Kleeb On "Failed Policies Of The Past"

The Hotline's Quinn McCord sat down with NE SEN nominee Scott Kleeb (D) on 8/25 to discuss his race with ex-Gov./ex-Ag. Sec. Mike Johanns (R). Kleeb said that, if elected, his priorities would be to tackle healthcare and energy issues, but naturally our focus was on the politics of the campaign.

Q: Was NE-03 in ’06 a winnable race, and what lessons did you learn from the experience?

Kleeb: “The two biggest lessons I learned, one is personal and the other one is more professional…. It was clearly winnable, we were winning. … Republicans decided to send the president out, illegal robo calls, send out as much money as they did against us, it became a national race, and then when the DCCC responded, it suddenly became not about two individuals running for office, but about two parties… Could we have prepared better for that? Yes, we should have, but we just didn’t quite think that in the 5th most conservative district in the country, that the president of the United States would have to come in and save the day. The other one is personal…. You know, I thought for a long time that I was supposed to have all the answers…. Then I realized that people don’t necessarily want you to have all the answers, they want to be a part of the process and be a part of the solutions themselves. And so once we thrust open the arms of the campaign, it’s no longer about me, it’s about all of us… you tell me about healthcare, you tell me about energy, you tell me about the economy… And that’s really what we’re starting with this campaign too….”

Q: Based on polls, Johanns still seems well-liked, with a large number of voters inclined to vote for him. What are voters missing that they shouldn’t?

Kleeb: “They’re missing one component, which is our campaign hasn’t reached them yet. Having campaigned in the third congressional district and the Lincoln market, we’re more familiar there. …. We just have to become more familiar in the place where Democrats actually live (Omaha). … As well as we’re doing out west, where all the Republicans are, the easy lift is actually in Omaha, where we can do better.”

Q: But it’s not just about winning undecideds, you’ll have to peel off some voters from Johanns too, right?

Kleeb: “Oh yeah, and it’s not about Mike Johanns is a bad person. He’s a nice guy. It’s about the failed policies of the past. It’s about having actually let down Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers, not put them first. By having a seat at the table, to really develop ag policy…. Taking the agenda of the president, even though it didn’t benefit Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers. And then walking away from the farm bill. That matters to people… who don’t like quitters. So there’s going to be a couple of points like that. …. On healthcare, when you basically close mental health facilities across the state, close down their funding, and don’t re-open them somewhere else, people recognize that that’s not the way to treat healthcare reform… So it’s just part of the system. Mike’s a good guy, he’s a nice guy, but he’s part of the system that for 20 years has been letting people down and really driving people to become frustrated with politics and frustrated with politicians….”

Q: What do you say to DC pundits who have labeled this race “safe” or “likely Republican”? Why are the wrong?

Kleeb: “Because they were wrong before, … and the easy part is the where we’ve got to go (Omaha)… Washington has never been able to determine what’s best for Nebraska…. We’ve been a red state for a long time, and yet Chuck Hagel was the first Republican in 30 some years that has actually represented Nebraska (in the Senate) on the Republican ticket. So they’ve missed Nebraska a lot, they wrote Bob Kerrey off, they actually wrote Chuck Hagel off…. So they’ve written off Nebraskans, they don’t get Nebraskans…. It’s too easy to look at the national stuff. There’s an energy and excitement in Nebraska, and they missed it last time.”

Q: Do you think Barack Obama has any chance to win any of NE’s EVs?

Kleeb: “It’s not a question, I think he’s got a very good chance at winning the second congressional district, which is Omaha. I think he’s got a better than an outside chance at winning the first congressional district… largely because he’s been actively using his abilities to activate young people, to get them active in politics…. There’s a lot of energy for Obama among young people…"

Q: GOPers may come after you on social issues or the amount of time you’ve spent in the state? How do you plan on countering that?

Kleeb: “I’m proud that my family served their country overseas on a military base, and I’ll never run from that…. But that dog don’t bark again… It was pretty well-known in the places where those types of things might work, and we’re doing great out there. Everybody said I would pick up and leave after (the NE-03 race) and I didn’t. …. It’s the same old tired politics…. You can’t talk about tax and spend Democrats and then run up a 9 trillion dollar debt. … People recognize that there are real problems with this Republican Party. … Republicans I know believe in fiscal responsibility, they believe in good government and smart government, government that actually helps people, that doesn’t hurt our schools, doesn’t hurt healthcare, but actually works as a partner…. It’s not about self, it’s about service.”

(QUINN MCCORD)