred dollar textbooks; even being treated like criminals by the police when they go out for a drink. But, when their own Congressmen cast votes that would cost them thousands of dollars in interest on student loans - to assure greater profits for campaign contributors - that's just pushing them too damn far.

Nice to see the Daily Nebraskan push back - not with advocacy, but with the truth. I just hope, as voters, both parents and students are paying attention.

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The Inconvenient Truth About Adrian Smith

Worse Than A Rubber Stamp....on Global Warming

I asked if Adrian believes in global warming. “No!” He believes many of the “facts” about global warming are in dispute.

-from conservative activist Steve Smith's "Interview with Adrian Smith" (11/23/2005)

America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment -- and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change.

-President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address (01/23/2007)

It says a lot about 3rd District Republican Congressman Adrian Smith that he's actually slower than President Bush at recognizing a problem. Smith is living proof of the old adage: When ideas fail, being a Republican comes in very handy.

Or something like that.

Could someone please lend Smith a copy of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" on DVD to get him up to speed?

An Inconvenient Truth - funny, that's not a bad description for the fact that this joker Adrian Smith is actually the 3rd District's Congressman.

Pretty sad when you think about it. Even sadder if we do nothing to change it. On that note, please support the new website SmithWatch and do everything you can to force Smith's accountability to the voters of Central and Western Nebraska.

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More Hagel Hypocrisy (or, "Chuck Hagel: Obstructionist")

Sen. Chuck Hagel just voted along with 42 other Republican Senators to filibuster the Democratic-led, people-approved efforts to gradually raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.

The bill passed with a strong bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives, as many Republican Congressmen (not Nebraska's) recognized this was an issue on which they could no longer defy the American public. As is, the minimum wage stands at its lowest real value in half a century, having remained fixed for almost a decade - a period during which members of Congress saw a pay raise of more than $30,000.

None of that holds any water with Hagel, who here reveals just what lies behind his bold talk on Iraq and his otherwise false pretensions of independence and bipartisanship.

It is at least great to see the Nebraska Democratic Party taking immediate action denouncing Hagel's vote. NDP Executive Director Matt Connealy stated in a press release, “It is deeply disappointing that Senator Hagel ignored the will of the American people and even President Bush’s own call for bipartisanship last night by rejecting a minimum wage hike for thousands of Nebraskans.”

Disappointing, indeed...but not surprising to those of us who have followed Hagel's record beyond the Sunday morning talk show circuit.

Not to defend the mistake I made this morning in reporting Hagel's vote on last summer's proposed "Gay Marriage Ban" Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but even here we see another example of the full extent of Hagel's hypocrisy. I'd originally reported that Hagel gave the Amendment a "Yes" vote, although Hagel did not actually participate in the vote and claimed his declaration of support only went so far as cloture and giving the measure a full vote before the Senate.

As the Lincoln Journal-Star reported at the time:

[Hagel] said he would have voted for cloture on the legislation, because he prefers moving most debates to an up-or-down vote.

Well, lookie here. When it's the farthest reaches of the Right-Wing demanding the opportunity to use the Constitution to target and discriminate against gay families, Hagel thinks THEY deserve an up-or-down vote.

Now, when it's America's poor and working-class demanding the chance at a better life and fairer wages, Hagel's decided they don't deserve that same right. Five Republican Senators showed some common sense and common decency in voting for cloture on the vote to raise the minimum wage, but NOT CHUCK HAGEL!

Here, we can clearly see Hagel for who he is. Not a moderate. Not a maverick. Certainly not anything remotely resembling an independent.

Instead, he's standing in the way of such a long-overdue reform as raising the minimum wage for purely partisan reasons on behalf of the corporations, lobbyists, and special interests he truly represents.

I suspect we'll be seeing more of this hypocrisy as Hagel and his Republican colleagues attempt to silence the voice of the American people and make this Congress every bit as incompetent and ineffective as what we'd seen under the last 12 years of Republican domination. I just hope the voters of Nebraska and across the nation see those efforts for what they are and direct their righteous anger at those who should be held accountable.

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Chuck Hagel Goes GQ & Almost Gets Away With It

(**Update/Correction with Sincerest Apologies - This article has been corrected because it incorrectly stated that Chuck Hagel had voted for the June 2006 Gay Marriage Amendment. Hagel did not participate in that vote, but had announced he would have voted in support of cloture.)

The people at Sen. Chuck Hagel's political action committee were happy enough with the new interview with Hagel in GQ magazine to send it out to supporters via e-mail. But, despite its high-profile, one has to question whether this is really the type of publicity Hagel wants as he attempts to keep his options open for 2008.

For starters, the headline of the article labels Hagel as "The Angry One," a name that suggests doom and gloom far more than the hope and optimism that have traditionally fueled most successful presidential campaigns (foolhardy as they might be). The article is also accompanied by the not particularly flattering picture at right with an introduction that describes Hagel's voice as "reminiscent of sandpaper on rough oak."

Again, not very flattering.

Still, the interview is definitely worth checking out, and it gives Hagel the opportunity to go for broke on a couple of issues, especially the war in Iraq, to add a little more meat to his claim as the true straight-talking maverick about whom independents, moderates, and the growing ranks of Republicans who think Iraq was a mistake should be getting excited.

Judge for yourself:

Do you wish you’d voted differently in October of 2002, when Congress had a chance to authorize or not authorize the invasion?

Have you read that resolution?

I have.

It’s not quite the way it’s been framed by a lot of people, as a resolution to go to war. That’s not quite what the resolution said.

It said, “to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.”

In the event that all other options failed. So it’s not as simple as “I voted for the war.” That wasn’t the resolution.

But there was a decision whether to grant the president that authority or not.

Exactly right. And if you recall, the White House had announced that they didn’t need that authority from Congress.

Which they seem to say about a lot of things.

That’s right. Mr. [Alberto] Gonzales was the president’s counsel at that time, and he wrote a memo to the president saying, “You have all the powers that you need”....

[F]inally, begrudgingly, they sent over a resolution for Congress to approve. Well, it was astounding. It said they could go anywhere in the region.

It wasn’t specific to Iraq?

Oh no. It said the whole region! They could go into Greece or anywhere. I mean, is Central Asia in the region? I suppose! Sure as hell it was clear they meant the whole Middle East. It was anything they wanted. It was literally anything. No boundaries. No restrictions.

They expected Congress to let them start a war anywhere they wanted in the Middle East?

Yes. Yes. Wide open. We had to rewrite it. Joe Biden, Dick Lugar, and I stripped the language that the White House had set up, and put our language in it.

But that should also have triggered alarm bells about what they really wanted to do.

Well, it did. I’m not defending our votes; I’m just giving a little history of how this happened. You have to remember the context of when that resolution was passed. This was about a year after September 11. The country was still truly off balance. So the president comes out talking about “weapons of mass destruction” that this “madman dictator” Saddam Hussein has, and “our intelligence shows he’s got it,” and “he’s capable of weaponizing,” and so on.

And producing a National Intelligence Estimate that turned out to be doctored.

Oh yeah. All this stuff was doctored. Absolutely. But that’s what we were presented with. And I’m not dismissing our responsibility to look into the thing, because there were senators who said, “I don’t believe them.” But I was told by the president—we all were—that he would exhaust every diplomatic effort.....

But the more I look back on this, the more I think that the administration knew there was some real hard question whether he really had any WMD. In January of 2003, if you recall, the inspectors at the IAEA, who knew more about what Saddam had than anybody, said, “Give us two more months before you go to war, because we don’t think there’s anything in there.” They were the only ones in Iraq. We hadn’t been in there. We didn’t know what the hell was in there. And the president wouldn’t do it! So to answer your question—Do I regret that vote? Yes, I do regret that vote.

And you feel like you were misled?

I asked tough questions of Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld before the war: How are you going to govern? Who’s going to govern? Where is the money coming from? What are you going to do with their army? How will you secure their borders? And I was assured every time I asked, “Senator, don’t worry, we’ve got task forces on that, they’ve been working, they’re coordinated,” and so on.

Do you think they knew that was false?

Oh, I eventually was sure they knew. Even before we actually invaded, I had a pretty clear sense of it—that this administration was hell-bent on going to war in Iraq.

Even if it meant deceiving Congress?

That’s right.....

Definitely some interesting stuff. Right off the bat, Hagel does as good a job as I've seen deflecting criticism of his vote in favor of the 2002 Iraq Resolution. If John Kerry could have communicated that same message in 2004 rather than being crucified by the media for being a flip-flopper, we probably would have just watched his third State of the Union Address last night.

Nevermind that it's taken four years and Hagel's at one point declaring the U.S. had "achieved victory" in Iraq to discover this clarity. With that sort of double-standard, Hillary Clinton and any Democratic Presidential candidate who voted on the Iraq Resolution should be prepared for the worst. On the other hand, you have to give credit to Hagel as a politician when he can say with a straight face that he's "not defending" his vote when, of course, that's precisely what he's doing.

Beyond that, Hagel's admitting the National Intelligence Estimate was doctored ("Absolutely") while asserting that the "hell-bent" Administration intentionally deceived Congress are all statements that should earn Hagel the headlines and public attention he seeks.

During the rest of the interview, Hagel continues to speak boldly. On the Administration's use of secret military prisons, he calls for shutting down Guantánamo and any such secret facilities without hesitation. Good for him. Good for America. But, on a related issue, we see another instance of Hagel's newfound clarity not matching his muddled record:

What about civil liberties? Does it concern you that the administration has been searching bank records and personal mail, and listening to international phone calls, without warrants?

Very much. We have always been able to protect national security without sacrificing the liberties of the individual. Once you lose those rights, it’s very hard to get them back. There have been arguments made that if we just give up a few rights, it will be easier to preserve our national security. That should never, ever happen. When you take office, you take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. That is your first responsibility.

While I couldn't agree more with the rhetoric, Hagel doesn't have the record to back it up, and it's a shame the media doesn't call him on that fact. From his seat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, it was just last March that he chose to capitulate to the Administration's undemocratic demands on domestic spying rather than defend the Constitution as duty and conscience required.

I will welcome the day and owe Hagel respect when he finally comes clean and apologizes for these failures - not just on Iraq but in response to the entire "War on Terror." Sadly, that day will never come when the media refuses to do some simple research and hold Hagel to the standards and principles he espouses.

I'm also appalled that GQ and its interviewer let Hagel get away with the following:

How conservative are you really? Tell me the truth: You don’t care whether or not gay people get married, do you?

No. Personally, I think marriage is between a man and a woman, but that’s because I see it as a religious union. As a legal contract, marriage should be up to the states. If a state wants to change the rules, that’s up to them.

Although it's nice to see Hagel returning to the federalist philosophy that would not turn the U.S. Constitution into a weapon against gay families in the name of conservative Christians' culture wars, it's a sin against truth and good journalism not to point out Hagel's hypocritical flip-flop on this issue since just last summer.

(**corrected - see above) In June 2006, Hagel went back on his previous position and ended up supporting cloture FOR the politically-motivated constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He actually did not partake in that losing vote, but his willingness to see it take one step further as law in our most sacred governing document raises significant questions. This is particularly the case because the amendment had no chance of overcoming a Democratic filibuster and because seven other Republican Senators actually showed the courage Hagel lacked to stand up to their party's unprincipled pandering to its extremist wing.

Accountability, folks - it's a bitch. And, it's about damn time Hagel be introduced and get his ass kicked a little bit. It may not make his path to the presidency any easier, but - ultimately - it would make him a better, more honest candidate and make ours a stronger democracy.

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Adrian Smith: Worst of the Worst

Let's take a moment to remember the Omaha World-Herald's characterization of now-3rd District Republican Congressman Adrian Smith in its October 15th, 2006 editorial:

When pressed aggressively...Adrian Smith falls back on sound bites and slogans....

Smith is not known as a skilled lawmaker. He is not known for an ability to build constructive coalitions for complicated legislation. He is not known as a skilled public speaker. He has no reputation for making substantive issues the subjects for his priority bills. He is not a lawmaker whom backers seek out to be the prime sponsor of major legislation.

He is not known as a leader.

Hard to believe that it was only a little more than three months ago when those words were written. But, from what we've seen of Smith in his first three weeks in Congress, he's more than lived up to his reputation ("lived down" would probably be more accurate).

The record of Nebraska's Republican Representatives in the first 100 hours of the new Congress has been pretty dismal. But, it really says something about Smith that, in just a few weeks, he's already earned distinction as worst of the worst, contributing nothing but partisan-driven vote after partisan-driven vote against an agenda with the over-whelming support of the American people.

Even First District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and 2nd District Rep. Lee Terry learned enough from the last election to recognize that the days of the Do-Nothing Republican Congress are dead and buried. Although both have so far managed records that would still fail any test with the voters, they at least knew better than to vote in lock-step opposition with the most extremist faction of the Republican Party.

