Phote by guardian.co.uk

By Ted Quick

Considering that the very person responsible for the targeting of conservative-, Tea Party-, church-groups and the like at the IRS is now in charge of the IRS office of Obamacare, that headline is potentially plausible.  It is logical to assume that questions such as what books do you read, what is the content of your prayers and what is in your Facebook posts, are the kinds of questions that could be asked when we conservatives apply for medical assistance under Obamacare.  While none are actually legitimate questions, they appear to be critical to those who have no moral compass.

Conservatives’ requests for tax-free status have been delayed for up to 27 months by the IRS: those same delays, under Obamacare, could result in the deaths of hundreds, thousands and possibly millions of people.  Liberals might think this fair; after all, they have ended the lives of nearly 50 million never-to-be-born probable leftist voters since Roe v. Wade and targeting conservatives by delaying medical care seems logical and could rectify that disparity.  While the IRS’s most recent game was subversive, corrupt, unethical and immoral, at least it wasn’t a matter of life and death.  But now?  One hates to consider.

It is revolting that in America, this is even a topic!

Editorial Staff

Patrick Bonnett is the past Executive Director for the Douglas County Republican Party, current Natural Resources District Board Member (NRD), and also the Executive Director of the Omaha Liberty Project. As you may remember, the Omaha Liberty Project was the main group spearheading the petition drive to overturn the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Ordinance passed by the city council aimed at giving equal rights to the LGBT community.

Conservatives felt that that the ordinance was poorly written and put another burden on businesses. The Omaha Liberty Project failed to get the necessary signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Many speculate that the group turned off would-be advocates in the business community when conversations at at least one meeting discussed gender reassignment and the fact that those in the gay community are “not born that way.” It appears to be a dead issue as the Omaha City Council and Mayor Elect Jean Stothert are not going to fight to overturn the ordinance.

Mr. Bonnett’s efforts clearly got the LGBT community and many liberal activists blood boiling, but now it seems conservative groups are none too pleased with Mr. Bonnett’s voting record on the NRD Board. A recent vote by Mr. Bonnett to approve a bond to spend nearly $43 million dollars paid for by property taxes to build a dam has many conservatives scratching their heads. Others are a bit more vocal of Mr. Bonnett’s votes as a member of the NRD Board. When Political Insiders Report reached out to Doug Kagan of Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom Doug stated “It is my opinion that Bonnett is a chameleon who votes only to further his political career.” Apparently the vote angered the Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom so much that they put out a statement putting Bonnett and seven other members on Papio Natural Resources Wall of Shame. That statement can be found by clicking papiomrnrd40 (1) Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom are a group that has been active since the 70’s with a lot of political clout in the state of Nebraska.

Mr. Bonnett has been active in conservative politics for a while and hopefully his NRD votes in the future will be less contentious. Only time will tell if the eight “aye” voters for this bond issue will be able to mend fences with Doug Kagan and Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom.

By Editorial Staff

The Nebraska Democratic Party clearly owes former U.S. Senate candidate Chuck Hassebrook a solid. Nebraska Board of Regents Chuck Hassebrook entered the U.S. Senate race with assurances that Bob Kerrey was not going to enter the race. Only a little while later Bob Kerrey had been talked into running as many, both here and in D.C., felt that he was the best possible chance for the Democrats to retain a Senate seat that would soon be vacated by Ben Nelson.

Hassebrook selflessly removed himself from the race even though Bob Kerrey reneged on his promise that ultimately cost Hassebrook his Board of Regent seat that he had held for 18 years.

We believe that Hassebrook has moved his attention from a U.S. Senate seat and has shifted his focus on the 2014 Governor’s race. We also believe that he will run whether or not Mike Flood reenters the race. Hassebrook is the current Executive Director of the Center for Rural Affairs. Hassebrook has been a steadfast voice in support of family farmers and ranchers in Nebraska.

Hassebrook has clearly demonstrated that he is a team player willing to do what is best for the Democratic Party. Perhaps that loyalty will be returned by an uncontested primary.

On the Republican side, State Senator Charlie Janssen is the only announced candidate.

By Editorial Staff

Is former Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey exploring a run for the U.S. Senate seat that will open up after Senator Mike Johanns retires? Fahey has been conspicuously involved in local politics as of late after a nearly four year hiatus. Fahey was very vocal early on in the Omaha Mayor’s race by supporting State Senator Brad Ashford over his Democratic predecessor, Jim Suttle. Fahey has since supported Mayor Suttle for reelection, and has gone so far as to support Omaha Public School Board candidate and political neophyte Woody Bradford over Democratic incumbent and OPS School Board President Marian Fey.

So why remove yourself from politics for four years and then submerge yourself back in in such a frontward facing way if you do not have higher political aspirations? We believe Fahey is being courted to run for U.S. Senate.

In 2008, polling was done to see if Fahey had statewide appeal particularly in Republican strongholds Congressional Districts 1 and 3. There is no question Fahey is a great fundraiser and likely would garner support statewide from the Democratic Party.

Clearly Governor Dave Heineman is the 800 pound gorilla in this race and his indecision has thwarted other Republicans from throwing their hats in the ring for fear of becoming sacrificial lambs. The Irony is that when famed Nebraska Football coach Tom Osborne decided he was going to run against Dave Heineman, who was the former Lieutenant Governor turned Governor at the time, Osborne was the 800 pound gorilla. An iconic figure in Nebraska and the most winning coach in school history, Osborne was also a former member of Congress who had the most lopsided victories in 3^rd Congressional district history. Those results are below.

Heineman ended up winning the election after running a masterful campaign and showing sharp contrasts on issues that, for the voters, transcended Osborne’s likability. The point is, anything can happen in politics.

The Democrats have a few candidates that could make a run but likely do not have the statewide name recognition or the ability to raise the necessary funds to gain statewide recognition. Former Nebraska Board of Regent and short lived U.S. Senate candidate Chuck Hassebrook is likely running for Governor and not the Senate. Another low probability candidate is State Senator Steve Lathrop. Former Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Mike Meister might also consider a run.

If Governor Dave Heineman does not run, the Nebraska Republican bench is deep. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, Omaha businessman Pete Ricketts, and former Nebraska State Treasurer Shane Osborn would probably have an interest and would be instant viable contenders. Current Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg would certainly give the opportunity a look, however most think he is on the brink of being a perennial candidate. Another Republican long shot candidate would be Ben Sasse who is the President of Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska.

