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Kleeb: historic driving menace

Posted: March 27th, 2008, 5:55am CDT by Street Sweeper

Kleeb: historic driving menace

Permalink for 'Leavenworth_Street___the_talk_of_Nebraska_politics/2008/03/20/Same_story__new_chapter'

Things are finally in motion to make your 2008 more interesting, politics-wise. As we had noted a few days ago, 1st District Congressman Jeff Fortenberry offically has an opponent for November. He is a 25 year old Lincolnite named Max Yashirin. We've actaully heard quite a bit about Max at this point, but we're going to hold off on all of that for a while. There's lots of time. Let's just say

Bruning SMACKS Hagel; Hagel SLUGS Bruning

Posted: April 23rd, 2007, 8:12am CDT by Street Sweeper

OK, let’s get a few points on the table:

1) Leavenworth Street does not have a dog in the current GOP U.S. Senate fight. Not Chuck Hagel. Not Jon Bruning. Not Mike Johanns, Hal Daub, Kermit Brashear or any other name you want to toss out.

2) We will discuss salient issues. Sometimes those issues appear to criticize one candidate over the other, but that doesn’t mean we have taken sides.

3) We will probably criticize all candidates. We will probably compliment all candidates. We will probably makes jokes about all candidates.

4) You can flail at the messenger if you want, but if you want to defend your candidate, defend him or her by giving a rational argument. Saying that Leavenworth Street is unfair or mean or biased or whatever else pops into your grey matter doesn’t help.

So why do we mention this? Because, if you didn’t know it, IT IS ON.

Bruning has come out with a poll that says he is ahead of Hagel by 9 points, or 24 points if you push the call about Hagel’s “anti-GOP” votes and statements. (Bruning says he leads Hagel by 9 points – LJS – 4/23/07) See the Poll Summary here.See the Poll Questions here.

Hagel’s political director Kevin Chapman responded to Bruning, showing that he is well versed in Bruning’s law school writings and may just know the identity of “R. Reagan at nebraska.conservative@yahoo.com” who recently sent around the Bruning Daily Nebraskan Article.

And so you don’t have to click or search, we’ll print, in full, what Jon Bruning stated today, and then how Chapman responded (thanks to Southwest Nebraska News which generally prints releases in full):

Attorney General Jon Bruning today released statewide poll results showing him leading Senator Chuck Hagel by 9 percentage points in the 2008 Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Bruning leads Senator Hagel by 24 points when Hagel’s criticism of the President and his vote in support of the Democratic leadership’s strict troop withdrawal deadline from Iraq are considered.

“These numbers confirm what I’ve been hearing directly from Republicans as I’ve traveled throughout the state,” Bruning said. “While Republicans have expressed disappointment with Chuck Hagel, they’ve offered me support and encouragement; and for that I am truly honored and grateful.”
The poll also showed Bruning leading Hal Daub 55% to 16% statewide. The poll conducted last week surveyed 404 residents of Nebrask both registered Republican and considered likely to vote in the 2008 Republican primary election for U.S. Senate.
(Bruning Cites Lead over Hagel in Polling; Stops Short of Announcement – Southwest Nebraska News – 4/23/07)

And then from Kevin Chapman, political director for Hagel:

"With his record of credibility, we don't put much stock in 'polls' Jon Bruning pays his pollster to produce. Whatever Jon Bruning claims, Nebraskans will not vote for a chameleon.
"When Bill Clinton was president and the Democrats controlled Congress, Jon Bruning was a card-carrying pro-choice, pro-tax Democrat. After a Republican Congress was elected in 1994, he transformed himself into a pro-life, anti-tax Republican.
"Jon Bruning has repeatedly told people, including Senator Hagel, both publicly and privately that he would support Senator Hagel for re-election or president.
"Records and facts do matter. Senator Hagel has compiled one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate over the last ten years. Last year, Senator Hagel's voting record was the most supportive of President Bush in the Senate. He has worked with the President on immigration reform, Social Security reform, climate change, and tax and spending issues. It's laughable that Jon Bruning is claiming to be more Republican than Chuck Hagel."
(Hagel Comments on Bruning Press Conference – Southwest Nebraska News – 4/23/07.)