Surprise, surprise....Adrian Smith did no such thing, putting himself in the same league as Iowa nut-job Steve King, who claims Joe McCarthy as a hero and calls the Iraq War a success. Smith and King, clearly birds of a feather, voted against every popular measure brought forward by the Democrats (1) implementing the 9/11 commission recommendations, (2) restoring pay-as-you-go budgeting, (3) raising the minimum wage, (4) expanding federal funding for stem cell research, (5) cutting student loan interest rates, (6) rolling back tax subsidies for oil companies and channeling the savings into alternative energy development, and (7) authorizing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

Of these, Terry only had the sense to vote for the rate cut on student loans. Fortenberry voted for the 9/11 recommendations, pay-go, and for the reforms in energy policy. Smith, on the other hand, just voted as told on every measure - as if the man were not even capable of an independent thought.

Adrian Smith: not known as a skilled lawmaker; not known as a leader. And, thanks to his choice to represent the most extremist wing of the Republican Party rather than the common sense people of central and western Nebraska, he never will be a skilled lawmaker or a leader.

One more line stands out from that World-Herald's desription of Smith three months ago:

[I]n terms of qualifications, the 3rd District deserves more...

That's more true now than ever. The 3rd District still deserves more and deserves better than Adrian Smith.I just hope someone will have the courage and faith to give voters the opportunity to correct their mistake before too much irreparable damage is done by Smith's unthinking Congressional incompetence.

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More Jostling for Hagel's Senate Seat

It's an interesting if inevitable phenomenon: the more presidential Chuck Hagel sounds, the less senatorial his would-be successors seem.

In the wake of the Bush Administration's enormously unpopular decision to increase troop strength in Iraq, Hagel has assumed the role of soundbite king. And what soundbites they are! Hagel, who even in his personal life is reportedly obsessed with Iraq and its parallels to his own experience in Vietnam, deserves credit for couching his criticisms in plain but powerful moral language that should make any Democratic presidential hopeful envious. Though Senator Hagel deserves his "mock maverick" moniker, his introduction last week of a formal if non-binding resolution opposing a troop surge at least demonstrates that his "All Talk Express" is no longer limited to running circles around the Sunday morning talk shows.

Whether Hagel will take this message to the endless rounds of debates and forums that will define this presidential primary season remains to be seen (although recent reports that he's considering an independent run appear doubtful), but happily Omaha businessman David Sokol has seen fit to give us Nebraska political junkies a sneak peek at what a Hagel-less Senate race might look like. Shockingly, the results show none other than Sokol's good friend Attorney General Jon Bruning leading all comers for the 2008 Republican nomination.

Bruning -who easily breaks 50% in head-to-head match-ups with Senate losers Hal Daub and Pete Ricketts- has sought to solidify his lead by championing a bill which would make it a crime to send any e-mail that "uses or transmits any indecent, lewd, lascivious, or obscene language". Meanwhile, Bruning's most competitive opponents, Congressmen Lee Terry and Jeff Fortenberry (curiously, former Governor Mike Johanns was not polled) have been busy voting against raising the minimum wage, funding stem cell research and allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices (although, to be fair, they really, really wanted to support these measures).

You and I know that Senator Hagel is not the great maverick and savior of his party that the national media sometimes portrays him to be. He's a very conservative and rather loyal Republican. But he's also a thoughtful public servant who's demonstrated a willingness to step outside of his party's "message box", to speak the truth of his own internal convictions. The history of Nebraska politics is rife with individuals possessing these rare and admirable qualities; the Nebraska Republican Party is not.

The challenge remains for the Democratic Party to prove that they have the right man for the job.

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A Nebraska Newspaper Doing Its Job!!!

Here's a highly recommended editorial in today's Daily Nebraskan - a welcome, much-needed reminder that it is possible for voices of reason and relevance to break through to the masses, even in Nebraska.

Politicians not putting Nebraska first in money matters

Hats off to the budding young journalists at the DN for their willingness to speak the truth and do more than look away as Gov. Dave Heineman and Nebraska's Republican Congressional delegation have turned their backs on higher education and the future of our state.

Wow. I'd almost forgotten that an editorial demonstrating genuine common sense, doing honest-to-goodness reporting, and putting some actual thought into tying the issues together was possible in the Nebraska press.

Nice to know that at least someone else is paying attention. I just hope the DN will keep up the fine work and - by raising its standards - force others to follow suit.

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Omaha World-Herald's Selective "Skepticism" on Tax Policy

The Omaha World-Herald has not published a single bit of substantive criticism of Gov. Dave Heineman's regressive proposal to shift more of Nebraska's tax burden onto Nebraska's poor, young, and working class to subsidize massive cuts in the income tax for the upper/upper-middle classes. It won't even allow this raw, undeniable truth about Heineman's plan into its pages.

Nor has the OWH displayed any understanding or concern for the fact that the state's wealthiest citizens are also the only ones who benefit from Heineman's concurrent proposal to eliminate Nebraska's estate tax. In fact, the World-Herald has done little but cheerlead in its attempts to strong-arm the legislature into adopting the Heineman Tax Hike since before it even saw the light of day.

No scrutiny. No skepticism. And, let's not forget the most important component of fulfilling the Heineman-Herald agenda: an absolute double-standard for any competing proposals, particularly those with the audacity to reflect the will of the people by tackling property taxes.

For just a taste of this double-standard, allow me to share the latest morsel of the World-Herald's hypocrisy in its Sunday editorial:

To hear some people, one would imagine that the sharp disagreement over using state income- and sales-tax revenues as a way to provide "property-tax relief" is something new for Nebraska. In reality, it is one of the most longstanding public-policy disagreements in the state.

And skepticism toward the effectiveness of such "relief" - skepticism based on legitimate, policycentered grounds - has a long pedigree. Consider this sampling from World-Herald editorials and articles from years past:

• Editorial from Oct. 5, 1983 - "The increasing suggestion that 'property-tax relief' is a proper goal for the 1984 Legislature should put Nebraska taxpayers on their guard. In tax matters, 'relief' almost always is spelled 's-h-i-f-t.' . . . The term 'tax relief' warrants similar caution. Unless someone guarantees a reduction in government spending, 'tax relief' for some taxpayers almost always means a heavier burden for others"....

• Editorial from Jan. 4, 1995 - "A New Year's thought for Nebraska taxpayers: Don't get your hopes up over talk of property-tax relief in the Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska has had nearly 30 years of schemes designed to reduce property taxes by raising the rates of the sales and income taxes. That approach hasn't worked.....

Note: This year marks 40 years since the creation of Nebraska's state sales and income taxes, along with the false hope of long-term property-tax relief.

Such considerations should not pre-empt an impassioned and informed debate in Lincoln this year over how to restructure Nebraska's woefully dysfunctional tax system. Conscientious lawmakers such as State Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine...and State Sen. Tom White of Omaha have introduced serious legislative proposals that take a run at this longstanding issue.

As the debate on those and other proposals unfolds in Lincoln, however, everyone needs first to acknowledge that this is no new debate. It is a very old one. And it involves a long string of disappointments for Nebraska taxpayers.

Which is why any new bold proposal for state-directed "property tax relief" deserves rigorous scrutiny. History provides ample basis for skepticism.

One can't help but wonder how much the World-Herald's long-standing skepticism towards property tax relief hasn't directly contributed to its supposed failure over the years. When the state's most powerful voice has, for decades, been dismissive of efforts to reduce property taxes, their nay-saying is bound to have been a contributing factor in the do-nothing mentality they now hope to perpetuate.

The World-Herald doesn't want the state to do anything about property taxes, and they have used the guise of historical distrust to mask what is little more than a difference in priorities. Yet, in demanding property tax relief, the people of Nebraska can stand-up to Heineman and the Herald's bullying to remind state legislators who it is they actually represent.

By the way, is anyone else astonished to see that quote from 1983 about property tax relief representing a "tax shift"? Looks like Heineman is not only relying on the World-Herald to carry his water with the public but also to write his speeches and feed his rhetoric.

What's different from 1983 and today is that the World-Herald was then at least honest that "tax relief for some taxpayers almost always means a heavier burden for others." Today, Heineman wants to thrust - or shift - that heavier burden on the backs of those least able to bear it, and the World-Herald stands silent - without scrutiny or skepticism - but towards those plans that are far more equitable to the majority of Nebraskans.

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Fortenberry Responds as Supporters Play "Kill the Messenger"

The Lincoln Journal-Star has a fairly active website when it comes to readers' comments, and it's fun to see how much feedback a simple "Letter to the Editor" can generate. Unfortunately, while there was much relevant discussion of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's record - especially his vote against raising the minimum wage - many of the comments on my most recent foray in this peculiar art of press-savvy citizenship demonstrate a disturbing tendency to attack me personally just for having questioned Fortenberry's votes.

As a testament to my egotism and self-amusement, allow me to share a few of the highlights:

Gerard Harbison: "If the Nebraska Young Democrats are going to be using the letters column of the LJS to issue partisan press releases, shouldn't they be labeled as such? Here, let me help you, LJS. Kyle Michaelis is the first district chair of the Young Democrats. That will give your readers a little better perspective on where his letter is coming from."

Seems like "The Right-Wing Professor" is keeping tabs on me (see his similar attempt to discredit me last July). Don't know whether to be flattered or scared for my well-being. Although far from a celebrity, I suppose this is the price of a none-too-common name and a digital paper trail available for all the world to Google.

SupportFort: "...Fortenberry, Smith and Terry...certainly support me and most folks I know and they do it well. Sounds like they don't support your viewpoints so you have resorted to character assasination instead of rational, logical dissent. I suspect you are a Democrat."

Character assassination? Huh? I called Fortenberry's votes "out of touch." If anyone cares to explain to me how that's character assassination, I'd love to hear it. Seriously, how does this sort of reflexive denunciation do anything but stifle the "rational, logical dissent" this reader supposedly desires? Is that even a question worth asking or are the inherently contradictory motives behind this response just as apparent as they seem?

Hey Michaelis: "If Fortenberry is so out of touch with America and Nebraska, why did 59% of the 1st district re-elect him?? Maybe you are out of touch with Nebraska. Please move away. Thank you."

At least that's an honest comment. Polite as well....beyond the whole bit about asking me to move away from the state (and the Congressional District) in which I've lived my entire life. But, I really appreciate the reminder that it only takes a change of opinion in less than 10% of the population to swing this state's politics in a bold, new direction. Maybe not a short-term project but certainly a worthwhile goal.

Who?: "Kyle Michaelis is the same college student who attempted to turn the congressional campaign into a race war. I checked him out and found that he is a college student, Democrat activist, and really scary liberal blogger. Perhaps when he gets a job and starts paying taxes, he may have less time to criticize his doubly-elected congressman."

"Really scary liberal blogger" - that's some ego-strokeage right there...especially since I generally fall prey to accusations of a too measured, too moderate approach on the issues. Need to look into having that put on some business cards and a t-shirt - maybe even a line on my resume.

Of course, the real pay-off comes in today's Journal-Star, with Fortenberry responding personally to my letter. He writes:

A recent letter on this page mentioned my vote on a proposal in Congress to increase the minimum wage.

I support a minimum wage increase. Almost a decade since its last adjustment, an increase in the wage is socially just. However, it must also be economically responsible. An increase, mandated without consideration of its effects on American small businesses, would have implications (reduced employee hours, increased prices, job layoffs) that would in effect harm those the policy seeks to help.

That’s why I co-sponsored the Working Families Wage and Access to Healthcare Act. This legislation proposes a $2.10 increase in the minimum wage. At the same time, it provides small business assistance that helps small employers and entrepreneurs shoulder the new demands of a wage increase. One of the ways it does this is by opening the door to new ideas to pay for employees’ health care, a significant expense to small businesses.

Unfortunately, the legislation proposed by Democratic leadership neglected to address these concerns, and proposals to help make the bill better were not allowed to be heard. As the U.S. Senate undergoes its deliberation of the bill, I am hopeful that these provisions will be included.

Then Congress will have crafted a minimum wage increase that is both socially just and economically responsible. That is good public policy, and it is the right thing to do.

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry

In other words, Jeff Fortenberry supports increasing the minimum wage but voted against the bill that would have done just that. Just like he supports making college more affordable while voting against cutting the interest rates on student loans.

At least, he's consistent in his hypocrisy, if nothing else. And, in that, he's not alone. As the UNO College Democrats point out, 2nd District Congressman Lee Terry "just voted against a bill that would allow the government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices - to keep prescription drug prices low."

Clearly, Fortenberry and Terry deserve each other. But, the people of Nebraska deserve so much more than their shared tendencies to partisan double-speak. Games of message control and kill the messenger won't prevent the dawning of this realization. The truth may be delayed, but it will not be contained.

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Jeff Fortenberry's Predictable Partisanship On the Opinion Page

I often fall back on the familiar refrain asking NNN readers to write letters to the editor on the issues important to them. Just scroll down a little ways on the sidebar, and you'll see some of the local newspapers that are just dying to print what you have to say - in some cases, sharing your words with more people in a day than read this site in a month.

Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely grateful for every one of this site's readers. It's an honor to have been shown so much kindness and respect over the preceding two years. But, let's not fool ourselves - at the end of the day, this site does not have the reach to change a state's political identity and to create the New Nebraska that is its promise and purpose.

I'm not a preaching to the choir kind of guy. In fact, I don't think there's a whole lot of value in having ideas if you're not willing to put those ideas out there for all the word to see. As an admitted, unrepentant progressive in a state that confines itself to an ill-fitting Republican identity that does not fit its legacy or its people's character, we can not fear criticism. We must welcome it. We must invite it. We must even listen and learn from it.

Why? Because as soon as you've shared your ideas in a public forum, you've started a discussion. Criticism allows that discussion to continue, taking on new life and new power in the public's imagination. If we truly believe in democracy and our supposed ideals, then the willingness to initiate these conversations is the most powerful statement of all. We need to take it upon ourselves to challenge the comfortable conformity of the status quo, not just having a different vision of our own but articulating it for the masses.

This isn't about a revolution. It's about making Nebraskans think, about who we are as a people and where we're headed as a state. If we can just get the people to open their eyes, open their minds, and - yes - even open their hearts enough to start asking tough questions and expecting honest answers of our politicians and our press, then we will have fulfilled our moral and democratic duties as citizens of this land we love.

But, talk is cheap. I can't ask readers to do and say that which I will not. So, keeping faith and hopefully encouraging others to follow suit, I want to share two letters I sent in my own name that were published this week by the 2nd and 3rd most widely read daily newspapers in the state....both of them concerning the out of touch values and voting record of Nebraska's First District Congressman, Jeff Fortenberry.

First, the Lincoln Journal-Star published the following:

Fortenberry out of touch

I want to thank the Lincoln Journal Star for its reporting the votes of Nebraska’s Republican Congressmen Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry, and Adrian Smith on the issues so far addressed by the Democratic Party’s “100 Hours” agenda. Too often, the Nebraska media fails to inform voters how we are actually being represented in Washington, D.C.

Still, I believe the Journal Star has a responsibility to go one step further in its coverage. With Fortenberry’s votes against raising the minimum wage, against allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices and against expanded funding for potentially live-saving stem cell research, voters have a right to know why their congressman stands in opposition to the vast majority of the American public.

Our new Congress has brought with it the opportunity for Fortenberry to finally represent the people rather than his party. I fear Fortenberry will only live up to this promise, though, if a vigilant press and an informed public give him no other choice.

If we are to expect accountability from our elected officials, we must start by expecting more from the press and from ourselves. In the future, I hope the Journal Star will do a better job of holding its reporting on Congress to this high standard, no longer giving Fortenberry a free pass without explaining his out-of-touch votes on the issues important to the American people.

Kyle Michaelis

That same day, the Daily Nebraskan printed:

Fortenberry should consider student needs

In 2006, the interest rates on student loans skyrocketed as the Republican Congress cut $12 billion out of the federal student aid programs to pay for another round of tax giveaways for corporations and the wealthy.

Now, in one of the first acts of the new Democratic majority in Congress, Democratic leaders hope to pass the College Student Relief Act of 2007 (H.R. 5). For anyone who believes in accessible and affordable higher education, this proposal really should be a no-brainer as it promises to cut interest rates in half in the next five years for undergraduate students with subsidized student loans. Best of all, there are no new costs to taxpayers.

Once fully enacted, it's estimated this plan will save students an average of $4,420. Unfortunately, Nebraska's Republican congressional delegation seems unlikely to vote for this sensible and long-overdue legislation for reasons of partisanship and personal interest. This is especially the case for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.

The largest contributor to Fortenberry's 2006 campaign was Nelnet, a local student loan provider that stands accused of bilking the federal government out of hundreds of millions of dollars. H.R. 5 offsets its costs by changing the terms for lenders - almost certainly cutting into the outrageous profits that allowed Nelnet to also be the top contributor in the country to the House Republicans' national campaign committee.

Regardless of who funded his campaign or his party, Fortenberry is our representative. He should know that the students of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are watching this legislation and will hold him accountable for his vote.

Kyle Michaelis

Sure enough, Fortenberry voted exactly as predicted, one of only 71 Republicans to vote against the American people's interests in making higher education accessible to all. I'm sure Nelnet will remember that vote come the next election but so should we, the students, graduates, family members, and aspiring dreamers who look to a college degree with hope for a better life.

And, guess what, whether by suggestion or coincidence it was a pleasant surprise to see the headlining front-page story in Friday's Daily Nebraskan that actually got Fortenberry to go on record with this pathetic explanation for his vote:

Once in full effect, the cuts are projected to save borrowers with $13,800 of debt up to $4,400 over the life of the loan.

Fortenberry said the policy would increase debt and exacerbate a negative trend in tuition inflation for college students.

"My policy's emphasis is on the front-end - helping people get to college and go to college," he said.

Who does Fortenberry think he's kidding? Is he really going to act as if higher interest rates and the promise of endless debt aren't two of the most significant factors in keeping people from pursuing higher eduation?

Clearly, he is that far out of touch or that much of a liar considering his vote last year to cut $12 billion from the Federal Student Loan program. No logical consistency. No principle. No problem.

But, at least we've got him on record, and that's a start. What a start it would actually be if the Nebraska media held up its end of the bargain on more issues, keeping Fortenberry and his like accountable to the people they represent.

You can help make that happen. Dare to have high expectations. Make some phone calls. Write some letters. Demand to be heard and to hear what our politicians have to say.

Just forcing the discussion of a progressive agenda works to our advantage because these are issues that people care about and ideas with which they funadamentally agree.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the more our Republican politicians say, the less they make sense. They know that. They fear it. And, they damn well should.

I say, let's keep'em talking.

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Stop the "Heineman Tax Hike"

Media Fails to Report That Wealthy Benefit Most Under Governor's Budget

Following up on my earlier post about the lie at the heart of Gov. Dave Heineman's budget and his State of the State Address, I want to delve very briefly into that realm of independent analysis where the Nebraska media fears to tread.

Although Heineman's plan has been laid out for all to see for nearly two weeks, it says some very ugly things about the journalists in this state that no one's reported on the many fronts of Heineman's deception and hypocrisy. The very best that could be said of Nebraska's political reporters and editorial boards is that they are afraid of math or simply can't run a calculator. Alas, I suspect the truth is a tad more sinister.

While I still hope to finish a more thorough dissection of the rhetoric fueling Heineman's budget, for now, I just want to point out one more simple, perfectly obvious, but entirely unreported fact - Dave Heineman wants to raise the income taxes of those least able to afford them.

Don't believe me? Surely, if that were true, it would have been pointed out amidst all the bally-hooing and praise? Right?

Well, let's see: one of the central tenets and biggest selling points of Heineman's proposal is that it will supposedly simplify Nebraska's income tax by reducing its number of tax brackets from 4 to 3. That, by itself, raises concerns because this sort of structural change tends to result in a less progressive system. Such is definitely the case with Heineman's proposal. Yet, it takes a look at the actual numbers to appreciate the true severity of the plan's regressive implications.

Although full calculations can not be made from the marginal tax rates Heineman has provided - which capture only the rate on the last dollar earned by a taxpayer - these numbers are still enough to reveal the general thrust of Heinemean's plan and the priorities reflected therein. It's quite telling that at the same time Heineman proposes a 25% cut in the marginal tax rate for married couples with a joint adjusted gross income of $90,000, he advocates a hike in the marginal tax rate of nearly 20% for every married couple with a joint AGI of less than $4,000. Heineman would also impose that same 20% hike on every Single taxpayer with an AGI less than $2,400.

It's fair to say that all Heineman's done structurally to reduce the number of tax brackets is erase the lowest tax bracket. They pay more in income taxes as the working-class (those married, filing jointly with AGIs up to $50,000) pay the same marginal rate. All to the glorious benefit of Nebraska's upper/upper-middle class.

Except, even that fails to tell the whole story. Heineman's proposal also imposes a much larger tax rate hike of 44% for any unfortunate individuals with Head of Household status and an AGI between $24,000 and $25,000. Meanwhile, single taxpayers earning between $16,000 and $17,500 would see their own rate hike of 44%.

Of course, it may be convenient to dismiss these outrageous tax rate hikes of 20% and 44% as anomalies - the price paid for a better, simpler system. But, imagine how those who actually fall within these categories would feel, come tax time, realizing they and they alone have been asked to pay more so those far wealthier can pay less.

And, if such anomalies/discrepancies were necessary for reform - to make the numbers work - what does it say about Nebraska that our Governor has specifically targeted the poor, the young, the retirees, and the disabled to cover the costs of change? Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to err on the side of common decency and to ask a little bit more of some tiny segment of the state's wealthiest class that otherwise sees the most benefit from Heineman's plan, particularly in its totally one-sided elimination of the estate tax?

Heineman seems to have gone after Nebraska's weakest and most defenseless (in politics, as in life) for no other reason than their being the easiest target. As constructed, Heineman's plan is a sin - plain and simple. While the public can justify some pretty heinous policies that target the poor under notions that they're lazy and should finally be asked to pay their fair share, many of those in Heineman's sights are going to be students working part-time jobs just to keep themselves afloat and those just starting out in the work force (or who spent part of the year unemployed).

Heineman has asked the rich and the middle class to be complicit in reaping benefits for themselves on the backs of detasselers, dish washers, and dog walkers. He wants the state to stick it hard to those facing hardships in their lives. He honestly thinks a 17 year-old kid working part-time at McDonald's just to cover his car payments should pay more so you can pay less.

Nevermind that Heineman's budget, as proposed, would result in skyrocketing college tuition rates that will close many windows of opportunity for young people at both our universities and state colleges. Now, they should take on a greater share of the tax burden to have that door to progress slammed in their face.

What a repulsive agenda for Nebraska...and what a sad comment on Heineman's low expectations of its people.

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Ken Svoboda & Lincoln GOP Already Using Dirty Tricks

You knew it was only a matter of time, but who could have guessed that Lincoln mayoral candidate Ken Svoboda and his minions in the Lancaster County Republican Party would go so negative, so early in their attacks on Democratic candidate Chris Beutler?

In keeping with Lincoln Republicans' legacy as the worst, most shameless political thugs in the state, Svoboda supporters showed up to Tuesday's mayoral debate armed with the latest in a long line of lies, distortions, and distractions in service to their diseased politics of personal destruction.

Before the three-man debate between City Councilman Svoboda, long-time State Sen. Beutler, and local businesssman Roger Yant had even begun, members of the hosting Lincoln Independent Business Association (LIBA) sat down to their lunches and found an anti-Beutler flyer at their tables purporting to be his "Business Report Card."

Paid for by the Lancaster County Republicans, the flyer went on to attack Beutler for having "spent most of his adult life in the Nebraska Legislature." It also likened Beutler to State Sen. Ernie Chambers and accused him of having an "anti-job creation voting record," resulting in the Republican Party giving Beutler an F "on business issues."

What an utter load of crap! The city of Lincoln is still a full two-and-a-half months away from even its primary election, and already Svoboda's campaign is taking the low road. But, what did we expect? The low road is the only one they know.

The always convenient race-baiting comparisons to Ernie Chambers are one thing, but it's when the flyer stoops to outright deception that the full extent of the Lincoln GOPs depravity again shines through. Citing a Lincoln Journal-Star article, the flyer states:

Beutler argued that the 2006 state income tax cut was not necessary because Nebraska didn't need the money.

Compare that to what was actually written by the LJS:

"I do not want to cut taxes now in good times when people don’t need the money,” Beutler said, and be forced to raise taxes when people can’t afford it....

Because of the property tax increase, “I really don’t know understand why any governor would want his name to this package,” Beutler said.

First, the Republican Party twists Beutler's actual statement to erase his genuine concern that the 2006 "tax cut" would result in future tax hikes. Then, they fail to mention how Beutler completely foresaw and warned against the increase in property taxes that has since left voters up-in-arms.

If the Lincoln Journal-Star has even an ounce of self-respect, it has a duty to call-out Svoboda and the Republicans for these outrageous lies and abuses of its own reporting.

Of course, lies and distortions are nothing compared to the Republican Party's miserable, borderline terrorist antics the last time Lincoln held a city election. In 2005, they engaged in outright hypocrisy in their attacks, not to mention ludicrous assaults on the character of then-Councilman Terry Werner for not supporting our troops and - I'm not kidding - for being an enemy of Lincoln pet owners. All this earned a deserved rebuke by the Journal-Star, which then wrote:

The Republican Party is putting all the warts of partisan politics on display with its attack ads in the race for three at-large seats on the Lincoln City Council....

Republican Party officials don't give a fiddle about the issues. They're not focused on finding the best way to deal with the challenges facing the city. All they care about [is] scoring an election victory.

