In the elections of 2004, when many Nebraskans were misguidedly attempting to be patriotic in backing the President due to the fear tactics used by the Republican Party in the run up to the ballot castings, Bush carried the state by a wide margin, taking sixty four percent of the vote.
But as time has gone on and the lies of the administration as well as the Republican Party in general become so transparent that they may as well be made of glass, the voters in Nebraska are turning towards the Democrats in an attempt to right the ship of state.
No longer considered to be just the bumbling farm hands that politicos have usually assigned to the state's voters, Nebraskans find themselves in the unique position of bucking the entire established election grid of red state/blue state mentality, and in doing so, may help to bring other Mid-Western states along with them. Nebraska is but the first domino that may be about to fall.
A perusal of several local and state message boards, and social networking sites shows voter grumblings and dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, and what many are calling their 'stay the course mentality'. Making matters worse is the presumptive nomination of John McCain, who is seen by Independent voters in Nebraska as a bumbling buffoon with no plan whatsoever to get the nation out of the mess we are in.
Take for instance the upcoming vacant seat of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. As time goes on and Mr. Hagel admirably was one of the few Republicans in the Senate to part with the Bush policies, the Democratic candidate Scott Kleeb, is poised to be the winner of that particular race. Although still in the primary stages, his major opponent for the Democratic nomination is Nebraska businessman Tony Raimondo, who switched parties before the primary, from Republican to Democrat.
No one is buying the attempt to rig the election this time around though. Nebraskans learned their lesson from the Joe Lieberman debacle in Connecticut, where he ran as a Democrat, was voted out, then voted back in as an Independent, but ended up shafting Connecticut voters by pushing the Republican agenda. So Kleeb would seem to be the candidate who will go up against Republican Mike Johanns, Nebraska's former Governor and Bush's former Secretary of Agriculture. A Bush crony to the very core, Johanns believes we must stay the course in Iraq, cut taxes even more for the wealthy, and, well, you get the picture. Surveys done by Nebraska's two main newspapers, the Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World Herald show that not only does Kleeb have the advantage among Democratic voters, but swing voters such as Independents and on the fence Republicans as well.
Upcoming gubernatorial elections have Republican Jon Bruning, Nebraska's Attorney General, as the only announced candidate thus far. But it doesn't really matter who runs against Bruning, another Bushie who just refused to enforce Nebraska's anti-discrimination laws because he doesn't agree with the law. Whichever Democrat runs against this would be state dictator will win. Only the far right fringe will vote for Bruning, and that group is growing smaller and smaller by the day.
Nebraskans support Obama as their Presidential candidate over both Clinton and McCain. One of the main reasons for the choice of Obama over Clinton was the fact that only Obama came to speak to Nebraska voters before the state primary, an event that drew more than 10,000 people in Omaha, while Clinton didn't feel that Nebraska was important enough to bother with. Guess who won the state's Democratic primary? They choose Obama over McCain for the simple fact that McCain has no plan for the economy, wants to continue and widen the wars we are in, is seen as the worst flip-flopper in decades, and is generally regarded as senile among the voters, especially the younger voting bloc in Lincoln.
With Nebraska poised to do a complete about face when it comes to voting either Republican or Democratic this upcoming election cycle and even the next, other bordering states are watching the trend closely. The people are 'bitter'. They're bitter about a government that has enriched it's elite friends and multi national corporations, while their stalwart supporters have been subjected to terror tactics to garner votes, shafted at every turn in the form of fuel prices spiraling out of control, and now being faced with the possibility of not being able to provide for their families in this, the food basket of America. Yes, Mid-Western voters are bitter all right. Bitter at being suckered time and time again by a political party that promises them the world, but delivers nothing save for division among the People and empty dinner plates for the region's lowest paid workers.
Don't believe the media pronouncements of this state is a traditional 'red' state, or that state is a traditional 'blue' state, because they have no idea of what they're talking about. They get their information from 'polls'. Check out your local web message boards, chat rooms, and blogs to take the pulse of any certain area. If the media did it now, there would be no more talk of the Republicans gaining ground due to the Democratic nomination process. And everyone would be surprised at the upcoming possibility of a voter revolt in the so called traditional 'red' states. When the elections do occur, don't be surprised to see the Republican 'red' state strongholds suddenly lighting up the television maps in nice cool blue.
Seed Newsvine
No comments:
Post a Comment