If you listen to the full Bruning press conference, you can hear Don Walton ask Bruning about Nebraskans’ views about Iraq and Mike Johanns. Bruning responds that they didn’t poll on war support or about interest in Johanns – but did poll Bruning against Hal Daub, in addition to Hagel.

Bruning also challenges Gov. Dave Heineman about his expressed support of Hagel, questioning whether Heineman supports Hagel’s positions on the war and on the President. So in case you weren’t sure, Bruning is taking both Hagel and Heineman on, head first.

And here are a few questions for you readers:

Does this encourage Hagel to run even harder, or if Hagel finds the numbers to be accurate, will he drop out and support someone like Johanns, rather than let Bruning win the seat?

Hal Daub has expressed real interest. What does he do? Sit it out for awhile. Express support for Hagel? Run for Mayor of Omaha?

And particularly to you Democrats: Assuming that Bob Kerrey will not act on his 1%, what does Mike Fahey do? At what point does he need to make a decision? And if not Fahey, then who?

Remember, all the candidates and offices are reading (and remember what we wrote up above)!

Jon Bruning: Angry Young Man

Posted: April 20th, 2007, 6:00am CDT by Street Sweeper

A little quiz. Which Nebraskan wrote the following?:

“I think a woman should have a right to choose.”

“I believe in gun control.”

“I believe homosexuals should have the same rights as everyone else.”

“I believe in affirmative action. If a woman or a black person takes the place of a white male in a law school entering class, we’re better off.”

“I would love to persuade you that trickle-down economics was a farce or that Ronald Reagan was incapable of understanding complex policy arguments.”

OK, time's up.

Bob Kerrey? Nope.
Ernie Chambers? No sir.
Maxine Moul? No mam.

Well, maybe all of them did write those things at some point, but we’re looking at a specific article.

Would you believe Attorney General Jon Bruning?
Ding ding ding!

Well, he didn’t write them as AG. He wrote them back as a second-year law student at the University of Nebraska in an Op-Ed for the November 13, 1992 edition of the Daily Nebraskan.

(“Conservatives, come out of the closet” – Jon Bruning – Daily Nebraskan.
Click here for a .jpg image of the article, and here to download the .pdf.)

This article has been rumored for some time, and it was recently sent to Leavenworth Street by a few different people. If it had been brought out in previous Bruning campaigns, we hadn’t seen it.

Now Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has taken the lead in changing major campaign positions. He went from strongly Pro-Choice while running for Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994 to strongly Pro-Life while running for President. And many believe he is suffering the consequences for flipping on these positions. But it’s tough to compare someone running for Senate and a second year law student. Bruning never ran for office as a liberal and he has certainly brandished his conservative credentials in the Legislature and as AG.

Now, one could probably come to different positions on abortion, gun control, homosexuality and affirmative action over a span of 15 years (though we’ll let someone else give his positions as a state Senator just three or four years after this article).

But we gotta say…the knocks on President Reagan? “Incapable of understanding complex policy arguments”? We haven’t heard Bruning’s position on Reagan these days, but we’re not sure how you can change your position on that. Would be curious to see where he stands now.

So what to make of the manifesto by a 23 year-old liberal law student who uses the school paper to specifically call out “Conservatives”? Well it’s certainly alarming to read the liberal positions of one of Nebraska’s leading conservatives just fifteen years ago. Should he have to stick to these views throughout his whole career? We’d say probably not.

So while some would see this as the “Gotcha” for Bruning, he no doubt knew this would be coming out sooner than later, and he now has ample time to explain how his positions have evolved (assuming they have).

Nebraska campaign season start early enough for ya?

Mike Fahey's Senate Decision

Posted: April 19th, 2007, 7:45pm CDT by Street Sweeper

Before our short analysis, first a little Separated at Birth.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and…The Joker.

“Fahey would not challenge (U.S. Senator Chuck ) Hagel if he seeks re-election, said Paul Landow, the mayor's chief of staff, out of Fahey's respect for Hagel and because of the practical difficulty of beating an elected incumbent senator.” (D.C. chat has Fahey considering Senate bid – OWH – 2/11/07.)

“Fahey, however, left himself an out to run for the U.S. Senate in the event that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel does not seek re-election. Fahey said his final decision won't come until the end of the year.” (Fahey planning fundraising dinner – OWH – 4/18/07.)