What's saddest and scariest is that all this was said even before the Chair of the Lancaster County Republican Party admitted to hiring a private investigator to follow Werner and to assist in their efforts at character assassination.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the Republican Party relies on the ugliness and the spirit of ill will they've created in Lincoln politics by writing in its self-proclaimed Report Card, "If you liked how Terry Werner voted on business issues...If you like (current Mayor) Colleen Seng's reord of 'leadership' for Lincoln...Then you'll love Chris Beutler." They even go so far as including pictures of Werner and Seng.

Of course, what's ironic about these attacks is that every supposed failure by city government since Werner and Seng were elected has come under Svoboda's watch. He's been serving on Lincoln's City Council the entire time - even as its Chairman - meaning that voters wanting change should be voting for Beutler...unless Svoboda's already desperate attacks work.

In 2005, Svoboda tried to distance himself from the despicable actions of his party. But that isn't the case this time around. At the LIBA debate, Svoboda stood perched at the entrance, shaking hands with people as they walked in, at the same time as these lies and distortions were being distributed to the audience. He was there. He benefitted. He may as well have handed the damn things out.

These people are shameless, and they must be stopped. As the Journal-Star warned in 2005:

If the attack ads succeed, they'll multiply in the next election.

Well, here we are, and that's precisely what we're seeing. After the failure of Pete Ricketts' endlessly negative 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate - getting only 30% in Lancaster County - you'd expect Svoboda and the Republican Party would recognize that Lincoln's voters are sick of their dirty tricks.

Alas, political hacks never learn. This is how they do it because this is all they know. It looks like the people will have to teach them a lesson once more, proving once again that they are better than this degradation of our democracy by voting for a leader with actual vision and integrity. That man - that mayor - is Chris Beutler.

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"Make Room for Elkhorn" - Time to Expand the Omaha City Council

In October of 2005, a great idea was floated by Omaha Councilman Jim Suttle to add an additional representative to that seven-member body to compensate for the continued growth of the city, including it's then-planned annexation of neighboring Elkhorn.

From that idea, a wonderful discussion began on the UNO College Democrats' blog in which I (and others) praised Suttle for his visionary concern for good democracy - even at the expense of dilluting his own power on the city council. Yet, many of us were of the opinion that the addition of one more councilman invited and/or demanded the addition of a second, bringing the council to nine total members. This would not only maintain an odd-numbered council less likely to result in tie votes but also create a more representative body in which each member would still represent approximately 45,000 citizens.

Unfortunately, no action was taken on Suttle's proposal. 15 months later, though - with Omaha's annexation of Elkhorn finally receiving what seems the ultimate blessing of the courts just last week - this most worthy idea of expanding the City Council has again been raised.

The Omaha World-Herald reports:

Now that Omaha has received the go-ahead from the Nebraska Supreme Court to annex Elkhorn, city officials must decide how Elkhorn's residents will be represented in city government.

The Omaha City Council has not finalized plans for how district boundaries would be redrawn to include Elkhorn. The leading proposal would split Elkhorn into two districts, said Council President Dan Welch....

Not everyone is happy with the idea of splitting Elkhorn into different council districts. State Sen. Dwite Pedersen, who represents Elkhorn, said he plans to introduce a bill in the Legislature next week to add two members to the Omaha council. His hope is that only one person would represent Elkhorn on the council....

"Elkhorn has always been unified, and I don't want to see the community sliced into two," Pedersen said. "I'm very concerned about representation, because the people of Elkhorn haven't had the opportunity to vote for those who will represent them on the council"....

The idea of adding two seats and creating a nine-member council was first initiated by Pedersen and Omaha Councilman Jim Suttle in late 2005. It received a lukewarm reception from other council members at the time.

Suttle said he would still support the measure, but not because he is concerned that Elkhorn would lack adequate representation under the city proposal.

Suttle said having smaller, similar-sized districts would help provide representation for minority populations. It also would give citizens a louder voice with their council representatives because they'd have fewer constituents, he said.

Welch said he is not convinced that adding council members is a good idea.

"I would prefer to keep the number where it is," Welch said. "It seems like the more people you have on a legislative body, less things get done."

If that's the best argument Welch can make, he really should keep his democracy-hating mouth shut.

At the end of the day, expanding Omaha's city council to nine representatives is an entirely reasonable idea that should be no detriment to that body's effectiveness beyond empowering the voters and giving the people a larger say. As seems to be the case of Welch and his fellow councilmen who opposed this plan originally, theirs is an almost unjustifiable position more about holding onto power for themselves than doing what's right for the city of Omaha and its newest citizens.

One more positive effect of expanding the city council is that it will, as explained by Suttle, encourage greater diversity. For what I believe has been the last six years, the council of Nebraska's most populous city has been entirely comprised of men. It's about damn time that Omaha women again have a voice in their city government as well.

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Nebraska's Democratic Mandate in Congress

A comment just made by one of our readers was pretty darn ingenious and deserves everyone's attention. Eric writes:

...44% of Nebraska voters chose a Democrat in their House race, so I'd say that the mandate for a Democratic House delegation is even bigger than the 423 mandate. That's got to entitle us to at least one seat right?

If you throw in the Senate race too, you'll see that 54% of votes cast for Federal offices were for Democrats. Certainly we should be able to argue that the Democratic Congress has a mandate from Nebraskans.

To be honest, I'm embarrased to admit that I hadn't even considered Nebraska's "Democratic mandate." But, there's actually a pretty powerful and convincing argument to be made here.

In the race that became Sen. Ben Nelson's landslide victory (64%), the stakes were laid out quite clearly that a vote for Nelson could mean a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. By their votes, the people chose this possibility, finding it much more acceptable than the alternative.

Although they endorsed Nelson's independent leadership, the people showed an openness to the Democratic agenda that we should not be afraid to point out in making its case here in Nebraska.

In 2006, "54% of votes cast for Federal offices were for Democrats." I don't know if that's a popular mandate, but it's certainly an opportunity. And, we should sing it to the mountain tops...or, at least, to the highest points along our beautiful prairie (I believe they're called buttes).

The Democratic agenda is Nebraska's agenda. The people may not recognize it yet, but their votes are trying to tell them something.

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The 3/10ths Mandate

Some interesting spin in The Kearney Hub this week:

An inflationary lid [Initiative 423], the voters decreed, was not the answer to what has been perceived by most as a problem in Nebraska: High taxes. If the vote is interpreted as an endorsement of state budget increases that in recent years have more than doubled the rate of inflation, the Legislature will continue in the state of denial that we’ve seen since former Gov. Mike Johann’s budget vetoes were so handily overridden in 2003.

If, on the other hand, lawmakers recognize that three out of 10 voters were mad enough about taxes to put a constitutional clamp on spending and address this problem, Nebraska will have made real progress.

As of late, the state press corps has descended the depths of some pretty ridiculous hyperbole in an attempt to declare state spending the crisis du jour, but this Hub piece really takes the cake. Since when, pray tell, does 30% qualify as a popular mandate?

Read more of Ryan's "The 3/10ths Mandate"
If the lopsided, landslide defeat of 423 proves anything it's that the overwhelming majority of Nebraskans reject the Dave Nabity/Jon Camp doctrine of government by triage, where programs and services of vital import to the continued health of the state must fight amongst themselves for an ever shrinking trickle of funds descending from our outdated and ill-considered tax structure.

We are faced now with a budget proposal that would cut support for child care providers and eliminate food stamp and Medicaid services for legal immigrants. We rank 38th in the nation in teacher pay and 36th in teacher per student ratio. Our child welfare workers are crushed by massive caseloads and our state senators still earn a poverty wage. We are burning our furniture for warmth and making a mockery of our promise to invest in a future where people and ideas flow into Nebraska, not out.

When government isn't capable of adequately maintaining basic public services it should be obvious that the key to lowering taxes isn't placing further restraints on state spending. Our problems can't be solved by toppling strawmen, they require a serious examination of a tax structure that is as inadequate as it is unfair. This, of course, is not exactly Governor Heineman's strong suit.

The buck has been passed. Political prognosticators have forecasted that this Unicameral, deprived of many of its most prominent and experienced voices, would lack the independence of legislatures past and become mostly subservient to the will of the Governor and his strong electoral mandate. The legislature now has a rare opportunity to prove these critics wrong.

It's not enough, as the Governor proposes, to simply eliminate the estate tax and further flatten income tax brackets. That's not reform; it's butchery. Hopefully, real reform would end with property tax relief, a move which would ease a massive burden on Nebraska's middle class. But real reform must begin with a serious re-examination of LB 775.

The "Employment and Investment Growth Act" is a series of tax incentives and corporate give aways that was passed in a fit of panic in response to Omaha-based InterNorth's 1985 decision to merge with Houston Natural Gas and move south to Texas (forming the Enron corporation). Collectively, the benefits of LB 775 represent an estimated annual expenditure of $156 million, more than six times the amount disputed in the recent spat between the Governor and NU President J.B. Milliken.

For years there have been questions of LB775's cost effectiveness, its effect on small business and its contribution to the widening rural/urban gap, but endless rounds of debate have not resulted in any serious effort to seek reform. The time has come. If Medicaid, higher education and child care are on the chopping block then corporate welfare should at least be on the table.

The Hahn campaign provided us a model of how corporate welfare reform could be linked to property tax relief. But if Hahn's candidacy taught us anything, it's that having good ideas isn't enough. Heineman has the advantage of the bully pulpit and the press is on his side. The only way to compete is to work like hell. We can start, as Kyle suggested, by writing letters to the editor, contacting our state senators and telling our friends and family.

This may seem an impossible challenge, but it's unlikely our task will ever be easier than it is now. As LB775 demonstrated so clearly, once this tax "reform" is cemented in law it will become nearly impossible to reconsider. This may be our last, best hope. But it simply will not happen without your help.

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Dissecting Heineman's "State of the State" Deceit

******Update - 01/29/2007*******
Although the New Nebraska Network stands by the general assertions made in this article, its calculations were flawed and the claim that certain middle-class taxpayers would see no relief under Heineman's income tax proposal was made in error. We regret and apoligize for this unforgiveable failure resulting from impatience and outrage at the lack of objective criticism in the Nebraska media that led Kyle to a reactionary extreme unbefitting of the standards NNN attempts to uphold.
*************

So often, all you have to do for the truth to prevail is shine a light on the situation and let the people see it for what it is. It's my hope that such will prove the case in fighting back against the deceit underlying Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal for supposed "middle class tax relief," as laid out in the 2007 State of the State Address he delivered Thursday to Nebraska's legislature.

The text of Heineman's address can be found here. Included are the following charts to describe his plan for cutting Nebraska's income taxes.

(click to enlarge)

Using Heineman's own numbers, I've just submitted this letter to the Omaha World-Herald's Public Pulse:

Every time Gov. Dave Heineman mentioned tax cuts in his 2007 State of the State Address, it was under the guise of helping the middle class. He used the same rhetoric throughout the 2006 campaign and in the build-up to this year’s legislative session.

Yet, applying any scrutiny to Heineman’s actual proposal (LB331) quickly reveals it as an assault, not an assist, to Nebraska’s working families. Married taxpayers with incomes between $32 and $50 thousand – the definition of Nebraska’s true middle class – receive no relief whatsoever.

Heineman has abandoned and sacrificed these taxpayers so that those earning $90 thousand could receive a 25-percent tax cut. Meanwhile, he would phase in a 13-percent reduction for all those with joint incomes greater than $90 thousand.

It’s time for Gov. Heineman to stop lying about his tax cutting priorities. His concern is not for Nebraska’s middle class but rather for its wealthiest citizens.

Even better evidence of the truth behind Heineman’s proposal than the numbers above is his call for eliminating the estate tax. This is nothing more than a give-away to Nebraska’s richest and most powerful. No doubt, they will also be the most generous to Heineman’s future political campaigns.

Letters to the Editor are, unfortunately, quite limited in scope and depth. Because of length constraints, I could not even mention how inherently regressive the change from 4 to 3 tax brackets would be, nor the fact that young people just starting out in the workforce have also been abandoned in Heineman's quest to give every penny possible back to Nebraska's wealthiest citizens.

Note that single taxpayers with incomes from $17.5 to $27 thousand see no tax reduction under Heineman's proposal, and those unfortunate enough to earn between $16 and $17.5 thousand will actually be seeing a 44% higher tax rate (from 3.57% to 5.12%). How absolutely appalling is that?

So far, the complacent Nebraska media has offered no substantive criticism of Heineman's proposal, bordering on outright corruption in their complicity. This has been particularly true of the World-Herald, who've taken every opportunity in the last month to advance Heineman's proposal and to destroy efforts by state senators to instead focus on reducing property taxes. They're even at it again in today's editorial.

Yet, such is the nature of the World-Herald's near monopoly on public opinion in Nebraska that every effort must be made to reach its readers and to break through the many walls they've erected to control debate and the flow of information to the people. That's why this site exists, but it needs your help if its efforts are to amount to anything.