So back to the topic at hand, would Mike Fahey give this open seat opportunity a look? The short answer is possibly. On the pro side he clearly had an interest in 2007 but did not want to challenge Chuck Hagel had Hagel run again. An open seat opened up last year when Ben Nelson decided not to run but Fahey decided to sit on the sidelines, possibly because he had not been involved in politically in the media for years. On the con side, Fahey is over 70 and perhaps at this point a gruesome statewide campaign tour is not desirable for someone who is in the best years of retirement.

Fast forward to 2014 and Johanns open seat. Fahey has been very visible as of late and there are other behind the scenes rumblings for a 2014 viable Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. This might push Fahey to give it a hard look.

Before you read this dismissively and proclaim that we are crazy, just remember it’s politics and crazier things have happened. There is some movement behind the scenes that leads us to believe that some Democrats feel that the current crop of candidates lack the ability to win in a statewide election.

Statewide Republicans outweigh Democrats to the tune of roughly 48% to 32%. Below is the latest statewide breakdown of Nebraska voter registration.

Like it or not, Fahey might be the Democrats’ best shot for the vacant U.S. Senate seat. It is clear that Washington Democratic interests would be eager to dump money into the Nebraska race if their candidate had a chance. Without Heineman in the race, Fahey could be that candidate.

By Kris Pierce-Douglas County Democratic Party Chairman

Every election we hear the slogan, “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?”  This slogan is used by all sides of the political spectrum and by incumbents and challengers alike.  So, let’s put this question to the test in relation to our mayor’s race.

Let’s begin and honestly recognize what Mayor Suttle inherited when he entered office in 2009.  Now before anyone begins the argument of “he was a city councilman and he should have known about these things”, let’s remember that Omaha has a Strong Mayor form of government as set out in our charter.  There is no councilmember that knows all the ins and outs of the day to day operations of the city, so let’s pull back just a bit on this argument for a moment.  So, back to the beginning.

On his first day, Mayor Suttle took the reins of a city where the sales tax revenues had been declining sharply for several months with no end in sight.  The Fire/Police Pension short fall was north of $600 million and the City was aware of this long before 2009[1].  The bond rating companies would announced that they will downgrade Omaha’s credit score to as low as Aaa[2] (AAA is highest then AAa and so on).

I know what you are all thinking, gee Kris this sounds like the lame excuses Obama gave when he took over the White House.  You would be correct, it sounds the same, but our Nebraska values and laws don’t allow us to have “DEFICIT SPENDING” in which we can just print and borrow our way out of this mess.

Not that anything to do with taxes and government budgets are simple, but in simple terms: the City was taking less money in (sales tax revenue), the Fire/Police Pension was requiring larger and larger payments by the City to meet those obligations and because the City’s “credit rating” was downgraded; we had to pay HIGHER interest rates on the money we borrowed (bonds).

Higher Interest on Bonds + Higher Payments to Pension + Lower Revenue = BIG HOLE

I am sure you all remember the SUMMER of 2009.  Yes that was the summer when the City was closing pools early while libraries went part-time or closed altogether.  Some of this was softened by the generosity of many great Omahans. At the same time, Mayor Jim Suttle had to present his first budget for Omaha.

He had to make some tough choices, really tough choices.  The public input at the town hall meetings and public hearings were all about “cutting the budget” and in the same breath saying “but not MY library or MY pool”.  Everyone wanted cuts, but cuts that didn’t affect them.

Jim Suttle made some very tough and unpopular decisions.  He knew the City needed to bring in more revenue because there wasn’t an end in sight for the recovery of the sales tax. He needed to keep the services that the citizens of Omaha expected; Omaha needed a previously cancelled police academy class funded and the Fire/Police Pension shortfall needed to be addressed in order to regain our AAA Bond Rating.

What were his options?

Well an increase in the sales tax was not an option.  In fact when increasing the sales tax generally was discussed as a replacement for the Restaurant Tax, Councilwoman Stothert and others wouldn’t even allow the voters (taxpayers) of Omaha make that decision for themselves[3].  Property tax increases were an option, but why make homeowners carry the entire burden when 40% of residents of Omaha do not pay property taxes[4].

Mayor Suttle took the approach of ensuring that as many Omahans as possible had “skin in the game” because we all benefit from the services the City provides.  To take care of the revenue shortfall from falling sales tax revenues, the Mayor and the City Council passed the 2010 budget with an increase in property taxes.

The Mayor then tackled the $600 million shortfall in the Fire/Police Pension.  This is, in my opinion, where he got it right.  The most diverse revenue stream, outside the sales tax, that can be implemented is through a broad occupation tax (not a fan of the tobacco tax even though I am a nonsmoker).  Love or Hate them, they are legal and requires passage by the City Council.  With the goal of spreading the burden as much as possible and also relying on events such as the College World Series, the Mayor proposed the infamous Restaurant Tax.  This proposal generated as much conversation as Mayor Suttle’s first budget; there was debate, arguments, accusations, finger pointing and our friends at the Omaha Alliance for the Private Sector led by Dave Nabity.

Now it is important to note that all but about 8% of the revenue from the Restaurant Tax goes directly to filling the shortfall of the Police/Fire Pension and it will automatically sunset if the sales tax ever increases by ½ of 1%[5]

All the opponents said it would hurt small businesses and would discourage people from going out to eat.  In fact one prominent member of our community even said that restaurants would either, “move out of Omaha or would have to file for bankruptcy”.  Unfortunately for them and very fortunate for Omaha, the Restaurant Tax has saved our City in more ways than one and instead of hurting businesses, the Restaurant Tax has increased each year it has been in place[6] which means MORE  people are spending money at restaurants.

A continuing opponent of the Restaurant Tax, Councilwoman and Mayoral Candidate Jean Stothert is on the record stating that she will repeal the Restaurant Tax, hire more police officers AND improve city services[7].  She freely admits she does not know where she will find the $25 million per year that the Restaurant Tax produces which goes to shore up the Police/Fire Pension and the City Budget.

So, here we are about 4 years later and we find ourselves as the Best City to have survived the recession[8], a Top 10 City in the United States to start a new business[9], and a Top 10 City in the United States to raise a Family[10] to name just a few reasons why we are much better off than we were just 4 years ago.

How did we get here?  There were tough choices to be made back in 2009 and whether you like him or hate him, Jim Suttle stood up and made the choices that were best for Omaha. There are still tough choices for Omaha on the horizon and I would feel a lot better knowing our Mayor will make those tough decisions rather than just talking about a plan without any details.