Quotes from reports on Mike Fahey’s interest in the U.S. Senate back in February of this year and just a few days ago. But has A.G. Jon Bruning’s change of heart about challenging Hagel changed Fahey’s position?

Consider this: The 63-year-old Fahey doesn’t want to get in, unless he can win. He doesn’t think he can beat Hagel. But what if Hagel is challenged?

You figure that Bruning wouldn’t challenge Hagel unless he thought he had a very good – or even nearly certain – chance of beating Hagel in the GOP primary. So if Bruning gets in, Fahey has a decision to make.

Assume that in January or February Hagel’s still in, fighting for his political life against Bruning. But many might think Hagel is done-for. So where does that leave Fahey? He promised that he wouldn’t challenge Hagel (well, then again, so did Bruning). And he probably figures he’d lose to Hagel. But he thinks he can beat Bruning. But while Bruning looks like he’d win, it’s not a lock.

Hmm…

Some of this should come into better focus when the fundraising numbers come in on June 30^th of this year. Good numbers for Bruning and poor ones for Hagel could provide a lot of influence…

*****************************************************************

And if you can wait until around lunch time this Friday, we’ll be posting and commenting on an old Opinion Piece by a young second year law student at the University of Nebraska, that was sent to Leavenworth Street more than once in the past few days.

That former law student was recently seen, unshaven, chatting with the former Secretary General of the United Nations – and he was a just a tad more to the left in the law school days than he is now.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear!

Bruning vs Hagel

Posted: April 19th, 2007, 4:33am CDT by Street Sweeper

Retired Omaha World Herald publisher Harold Andersen must have had some inside beef when he wrote last Sunday in his vanity column that many Republicans think U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel should get a primary challenge if he decides to run for re-election.

Despite the fact that Andersen’s admitted survey sample was eight GOPers, there must have been a few in that octet who had a little knowledge of Attorney General Jon Bruning’s intentions.

In case you missed it, Bruning said that he may just challenge Hagel in a primary because, “he is upset with Hagel's criticism of President Bush and the Iraq war,” and that “he also is upset with Hagel's comments about Bush and impeachment,” (Bruning may yet take on Hagel in '08 – OWH – 4/19/07).

But let’s not pretend that it’s any recent statements by Hagel that have prompted Bruning to announce his (possible) move.

Hagel has been protesting the Iraq War since nearly the day he voted for it (if you follow). For over a year he has been considered the leading Republican against the war and has made any number of statements against the war and the President’s handling of it. So Bruning can’t now claim that he’s shocked – shocked! – by Hagel’s war position.

And then there’s the “impeachment” issue. Hagel’s interview in the April edition of Esquire Magazine was published on the web, and quoted by nearly every major news outlet on March 6, 2007. (Though contrary to Harold Andersen’s assertion, Hagel did not say that there was “talk of impeachment”.)

So EVERYONE knew what Hagel said at that point. Chuck Hagel then made his non-announcement-announcement on March 12. And on March 15 Bruning announced that he was thinking about running, but TWICE said he wouldn’t, if Hagel ran. Heck Bruning called himself a “Hagel guy”. This is the same Chuck Hagel who just nine days prior had used the “I-word” in reference to President Bush.

So what has changed for Bruning? Well, probably lots of people whispering in his ear that they don’t like what Hagel has been saying. And probably there’s more than a few of those people who have Tony Soprano-like wads of cash rolled up in their pockets and are telling Bruning that he could have access to said wad if he challenges Hagel. (And the fact that Hagel has only raised $100K for a re-election bid didn’t hurt either.)

But make no mistake: If you go after the King’s throne, you had better kill him, or you’ll be dead yourself. If Bruning does not defeat Hagel in the primary, it is career suicide for him. Oh, and Bruning better also make sure no one else jumps in, or as Harold Andersen also pointed out, they would split the anti-incumbent vote and Hagel would stroll in. (And don’t forget that Hal Daub, who also has announced that he’s thinking about the Senate, did this once before when he challenged sitting-Senator Dave Karnes.)

So old Harold Andersen – the man who once hoped for the appointment by Governor Orr to the Zorinsky seat that went to Karnes – and a confirmed Hagel-hater – seems to have had a few ducks in a row before last Sunday’s column. Hagel’s office is now saying that Bruning’s new statement won’t influence him on whether or not to run for President or re-election. But don’t be surprised if it does influence Hagel – to run specifically against Bruning to knock his block off.