The facts are on our side. They speak for themeselves, but they need your voice if anyone's going to hear them. Please....call your state senator, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, e-mail your friends and co-workers. Just don't let Heineman and the Omaha World-Herald bully us into forsaking fiscal responsibility by shifting more of the tax burden onto the poor and the middle class.

I have more to say about this whole proposal - and Heineman's State of the State Address. For now, though, this will have to do. But, for Nebraska's sake, stay tuned and speak out.

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Tim Walz, Nebraska's Democratic Congressman, Gives National Address

I hope the good people of Minnesota's First District don't mind our taking pride and laying partial claim to their magnificent new Congressman, Tim Walz - a native son of Nebraska who's quickly proven himself a rising star of the Democratic Party.

This morning, Walz was chosen to give the Democrats' weekly radio address, responding to President Bush's plan for a "troop surge"/escalation of military operations in Iraq and highlighting the popular agenda and actions of Congress since the Democratic Party's return to power.

Walz proclaimed:

Good morning. This is Congressman Tim Walz of Minnesota. Last November, voters in Minnesota and across the country sent a clear message at the ballot box when they voted for change.

They cast their votes for new leadership in Washington and a new Democratic Congress that would help change the course in Iraq, end the culture of corruption in Washington, and give hard-working families a voice in Congress once again.

They voted for a Congress that would do the business of the American people, and one that would be known for its ideas, not its insults, its patriotism, not its partisanship.

I know that as I speak to you today, you are gravely concerned about the war in Iraq.

As the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress and a veteran who served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, I share your concerns.

After nearly four years of combat, we have lost more than 3,000 brave Americans. Tens of thousands have been wounded. And we've spent more than $300 billion.

Now, as the President escalates our involvement in Iraq and puts more of our troops in harm's way, I think of the men and women I served with in the 1st Brigade, 34th Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard.

Those brave men and women, and their families, just received letters informing them that they won't be coming home this winter, after all. After their second year-long tour of duty since 9/11, they'll be staying in Iraq even longer for this escalation.

Our military men and women know that it is their duty to execute their mission without question. But so too is it our duty to question the mission on their behalf. Rest assured that this Democratic Congress will live up to its responsibility to challenge the failed policies that have already cost us so dearly.

Before moving forward with this escalation, we owe it to these troops, to their families, and to all Americans to ask the tough questions and demand honest answers about this policy.

Is there a clear strategy that the commanders on the ground believe will succeed?

What are the benchmarks for success, and how long does the President believe it will take to achieve them? Is this a policy that will contribute to the America's security in the larger war on terror, or distract from it?

I believe, along with most Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans, that the escalation announced by the President will compound a bad situation and make matters worse, not better. It will make us less secure, not more. It is a step in the wrong direction -- more of the same at the very time when we need a new direction in Iraq.

Let us be very clear. We need diplomatic and political solutions in Iraq, not more American troops. We know that the forgotten cost of the President's plan will be borne by the husbands and wives and sons and daughters of the brave men and women who will be away from home for an even longer period of time because of the President's misguided decision.

So Democrats will ask the tough questions, conduct meaningful oversight and do everything possible to honor our men and women in uniform. At the same time, we will continue to honor our pledge to enact some of the American people's top priorities in the first 100 hours of the new Congress. We promised to pass ethics reforms, increase the minimum wage, help ensure our security here at home and to exercise fiscal responsibility.

Today, I am proud to report that in just over one week as the majority party in Congress, Democrats are delivering.

Democrats acted swiftly to clean up Washington and approved the most comprehensive ethics reforms in decades.

We stood up for hard-working families and approved a minimum wage increase, which will give 13 million Americans the pay raise they deserve.

And we offered patients suffering from debilitating diseases new hope when we approved a bill to expand potentially life-saving stem cell research.

Democrats in Congress also acted decisively to secure our nation by approving new measures to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

In a short period of time, we've [the Democratic Congress] won real victories on behalf of the American people, but we know there is more work to be done. In the coming days, we'll complete our 100 hours agenda by passing legislation to make college more affordable, end subsidies for oil companies, and invest in renewable sources of energy.

And as we go forward, we will continue to stand together and ensure American families have the strong voice in Washington they deserve.

This is Congressman Tim Walz of Minnesota. Thank you for listening.

Sadly, since the 2006 election, the Democratic Party hasn't done a very good job of making the audio of these addresses available online. I'll keep on the lookout for such audio, though, because I'm curious to hear how "Fargo"-esque Walz sounds after a decade of Minne-sho-tan immersion.

Nebraska's First District Congressman, Republican Jeff Fortenberry, would have arrived in Nebraska about the same time Walz left for Minnesota. Some trade-off, eh? Especially with Fortenberry's votes against raising the minimum wage, expanding stem cell research, and opening the door for Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

So far as I'm concerned, Louisiana's perfectly welcome to claim Fortenberry as its own. Please take him! And, I'll just assume Minnesota voters would extend us the same courtesy (an honor, in Walz's case).

Regardless, we will continue to watch Walz's political career with affection and just a hint of jealousy. We also draw inspiration from his example and will continue to fight so the next Tim Walz will have the opportunity to lead and to serve as a proud Democrat right here in Nebraska.

** Update ** - Listen to Walz's address by clicking here. Special thanks to Minnesota's own Bluestem Prairie for sharing with its Nebraska brothers and sisters in the "Tim Walz Fan Club" - not to mention, in the same fight for our nation's future.

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From the NNN Mailbox: "The Blind Partisans"

A reader just sent me the following message with some interesting facts and questions we need to do everything in our power to put before Nebraska voters:

1. On the House vote to curb new deficit spending and reform the practice of earmarks, 24% of the Republicans voted aye, but not Adrian Smith and not Lee Terry. Who is the conservative?

2. On the House vote to implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations, 35% of the Republicans voted aye, but not Adrian Smith and not Lee Terry. Who is for protecting us against terrorism?

3. On the House vote to increase the federal minimum wage for the first time in about a decade, 41% of the Republicans voted aye, but not Adrian Smith, not Lee Terry, and not Jeff Fortenberry. Who cares about the working person?

You've got the facts. You've got the questions. Now, use them.

The people of Nebraska did not overwhelmingly vote for the Democratic agenda in 2006, but it's their agenda nonetheless. These are changes that the people want - regardless of label - and those who fail to see that must be held to account by us today and by the voters tomorrow.

But for the tyranny and corruption of the last Congress' Republican majority, much of the Democratic-American-Nebraskan agenda we're seeing in these first 100 hours of the new Congress would have been passed years ago. From their votes, some Republican representatives have recognized their party's failure and wakened to the new possibilities for true progress on the great issues of our day.

Unfortunately, Nebraska's Republican Congressmen - especially the 2nd District's Lee Terry and the the 3rd District's Adrian Smith - have been slow to this realization or are simply incapable of operating in any atmosphere but the toxic hyperpartisanship of the last decade.

Over the next two years, these men have a choice: change or defeat. But, we have to make those the stakes by holding their feet to the fires of truth and by helping grow the emerging majority of Nebraskans who will no longer accept empty suit, rubber-stamp Republicans who put D.C. politics before the interests of the people they represent. Terry and Smith should consider themselves warned.

Change is coming. Their time is over. Our time is now. (Even says so in the masthead.)

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"Privatizing Libraries" - Local Republicans' Extremist Agenda REVEALED

The War on Community, Part III

There is a very dangerous and reactionary element on Lincoln's city council. Some of the more embarrassing exploits of Republican Councilwoman Robin Eschliman have been reported before by the New Nebraska Network (1, 2), but the de facto, self-styled leader of the far-right wing Eschliman so well embodies remains - without a doubt - two-term Councilman Jon Camp.

Camp, who ungraciously bowed out of this spring's Mayoral race to instead seek re-election, has proven himself capable of outside-the-box thinking occasionally resulting in a useful bit of perspective on the council's actions and the city's direction. But, despite his capacity to think and speak for himself, a look at Camp's statements and his record quickly reveals a man whose guiding principle is greed and whose values do not represent the voters of Lincoln - Republican or otherwise.

For a taste of Camp's particular brand of self-righteous, right-wing extremism, you need look no further than his comments reported in Wednesday's Lincoln Journal-Star suggesting that the city of Lincoln cut spending and address its biennial budget's $9 million short-fall by privatizing the city's libraries:

“Let’s be conservative, fiscally responsible, not use smoke and mirrors,” [Councilman Jon Camp] said. “Now is the time to really hit the pavement and make meaningful cuts”....

Camp said he’s suggested lots of ways to cut spending, but “No one’s done a damn thing about it,” he said. “I’ve been outvoted”....

When [Councilwoman Robin] Eschliman suggested every city goal be evaluated to determine whether it creates revenue or not, Councilman Jonathan Cook said, “We’re not running General Electric here, we’re running … government.”

You can’t really place a value on pools, parks and libraries, he said.

That inspired Camp to suggest privatizing libraries....

Councilman [Dan] Marvin was amused by that suggestion. “That might be a 6-1 vote there,” he told Camp. “You’re a maverick, there’s no doubt about it.”

Considering that Eschliman had already targeted pools, parks, and libraries for cuts last spring, there's some question whether Camp would really be alone in supporting so ridiculous an idea as privatizing libraries.

Such would be an exercise in pure idelogical extremism with no concern at all for the public good. Though easily laughed away by the Democrats who still hold a slim majority on Lincoln's city council, this is the real Jon Camp we're seeing here, and there's nothing funny about him.

The sort of extremism we've seen from Camp and Eschliman in the last year shoud not be brushed aside and tolerated. It should be talked about and exposed for precisely what it is - an assault on the fabric of our communities. In fact, theirs is a war on the building blocks of a progressive society, violating the most basic precepts of democratic self-government and family values.

Camp is not "a maverick." He's a self-infatuated ideologue. Maybe that's better than Eschliman's empty business suit and empty-headedness, but it makes him no less dangerous to that which the people of Lincoln (and people everywhere) cherish and expect from their city government.

Until we are willing to address Camp, his like, and the threat they represent at precisely this level - speaking to voters' hopes but shaking them to the realization that their entire notion of community is in jeopardy - we run a very serious risk of, one day, having the smiles wiped from our faces and our dreams for continued progress shattered in one fell swoop.

Camp's not joking with his proposal to privatize libraries. Nor is President George W. Bush joking with each and every one of his out-of-touch positions. It's unfathomable, but they actually believe in their respective corporate-driven agendas. And, we should have learned by now that we can't afford to NOT take them seriously.

Nor can we count on the media to challenge them. We have to do it ourselves, keeping vigilant by speaking out and by reminding the people - at every turn - of those ideals and that vision of progress that is the best in all of us.

By exposing them for what they are, we reveal ourselves, our values, and our priorities. More than that, we remind the people of our common identity and the future we will make better by working together.

"Councilman Jon Camp wants to privatize Lincoln's libraries."

"Republicans want to privatize libraries."

It can be as simple as that. Tell that to the people - make damn sure they know it - and the rest will take care of itself.

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Sign the Democratic Party's Property Tax Petition

I try to avoid discussing inner-party politics as much as possible, but the action taken today by the Nebraska Democratic Party demands mention of just how excellent and exciting a choice former two-term State Senator and 1st District Congressional candidate Matt Connealy is to replace Barry Rubin as the NDPs new Executive Director.

In calling on Governor Dave Heineman to make property tax relief a top priority on the eve of his 2007 State of the State address, Connealy has not only spoken up for the not-so-silent majority of Nebraskans but has again proven why he continues to be such a respected leader.

This morning's press release from the NDP reads:

On the eve of Governor Dave Heineman’s “State of the State” address, Nebraska Democrats called on the Governor to work with members of the Unicameral to find solutions to Nebraska’s continuing property tax situation.

In Heineman’s inaugural address last week and in recent press statements, he has stated that income tax cuts and the repeal of the estate tax top his priorities for the coming year.

“Throughout the campaign leading up to November’s general election, our candidates running up and down the ballot throughout the state heard strong messages from voters regarding the out-of-control property tax rates in Nebraska,” said Matt Connealy, Executive Director of the Nebraska Democratic Party. “It was clear through these discussions that property tax relief topped the agenda of the citizens of our state.”

While Heineman states that property taxes are a local issue – their continued rise and burden on taxpayers is indeed a statewide issue. In a press conference this morning, Connealy called on Heineman to address the issue in the halls of the capitol.

“The Nebraska Democratic Party encourages the Governor to keep an eye on the ball,” said Connealy. “Repealing the estate tax and adding income tax cuts will do little to benefit the majority of our citizens.”

Connealy noted that Nebraska is fortunate to have elected many outstanding new senators representing various areas of the state in the Unicameral whose fresh ideas and enthusiasm Heineman should tap into for the betterment of the state.