Now before you think I am just being a mouthpiece for the Suttle campaign, even though I am the Chair of the Douglas County Democrats, don’t assume they talk to me about anything.  I encourage you to do the research, because you all know that I just tell it like I see it.  Have there been some missteps in the Suttle Administration? You better believe it, but look at the big issue (outside the 2010 Flood – you know I had to get that in here somewhere) which is our City’s financial status.  We have to admit, we all are better off than we were 4 years ago.  As a new homeowner, I want my property taxes cut…who doesn’t! (Big shout out to PIR reader Ted Quick)

Omaha.com

By Editorial Staff

More than a few eyebrows were raised within the Republican ranks when 93% of City Council Candidate Tim Lonergan’s donations came from the Omaha Firefighters Union. Our latest finding perhaps will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back when it comes to Lonergan’s supporters within the Republican Party. Before we delve into our findings, let us give you a bit of history as to why many Republicans were leery of Lonergan’s conservative bona fides.

In Lonergan’s two other races for City Council he ran as a Republican but chose to have a Democratic operative run his campaigns. Jeff Leanna  was Lonergan’s campaign manager and based on Leanna’s Linkedin account, he is clearly not a Republican. As a matter of fact, Leanna is currently the Chairman of the Scottsbluff Democratic Party. Below is a list of positions Leanna has held:

A second occurrence that made Republicans scratch their heads was when Lonergan, along with the Chairman of the Douglas County Democratic Party, was sued by former City Councilman Chuck Sigerson for libel in reference to a campaign flyer sent in support of Lonergan in that race. That article can be found here. The lawsuit was eventually dropped but many wondered why the head of the Douglas County Democratic Party would go to such lengths to try to elect Lonergan, a Republican.

We now come to the current matter at hand. Tim Lonergan’s  campaign is being run out of D.C. by one of the top Democratic operatives in the country. Based on the most recent Nebraska Accountability  and Disclosure (NADC) filing, Lonergan is having NextGen Persuasion LLC out of D.C. run his campaign. Below is the snapshot of Lonergan’s NADC filings.

Who runs NextGen Persuasion you ask? None other than one of the nation’s top 50 Democratic operatives, Jeff Jacobs.  Jacobs is founder and Current Chairman of NextGen Persuasion. Below is a snapshot of his Linkedin account:

So Jeff is the creative brains of NextGen but who is in charge of the lifeblood of campaigns, fund raising? One of the top national Democratic fundraisers and former fundraiser for Al Franken and Dick Durbin, Joanna Belanger. Her information can be found below:

NextGen works for Democratic candidates and causes and gained national attention when they ran the Race for Change. The Race for Change intiative for then candidate Obama is described on NextGen’s website as follows:

“As President Obama and John McCain barreled down the stretch of the 2008 campaign, auto racing fans joined together to educate their peers about issues affecting America’s middle class. NextGen Persuasion got behind the wheel of the nationwide effort”.

NextGen’s efforts for Obama were so successful that even national publications such as ESPN magazine took notice.

After perusing the NextGen website you will find it is littered with testimonials from Democratic candidates and causes like this one from the Obama Youth Vote Director:

Political Insiders Report could only find one connection to Nebraska politics. Jeff Jacobs ran the campaign and did the marketing for Democratic Senate candidate Scott Kleeb in his unsuccessful run against Senator Mike Johaans. The NextGen website discusses some of the work they did for Scott Kleeb’s campaign such as the piece below:

Tim Lonergan has shown a history of working with and employing high ranking Democrats in his campaigns over the years. Some of these occurrences led the Douglas County Republican Party to leave Lonergan off of their voter slate card. Customarily, all Republican candidates are on the slate card in an open race. The question now is why is one of the nation’s top Democratic consulting firms that works exclusively with Democratic campaigns and causes is running the campaign of a Republican city council candidate in lowly Omaha Nebraska? That is a great question for Republican candidate Tim Lonergan.

By Editorial Staff

Jean raised over $570,000 since the last reporting period. Although Mayor Suttle has not release his numbers yet, our sources stated that Stothert significantly out raised Suttle by perhaps as much as $300,000. To see the full press release, see below.

For Immediate Release

May 4, 2013

Contact:

Daniel Keylin

402-915-5119

dkeylin@gmail.com

Stothert Raises Over $570,000 In Latest Reporting Period

Total Includes Over $520,000 Raised Since First Place Finish In Primary

OMAHA, Nebraska – Today, the Jean Stothert for Omaha campaign announced that Jean Stothert has raised over $570,000 in the last six-week reporting period, from March 19 to April 29.

In the four weeks since the April 2 primary, Stothert has raised over $520,000.

Demonstrating strong grassroots support across Omaha, Stothert has received contributions from over 1,000 individuals during the course of the campaign.

“We’ve seen an outpouring of support since the primary, with a surge in both fundraising and the number of volunteers helping the campaign,” said Council Member Jean Stothert.

“Omahans know we have a clear choice in this race and don’t have to settle for four more years of tax increases, wasteful spending, and a lack of confidence in City Hall. Our momentum and the energy on the ground shows that Omahans want a mayor who will work diligently to cut crime, spend taxpayer money responsibly, and help bring new businesses and jobs to Omaha to make our city more prosperous,” Stothert added.

###

heatherbishoff.com

By Editorial Staff

There have been numerous job creation claims in the Omaha Mayoral race. One specific claim by Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle is that over 12,000 jobs were created in 2012. Below is a snap shot of the claim on Mayor Suttle’s campaign site:

These numbers are based on data from the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Political Insiders Report went to the Omaha Chamber and began to crunch the numbers to verify. Based on the Omaha Chamber’s definition,  the “Greater Omaha Area” actually includes 8 counties. Some of the counties that are deemed “Greater Omaha” are up to 60 miles away and some are in Iowa.

The claim of 12,000 new jobs in the Greater Omaha area is probably true but one question remains, how did the City of  Omaha do on its own? After all it would be rather odd for the Mayor of Omaha to take credit for jobs created in Mills County, Iowa. Below is the greater Omaha eight county demographic information provided by the Omaha Chamber that we used for our analysis:

419,041 of the 888,859 residents of the greater Omaha area reside in Omaha. Omaha constitutes over 47% of the population of the greater Omaha area. That 47% will become relevant as we go further in our anaylsis.

We worked with the Omaha Chamber to get data specific to Omaha without looking at the eight county Greater Omaha area. After all, any Mayor of Omaha should be most concerned with what he has control over and that is only Omaha.

Based on the Omaha Chamber’s data specific to Omaha, here is what we discovered. In Omaha only there were 206,906 total employed workers at the end of 2011.

At the end on 2012, in Omaha there were at total of 209,950 total employed workers. That is a net difference of  3,044 total employed in Omaha for the year of 2012.