Dems Preen for Dean's Scream

Posted: April 12th, 2007, 4:09am CDT by Street Sweeper

Well, Dr. Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, momentary Presidential nominee-to-be of the Democratic Party and current Chairman of the National Democrats blew into Omaha last night.

You may have missed it however.

Especially if you are a Democrat.

Since only 200 of you bothered to show up (150, according to the AP).

Even though it cost only $20 ($10 if you’re a student).

But hey, the Omaha World Herald was there.
And buried the story on page B-3…

But then, Dr. Dean hasn’t exactly made Nebraska a priority either, seeing as Nebraska is number 49 on his stops of the 50 states (he hasn’t attended his luau in Hawaii yet). That’s right, Dean trekked to Alaska, before Nebraska. (Dean: Republicans 'will not bully us' – OWH – 4/12/07.)

Even Nebraska Dem party chair Steve Achelpohl admitted that Nebraska was a “distant stepchild” before Dean was elected. Apparently being number 50 makes you distant (as President Bubba numbered the Nebraska Dems). Being number 49 now makes them…uh…well…a distant stepchild without a lei or a hula skirt. (Dean confident Nebraska wants change – LJS – 4/12/07.)

Of course, Dean gave the typical witless palaver that one would expect from the former podium screamer. He sputtered this ridiculous damnation:

There have been unspeakable things said about the Democratic Party that are not true. For a long time, we have not been here to fight back.

Is that right, Doc? Yeah, we just about never hear the Dem talking points rattled off on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The LA Times, PBS, and NPR.

You know, it has been said that Democrats believe that, at their extreme, Republicans are evil. With that absurd statement about “unspeakable things”, Howard Dean makes that point.

Conversely, it is said that Republicans believe that, at their extreme, Democrats are just plain ignorant.

You represent the extreme well, Dr. Dean.

The Mayor of Lincoln

Posted: April 5th, 2007, 4:36am CDT by Street Sweeper

First, a little Separated at Birth for the final two candidates for Mayor of Lincoln.

Bespeckled former State Senator, Chris Beutler
and
Bespeckled Lake Wobegon resident, Garrison Keillor

Mustachioed Lincoln City Councilman, Ken Svoboda
and
Mustachioed Hawaii P.I., Tom Selleck.

With the Lincoln Mayor’s race down to two, we thought we would go ahead and post on the race. But instead of tossing out our take on the match-up between Beutler and Svoboda, we thought we’d toss it to YOU the Leavenworth Street reader on the comment board:

Who’s going to win, and why?

But please resist telling us who you think should win, or who has better proposals or whatever else.

Here on Leavenworth Street, we want to hear your political savvy as to why one of these two will win. What are the political reasons?

If you can’t help but get into their policy positions, please tell why voters – and which voters – will be drawn to vote for them based on that position.

How will money play?
How will Beutler’s primary plurality affect the psyche of the voters?
What of voter turnout?
And how about the party make-up of Lincoln voters?

Here’s your big chance to show the readers of Leavenworth Street that your political analysis deserves to be heard (and if you don’t want to sign your name, please come up with an alias, just so we can follow who’s saying what).

Have at it!

McCollister Blasts Protege Hagel

Posted: March 29th, 2007, 9:50am CDT by Street Sweeper

When Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel made his non-announcement announcement at U.N.O., he took the time to point out his political mentor in the front row. It went like this:

I was tutored many years ago by I think the finest public servant that I have ever known who is sitting in the front row of this room today, former congressman John Y. McCollister. John Y., I thank you.

Thank you, and not just for the shaping and molding of my career, which occasionally I know within your sense of evaluation I get off track, but nonetheless, you don't have to agree publicly with that, John. But also, thank you for the service you have given this country, your distinguished service in World War II and your service to the county board, to the Republican Party, and to our country, as a very respected and highly regarded United States congressman.

In today’s Omaha World Herald Public Pulse, the same eighty-three year old John Y. McCollister, a/k/a “John Y. McGumption”, wrote this not-so-subtly veiled blast down of his protégé:

Of course, on the day of the non-announcement, the AP reported that McCollister said the following:

It was a cautious statement, which is unlike the Chuck Hagel I knew. I've got to say I'm a little disappointed that he didn't declare here and now, today, that he was a candidate for president.