Nebraska residents are encouraged to sign a petition encouraging Governor Heineman to work with state senators to make property tax relief a priority. The online petition is located on our website, http://www.nebraskademocrats.org.

That's some perfect follow-up to my previous post challenging Heineman's misplaced priorities in cutting taxes and his deceptive "tax shift" rhetoric employed with the aid of the Omaha World-Herald. Now, with the NDP's petition, you can also take direct action to make sure the people's all-too-familiar cries for property tax relief are heard in the State Capitol.

Connealy has only been in his new position for two weeks, but he is a true Nebraska patriot and public servant who will, no doubt, continue to serve his party and his state with honor and distinction in the coming months and years. This is a man who understands Nebraska and the needs of Nebraska's citizens, as evidenced by this bold but entirely practical challenge to Gov. Heineman's attempt to bully the people into embracing an agenda fitting his priorities rather than their own.

The Nebraska Democratic Party is on the rise. They seem to have found their voice again and, I dare to suggest, there are promising days ahead.

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Don't Believe Dave Heineman's "Tax Shift" Bullshit

In one week, we will begin the discussion of Nebraska's future when I deliver the State of the State Address.

That discussion will center on providing real tax relief for our citizens and moving us toward a lower tax burden through the reform of our income tax system and providing tax relief aimed at middle-class Nebraskans.

Yet I also know that there is a need for our state to have an open, honest discussion about property taxes.

Ladies and gentlemen, our efforts at the state level to address local property taxes are a tax shift, not a tax cut . . . and each one increases state spending.

We should acknowledge them for what they are . . . and move forward with an honest resolve.

-Gov. Dave Heineman's Inaugural Address (01/04/2007)

The responsibility for providing property-tax relief should be borne not by the state - which has been out of the property-tax-levying business since 1966 - but by Nebraska's multitude of local tax-levying authorities.

Sure, it's obvious that the state will continue its general policy of providing state aid to, say, the public schools. At the same time, however, the state has gigantic financial burdens, and it is foolhardy to imagine that one more in Nebraska's long line of tax shifts is going to stave off the property-tax beast.

Omaha World-Herald Editorial, The Nebraska Mirage (12/27/2006)

Nebraska needs a strategic restructuring of its tax system, as Gov. Dave Heineman has pointed out. Will Sen. Ray Janssen of Nickerson, the new Revenue Committee chairman, pursue that important goal? Or will the strong appetite in the Legislature for a property-tax "cut" - that is, for a tax shift - prevail?

Omaha World-Herald Editorial, Committee Challenges (01/08/2007)

To be honest, I'm not opposed to some targeted cuts in the state income tax to help Nebraska's middle-class families. They are taxed at the same rate as Pete Ricketts in one of the flattest and least progressive systems in the country. If Gov. Dave Heineman were to use his soon-to-be-released biennial budget proposal to push for reforms correcting this failure of principle and common sense, I would be hard-pressed to find fault with it.

But, I fear Heineman is far more likely to use any such reasonable, even necessary changes to do little more than mask a fuller agenda of tax cuts for our state's wealthiest, most privileged, and most powerful.

The middle-class will not be helped by an across-the-board cut of the income tax. Nor will they be helped by ending the state's ability to collect estate taxes. Yet, Heineman is almost certain to couch one or both of these proposals in his budget under the guise of middle-class tax relief, even though they'd result in fewer services with lower quality, only benefitting the economic elite who would be paying less for inferior services of which they already do not take advantage.

Still, I don't want to pre-judge Heineman's proposal before any numbers have even been revealed. So far, all we've gotten is rhetoric and his plan can only be scrutinized as such. The budgeting process is always one of priorities, and - to truly understand those priorities - you have to consider the dollars and cents absent the all too deceptive words of a crafty politician.

As rhetoric alone, though, one is obligated to challenge the simple lie at the heart of Heineman's attempts to advance his plan by persuading legislators to give-up their hopes of reducing property taxes.

The degree to which the Nebraska media, especially the Omaha World-Herald, has adopted Heineman's talk of property tax relief as nothing more than "a tax shift" rather than a true tax cut is downright unforgiveable. For months now, Heineman's rhetoric has gone completely unchallenged in this regard, though it lacks intellectual merit and any basis in the rational world.

First floated this summer to undermine Democratic gubernatorial challenger David Hahn's proposal for comprehensive property tax relief, Heineman's "tax shift" jive was effective against Hahn, largely because he was an underfunded candidate with no means to get his message out. The fact that there are no journalists in this state worth a damn, willing to scrutinize Heineman's rhetoric and to expose its total failure certainly didn't help either.

Heineman thinks he can now play the same game with the state legislature, bullying 22 new senators who were elected having made promises to pursue property tax relief. Here, Heineman's agenda does not mesh with the legislature's. Nor, I would suggest, does Heineman's agenda mesh with that of the people of Nebraska....except for the fact that they elected him and this was all perfectly foreseeable.

Of course, how can people be expected to vote their interests and to vote rationally when the media they trust to keep them informed and to hold politicians accountable has so lost its way? That the World-Herald and others have actually adopted Heineman's bullshit arguments of property tax relief being a "tax shift" without even pretending independence and integrity is a strong indicator of how this state ever got to the dangerous crossroads at which it now stands.

Because the state does not collect property taxes, it's easy to say they're beyond the state's control...or, at least, the state's responsibility. But, in truth, it's irresponsible for the state to exploit the artificial distinctions on which such thinking depends when the state is the only entity with the means to adequately address the people's cries for relief from this most burdensome of taxes.

Much of the revenue from property taxes is collected by local government to pay for public education, a right afforded citizens under Nebraska's constitution. With that in mind, it's just plain absurd and intellectually insulting to disregard the state's responsibility in the name of political convenience. Yet, that's precisely what Heineman and the media are asking the legislature to do.

No government expenditure and no form of revenue exists in a bubble. Any tax cut has the potential of being a tax shift because it can create a new burden that will have to be taken care of by someone else. While the state does not have immediate control over property taxes, it is - without a doubt - the government entity best situated to comprehensively tackle the underlying problems fueling so much public discontent. It's only a question of finding the will to do so, offering the kind of leadership that isn't afraid to take responsibility and to say the buck stops here.

Heineman doesn't want the buck on property taxes to stop at his desk. It doesn't fit his agenda, and he's found a cheap message about "tax shifts" he thinks he can manipulate to get his way. With the media's eager complicity, he might even be right, but don't forget for a second the total lack of leadership such a message represents.

Heineman doesn't want to have to make tough choices on education - whether raising revenue or making cuts. He just wants to be able to offer lip service support for quality education with as little liability as possible. Yet, by doing so, he leaves local governments entirely at the mercy of rising health costs, energy bills, and salary demands over which they have no real control, hence the ever-spiraling property taxes until the state intervenes and assumes some of the burden for factors over which it has a constitutional responsibility and could alone exercise some actual leverage.

State senators will have to be strong if they're to hold-out against the combined forces of Heineman and the World-Herald's irresponsibility and deception. That seems unlikely with Mike Flood at the helm, but it certainly provides the young Speaker of the Legislature an opportunity to prove his worth. Any true property tax relief that might result would be an outcome for which the people of Nebraska would long be grateful - whether it's a "tax shift" or not.

Ultimately, if the income tax really is more burdensome to Nebraskans or more inhibitive to the state's growth, then Heineman is right to focus his attentions as he has. But just because reforming property taxes is not the easiest of endeavors does not erase Heineman's responsibilities as Governor or the public's desires.

In his Inaugural address last week, Heineman called for "honest resolve" in the debate about reforming our tax structure. That's all I ask for as well. Heineman's "tax shift" rhetoric, though, puts a premium on his personal resolve to reduce income taxes (and, shamefully, eliminate the estate/aristocracy tax) at great expense to his honesty and credibility.

We deserve better, as does Nebraska and its future.

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Targeting Lee Terry

I know they've got a link on the sidebar, but I want to take this opportunity to praise the UNO College Democrats - especially Dave Sund - for getting their blog back up and running and - again - making it one of the online hotspots for those interested in Nebraska politics.

Sund has done one hell of a job over the last week taking 2nd District Republican Congressman Lee Terry to task for his hypocrisy and hyperpartisanship. Terry hasn't responded well to his new place in the House minority and has put on a pretty good display of pettiness in his floor statements and a total lack of principle with his first votes in this young Congress.

Now that the shallowness of Terry's support has been exposed in the 2006 election, he's been forced to make a choice between continued "Republican-First" extremism or providing the independent leadership that Nebraska voters expect. Clearly, he's chosen the former, revealing himself as a tired rubber-stamp with lots of ambition but only vision enough to read the scripts and play the games laid out for him by his party masters.

On ethics, earmarks, and, now, even on national security, Terry has failed to represent the values and interests of Nebraska's 2nd District voters. In fact, he's made a damn strong case for his being one of the most targeted Republican incumbents across the country in 2008 if he dares to seek re-election after a full decade of failed leadership.

Unsurprisingly, the 3rd District's Republican pool boy, Adrian Smith, has kept close to Terry and seems content to follow his pathetic example on the above issues. But, the 3rd District offers a much different dynamic than the 2nd that likely affords Smith more room for incompetence. With the emergence of what could soon prove a new 2nd District, however, Terry might just be writing his political career's obituary.

One could read into Terry's conduct that he's writing off seeking re-election and is already aiming for Hagel's Senate seat, positioning himself with his party and its base for a statewide primary battle. Otherwise, he's just being a damn fool, unable to break the habits that have served him and his constituents so poorly over the last 8 years.

So, keep up the good work, Mr. Sund. Keep holding Terry's feet to the fire - an uncomfortable position that will only become more unpleasant and, ultimately, more dangerous if he persists in these foolish partisan shenanigans that the embarrassed voters of the 2nd District will not and should not stand for at their next opportunity to be heard at the ballot box.

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Chuck Hagel Highlighted in NEWSWEEK's Presidential Hypothesis

The Washington Post has been very good to Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel over the years, from its editorial pages giving him a national platform, to long-time columnist David Broder's consistent praise, and even in its regular coverage, where a certain affinity for Hagel and his brand of conservatism has often crept into the Post's reporting.

One can assume that Hagel has been good to the Washington Post as well. A politician has plenty of ways to build relationships with a newspaper and its reporters, whether by providing choice quotes, easy access, or even the occasional leak. Considering that Hagel lived in the Washington D.C. area for nearly two decades, working on Capitol Hill and building connections in political circles and the private sector, it's entirely possible the intelligent and ambitious Hagel's ties to the Washington Post go back even before being elected a U.S. Senator in 1996.

So, it doesn't surprise that Hagel's supposedly waning Presidential ambitions are being trumpeted in this week's NEWSWEEK, my personal favorite of the news-weeklies and probably the farthest reaching outlet in the Washington Post's media empire. Not only is there a featured article that contrasts Hagel with Sen. John McCain on the Iraq war but also a column by Jonathan Alter specifically making the case that Hagel is the more attractive - perhaps most attractive - candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

First, McCain vs. Hagel on the war:

McCain, a Republican from Arizona, was a Navy bomber pilot, shot down and imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for five and a half years. He has, he sometimes says, "more scars than Frankenstein." Hagel, a Republican from Nebraska, was an Army grunt in Vietnam who won two Purple Hearts and still has shrapnel in his chest. Both men have seen the face of war up close. But on the question of the Iraq war, they are almost mirror opposites.

Hagel is "obsessed" with the war in Iraq, says his brother Tom, who served with him in Vietnam. "You can't have a conversation with him without this coming up." During Christmas, Hagel looked "markedly older and grayer than when I saw him this summer down at the beach," says Tom. In an interview with NEWSWEEK last week, Hagel teared up when he began talking about a Purple Heart ceremony he had attended in August in Lincoln, Neb. "You're sitting there thinking, Was this a waste?" said Hagel, who voted for the original congressional resolution backing the war despite raising serious doubts about whether the invasion made sense. He added, somewhat uncomfortably, that at times he wonders whether he has done enough to try to stop the war.

Hagel is not pushing for "Out Now." But he is almost angrily dismissive of the idea of sending an additional 10,000 to 20,000 troops to Iraq. "Are we going to pacify Baghdad?" he asks. "Are we going to break the militia's stronghold? Are we going to use these troops to propel or force a settlement between the Shias and the Sunnis? What's the objective of it? I will guarantee that there's going to be a lot more American casualties. And there's going to be a lot more animosity by the Iraqis." The idea that the Iraqis will respond only to more troops, he says, is "complete folly, unless you're going to kill all the Iraqis"....

Hagel and McCain are likely to be increasingly prominent spokesmen for their opposing views on Iraq. McCain is almost surely running for the Republican nomination for president, and Hagel has often been mentioned as a candidate, though he says he has yet to decide if he is running. Both men will be heard from early and often as the debate on Iraq moves to Capitol Hill this winter....