Of the 12,000 jobs created in Greater Omaha area in 2012, Omaha accounted for 3,044 of those. To put this into context, Omaha has 47% of the Greater Omaha population but only accounted for a little over 25% of the greater Omaha job growth.

Our findings are in contrast with the Mayor Suttle’s campaign claim. However, it is unfair to look at one point of data and judge the Mayor, so let’ s look at what has occurred since he took office. The reason we use net job growth is because it takes into account not only new jobs brought to the area, but also jobs that left the area.

So how many people were employed in Omaha specifically in June 2009 when the Mayor took office and how does that compare to today? In June 2009 there were 229,378 total employed in Omaha.

Based on the latest data provided by the Omaha Chamber there were 212,224 total employed in Omaha at the end of February in 2013.

That constitutes a net loss of jobs of 17,154 in Omaha since the current mayor took office. That is a decrease of almost 7.5% of total people employed over his administration.

Political Insiders Report believes that there are many mitigating circumstances to the complex jobs picture. No one person can create or control the local job market. The Mayor can set the tone based on ease of doing business, an efficient planning department, and by creating a culture and environment that is conducive and attractive to businesses.

The point of our analysis was not to criticize the Mayor as job creation is a highly complex issue, but rather the purpose was to look into the claim that 12,000 jobs were created specifically in Omaha in 2012. Our analysis can not support that claim. Additionally this topic was discussed with Political Insiders Report, Editor in Chief, Chris Scott on the Tom Becka show this week. That interview can be heard by clicking here. It is segment 13. To access the full data provided by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, click SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA FOR THE CITY OF OMAHA.

There are exciting job creation projects in the works such as the Ames Locust Industrial Park and the UNMC Cancer Center. These projects could yield many new jobs to Omaha, but so far Omaha has lagged in job creation compared to the Greater Omaha area.

By Editorial Staff

Recently in the news we have been following the story of Shad Knutson, a former Nathan Hale Middle School teacher found guilty of sexual assault through the use of a communication device and of child abuse. Shad’s boss at Nathan Hale Middle School was principal Susan Colvin.

A very troubling part of this story is what Principal Susan Colvin did when two girls came forward  accusing their teacher Shad Knutson of inappropriate sexual behavior.

According to the Omaha World Herald, “He had survived there for a year after two other students came forward with similar allegations. The first student to allege that she was abused was transferred to another school. The second was transferred out of Knutson’s class.”

Also according to the Omaha World Herald, the parents of the girl who was subsequently transferred had the following exchange with Principal Susan Colvin: “Colvin said she sent the girl’s parents a letter saying she (the girl) was being reassigned to another school. After getting the letter, the girl’s father was incredulous. He worked as a security officer at another OPS school. He called Colvin, asking if the transfer could wait until the end of the semester. Colvin said no.”

So did Principal Susan Colvin report these claims to the police? No. Surely Principal Susan Colvin confronted the accused teacher Shad Knutson about these allegations? Again No. The reason you ask?

According to a report written by Colvin and read in court by Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, she didn’t confront Knutson because she “didn’t want to shake his confidence in being a teacher.”

After this entire incident, the subsequent handling of it by Principal Susan Colvin, and the fact that Nathan Hale Middle School has some of the lowest academic achievement scores and some of the highest disciplinary incidents in the district, there would be no way OPS would choose to renew Susan Colvin’s contract, right? Wrong again.

Recently, the Board voted 8-4 to approve the list of teachers and staff to continue their employment with Omaha Public Schools which included  Susan Colvin. Could Susan Colvin’s name been removed and a vote taken on the remaining teachers? Clearly, yes, as two other’s names were removed before the vote took place. Below is a snapshot of the minutes of the April 1st OPS School Board meeting showing the vote.   So Baratta, Bartek, Fey, Kratky, Morrissey, Tompkins-Kirshenbaum, Tyree, and Velaquez voted to retain Susan Colvin after leading a school that has low academic achievement and showing questionable leadership. In the opinion of  the staff at Political Insiders Report,  Colvin lacks the ability to protect the children in her care.

Below is information gathered from the Nebraska State Accountability (NeSA) Report dated November 9th. It shows the percentage of students at Nathan Hale that meet or exceed the proficiency standards for various subjects. For instance,  if the number shown is 25% that means 75% of the students failed to meet the proficiency standards for that subject so the lower the percentage, the worse achievement scores are.

What’s ironic and troubling is the fact that after all of this-the poor handling of the sexual assault cases and the low test scores- the following letter  was submitted to the OPS School Board with the list of names of teachers to approve:

The full letter is below. Click to enlarge   Based on the information provided, 8 out of the 12 OPS school board members believes that the low test scores and sexual assault scandal are indicative of the satisfactory performance and conduct that they want their staff to meet.  The real question is what do you have to do to lose your job based on Omaha Public Schools’ standards?

Jim Mason-Nebraska Tea Party Patriots

On the good side, his budget finally acknowledges the unsustainable spending growth in the a time of programs like Social Security and Medicare, and calls for $435 billion in savings and entitlement programs over the next decade. $305 billion in savings from Medicare, and $130 billion from Social Security, largely by moving to “chained CPI,” a different way of calculating the annual cost of living adjustment. (COLA)

Many on the left side of the spectrum are caterwauling, insisting that he has crossed the political line no liberal can never cross -he has acknowledged a willingness to reform Social Security and Medicare. Once is acknowledged that they need to reform to survive – as he has done with his budget we’ve moved the debate from WHETHER entitlements will be reformed to HOW entitlements will be reformed.  That is, it is now simply a question of what kind of change, and how much change and where it begins.

This calls to mind the famous rejoinder- often attributed to Winston Churchill, who had treated to George Bernard Shaw and Bertrand Russell:

Church Hill to female guest at reception: “Madam., would you sleep with me for million pounds?” Lady Guest certainly!” Churchill: and would you sleep with me for 10 pounds? Lady Guest: heavens no! What do you take me for? Churchill: that, my dear, we have already established. Now we are merely haggling over the price.

The downside of the president’s budget proposal is that he continues to insist on more tax hikes -in this case, another $600 billion in tax increases over the next 10 years. This is a non-starter with Republicans, whose was rejected out of hand by speaker Boehner.

While the president’s budget is important as a political document, late as it is, it is irrelevant as a budget document. Both House and Senate have already passed spending plans, and are waiting to go to conference on them. Don’t look for a conference committee to be appointed by both houses, however; it’s typically done by only if both the Senate majority leader and the house speaker believed an agreement can be reached. Getting the dramatically different plans that passed the House and Senate, that is not likely.

