Nelson still pondering re-election decision

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: The Lincoln Journal Star

Sometime during the Christmas holiday season, Sen. Ben Nelson will make his decision.

Will he be a candidate for re-election next year or will he not?

"I'll sit down with my family to discuss the future," Nelson said Tuesday during a telephone interview. "They are my sounding board. I value what they say."

Nelson said he will weigh his family's views along with a personal judgment on "whether I believe I have a role to play in dealing with a very divided Congress in a very divided country, whether I could be constructive in finding some solutions, whether I am convinced I can be a positive force for the following six years."



Read more: http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/article_0473f062-6c84-55f4-9171-eab01b7bcd5d.html

[tcaudilllg]

1. Please don't run.

Give us a chance for a real Democrat, damn it.

[lsewpershad]

2. Time

for a real Democrat to replace this republicon in dem clothing.

[spartan61]

3. Mr. Nelson, you have done enough damage.

Time to call it quits.

[joeglow3]

4. I see 3 people who don't understand politics in Nebraska have posted

Nelson is the best we can hope for. If he does not run, you are handing a GUARANTEED victory to the right. While he suck on a national scale, he at least serves one purpose: giving us 1 more (D), putting us closer to setting the agenda in Congress.

[Beavker]

9. -1

Come on...

It's irrelevant really whether there is a D or an R or an I after the asshole's name. He votes Repug. It's almost worse, because I have to vote for that chimp and yet he supports nothing that I support.

So as an uninformed, moron, Nebraska dimwit Democrat, I would like to see him go away. At least the media won't keep talking about the Democrat 'majority' failing to get it done, when frankly these Blue Dogs are Republican on 90% of the issues. I'd rather have 40 liberal dems in the Senate than 60 Dems with 20 Blue Dogs. It's dishonest at best that they claim to be Dems.

[TheWraith]

15. It's quite far from irrelevant.

And apparently you are uninformed if you think Nelson votes "Republican on 90% of the issues." People here still need to learn that the worst Democrat is ten times better than the best Republican. Take a look at the record:

Voted YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending. (Jul 2009)
Voted YES on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (May 2009)
Voted YES on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package. (Feb 2009)
Voted YES on $60B stimulus package for jobs, infrastructure, & energy. (Sep 2008)
Voted NO on paying down federal debt by rating programs' effectiveness. (Mar 2007)
Voted NO on $40B in reduced federal overall spending. (Dec 2005)
Strongly favors requiring companies to hire more minorities. (Sep 2000)
Supports “Sexual orientation protected by civil rights laws”. (Sep 2000)
Voted YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Rated 60% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
Opposes parents choosing schools via vouchers. (Sep 2000)
Voted YES on additional $10.2B for federal education & HHS projects. (Oct 2007)
Voted YES on $5B for grants to local educational agencies. (Oct 2005)
Voted YES on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. (Mar 2005)
Voted YES on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors. (May 2001)
Voted YES on funding student testing instead of private tutors. (May 2001)
Voted YES on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction. (Apr 2001)
Rated 100% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes. (Dec 2003)
Voted YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation. (Jun 2008)
Voted YES on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China. (May 2008)
Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
Voted YES on making oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (Jun 2007)
Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)
Voted YES on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%). (Jun 2005)
Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
Voted YES on targeting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010. (Jun 2003)
Voted YES on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill. (Mar 2003)
Voted NO on drilling ANWR on national security grounds. (Apr 2002)
Supports tradable emissions permits for greenhouse gases. (Aug 2000)
Keep efficient air conditioner rule to conserve energy. (Mar 2004)
Set goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. (Jan 2007)
Supports More Federal Funding for Health Coverage. (Sep 2000)
Voted NO on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts. (May 2011)
Voted YES on regulating tobacco as a drug. (Jun 2009)
Voted YES on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program. (Jan 2009)
Voted YES on overriding veto on expansion of Medicare. (Jul 2008)
Voted NO on means-testing to determine Medicare Part D premium. (Mar 2008)
Voted YES on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility. (Nov 2007)
Voted YES on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D. (Apr 2007)
Voted NO on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000. (May 2006)
Voted YES on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics. (Nov 2005)
Voted YES on $40 billion per year for limited Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Jun 2003)
Voted YES on allowing reimportation of Rx drugs from Canada. (Jul 2002)
Voted YES on allowing patients to sue HMOs & collect punitive damages. (Jun 2001)
Voted NO on funding GOP version of Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Apr 2001)
Establish "report cards" on HMO quality of care. (Aug 2000)
Establish a national childhood cancer database. (Mar 2007)
Support enhanced health insurance marketplace pooling. (Apr 2008)