And while Jon Bruning, Hal Daub and others are willing to give Hagel the benefit of the doubt, Hagel’s own mentor does not.

Hagel's GOP Nomination Officially Cooked

Posted: March 28th, 2007, 12:00pm CDT by Street Sweeper

The Republican Presidential run for Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, is over.

Well, we’re not saying he won’t run for President (and he’s certainly not saying he won’t – but then he’s not saying he will…). But we are saying, if he wanted to win the GOP nomination two recent actions absolutely ended those hopes:

1) his suggestion that President Bush could be impeached, first in Esquire then to George Snuffleupagus, put an already way-outside chance at the GOP nod into critical condition;

2) his vote against the President and the GOP, calling for a date certain for a troop pull-out of Iraq hammered the door to the convention shut.

Now we here at Leavenworth Street have mentioned this before, but we think it bears repeating: We’re not questioning Hagel’s motives for his various votes.

Our friend Uncle Wiggly over at the Heartland Notebook gave his usual call-‘em-like-he-sees-‘em view of Hagel’s vote to have a date-certain to bring home the troops from Iraq.

U-Dub’s general view is that Hagel made his vote because of his desire to win the Presidency. We certainly respect UW’s opinion, and can see where he’s coming from. However, we think Hagel’s position is a bit more nuanced than simply a plan for grabbing power.

Hagel’s view on Iraq is based on his experiences in Vietnam, and his perception that the White House does not respect his view. This has galvanized his position and has left him seeking someplace to vent wherever and whenever he can. Hagel’s goal is not so much to try to win the White House by sending his view on Iraq, as it is using a White House run to trumpet his views on Iraq.

Many may see Hagel’s Iraq view as capitulating to the terrorists, or cut and run or however you may view it. But that only gets to the result of Hagel’s position. First you have to go to the WHY on it.

Hagel is deeply, deeply scared by Vietnam, both literally and figuratively. Those scars have shaped his view on Iraq. Couple that with his Christmas-time receipt of letters his father wrote to home during WWII where his dad wrote, “if I thought I would ever have a son who would have to go through this, I would never get married.” You can bet that closed the door on Hagel ever being open to the continuation of soldiers dying in Iraq, even if it were for a good cause.

And couple all of this with his locking horns with President Bush and his advisors. Hagel is bitter that while he has on-the-ground combat experience, those who have none (Bush, Cheney, Rove) won’t listen to him (or maybe just won’t agree with him). Hagel is a stubborn guy who has gotten to where he is because he thinks he’s right most (if not all) of the time. So he’s happy to enough to go ahead and give his views and damned the other guy.

Or even VERY happy that he’s liberated enough to give those views. And VERY happy to tell the guy who won’t listen to him to go to Hell. And if people come running over to listen to him now, all the better. (And again, show us a pol who DOESN’T like that.)

With that in mind, there’s nothing wrong with agreeing or disagreeing about his judgment on this. But we at Leavenworth Street aren’t going after his motives.

But golf-pencil-in that Chuck Hagel’s GOP Presidential ambitions are D-U-N.

Oh, and what do YOU think about Bruning, Daub or anyone else’s plans to challenge Hagel if he decides to run for re-elect? Could Hagel’s actions, and Nebraska GOP anger at him, be the tipping point?

We’d say maaayyyyyybeeee.

Bruning's Goat

Posted: March 23rd, 2007, 4:35am CDT by Street Sweeper

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning is currently making the rounds of the Mideast with the Aspen Institute. A good thing to do, we think, in general. Always good to get an international perspective, particularly if you plan to speak intelligently on those types of issues.

So Bruning met with 3000 year old former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Jordan Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit. But after taking a closer look at photos from those meets, we noticed a few things.

First, Bruning apparently forgot to shave before meeting with Boutros-Ghouly. And then when meeting with Bakhit, Bruning has apparently decided to try out the Road-Trip Goatee!

Awwwwww riiiight!

So when he gets back to Nebraska, we should expect Bruning to look like other famous goateed celebs such as:

KMTV’s Travis Justice

Metallica’s James Hetfield

USSR’s Lenin

or
Hell’s Satan

Of course, in the end, we have a feeling Bruning may just end up looking like his alter-ego:

Big Boy.