HOUSE:

Of interest to all Patriots – the Ways and Means committee (read; the Tax Writing Committee) will hold a hearing this week on H. R. 807, introduced by US Rep. Tom McClintock. H.R. 807, the “full faith and credit act”which would prioritize federal spending in the event the debt ceiling is not raised, to ensure that the federal government’s interest obligations are met first and default is avoided.

Remember, the federal government collects roughly $200 billion per month this year. The problem is, it spends roughly $300 billion, leaving a monthly deficit of about $100 billion, adding up to about $1.2 trillion for the year.

But the $200 billion per month, is well more than enough to pay its ongoing interest obligations. Rep. McClintock’s bill would merely make clear to the world that in the event the debt ceiling were ever not raised, no bondholder, domestic or foreign, would have to worry about not getting paid back.

One potential problem with this legislation is purely political: as reasonable as it sounds, anyone who votes for it becomes vulnerable to the charge that he or she voted to pay Chinese bondholders before your grandmother Social Security, or your brothers VA benefits, or your son’s college loans. For some  in marginal districts, this could be an advertisement they wish to avoid in the fall of 2014, and that could lead some to take a pass on this vote.

Their current plan is for W & M to hold a hearing this week, then hold a committee markup session on the bill next week, and then move the bill to the floor the last week of April.

SENATE:

The Senate will look to take up guns and immigration as soon as possible.

The tea party and Tea Party Patriots will be investigating this issue on many different levels before you comment further.

Nuestro Mundo publisher Ben Salazar, ©nuestromundonewspaper-nebraska.com

Editorial Staff

Ben Salazar is a Hispanic/Latino political activist in South O as well as the publisher of the popular Nuestro Mundo Newspaper. Mr. Salazar is no stranger to controversy and is seldom quiet about issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in Omaha.

Mr. Salazar is now pushing for a candidate that is more in tune with the issues he feels are pertinent to his community. Who is Mr. Salazar’s candidate of choice you ask? The candidate is none other than attorney and former Omaha Police Auditor Tristan Bonn.

In a letter sent to the media, Mr. Salazar states, “After careful consideration, I have decided to endorse a candidate for mayor who combines the cojones of a strong, intelligent and decisive leader.” We felt that the cojones comment was an odd choice of words when describing a female but oh well.

Mr. Salazar further comments, “She has proven not to be a sell-out to any political party or elitist entity. So blessed with her consent, I will be writing in the name of Omaha’s former auditor, and a lady for whom I have great admiration, our next mayor, Ms. Tristan Bonn!”

As usual, Mr. Salazar does not miss the opportunity to take shots at the two mayoral candidates with a little hyperbole finishing his remarks by stating, “ For Latinos, one of the other candidates simply ignores us while the other wants to deport us!”

We know that both Suttle and Stothert have conducted outreach and made good inroads in the Hispanic/Latino community in Omaha. Former mayoral candidate Brad Ashford had the most forward facing outreach to the Hispanic/Latino community with Spanish speaking radio ads.

So what do Mr. Salazar’s latest remarks mean in what is shaping up to be a very contested and expensive mayoral race? In a word, nothing.  The problem has been and continues to be a bit of a catch 22 for the Hispanic and Latino residents of Omaha. Many do not show up to the polls because they feel ignored and they are ignored because they do not show up to the polls.

A recent Fox News Latino story says that the Hispanic Latino vote could be the difference in this Omaha Mayoral election because “The latest census shows the ethnic group now makes up more than 13 percent of Omaha’s population.” The problem with this assessment is that demographics mean very little if many of the 13% are not registered voters and very few of those registered voters of that demographic voted in the April primary.  The Fox News Latino story can be accessed by clicking here.

It is our opinion that Mr. Salazar’s energy and efforts should be focused on getting the community out to vote in primary and general elections so the issues that are important for their community are at the forefront of future candidates’ minds. If Mr. Salazar can deliver a large block of voters to candidates consistently, his community concerns would not be ignored in future elections. Sadly, until that happens, Hispanic and Latino portions of Omaha will be “flyover country” for candidates.

(AP Photo)

By Mike Meister

Nebraska is unique from our sister states in two very distinct ways.  First, we are the only state in the union to operate with a unicameral.  Second, we are the only political entity that I can find in the world that operates on a “non-partisan” basis, exclusive of dictatorial regimes where the legislature is really simply a show piece.  Now some are clamoring for a bi-cameral and others think it’s time that we elect representatives on a partisan basis.  I support neither argument instead preferring what we have. Now let me see if I can explain why.

A unicameral is a much more efficient way of conducting the state’s business.  Two chambers would increase the size of government and the number of people in government.  For every new representative we would have new staff, significantly increasing the cost of government for more inefficiency in passing legislation. Simply doesn’t make much sense to me and I am not sure why people support the notion of making the legislative branch bigger and less efficient. A discussion for another day as I have been asked to focus on the “nonpartisan” nature of our legislature.

There are two things that need to be looked at when discussing Nebraska’s “nonpartisan” legislature.  First, it is usually well known which members are affiliated with which political party.  Second, most members make a sincere effort to put their party affiliations aside when doing the people’s business which is actually to all of our benefit.

The officially nonpartisan nature of the position requires that voters size up the candidate on the merits of his or her positions and not simply check the box based on the “R” or the “D” following the candidate’s name. This of course works to the chagrin of the party bosses but works quite well in doing the business of the people of Nebraska. Democrats get elected in Republican strongholds and Republicans can get elected in traditionally Democratic areas (all seven of them).

Another benefit to a nonpartisan legislature is that it fosters and encourages the need for compromise to get things accomplished in the light of day. Too often we hear of states locked in partisan fights holding up the people’s business.  In a nonpartisan legislature, ideology gives way to common sense solutions, where the solution is more important than the point. It is open process because we do not have the secretive “Conference committees” that are part and parcel of getting things done in a bicameral system.

Another thought, is that a majority party does not get to force feed what it wants to accomplish. Any political watcher who has watched what has gone on in Wisconsin and Ohio the last few years should know of the dangers of a jack booted majority.  In both states expensive recall elections and law suits took place after controversial legislation was forced upon the minority party simply because the majority party was in the position to force feed their solutions on an electorate that was having none of it.

Let me leave you with this final thought. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The unicameral has served the citizens of Nebraska quite well since they put it in place in 1934. (The first session of the unicameral was 1937) We went from 133 legislators in 1934 to 49 in the current Legislature.  We have pared down from 61 committees to the current 18. Give me the Nebraska Unicameral and its nonpartisan ways.  Perhaps it’s time we elected all the state constitutional offices on a nonpartisan basis.  An interesting thought for another day.

