I sketched out the arguments and counter-arguments that make up the heart of this series on the ride home on the Sounder on Friday, and filled the rest of it out on Saturday. Then a deal on Ben Nelson's Stupaking was reached that gave another strike to an already compromised bill.
The opportunity is before us to bring focus to [energy and global warming] across campaigns, across the United States, and make Energy/Global Warming a winning issue come November and a higher priority for serious Congressional and Administration action come January 2009.
The Energy Smart Act Blue page worked on the philosophy of supporting underdog challengers, who were not "expected" to win when added to the page. And, most importantly:
The challenger understands energy / environmental issues and will bring a radically different perspective to the Hill compared to the incumbent.
Join below the fold for a recap of the 2008 candidates and the Energy Smart list and a look forward to 2009.
In Nebraska, a native Democratic cowboy/teacher almost overtook a Republican in the most Republican of all districts (NE-03) in 2006. Scott Kleeb surprised everyone when he came with a very few points of winning that race two years ago, and he is on the right trajectory to make the Senate race there this year very competitive.
You all remember Scott Kleeb, America's favorite cowboy. Scott is running for the open Senate seat in Nebraska. Scott ran for the US House in 2006, and while he didn't win, he did so well that he forced George Bush to come to the state to help his opponent - Nebraska shouldn't even have been competitive, but Scott made it so! Scott is a good Democrat, and about as good of one as we'll ever have in a red state like Nebraska. Americablog
I'd go further, but I admit to being a bit biased. Scott's wife Jane is a national leader on youth voting, and I count her as one of my on-line friends. So I thought I'd find another opinion:
I've come to the conclusion that not only will Scott Kleeb be a far better senator than any Nebraska Republican, he'd also be a huge improvement over the state's two most recent right-of-center Democrats, Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson. But first he has to be elected, no mean feat in one of the most dependably Republican states in America. But Scott's managed to raise over a million dollars (to Johanns' $2.7 million) and he's running a competitive, if uphill, race against Johanns. Howie Klein, Firedoglake, 9/13/08
Amid skyrocketing oil, gasoline, coal, and electricity (coming to a neighborhood near you) prices, 2008 offers Americans quite serious and stark choices between knowledgeable, impassioned, and thoughtful candidates when it comes to finding paths toward a prosperous 21st century economy, on the one side, and Fossil-Fool candidates focused on tightening our shackles to the ever-more costly (pollution, financial, otherwise) and archaic oil-coal based energy system.
One of these stark choices comes in Nebraska , where Scott Kleeb is facing down with Mike Johanns.
Scott was an easy choice for membership in the ranks of the Energy Smart Act Blue page. Join me after the fold for some indications as to why.
We're proud to have Nebraska Senate candidate Scott Kleeb joining the bloggers of EENR for a live blog. Get your questions ready for Kleeb and get ready to talk with the next Senator from Nebraska!
Before we start our conversation with Scott Kleeb, let's get to know the candidate from Nebraska a little better. Scott Kleeb grew up a military brat, living on miltary bases overseas for much of his childhood. When he returned to Nebraska, he worked as a ranch hand in Colorado and Nebraska. Kleeb attended Yale University and received a Masters degree in international relations, a PhD in history, and paid special attention to agricultural economics. Here's a snippet from his website about the beginnings of his political career:
Scott got a coveted position at the United Nations Policy Planning and Analysis Unit and served as an Associate World Fellow at Yale. His formal education done, Scott returned to Nebraska, just as he dreamed he would and with the same desire to serve in whatever way he could. He decided to run for Congress, nearly winning as Democrat in one of the most Republican districts in America. Scott took a job at Morgan Ranch and teaches American history at Hastings College in Nebraska
Amid skyrocketing oil, gasoline, coal, and electricity (coming to a neighborhood near you) prices, 2008 offers Americans quite serious and stark choices between knowledgeable, impassioned, and thoughtful candidates when it comes to finding paths toward a prosperous 21st century economy, on the one side, and Fossil-Fool candidates focused on tightening our shackles to the ever-more costly (pollution, financial, otherwise) and archaic oil-coal based energy system.