The president seems determined to defy his detractors, not to mention popular opinion. This week Bush is expected to announce a "New Way Forward" on Iraq that will call for more troops to try to bring order and political stability to Baghdad...To Bush's many critics, like Hagel, the new Iraq strategy adds up to a waste of more American lives. To Bush's smaller and dwindling band of supporters, like McCain, failure in Iraq is unthinkable. And if duty requires more sacrifice, then so be it....

The differences between Hagel and McCain transcend their war experiences. Hagel is the classic citizen-soldier, in a tradition that goes back to George Washington and to ancient times. The ideal is the Roman general Cincinnatus, who left his prosperous farm to rescue the Roman republic—but then returned to domestic life when the fighting was done....

Hagel has a long, sad face, one side of which was seared by the flash of an exploding enemy mine almost four decades ago. But he is almost gleeful when he talks about the coming debate on Iraq. He thinks Congress will awaken from its passivity and begin questioning how Bush is spending blood and treasure on Iraq. "The administration is going to be forced to come up and explain, 'Where is the money going?' " says Hagel.

He rejects the notion that the newly Democratic-controlled Congress will shy away from cutting off at least some of the funding for the war. (The somewhat cynical view on Capitol Hill is that the Democrats will let Bush have the money—and also the responsibility for a failed policy.) He foresees Congress's agreeing to pay for existing force levels—but not to send more troops. The White House, he says, can no longer bully Republican members into submission. "The Republican Party has to go through an election next year, the president doesn't," says Hagel. "There are a lot of Republicans in this conference that are very scared."

McCain, needless to say, is not one of them. He plans to push back...Both McCain and Hagel are clearly girding for battle. For these two men, the fighting is never really over.

The entire article is worth a read. Although Hagel doesn't get a cool nickname like McCain (the "American samurai"), a man couldn't buy this of sort of press, especially its likening him to George Washington and a near-mythic hero of the Roman Republic. If suddenly finding himself Senator Cincinnatus isn't enough ego-stroking to push Hagel into the presidential race, he might live up to that legend after all.

Sweetening the pot, though, is Alter's column, which Hagel's Political Action Committee has jumped on - sending it via e-mail to supporters and splashing it across its webpage - in what seems a strong indicator that Hagel will be running for President. Here's the gist of McCain vs. Hagel for President:

Let's try an elementary thought experiment for Republican Primary voters....

One Republican — we'll call him "Candidate A" — has among the highest support levels for President George W. Bush's conservative agenda in the Senate. He championed the president's 2001 tax cut, which many Republicans believe is the litmus test of today's GOP. After initially voting to give Bush the authority to go to war, he became an early and outspoken critic of the Iraq policy, a view now endorsed not just by the American public and Democrats but by Republicans as well.

Republican "Candidate B" has the inverse position. He opposed Bush's big tax cuts, one of only two Republicans in the Senate to do so (the other being Lincoln Chafee). And on Iraq he is one of the main advocates of the "surge," a plan to "win" the war with a modest influx of troops, though even many military experts say the idea won't work.

You would think that Candidate A would be a strong favorite for the nomination and Candidate B destined for political oblivion. But no. Candidate A, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, is seen as damaged goods, with little chance to be nominated. Candidate B, Arizona Sen. John McCain, is now the front runner.

The explanation is the GOP tradition of primogeniture. Since the 1950s, Republicans, unlike Democrats, have given the nomination to their firstborn son — the guy whose "turn" it is. That's McCain....

Hagel, by contrast, seems lost. After John Kerry favorably mentioned Hagel's skepticism about the Iraq war in one of his 2004 debates with Bush, he became persona non grata in his party. As recently as six months ago, any Republican lawmaker who didn't back the president on the war was in deep trouble.

But that was then. Supporting Bush on Iraq today is a liability, not an asset...Six months from now, any Republican who opposed the tax cuts but champions Bush's disastrous Iraq policy is going to have some explaining to do in early debates. When Rush Limbaugh says after the midterms that he is sick and tired of "carrying water" for Bush, Chuck Hagel is not going to be run out of the party for refusing to carry water.

For ordinary Republicans, tax cuts are an article of faith. Backing a president in a failed war is not. And Hagel's doubts about the war have more weight because of his heroic combat experience in Vietnam. In a GOP debate, McCain would not be able to use his military experience as a trump card on Hagel. But Hagel and the others would score heavily on McCain for opposing the tax cuts — even though McCain was brave and right to have done so.

The most stunning thing about the Republican campaign so far is the vacuum on the right. While McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney (a moderate Republican until five minutes ago) battle over the centrists in the party, the conservative base that actually determines the nomination remains forlorn....

[G]overnors, who normally make the strongest presidential candidates, seem a little irrelevant this time around. They aren't likely to sound as credible as senators on the nuances of Pakistani politics or the readiness of the Third Infantry Division. There's more conventional wisdom that's in danger of cracking, too. Pooh-bahs in both parties have convinced the candidates that they have to raise $100 million this year to be competitive. This is nonsense in the Internet age, peddled by consultants who need that booty for their own pockets...In presidential politics, money is an effect — it follows quickly the momentum that's generated in the rough and tumble of the "free media" campaign.

Chuck Hagel might not run. But if he does, Candidate A would be formidable. It's the issues, stupid.

There's definitely some truth to Alter's reading of the Republican field. Giuliani doesn't have a prayer for the nomination and McCain's gamble on the Iraq war - where the stakes are soldiers' lives - could just as easily be the death of his campaign as it could have its intended effect of locking-up his presumed front-runner status. Other than that, the field is wide open, and Hagel would bring some intriguing possibilities to the race.

No doubt about it, Hagel's experience on both the Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees, not to mention his service in Vietnam, would be incredible assets on the campaign trail. And, addressing Hagel's lack of financial resources, money does have a way of following hype in presidential politics, with the latter quickly taking care of the former but the former not necessarily translating into the latter.

The one hiccup for Hagel by this equation is that he might have to actively combat the ill will of Republicans who only know him (and resent him) for his outspokeness against Bush's Iraq policy. That takes more money than a lowly governor starting from scratch with the general public...although free media like this and the continued deterioration of the situation in Iraq could go a long way in leveling the playing field or even putting Hagel at an advantage.

Of course, Alter fails to take into account the fact that Hagel's being the most ardent supporter of the Bush Agenda (including Bush's tax cuts) in the U.S. Senate is not much of an asset when Bush has an approval rating of about 30%. Imagining this is all a symptom of the Iraq war is utter nonsense, even if such would be ideal for Hagel's purposes because it's one of the few issues on which he's staked an independent identity.

On Iraq, Hagel can make a consistent and powerful emotional appeal even if his voting record does somewhat strain its intellectual credibility. That still leaves eight years of Bush's unpopular and failed agenda for which Hagel can be held liable in the general election. But, in true referendum style, that's going to be the case for whomever the Republicans nominate - including McCain, who's most sheltered from Bush's full agenda as a 2000 challenger even as he's become the most exposed on Bush's Iraq policy.

It's hard to say whether Hagel is a legitimate contender in his own right or whether he's just convenient for illustrating McCain's weaknesses. The problem for Hagel is much the same as that faced by former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey in 1992. Although a very intriguing candidate on paper - a perfect "Candidate A" for political columnists to wax philosophically about and to dream up hypothetical campaigns - there's a political reality that isn't so neat and easy . . . or, at least, hasn't been in the past.

Hagel, like Kerrey before him, offers some great repackaging of a tired product that seems like it should be easy to market. But, there's "New Coke" quality to this sort of thought exercise - this "seems like" - whereby a great idea on paper that appeals to an elite class who are trying their best to figure out what appeals to the masses should immediately be distrusted.

One day, though, hype and political chatter might be enough to pave the way for victory. With the rise of blogs, the culture of celebrity, and so many forms of instantaneous communication, who knows, it might just be today. If so, Hagel certainly has a shot in 2008 and - to be honest - I think he'd be a fool not to take it.

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Nebraska Politics: More Stories Told in Numbers

Beyond the myth-shattering 2006 voting record of Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Lincoln Journal-Star also reported on the performance of the rest of Nebraska's Congressional delegation by Congressional Quarterly's standards for presidential support and party unity:

Nebraska’s other senator, Ben Nelson, was the Democrat who most often voted in line with Bush’s positions.

Nelson, re-elected last month in a landslide despite a commanding Republican voter registration advantage in the state, also emerged again as the leading opponent of his party’s agenda in the Senate. He departed from the Democratic position 63.8 percent of the time....

Nelson voted with the president 75.7 percent of the time. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana finished second among Democrats at 70.8 percent.

“Nebraska has a lot of support for the president,” Nelson said Wednesday during a conference call from Washington. “And that’s probably reflected in my voting record.”

“It’s no secret that I’m bipartisan,” Nelson said.

I would suggest to Nelson that he's over-estimated Nebraska's support for Bush and could have exercised less election-driven caution in 2006. Still, it's outrageous and deceptive for the Journal-Star's Don Walton to label Nelson "the leading opponent" of the Democratic agenda. In the do-nothing Congress of 2006, a large part of the Democratic agenda was seeing Nelson re-elected, and his voting record helped make that possible by reinforcing his independence and preventing his opponent from gaining any sort of traction on hot button issues.

Of course, I won't be so cynical to think that Nelson's support for Bush was all about winning re-election or so hopeful to think that one year of Nelson's voting like a moderate Republican has bought us 6 years as a moderate Democrat. Like it or not, Nelson is a fairly conservative guy, and, as I wrote earlier this week, every Democrat in Nebraska is going to have to continue working hard at persuading he and our fellow citizens on the issues important to us.

As for our Representatives in the House:

* Rep. Lee Terry, 2nd District, led the way with a 97 percent rating [in party unity], the same score he amassed in votes supporting Bush’s positions.

* Rep. Tom Osborne, who turns over the 3rd District seat to Adrian Smith today, supported the president 95 percent of the time and stood with his party’s majority on 94 percent of the votes in the survey.

* Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, the 1st District congressman, sided with Bush on 87 percent of the votes and with his party 89 percent of the time.

With numbers like that, it's no wonder Terry proved susceptible in 2006. Terry is not his own man, and the voters in Douglas (Omaha) and Sarpy counties know it. If Terry seeks re-election in 2008 (or Hagel's Senate seat), he'd damn well better expect to be held accountable and to be challenged like never before.

It's sad to see a good man like Osborne turned into a Republican automaton and whipping boy, especially in a year when he had nothing left to lose. Osborne's political career should serve as a precautionary tale for anyone with an independent streak who actually thinks he or she can find a home in the lock-step world of the Republican Party. Not only will you be defamed and defeated, but - as evidenced here - you'll eventually be demoralized to the point where you just do as told.

I'll have to look further into Fortenberry's votes to see where where he's broken rank. One wonders if these instances don't usually reflect his stand on the Voting Rights Act this summer, where he voted with an extemist faction within the Republican caucus, led by Iowa nut-job Steve King, against his party, his president, and our nation's principles.

Don't be fooled. Numbers are meaningless without context. While they may not lie, the stories crafted around them and the purposes to which they are used often do.

The first comment responding to the Journal-Star's report on their website reads, "I'm impressed by Fortenberry's numbers...apparently he isn't a rubber stamp."

Maybe that's true. Maybe it isn't. But - keep in mind - numbers don't tell a full story. Fortenberry isn't Nebraska's best example of a Republican rubber stamp, but he might be something even worse.

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The Paper Tiger Makes the Papers

"The Mock Maverick," from the Journal-Star website's frontpage

Following up on yesterday's article about Sen. Chuck Hagel being the most ardent supporter of President Bush's agenda of all 2008 presidential aspirants, both the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Omaha World-Herald today report on the fuller numbers from Congressional Quarterly that actually rank Hagel as Bush's biggest supporter in the entire U.S. Senate in 2006.

The LJS reports:

Despite sharp differences with President Bush on Iraq and foreign policy, Sen. Chuck Hagel was the leading supporter of the president’s agenda in the Senate in 2006....

Hagel supported Bush’s position 95.5 percent of the time, even more often than Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who finished fourth at 92.8 percent.

With Hagel on the verge of a decision whether to pursue the presidency or seek a third Senate term next year, his strong legislative support for Bush prompted words of praise from GOP State Chairman Mark Quandahl.

“Once again, Senator Hagel has demonstrated to Americans and Nebraskans alike that he is truly committed to President Bush and his policies,” Quandahl said.

“While Senator Hagel’s bold leadership has inspired serious and thoughtful policy discussions all across our country, this rating underscores his devout allegiance to the common-sense, conservative principles of the Republican Party and our commander-in-chief.”

Quandahl pretty much said what needed to be said, except he fails to recognize that Bush's agenda does not have the support of the American people or the voters of Nebraska.

The most recent SurveyUSA tracking poll from November gave Bush only a 46% approval rating in Nebraska - pathetically, still his sixth highest in the nation. Hagel's "devout allegiance" to principles and a record like that hardly speak in his favor even if it might better his lowly standing with the Republican base.