Courtesy of Nebraskawatchdog.org

By Editorial Staff

In  June of 2009, Matthew Samp was poised to become a high ranking member of Mayor Elect Jim Suttle’s campaign. That is before allegations came out against Samp and an alleged sexual relationship with a minor. The story of what occured from WOWT Channel 6 can be found by clicking here. Charges were never filed, but Mayor Elect Suttle disavowed himself from Samp. After the allegations surfaced, Suttle stated in a press conference “I have said over and over again, I would lead by example, and I expect my staff to lead by example as well. I’ve asked Matthew Samp to separate from my administration.” “He will not be my co-chief of staff. He will not be part of the administration period.”

Apparently Suttle only cared about appearances, not about keeping his word as the standards to working with his campaign and in his administration are different. Political Insiders Report has discovered that Suttle’s campaign has chosen to pay thousands of dollars for various activities since May of 2011 to companies owned by Samp.  This topic was discussed on the Tom Becka Show today, and that two part interview can be heard by clicking here and here. The interview is segment #1 and #2. Supporting documents for the above claims can be found below.

Item #1- Below are the expenditures relevant to Matt Samp. All these expenditures occurred after 2009 when Jim Suttle disavowed himself from Samp. These are the NADC expenses laid out in Suttle’s campaign documents. Expenditures under $250 do not have to be reported. Matt Samp owns both Candidate Signs and Heartland Signs.

Item #2- Here is Candidate Signs Better Business Bureau Profile. Please note the physical address.

Item #3- This is the extended Better Business Bureau profile showing Matt Samp is the owner and also is doing business as Heartland Signs.

Item #4-Is a snapshot of Candidate Signs website that clearly shows Matt Samp’s home address as well as the P.O.Box he owns. The P.O. Box on the website and the P.O. Box on the NADC expenditure reports are the same.

Item #5- This is the snapshot of the Douglas County Assessor’s page that shows, yet again, that Matt Samp’s physical address is the same as the one stated on his Better Business Bureau profile and his company’s website.

Committee Treasurer Laura Paulson of Semaan Engineering in Elkhorn has been verified and confirmed. Please watch the KETV Channel 7 story below. More to come as Political Insiders Report continues down this rabbit hole.

By Editorial Staff

There has been weeks of speculation as to who was behind the anti-Stothert mailers. Political Insiders Report now believes that the Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust’s treasurer is real. There seemed to have been great liberties taken to keep the true identities of people associated with the group anonymous, but one perhaps lapse in judgement might very well start the unraveling.

It appears that Laura Paulson, maybe pressed for time, sent the latest NADC filing from her work fax. See image below.

What is SEMAAN ENG you ask? It is a engineering firm in Elkhorn, Nebraska which in fact employs a one Laura Paulson with voicemail and all. It will be interesting to see how many in the media make their way over to Elkhorn in the next day or so.

Here is a little information on Semaan Engineering Solutions

Semaan Engineering Solutions

Keep coming back to Political Insiders Report as this story unravels.

Here is what we know now.

• The Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust is using an untraceable burn phone as their listed phone number.
• The physical address that they now use on their literature and campaign filings is a UPS store.
• The identity of the owner of the infamous P.O.Box 250 can not be obtained through a Freedom of Information Act.
• All the mailing are being funded by a 527 in Colorado called “Set it Straight”
• Set it Straight is possibly being used as a conduit to shield the identity of contributors
• Patrick Davis is in charge of Set it Straight
• The print shop postal code on the mailers is  the code for the Unionist Printers. A local Omaha shop.
• The next filing deadline of new contributors for Set it Straight is April 15th, pursuant to Colorado law.

Click Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust, 2nd Primary to see a copy of Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust filling that came out today.

Click Set it Straight Contributors to see the contributors to the Colorado based Set it Straight currently filed.

***UPDATE- Upon further analysis of the signatures of Treasurer Laura Paulson, they appear to be different. Below is the signature submitted to the NADC on Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust on their initial A-1 filing compared to the signature submitted on their filing today. The question now is Laura Paulson real?

The numbers are in for what is turning in to be a hotly contested mayoral race. All candidates have shown the ability to raise funds in this crowded race. Two candidates will move forward after the April 2nd primary. Here is what we have so far for the last reporting period. As always, come to Political Insiders Report for the latest in Nebraska politics.

Tom Becka and I discuss the Omaha Mayoral Race today on the program. To hear that interview click here. The interview is segment #9.

1.) Dave Nabity         ~$109,000

2.) Jim Suttle             ~$89,000    COH ~$140,000

2. tie) Jean Stothert  ~$89,000    over 725 individual donors

4.) Brad Ashford        ~$81,000

5.) Dan Welch             not reported yet

By Andrew L. Sullivan

No matter what  a private citizen says about their elected government official on their own Facebook page, it simply is not news.

Unfortunately, trolls do exist. These are people who deliberately try to start an argument or fight by unjustly bringing people in to conflict and often they are anonymous or use fake names. On social media, trolls are quite common.  Print, radio, and television media routinely screen such trolls out of the discussion without anyone knowing so the public has no idea of how heavily formatted such media is.

You can dump Facebook but you will still find trolls in real life. The troll will sit there, people watching, waiting for the moment to get someone they do not like into a fight. Trolls spread false rumors, feed on gossip and often simply just make things up. They can ruin friendships and end careers but more often ruin people’s reputations. Often legal actions are taking to continue the harassment. Some times the trolls are law enforcement trying to get people to break the law which is known as entrapment.

Yes, people should be careful and be aware of who they are interacting with. Councilman Chris Jerram found himself in such a situation. In a bar on a holiday, someone wants to take a picture of a vulgar sexist t-shirt made by an anonymous person. Jerram holds up the shirt and the photo is taken. Bad news for the elected official and soon he apologizes for the error but think about it for a moment. Who made the shirt and why is interaction in a bar something to be news?  Everyone can agree the shirt is vulgar and sexist but why does the maker of the shirt get the comfort of hiding in anonymity while others suffer? Common sense should dictate what is said in the bar stays in the bar. There are barriers to be respected. Accountability should apply to the initial agitator and not just everyone else.

Many people hate politics. People want politics to be like sports where sportsmanship is demonstrated and where people simply accept when they have lost. But politics is not sports. It is a substitute for war.  Democracy is not an easy or pretty process. You have to have the guts, courage and intellect to defend yourself and know when to go on the attack to fight for those things of most dire importance; your life, your liberty and your property and not to be dismissed, your family and friends.