Announcement(s) Day

Posted: March 15th, 2007, 7:53am CDT by Street Sweeper

Let’s look at a few things from today’s announcement by Jon Bruning…and Hal Daub…and Mike Johanns???

First, Daub must have heard about the coming Bruning announcement and decided to send out a release under the radar. Say what you want about Daub's chances, but the guy is old school and if you underestimate him, prepare to get knocked down at least a few times. And note the dig by Daub in his release: “it would be an amazing opportunity for the qualified candidate to serve the people of Nebraska.”

Not “A” qualified candidate; “THE” qualified candidate. Wonder who Hal thinks that is…

Next, after the cameras left the Capitol rotunda, they trundled on down to Governor Dave Heineman’s office, where he promptly told the media horde that (more or less) if Bruning wants to run for Senate, he had better be ready to face Mike Johanns. Yowza! How’s that for a right cross to Bruning (who said he’s prepping to campaign, like a boxer hits a speed bag)? Oh, and take a guess who Hagel and Heineman would be supporting in a Johanns-Bruning primary?

And, a couple words about Bruning’s statement: Bruning specifically noted that he filed his exploratory bid with the Federal Election Commission. Well that’s interesting… but it ain’t true. According to the FEC, and this handy-dandy FEC Congressional candidate guide, if you haven’t declared yourself as a candidate, you can put yourself in the “Testing the Waters” period, where you can raise and spend money but you DON’T have to register or report anything with the FEC. As a matter of fact, there is nothing to file with the FEC if you’re in this “Testing the Waters” or exploratory phase. You only register if you ARE a candidate, and at that point, you have the regular reporting requirements.
So, the question is, DID Bruning file with the FEC? If so, then he IS a candidate (whether he plans on pulling out, or not). If not, well, then what he said isn’t accurate. (**Update** Bruning's camp has responded that he DID in fact register an "exploratory committee" with the FEC, but admit that they didn't have to do it. See "Comments" section below for more on this.)

Finally, one other guffaw from the media: Calvert Collins from Omaha’s KPTM FOX 42 (yes, THAT Calvert Collins) was overheard gushing about how she “adores” Jon Bruning, and asked Heineman why Johanns would think he’d have a chance against Bruning since Johanns has disconnected himself from Nebraskans and what's important to them. Heineman reminded “Cal” that Johanns has just a little bit of service history in Nebraska and that he’s also, ahem, the freaking U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Ah politics is fun…

Bruning Announces Senate "Exploratory Committee"

Posted: March 15th, 2007, 5:34am CDT by Street Sweeper

In an announcement at the State Capitol in Lincoln today, Jon Bruning, the thirty-seven year old Nebraska Attorney General, declared that he has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission for an exploratory committee for the 2008 Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. Bruning said – twice – that he will NOT challenge U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel if Hagel decides to run for re-election. Hagel announced Monday that he will make his decision on whether or not to seek re-election sometime in the future.

Bruning stated he will do everything he can do, including fundraising, until Hagel announces his intentions. Bruning said that he was announcing now because he did not want to be secretive about his intentions while he was raising money and beginning to lay out the groundwork for a campaign.

Bruning said that he has talked to former Governor and current Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, but that Johanns would not give any information about his intentions to run.

Bruning noted that he has had calls from the John McCain campaign about endorsing McCain, but told him that he would not endorse anyone until Hagel makes his decision since “he is a Hagel guy.” He said he believes that after Romney, Giuliani and McCain “beat the crap out of each other,” Presidential voters will want someone like Chuck Hagel. He stated that if Hagel gets into the Presidential race, he thinks Hagel will win.

Bruning said that he will be going to Egypt, Israel and Jordan tomorrow with the Aspen Institute. He stated that he would not express any opinions on any issues because he is not yet a candidate.

He stated that he has begun fundraising and that his fundraising calls have been going “very, very well”.
More to come…

Bruning's Bold Move?

Posted: March 15th, 2007, 4:02am CDT by Street Sweeper

For you Omahans who only get your news from the local paper, we’d like to let you know that there is a bit of news happening today, which the Omaha World Herald has conveniently ignored.

Attorney General Jon Bruning is making an announcement about his political future today at 10:00 AM. (Bruning may prepare for Senate opening – LJS- 3/15/07).