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Chuck Hagel: The Paper Tiger on Paper

2006 Votes Suggest Nebraska Senator the True Heir of Bush's Blunders

Good blogging probably requires picking one name and sticking with it to highlight the huge gulf between Chuck Hagel's public perception and his actual record. The Mock Maverick. Talk Show Hagel. Weekend Hagel. Conductor of the ALL-TALK Express. Paper Tiger.

Whatever his title, the facts pretty much speak for themselves. While Hagel has offered a voice of dissent in the disastrously ill-conceived and mismananged Iraq War, that voice has lacked even an echo of action forcing accountability and protecting our servicemen.

And, while Hagel has cast a few ideologically-sound votes against the Bush Administration's most extravagant expansions of the federal government (and its defecit), his record is one of almost unrivaled complicity in the failed agenda that has earned Bush an approval rating just slightly above 30% in national polling.

As the perfect illustration of this complicity, take a look at the numbers compiled by Congressional Quarterly (and reported by MyDD) comparing the 2006 voting records of Congressional Republicans who might seek the presidency. Contrary to his public perception, Hagel actually supported Bush more frequently in 2006 than any of the others seen as potential Republican nominees.

Name / Pres. Support Score (%) / Party Unity Score (%)
Sen. George Allen (VA) / 91 / 96
Sen. Sam Brownback (KS) / 92 / 83
Sen. Bill Frist (TN) / 93 / 94
Sen. Chuck Hagel (NE) / 96 / 84
Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA) / 92 / 94
Sen. John McCain (AZ) / 89 / 76
Sen. Rick Santorum (PA) / 86 / 92

What's most ironic is that Hagel has drawn the ire of so many Republicans with his public statements that their opinions of him, even here in Nebraska, often border on hatred. In this way, Hagel might just be one of the worst victims of his own hype and ambition in American politics. Not only would a long-shot bid for the presidency require millions of dollars he doesn't have, but Hagel would also have to overcome the perception that he's undermined the President and betrayed the Republican Party.

Being from a small, Midwestern state with little political clout, those are two very tall orders. What's funny is that any efforts to undermine Hagel's credibility with progressives and liberals - pointing out his record as a "Mock Maverick" and "Paper Tiger" - probably work to Hagel's favor, especially in heavily-Republican Nebraska.

Of course, there's a certain appeal to the idea that Hagel might actually have a chance at the Republican nomination if the voters knew his record. But, such assumptions are rather lazy intellectually and questionable in the extreme.

It's true that, under scrutiny, Hagel is not what he seems. What he is, however, is probably even worse: a man who speaks out of one side of his mouth and votes out of the other. Not to mention, a man who's enabled President Bush and Bush's disastrous, unpopular agenda every step along the way.

With Bush's approval rating as low as it is and has been for the last year, Hagel's actual record is as much of a liability as his false, media-created persona. And, in the 2008 Presidential race, these twin liabilities would prove costly in both the primary and the general election.

Paper tiger, indeed. Meow.

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Sifting Through the OPS Mess

Cartoon courtesy of Neal Obermeyer, as published in the Omaha Reader

Interwoven in the overly-complicated story behind LB1024 are threads of the very worst elements of state politics: Omaha the bully, the rural/urban split, Governor Heineman's naked political opportunism, and the legislative dominance of a single man with a very backward sense of race relations. This is a bill composed of nothing but tripwires, and charged with sorting through it is one of the least experienced legislatures in state history.

Further complicating efforts for a workable compromise is the sheer magnitude of alternative proposals that have already been advanced in anticipation of the new legislative session. Top of the stack is the now months-old plan negotiated by the superintendents of affected districts, which seeks to maintain a semblance of status-quo by shifting the focus away from district boundaries/finances and towards closing the more abstract "achievement gap". Their plan (which has seemingly been cosponsored by the World Herald's News Bureau) offers a few proposals worthy of consideration, but it's foolish to expect equitable academic performance among metro-area schools without an equitable distribution of the city's wealth, and I find the superintendents' continued faith in "voluntary integration" dubious.

While this bill offers legislators -especially the 22 incoming freshmen who had nothing to do with the passage of 1024- a consensus solution that may allow them to sidestep the "Millard Forever!" and "I (Heart) OPS" landmines, there remains one big obstacle in the road: Senator Ernie Chambers.

There is not the slightest hint that Chambers is serious about passing his most recent proposal, which would merge OPS and District 66. By his own admission he is happy with 1024 as written and this proposal seems the opening shot in an upcoming campaign against any measure that doesn't offer Omaha's black community autonomy over their home district. Chambers' argument that Westside is "a white enclave" that should be considered unacceptable to opponents of his plan to create racially identifiable school districts has rhetorical merit, but his intention is clearly to clutter the debate and prevent other suggestions from overshadowing his own.

The only way forward is for legislators to ignore these attempts by Chambers and the superintendents alike to distract the public and change the terms of debate. There are two fundamental issues at play that must be confronted directly for any compromise to succeed. The first of these is money. The creation of a learning community that would pool resources from all metro area schools seems a perfectly reasonable solution to this problem, and there are hopeful signs in the superintendents' negotiations that they will begin to coordinate their efforts to a degree that will reduce administrative costs and minimize redundant operations.

The second issue that must be confronted is race. In this area Omaha has one of the saddest legacies of any city its size outside of the South. Witness the Race Riot of 1919 that resulted in the still prevalent segregation between white "West O" and black "North O". Witness the nightriders who terrified and intimidated the family of a young Malcolm X. And witness the documentary "A Time for Burning", which chronicled the failure of a young Lutheran minister to integrate his Omaha church and, incidentally, launched the political career of a bright young barber named Ernie Chambers.

Today on the intersection of 24th and Lake there is a simple but beautiful memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King and a dream of his that is yet unrealized, in this city or elsewhere. LB 1024 represents an abandonment of that dream. It is intended to move race relations backward, not forward. It is underlined by Senator Chambers' sincere belief that the white man will never care about the needs or the welfare of the black man, that everyone therefore is better off just looking out for their own.

I believe he is wrong, but I will give him credit for calling the state's bluff. The schools, as currently organized, are not serving Omaha's black community. If we are serious about moving race relations forward -moving beyond our troubled past and answering the problems that still plague us today- then we need to put our money where our mouths are. Or where our heart is. If we can't do that, if we can't commit ourselves to that cause, then we might as well just tear down that monument on Lake Street and start all over again.

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Reminder: Ben Nelson Works For YOU

A site like this has no real power with which to influence Nebraska's representatives in the House and the U.S. Senate. That's especially the case with our lone Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, who is likely 6 years removed from ever again appearing or even thinking about appearing on a ballot.

Sure, blogs can exercise some limited power in shaping public opinions and firing up one party or another's political base, but the farther removed a candidate is from an election the less weight such concerns carry. Oddly enough, elections have never really been my passion, yet - in many ways - they are the only thing that make my writing and this site remotely relevant.

Recognizing this relative weakness, it becomes more important than ever that common Nebraska citizens make themselves heard on the issues about which they are passionate. The New Nebraska Network supported Ben Nelson's re-election with every ounce of its online being not only because he was a better choice than the alternative but also because I respect Nelson and take him at his word that he has been and will be a voice for all Nebraskans.

Of course, he's still a Democrat, and I hope he will be more emboldened to vote with his party's leadership in the coming Congress after his stunning landslide victory in November. But, this hope is not one upon which Nebraska Democrats can truly rely. While Nelson has been rewarded and entrusted with a very powerful position on the Appropriations Committee that will no doubt maximize his influence and benefit the people of Nebraska, there is little in Nelson's history that suggests his loyalty to the Democratic Party goes very far beyond the label he wears.

Maybe that's as it should be, but it's certainly a sobering and inconvenient realization when Democrats have returned to power and stand on the verge of true victory by keeping faith with the American people and enacting - at long last - a legislative agenda about which they can be truly proud. Although it pains me to admit as much, Nelson could still prove a roadblock to much of that agenda. That's especially the case with ailing South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson convalescing in a Washington D.C. hospital. For the time being, in the U.S. Senate, Democrats hold only a 50-49 majority, just when there is the most potential and the greatest need to define themselves and prove their character to the voters.

Every vote counts in the Senate. By Senate rules, each member already wields quite substantial influence and independence. This may, however, be doubly the case for Nelson. At the end of the day, Nelson has largely kept faith with the Democratic Party. He lived up to his end of the bargain, locally and nationally, by wearing the Democratic Party's colors into battle and winning re-election against a scarily well-funded but thankfully incompetent opponent. With that accomplished, Democrats appear to have little leverage. There were no promises of party fidelity on the campaign trail. Quite the opposite, in fact. Besides protecting Social Security and raising the minimum wage, most of the issues that dominated the election actually put Nelson outside of the Democratic maintream, and there's no honest reason to expect him to fall in line. That wasn't what he was elected to do.

This is not an expression of regret or remorse. I'm just admitting that there are likely to be significant frustrations ahead. In victory, Nelson's greatest asset - his independence - becomes Democrats and progressives' greatest liability. Those with ideas otherwise are likely to suffer for the disillusionment on its way.

But, don't get me wrong - there is reason to hope. While we're in no position to ever take Nelson's votes for granted, there's also no reason to write them off entirely. Our work simply didn't end on Election Day. It falls to us to do everything we can to make Nelson's independence and assumed open-mindedness work for us.

If Nelson is to be our voice, we must make ourselves heard. He has to know what we think and where we stand. And, we can not possibly do enough to persuade other Nebraskans to our causes - with letters to the editor, political rallies, testimony before the state legislature, coffee shop discussions, even writing on blogs - thereby making it that much easier for "Nebraska's Senator" to vote with that conscience that has kept him a proud Democrat through all these years.

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Our Lost Opportunity to Expose Nebraska GOPs Extremism

Now that our somewhat entertaining but not particularly enlightening discussion about the feasibility and desirability of a national sales tax has winded down, I'm actually more convinced than ever of just how preposterous a proposal it truly is. It's not a good idea for America or the right idea for Nebraska...which shouldn't surprise after the expert framing of the issue by Sen. Nelson's reelection campaign, turning challenger Pete Ricketts' mere openness to the idea into a disastrous political liability.

This does, however, raise one essential question: considering how effective the national sales tax was in portraying Ricketts as out-of-touch with Nebraska voters for wanting to shift the tax burden onto the working class to benefit billionaire families like his own, why didn't Nebraska's 2006 Democratic Congressional challengers do more to piggy-back on the issue to make it work for their own campaigns?

At the very least, incumbent Representatives Jeff Fortenberry and Lee Terry, along with Congressman-elect Adrian Smith, should have been forced by their opponents and the media to choose whether they would take the idea off the table as Ricketts famously refused to do. The fact that they could escape the 2006 political season without committing one way or the other (and accepting the consequences) is not only a failure of the campaigns they faced but of the entire citizenry who lost their best opportunity to force these men to carve out an honest position for which they could be judged and held accountable.

Nebrask FairTax provides a "Congressional Score Card" that reads accordingly:

* Ben Nelson – Completely misrepresenting the FairTax in his re-election campaign. Unabashed #1 FairTax-enemy in Nebraska.

* Tom Osborne – Officially listed as leaning AGAINST.

* Jeff Fortenberry – Officially listed as leaning TOWARD, but not committed yet.

* Chuck Hagel – Officially listed as un-committed. Running for President so he really owes us a position.

* Lee Terry – Officially listed as un-committed. Has personally told NE volunteers that he supports a ‘flatter’ Income Tax instead.

It's unfathomable that Fortenberry could get through the campaign season without being called out for his supposed support of so dangerous a scheme as a national sales tax. Considering the flack Ricketts took throughout the summer for holding a similar position, it's hard to understate the lost opportunity of turning this into a multi-pronged, party-defining issue by which down ballot candidates could have gained some early, much-needed momentum.

No mention is made on Nebraska FairTax's website of Adrian Smith's position, but he often spoke in favor of a broad overhaul of the tax system, providing no real specifics. Smith did, however, bring Iowa Congressman Steve King, the defacto leader of the Republican Party's "Right-Wing Wacko" caucus, to Nebraska to campaign on his behalf. No surprise, King is the most vocal supporter of the "FairTax" in Congress.

Considering the lengths to which Smith went to avoid taking a public stance on this unpopular idea, it seems safe to say he'll be following the lead of King and Fortenberry rather than Osborne and Nelson. That we were not more vigilant in demanding honesty and accountability from Smith in his bid for elected office leaves me ashamed as an activist, a Democrat, a journalist, and a citizen.

We let ourselves down with this one. Absent Nelson's stature and his campaign's funding, the same opportunity will not present itself in 2008. But there are lessons to be learned in terms of unity, constant vigilance, and foresight that are universal and eternal. We must recognize those and take them to heart if our passions are ever to translate into significant and sustainable Election Day victories.

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