Big Surprise coming from the betrayor in the Senate.

[FarmerRick]

One of the speakers said it was 1800 people, same figure in the Omaha daily rag.

The Music Hall was mostly full, but should have been overflowing into the streets with 180,000 people.

I just don't understand the apathy of many people anymore, it's like they don't even care what is happening to this country.  


One good thing, I did get to speak with Senators Price, Lautenbaugh, and Fulton for a few minutes each, face to face.

[RLMoeller]

I just sent Ben an email wishing him a happy retirement.

Rod

[bullit]

Fellas... Nelson's action should not be a surprise to anyone.  He knew what he was doing.  He has thumbed his nose at Nebraska knowing full well the consequences. He will be remembered as "the vote", so that is his legacy. He will be elected out office in 2012.  He figures so what....he will be 70 something, be asked to sit on several corporate boards at $100+K/year, live off his Senate and NE state retirement (and any unused campaign funds), and likely have a bridge in Omaha named in his "honor". 
Until the GOP starts playing by the Dem rulebook, this crap will continue....

[fathertime]

more nelson bs -
http://www.cnsnews.com/cnsnewstv/v/Gd6UZu2GSU

'Not a constitutional scholar'?

[Eagle1]

Listened to Earl on Lincoln Radio this morning. Commenting on only having a couple hours of sleep. "We had an important vote to get to at 1:00 am because the Republican's are being mean" he says. When asked about being the deciding vote he stated that his was just one of 60 votes. Seems Earl is humble.
BYE BYE Earl!

[Roper]

My guess is that he isn't planning on running after this term, just doesn't want to tip his hand yet.

[DaveB]

Letter I wrote to Osama ben Nelson this morning. Not expecting a reply though.


Dear Mr Nelson,

I am disgusted with your complete and utter disregard for the people of this great nation. You have voted for a health care bill that will do no good for anyone in America. You had the opportunity to do the right thing by the citizens of Nebraska and all of America.

You go on public television and said that the polls showed an even split on the ridiculous heath care bill that even YOU have not read in its entirety. We all know that the closest poll in Nebraska showed that more that 60% of the people were against health care reform in the way it was proposed.

You call this a party thing, dear sir; I am a republican that voted for you in the last election, you used to listen to the people, now with your time in office you obviously have found that the bribes and handouts are far more important to you.

It would be appreciated by at least 70% of the population that you step down from your post and allow someone to support the people of Nebraska.

I also hope that you find somewhere other than Nebraska to finish out your retirement as you are no longer welcome in this state.

Sincerely,
DaveB

[ScottC]

Doesn't appear Ben is alone in this manure field - did you see how the Dems 'encouraged' each other to vote by each getting something in the pie?

Harry Reid said that is how politics are done in DC: "by compromising..." 

So tell me, if you only talk with your friends and give them gifts, how is that compromising???

We just witnessed the true ilk of these 'people' (believe me, there are lots of other more suitable titles) - the entire country should be flooding all their phone lines and shutting them down.

Disgusting to say the least.

[SBarry]

I think it is time we work with the Unicameral to enact legislation that would allow us to recall our senators and congressman. Currently we do not have that ability. Three more years of this jackass combined with the jackass in the White House, and we are screwed. Look at the damage done to America already, and he is not even 1/4 done with his term.

[DJPeter]

SBarry, are you serious? We currently have no avenue to recall our Congressmen even when they are complete jack-asses? That is the complete definition of what is wrong with this whole process of Washington politics.

[SBarry]

I did a google search, Nebraska does not have the ability, some states do. The climate could be right to get Senator Christensen to introduce the legislation soon. The reason I looked? a recall of Ben Nelson would make national headlines. The reason? His votes in the last year, not representing his constituents, and particularly his votes on Sotomayor, Sunstein and Health Care.


Now the jackass is mentioning removing the medicaid perk, the supposed reason for his vote being sold. That shows Ben-Dover-Nebraska Nelson voted purely for himself and the future for him when he is voted out in 2012. He has probably been promised a cushy job after his defeat, if he even has a thought about running again. 

I knew there would be some antigun legislation in the health care bill, buried so deep that it would be nearly impossible for anyone to find, and I was right. Making gun owners pay higher premiums was in there, and Reid had to remove it for someone to get their vote. I wonder if it was Ben?

[Dan W]

I knew there would be some antigun legislation in the health care bill, buried so deep that it would be nearly impossible for anyone to find, and I was right. Making gun owners pay higher premiums was in there, and Reid had to remove it for someone to get their vote. I wonder if it was Ben?

http://gunowners.org/a122309.htm

  ?Score one for the Gun Owners of America ?.? Slate, December 20, 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

You guys have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas. Our efforts together in lobbying against ObamaCare have netted some positive gains, and that has the political left up in arms.