People will still demand civility but government never displays any courtesy. It takes taxes from us without ever providing a “thank you” note. School children never say “thank you” to the property taxpayer who funds their schools and instead knock on the doors at Halloween, demanding candy.

With social media, trolling has much fruitful ground. E-mails, texts, instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook and even mobile phone calls have provided an abundance of opportunities to pit people against each other and ruin people’s lives. More access, more people and more problems can crop up. It takes a bit of courage to engage is such media but you have to learn to defend yourself as well as your friends and organizations. Unfortunately, the print, television and radio media are horrendously unaware of the extent of trolling and are making serious mistakes in taking such trolls at face value.

Most recently Erin Grace of the Omaha World Herald was contacted by such a troll and took the trolling political operative at face value. Jeremy Jensen, a private unemployed citizen of Lincoln at the time, stated on his own Facebook page about his own elected government official in the Unicameral, Sen Conrad. He flat out called the Senator, and I quote, a “c$&#”.  He has every right as a private citizen to call his own elected government official whatever he pleases on his own Facebook page and it is not newsworthy to report such comments but the troll took a screen shot, saved it and passed it on to a pool of left wing female journalists. (The name of the troll is known to me.) This is where the World Herald breached the barriers to slander a private citizen, to defend a left wing government official. The story was soon followed up by Deena Winters of Nebraska Watchdog and reported again by the Robynn Tysver of the World Herald. Not to be outdone, the Lincoln Journal Star, of which Victoria Ayotte Brown sits on the editorial board, took out an editorial against Jensen.

The damage is taking place. Respected political activists and operatives are now double checking and deleting information and not returning reporters calls. Some have flat out deleted their Facebook accounts. This is absurd. I am no coward. I am standing my ground and will defend the right of freedom of speech and privacy, particularly those of which I agree with.  There is no freedom for cowards.

So how could the facts get so misrepresented in the first place? Simple. These reporters are all on the same left leaning email lists. They hold a double standard as to what counts as news. If a liberal says it, their skepticism is absent, but if a conservative says it, their skepticism turns vicious and it shows in the manner this whole ordeal has been reported. There is no respect for the private citizen and their use of electronic communications. They are at war against  privacy and freedom of speech of conservatives.

This is not just a one issue event.  When recall petitions were taken out against Democrat Mayor Suttle, the World Herald not only published petition signers names but ages and ZIP codes which is information only collected for the purpose of determine validity. Such breach of privacy should tell you just how unethical the old established news media has become.

These so called journalists have made no effort to correct their unethical attack on Jeremy Jensen’s character or get the real story. They praise Bill Maher for making money entertaining liberals in calling conservative Sarah Palin the “c” word but for a private citzen to call his own elected official the same, is supposedly eveil. For this reason, I refuse to participate any any public forum where these journalists are present until they correct for their errors.

The World Herald and other media does not hold a monopoly on public opinion anymore. We are free to choose what information we receive.  They still need our cooperation in reading their information and getting feedback. If their journalists face a wall of “no comments” while other journalists are given the red meat of real facts, these unethical journalists will have to mend their ways.  Freedom and privacy and facts must rule the day. Double standards must die and so must unethical journalism.

We have concluded our research into the Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust’s phone records and they are using a burn phone with an untraceable owner. For those that are not familiar with the term, a quick description is below.

Burn phones are prepaid cell phones typically used for organizing illegal activity. Also known as throwaway phones, these phones are inexpensive, simple cell phones that cannot be traced by a SIM card.

Many members of the media have done a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to determine the owner of the infamous P.O. Box 250 at the Boystown Post Office. This is the P.O. Box that appeared on the NADC filing forms as well as all of the anti-Stothert mailers. Unfortunately, all of their requests will be denied. When you buy a P.O. Box you have to fill out a form 1093. Form 1093 would have a the physical address and perhaps the owner of the box’s info on it, however post 9-11, that information is difficult to obtain. There is however legals ways to obtain it, but the media and the general public can not get a copy of the 1093 form for P.O. Box 250.

Fear not because we at Political Insiders Report have a few more tricks up our sleeves. More updates on Monday.

Today, through a YouTube video, Omahan’s were made aware of police activities that have further harmed the relations between the Omaha Police Department and the North Omaha residents.

“Today’s video is incredibly disturbing on a number of fronts and is an example of why we need to develop an Office of Public Advocacy that is outlined in my Crime Reduction Plan.  There is no way that the residents in a high crime area are going to cooperate with law enforcement as long as these activities are allowed.  It breaks down community trust, and without that, we will never get the cooperation  needed to find and arrest the violent criminals who live in these neighborhoods,” Nabity said.

Nabity is the only candidate running for mayor who has specifically stated that he is going to reinstate a position similar to the previous police auditor.   Nabity stated, “we must restore trust and the citizens need to know that their mayor will stand with them to investigate these events and make the corrections needed to ensure proper policing strategies are followed.”

Video in Question Below:

By Editorial Staff

The shadow group behind the infamous Pelosi-Stothert and Obama-Stothert mailers has made their first filing with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. A filing had to occur two days after a group’s spending exceeds $5,000. To view the NADC filing, click here.

The group named Laura Paulson as their Treasurer and also lists a phone number. Upon a reverse phone look-up, we found that the phone is a cell with no voice mail set up. We also broke yesterday that they are using Omaha based Unionist Printing as well. More to come as we go down this rabbit hole.

###UPDATE–A copy of the official NADC report can be viewed by clicking NADC Report. The letter sent today to the Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust can be viewed by clicking NADC Letter to the Omaha Alliance for the Public Trust.

Based on our new and ongoing research into the “Set it Straight” 527, we do NOT believe there is any union involvement in the anti-Jean mailers. More to come.

It’s all in a number. Political Insiders Report found out that the pro-abortion Jean Stothert mailer donned the postal code number of Unionist Printing in Omaha, Nebraska. Postal code 2590 that is listed on the infamous Stothert-Pelosi mailer that went out last week belongs to Unionist. Political Insiders Report Editor in Chief, Chris Scott, contacted Unionist Printing and was told that he could not obtain who was behind the mailer. Chris was also told that “in some cases we let others borrow our postal code.” More on this subject as we further explore who is responsible for the mailer. Chris Scott was also on the Tom Becka show discussing this topic. To listen to that interview, click here. The interview is segment #10.

In the meantime, here is a description of Unionist Printing.

New tweets have surfaced with more sexually inappropriate content about Omaha Mayoral Candidate, Jean Stothert.