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/ben_nelson.htm

[Beavker]

18. Great, then lets bring him back on board then.

Thanks for giving me the exact percentages and exact details. How about issues that didn't even come to a vote because he wouldn't vote for cloture on a major, contemporary Democratic issue? I need those as well. There's more to the Senate than just a yea or nea sometimes.

I'll try to forget about the major issues during a Democratic majority that came up and he was one of maybe 2 DEMS voting against it. Some people as simple as they are, don't like seeing this in their elected official.

Some things, personally, in my own uninformed opinion as a registered Democrat in the State of Nebraska require my Senator to vote yes for. Some are just that important to me, even though they aren't for you.

And though you have all the accurate answers, some simple morons like me have to pick issues that are big to us, and make our decisions based on that.

[Beavker]

24. Good enough reason to vote no on Ben. For me.

http://politicalcorrection.org/mobile/blog/201111020011

[humblebum]

10. totally agree. nt

[Dutchmaster]

11. I felt the same way

when people on this forum were bagging on Claire McCaskill for distancing herself from Obama. Really pissed me off because it's real easy to say something like that from where you sit, but these people had and have no fucking clue about Missouri politics.

[Bandit]

20. There is simply no difference what-so-ever

Whether Republican with a D after your name or a Republican with an R after the name it means exactly the same thing except with an r there we know we won't be stabbed in the back time and time again..I believe if the right Democrat were to run they could be elected anyplace, even Nebraska...

[joeglow3]

21. When it is the difference between 49 and 50 seats in the Senate, it means a lot. nt.

[Bandit]

22. Right....ever heard of something called filibuster

It has been pretty much in place since 2006.....Unless there is a ten person swing it matters not..

[joeglow3]

23. 2 comments

1. It means a hell of a lot when setting the agenda.
2. I could make the same comment about 59 & 60 seats (which played out recently).

[davidwparker]

5. His not being returned is the goal. Not running, would

allow a Democrat the opportunity to pick up the seat.

[TheWraith]

16. Nebraska is not going to elect a Democrat that DU would be happy with.

At best, you have the choice between a conservative Dem and a Republican.

[NorthCarolina]

6. If he does, he should run as a Republican because he sure as hell

isn't a Democrat.

[valerief]

7. That POS helped to ruin our country. nt

[kenfrequed]

8. There are only a few possibilities

It is possible he is holding out to get support for some of his pork from fellow democrats.

Or he will pull an Evan Bayh and hold out till the last minute and take the money donated to his campaign and leave the Nebraska Democratic party without a proper candidate.

[Pab Sungenis]

12. Please don't.

In fact, please just resign and go home now.

[blueclown]

13. As was shown during the stimulus and health care bills..

... all Democrats aren't made the same. Certain Democrats decided to obstruct the President's agenda. I'd rather loose that seat than have to fight within our own party on major issues. At least we know where the Pukes stand. Ben Nelson caucuses with the Democratic Party, but has provided more resistance to that party than any other Senator. Put up a progressive candidate in Nebraska, and if he loses, oh well.

[FreeBillClinton]

14. How can we get rid of bad democrats if we can't even get rid of the horrible ones?

People like this is why it's so hard to convince many OWS protesters that the democratic party is even worth saving.

[SoapBox]

17. I would rather just plain be rid of this DINO.

...he's a phony Dem...if the LEMMINGS in his state vote in a GOPBagger...then so be it.

Time to have real and true Dems/Libs/Progressives...and now I'm adding, OWS candidates.

[truebrit71]

19. Just go away...

...the only solutions you've been 'constructive' in is when you give the gop everything they want...

Do us all a favour and stay the fuck home...