The writers at the ultra-liberal Slate magazine are beside themselves that an organization like the Gun Owners of America was able to move the Senate to include protections for gun owners.
According to Slate on December 20:

   

Score one for the Gun Owners of America, a lobby group positioned well to the right of the National Rifle Association?. [T]o pacify GOA, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (who represents the gun-loving state of Nevada has inserted into his ?manager's amendment? a section titled ?Protecting 2nd Amendment Gun Rights.? It states that no wellness program implemented under health reform may require disclosure or collection of any information relating to gun ownership.

Medical information has already been used to deny -- without due process or trial by jury -- more than 150,000 military veterans the right to buy firearms.

Senator Reid tries to appease Gun Owners; leaves naysayers out on a limb

In the face of all this abuse, Senator Reid was pressured by GOA and his constituents into making a face-saving move. He wanted to silence the pro-gun community?s objections, so he took steps to strip the bill of any gun rights concerns.

But what a delicious irony this created. Prior to Senator Reid?s Second Amendment ?fix,? many Senators had been telling their constituents for months that there were no Second Amendment concerns in the ObamaCare legislation -- and now, Senator Reid left them out on a limb.

?There is no mention of ?gun-related health data? anywhere in the Senate?s health reform bill, and there is nothing in the bill that would result in any such data being reported to the government,? said Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) to one constituent. ?I support the Second Amendment and will continue to uphold the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms.?

Senator Casey supports the Second Amendment? What a laugh! Has Senator Casey seen his voting record on the GOA website? This year, he?s voted wrong on gun issues over 70% of the time.

Then there?s Democrat Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico: ?It is my understanding that there is no discussion within the Senate concerning firearms in relation to health care.  Please be assured I will keep your comments in mind as the Senate debates comprehensive health care reform.?

Senator Bingaman, will you really keep the views of your constituents in mind? If so, then why did you vote for the ObamaCare bill? After all, more than 60% of the American people oppose it!

To listen to these and other liberal Senators, you would think there were no Second Amendment concerns in President Obama?s signature piece of legislation. But then, lo and behold, Senator Reid included language in his substitute amendment that totally undercut these Senators? excuses.

GOA lobbying saves gun owners from bureaucratic mischief

Slate then goes on to lament the other victory that GOA scored:

    [G]un owners also won another provision forbidding private insurers participating in the bill's exchanges from charging higher premiums, or denying coverage, or denying wellness discounts on the basis of gun ownership. Unlike the previous section, this one doesn't place a restriction on what government may do. It places a restriction on what the private sector may choose to do on its own. It inhibits that most holy of right-wing sacred cows: free enteprise [sic].

The socialists at Slate magazine hate free enterprise so much, they can?t even spell the word correctly. It?s reminiscent of the Fonz from Happy Days trying unsuccessfully years ago to get the words ?I was wr-wr-wrong? out of his mouth.

Yes, it?s true that GOA won a victory in this area. But GOA?s opposition to the ?wellness? regulations was not driven by an effort to help big business, as it was totally driven by opposition to GOVERNMENT REGULATION that would impinge upon gun owners.

Every draft of the ObamaCare legislation on Capitol Hill would give Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius tremendous regulatory power. And in early versions of the Senate bill, the anti-gun Sebelius could very well have mandated that gun ownership is an activity so dangerous that your insurance coverage needed to be suspended.

The Reid ?fix? prohibits companies from charging insurance premiums that would impinge upon ?lawful? gun owners, but this will leave millions of gun owners in the cold -- specifically, those honest Americans who cannot legally own firearms in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Slate, of course, didn?t pick up on these loopholes in the Reid compromise, but then, you can?t expect a liberal cheerleader for the Obama machine to be overly careful about analyzing a Democrat-sponsored bill.

So the bottom line? Yes, thanks to your constant pressure, Gun Owners of America won a skirmish in the battle against socialized health care and gained some protections for gun owners.

But also remember that the ObamaCrats never really had our interests in mind and that they never really solved all the Second Amendment problems in the health care bill. Again, even with the Reid ?fix,? it?s still possible that ATF agents could troll through your medical information and send that data to the FBI, who in turn, could use it to deny honest Americans their right to keep and bear arms -- similar to the 150,000 military veterans who have now lost their gun rights.

The Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the ObamaCare bill tomorrow. The bill is expected to pass, but the fight is far from over. So please stay tuned, as Gun Owners of America will continue to keep you abreast of the latest developments.

Thanks again for all your activism this year. It really makes our job a whole lot easier.

Have a Merry Christmas!