Nebraska's 3rd District (OMG!)

[huskerlaw]

Who's Scott Kleeb...and why should you care?

The man's name is Scott Kleeb. He's a Democrat, running for the House of Representatives in Nebraska's 3rd District. For those unfamiliar, Nebraska's 3rd District covers the Western half (or more) of the state. There are no cities in this district. It's made up of small towns, farms and ranches. As such, it is chock full of Republicans.

Nebraska itself hovers somewhere around the 5th most conservative state in this country. But for the 3rd district, Nebraska would almost be purple (thank you, Lincoln).

With that in mind...check this out:

Scott Kleeb Takes Substantial Lead in Third District Race (http://www.scottkleeb.com/news/20061030.php)

A new poll released by the Kleeb for Congress Campaign Office today shows that Scott Kleeb has taken a substantial lead over Adrian Smith among likely voters.

The new poll shows that, among "likely voters," Scott Kleeb now leads Adrian Smith 46% to 40%. Among "definite voters," Scott Kleeb leads 48% to 40%.

Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates conducted 404 phone interviews among likely voters in Nebrask'as 3rd Congressional District on Sunday, October 29. The marge of error for the entire sample is +/- 4.88%.

More at the link.

This is GOOD NEWS. So very good. If a Democrat can win in Nebraska's 3rd district, then basically nothing is off the table. It probably doesn't hurt that this guy is so cute he could have been a supporting actor in Brokeback Mountain. He's young, he's cute, he's Ivy League educated...and all the lonely rancher's wives and closeted gay ranchers are apparently voting for him in droves. Lovin' it.

[acmavm]

1. Great! Get Esch and Kleeb in, get rid of the morons in there now.

[Nimrod2005]

2. k

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Damn, he IS cute!

Looks like that AND a democrat? Whoa!

[Pachamama]

23. Cute? He's GORGEOUS!!!!!

Yummy....:9

[GardeningGal]

4. Excellent!

Is Smith the incumbent or is this an open seat?

[Joe for Clark]

5. Thanks for posting this!!

I feel a lot better about charging up my credit card for candidates I don't really know - except they have a D after their name and good recomendations from people I trust.

It is ALL worth it on Tuesday.

Joe

[kstewart33]

6. He's the best looking Dem candidate I've ever seen.

And looks count.

[Pachamama]

30. I completely agree....and he's smart too!

:bounce:

[undeterred]

7. I wonder if he is related to DU's Kleeb of the Lounge...

:hi:

[WI_DEM]

8. and Bush is going there this weekend, a district the GOP has

held for 48 years!

[huskerlaw]

9. Hahahaha

and the Repubs think that a visit from Bush is going to HELP? :rofl:

On edit: Oops, sorry! I didn't see your thread on, well...exactly this topic.

[bluestateguy]

10. Kleeb is to be commended for a valiant race

But I am not ready to celebrate anything yet. This district is very Republican and conservative, and Bush is popular enough there that he and his boss, Dick Cheney, are campaigning there for the Republican. In time a lot of people may just go back to their natural party.

Remember the 1996 Senate race? Ben Nelson had a huge lead over Chuck Hagel and it melted away in October as voters went back to their party (Republican). Hagel won by 10. In 2000, the same thing nearly happened to Nelson again, but Nelson won by 2.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the DCCC is in this race with money, and by all means make the GOP campaign to nail down seats that they should have locked up months ago. That's that much less time the GOP can spend in Ohio or New York. That's the 50 state strategy: campaign everywhere, even if you don't win everywhere because you expand the playing field and put the other guys on the defensive more often.

[huskerlaw]

11. Oh, I agree

I'm not in any way saying that Kleeb is a shoe-in. My point was that with poll numbers like that, he CAN win.

The mere fact that a Democrat is a contender in the 3rd district is amazing. It really doesn't get much more conservative than that. We should be celebrating the fact that a Democrat is even a player in this race, let alone apparently winning it. Really the moral of this story is that we shouldn't count any districts out.

And yes, I'm thrilled that the DCCC took notice and is supporting Kleeb.

[Peace Patriot]

18. Yeah, we know all about Chuck Hagel and his e-voting machine company,

which now "counts" about half the votes in the nation, using TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code--the other half "counted" by its brethren company, Diebold.

Funny thing how "huge leads" of Dems over Repubs somehow get "melted away" on election day.

Scott Kleeb v. Adrien Smith is an open race, by the way. Tom Osborne, the popular (Repub) Cornhuskers' coach, vacated the seat to run for governor. With leads in the polls such as Kleeb is showing, there really should be little question of Kleeb winning. Why is there?

There also should be investigations into why Dem votes run so far behind Dem registration on election day, while Repubs don't. See "II. Political Landscape: A. The State in General: http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Nebraska

"Democratic turnout state-wide was lower than Republican, and underperformed Democratic registration. Black North Omaha and Hispanic South Omaha barely even bothered to show up in token numbers. Meanwhile, suburban Republicans showed up in large numbers to vote." (--in 2002.)