###Warning Graphic Content–Please Click Picture to Enlarge

By Michael Knebel-Nebraska Libertarian Party Communications Coordinator

While the Dow is reaching all time highs, the food storage in my bunker has been reaching all time lows.  We’ve had the Mayan apocalypse, the fiscal cliff, comets, meteorites, narrowly averted a government shutdown, saw Bo Pelini doing the Harlem Shake, and survived the sequestration.  We are a week into the supposed draconian cuts, and so far I have not encountered any roving gangs like in Mad Max, nor been offered a drink of Soylent Green.  Could it be that this sequester was not the end game scenario we had been told?  Was this all merely a distraction so we wouldn’t pay attention to something bigger?

Usually when someone announces the world is going to end, people are going to lose jobs, and our way of life is over, I take it with a grain of salt.  The louder someone yells and attempts to grab our attention, it’s usually to divert us from something else.  But what could this Presidential slight-of-hand be concealing from us?  Could this simply be an attempt to obfuscate what is really happening in this country, and that we are at a flashpoint for a revival of thinking about American liberty and freedom?

By now, I’m sure everyone is well versed in how we arrived at the sequestration, and how President Obama proposed the idea in late 2011.  Also, by now we shouldn’t be surprised that our federal government wasn’t able to come up with any logical plan on how to curb future spending.  This is a Senate that hasn’t passed a budget in four years.  Our representatives waited until midnight to come up with any ‘solution’ to the fiscal cliff scenario.  Yet when it comes to things like Congressional pay raises, they get that vote out in a hurry.  But couldn’t something have been done in fifteen months to avert this?

I think most of us should be considering the large possibility that Obama never intended for there to be a plan to counteract this.  Some in the conservative sector have been saying that this is only a 2.4% cut on future spending, which is true.  However, they leave out the fact that these blind spending cuts could not touch things like Medicaid or Social Security.  The only things that would be cut would be future military spending and non discretionary domestic spending.  So certain areas may see a cut of up to 9% of future spending.  By doing this, Washington could almost guarantee that the cuts would affect the average American in some very, very small way if done correctly.

Of course, if handled like most scenarios in this administration, fear would take over.  And even though the cuts would still guarantee we were spending more next year than the previous year, somehow the cuts would cause struggling Americans to lose jobs.  Somehow, the Federal government is on the brink of not being able to function, no matter how much money it consumes.  This whole thing is a rouse, folks.  A scam that allows both ‘sides’ to point fingers and say that if only more of ‘our side’ had been elected we could have been better off.

We saw this fight unfold this week during the Rand Paul filibuster.  Libertarians, members of the Republican Liberty Caucus, and even Democrats that still fight for civil liberties, were all on the same side during that over 12 hour filibuster.  We saw party lines being blurred again as people were being awoken to the fact that the same reasons exist to protest the Obama administration as they did the Bush administration.  There is a divide amongst the status quo of the two party system.  There is an underlying rebellion of those that still believe individuals can do what’s best for each other better than a bloated bureaucracy can.  In fact, there is no better showing that the libertarian middle ground is upsetting the establishment as when Senator McCain lashes out against “stunts to fire up impressionable libertarian kids.”  Sorry to upset you Mr. McCain and President Obama, but the majority of Americans are starting to see you for who you truly are.  We are pulling back the curtain to reveal the Great and Powerful Oz, and we are realizing that we are in fact the ones with the true power.

As Oz was telling us about the great perils of guns and sequestration, the world perched upon a powder keg of potential conflict.  Japan and China moved closer to war.  The US moved closer to war with Iran.  North Korea flagrantly threatened us with a preemptive nuclear strike.  Our government was busy sending a quarter of a billion dollars in aid to Egypt.  And what of this job crisis that the sequestration would create in the private sector?  Well it led to over 400 new government jobs being posted the very next day.  There are a lot of other things happening out there, and those in power are using misdirection to keep us from noticing.

What could possibly be an even better explanation?  Our representatives as a whole are not looking out for us.  They are keeping us in the dark, and making us afraid.  We speak up about civil liberties, a cause that was once championed by the left, and we are mocked.  We have a system of crony capitalism folks, one where those at the top have the money to pay for legislation to rule out competition and steal more.  The old guard of the GOP and the Democrats are keeping the fighting alive so that the growing middle doesn’t see them for who they really are.  But they are losing the battle.

We don’t need more government; we need a few simple business rules.  Simple rules of business and law so eloquently stated by Dave Hunt, the Libertarian Party of Nebraska state chairman.  Rules such as,  “if you get money either by theft or deception of your customers, then you should go to jail.”  Or, “If what you do causes harm to another individual due to negligence or outright maliciousness, you face the consequences.”

The bloated bureaucracy is not what will protect us.  The Constitution enumerated the natural rights that were instilled in us, and outlined how a limited government favors the people.  Big L and little l libertarians, hippies, Tea Partiers, independents, family men and women trying to earn an honest dollar, college students, and small business owners all need to unite against the old guard.  We understand the road blocks and red tape from Washington do nothing but hinder our growth and our ability to truly help each other.  It’s not about making this a dog eat dog system of capitalism, but instead about setting forth on basic principles that the government that works best works least.  It’s time for us see through the deception and lies being told to us about this sequestration and their inability to do anything better.  It is time for us to unite and put together a vote of no confidence in this current administration.  We have seen behind the curtain, Mr. Oz, and we no longer believe in what you are telling us.  We are a growing movement, and beneath this movement is more than just a gathering of people, it is an idea.  And ideas are bulletproof.

Dave Nabity will have a press conference today outlining his business approach to streamline the city. Dave prides himself on his business experience and will use that experience to improve all areas of city government. Click NabityOmaha to see Dave’s business plan for the city.

Here is the new Dan Welch radio ad. Click DanWelch_Radio_Blueprint60 (1) to listen. This ad hits the airwaves today.

Omaha Mayoral Candidate, Jean Stothert, gives us her plan for Omaha. The level of specificity and thought that has gone into the candidate plans is unprecedented. Typically in a primary candidates talk in platitudes and generalities, but this not this cycle. Jean clearly is looking to differentiate herself in a crowded primary. To see Jean’s plan, click StothertPlan.

In a press conference today, Omaha Mayoral Candidate Dan Welch will present a comprehensive plan of action and vision for the city of Omaha. Dan will address public safety and crime, public unions and pension liabilities, infrastructure, taxes and spending, and jobs and economic opportunity.

As usual, Political Insiders Report gives you a sneak peak of what will be presented. Click WelchBlueprintForOmaha to access Dan Welch’s comprehensive plan for the city.