I come from downhome Nebraska people, on one side of the family, and I have a very strong feeling that Nebraskans are being robbed of true representation--and that the robbery is directly attributable to TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY vote "counting" by ES&S, a corporation that was initially funded by rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon foundation (which touts the death penalty for homosexuals, among other things). I think the Republican stranglehold on Nebraska is artificial. I don't think they like having Bushites rob our future to the tune of $10 TRILLION any more than the rest of us do; nor sending young people off to be cannon fodder in Bush Cartel oil wars. They are somewhat conservative in their views (a conservatism that includes a large element of "live and let live" on social issues). But what the Republicans have become under Bush is not conservatism. It is some weird offshoot, which doesn't at all fit with real conservative values--many of which I agree with--such as CONSERVING your community's resources, careful planning for the future, reliable banking institutions, reliable pension funds, fairness in the justice system, decent wages, help for the poor, honesty in politics, lawful behavior by government officials, and clean government.

I hope Nebraskans realize that the great UN-balance in our government system right now--which long ago should have righted itself--has been created by DISHONEST means. And I hope to God that, if Kleeb loses, Nebraskans--and all of us--rise up and throw these rigged voting machines onto the trash heap where they belong!

[NEDem]

25. oh, never mind

It's a waste of time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. What terrific news, my dear huskerlaw!

It does give me hope, a lot of it!

Here's another race I will be watching.....

Keep us informed, OK?

He is cute, but more than that, he is intelligent!

:toast:

On edit: K&R

[huskerlaw]

15. I will keep you informed

One of my best friends is the president of her county's chapter of the Nebraska Dem Party. She's been sort of keeping me up to date.

It sounds like there are a few other state-wide races that are mighty close.

If Nebraska can swing Dem, so can everyone else! ;)

[chat_noir]

13. Kleeb at Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/tag/Scott%20Kleeb

[liberal N proud]

14. Oh, the times they are a changing

[wakeme2008]

16. I will say it again,, how many secret Repug female votes

will he get

[OKNancy]

20. yummy

[Oilwellian]

26. Oooo la la!

Me likey. :D

[Pachamama]

29. Many, many, many, many....

I wish I lived in Nebraska...just to attend a rally with this hunk....wow....

:loveya:

[Surya Gayatri]

17. Ex-Nebraskan here...born & bred

Having lived & worked in North Platte and Scottsbluff for a few years, I

have hands on experience of the "redness" of the 3rd District. This is

astounding news. GO KLEEB. He sounds like a sterling candidate who will do

Nebraska proud in D.C. SG

[Tom Joad]

21. I visited Norfolk ... and Meadowgrove.... great place...

My dad showed me the farm his grandmother worked. Got family buried in those parts.
Many of those towns are dying now. No wonder they feel a need for change.

[lyonn]

19. Cool! nt

[Odin2005]

22. The return of the Prairie Populists?

:woohoo:

Where's my pitchfork? This rural American wants to impale those Neo-Con bastards!

[NEDem]

24. I'm sitting here in Lincoln

and I still can't fathom that the repubs are having to call in the calvary for NE's 3rd district. Its like 99.9% republican out there. (and I'm not exagerating)

This is without a doubt the single most unfathomable thing I've EVER seen in this state. Nothing even comes close.

[huskerlaw]

27. I lived in Lincoln until

last October. I have lots of family out by Valentine.

I'm shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. The NE 3rd has to be one of the most solidly Repub districts in the entire country.

And yet...it appears to be more than in play. We might actually win. Totally unfathomable.

[Pachamama]

28. I went to a big fundraiser w/ Clinton on Wednesday and this is one of the things he talked about

Said that the White House is worried and sending out the cavalry and Bush himself to go there. He said it was "Bright Red" in that district and yet the polls were showing that Kleeb may actually win!

I immediately came home and went to Scott Kleeb's website...upon which my jaw nearly hit the floor! I confess I melted when I saw him in one of the ads that are running on TV in Nebraska wearing his jeans and riding his horse....sigh....and he's smart and well-educated to boot....sigh again....

:kick:

[Go Big Red Huskers]

31. HOPING MY VOTE COUNTS FOR ONCE!!!

Here I sit in Nebraska's 3rd district, awaiting the miracle I am afraid to hope for...the miracle has a name...it's SCOTT!

"W" will be here tomorrow - here in the town that I have lived most of my life...and I am torn. On one hand I am so proud of the Kleeb crew that has made the President take time out of his tour to come to the middle of our red state...and at the same time hoping that he no longer carries weight to make people change their votes...

Each one of you should say a prayer for us on Tuesday! There are democrats in Nebraska's 3rd district...and we have been waiting so long!

To tell the truth...I have not spoken to anyone who is going to vote for Smith...I think (knock on wood), Kleeb might actually win...

:)