Now if Bruning announces that he’ll make an announcement about his plans sometime in the fall, the denizens of Leavenworth Street will march to the nearest hat store and eat the available merchandise. One HAS to figure that Bruning is specifically taking this opportunity to show that, unlike another who announced recently, he is willing to step up and make a firm decision.

We would expect that Bruning will declare that he’s running and raising money, etc. It will be interesting to see if:

1) he will declare that he’ll stay in the race no matter what Chuck Hagel decides to do.
2) he’ll jump out and declare his positions on the issues of the day.

If he’s saying that he’ll drop out if Hagel stays in then, frankly, Leavenworth Street does not see what the purpose of this announcement is. It’s not as if declaring now will give him some major advantage. Donors and endorsers will most likely wait for Hagel’s decision.

However, if he’s throwing down the gauntlet in front of Hagel, well, that makes it a little more interesting doesn’t it?

We chuckled a little at Bruning’s apparent anger – viewed by many -- at Hagel’s non-announcement announcement. Bruning expressed “surprise” at Hagel’s statement – even though the conventional wisdom expressed by many was that at most, Hagel would announce an exploratory committee and keep his Senate re-elect options open. Was Bruning hoping for an endorsement from Hagel on the stage?

WOWT.com and KETV.com both are stating that they’ll be running a live webcast of the event. We would expect the usual radio suspects as well.
Send in your predictions before the event!!!

www.Hagel.tv

Posted: March 12th, 2007, 7:01pm CDT by Street Sweeper

Let’s clear a few things up:

1) Chuck Hagel stated today that he is raising money “for his Senate campaign”, and that he’ll transfer that money to a Presidential campaign whenever he wants.

2) Hagel is taking part in a forum this week made up exclusively of Presidential candidates.

3) Hagel has a new commercial, on his brand spanking new website (www.Hagel.tv or www.Hagel08.com) with the tag line "Senator Chuck Hagel - An American Leader" that is “Paid For By the Hagel For Senate Committee” – oh and did we mention that he has no opponent for that Senate race that’s a year and a half away?

So while the announcement at U.N.O. on Monday was that he’ll make up his mind in the fall, this is really no different than McCain or Rudy making a pre - announcement - announcement. He may be exploring an exploratory committee – but so what? There’s really no difference between thinking about one and starting one.

The only problem was that the forum he used and the message he gave on Monday was extremely poorly executed. He confused many supporters and outright angered much of the press who made a big deal to cover it when he gave the impression that he was going to say something worthwhile.

What he said at the "announcement" could have realistically been covered in a short press-release. If he was hoping that he’d get a little national bump by being coy, he was wrong. It was barely covered by the national press, and frankly former Senator Fred Thompson’s hint that he may run caused much more interest on Monday.

But make no mistake: Hagel’s Presidential exploratory work has begun.

It’s just too bad he just didn’t go ahead and announce it.

Hagel steals his own thunder

Posted: March 12th, 2007, 5:32am CDT by Street Sweeper

Chuck Hagel invited people from across the state and across the nation, with the secrecy of the D-Day invasion, to announce that he would announce something later.

No Presidential exploratory announcement.
No Senate re-election announcement.
No other striking statements.

Uh, what was the point?

In 2000, Bob Kerrey got the national press to truck to Nebraska to announce that he wasn’t running for President. Afterward, national reporter David Broder stood in the lobby and asked, “Why did I come here?”

We wonder if CNN’s reporters and other national press that made the trip are asking the same question. We’re wondering how many times the press and others will tolerate these people crying wolf.

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Hagel will wait ‘til later in the year

Posted: March 12th, 2007, 5:01am CDT by Street Sweeper

Chuck Hagel said today that while he may consider a run for President, he will hold off until later in the year to make a final decision about running for President or to run for re-election to the U.S. Senate.

He said he hopes to continue to be a part of America's history.
The announcement means the political pot ready to boil over with candidates if he retires will continue to bubble and simmer for another six months.

More to come…

A Hagel Hint for you...

Posted: March 12th, 2007, 4:00am CDT by Street Sweeper

CNN's Dana Bash reports that after U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel arrived in Omaha on Friday, he began calling various friends and associates for their assistance to explain to (the press and others?) "why he has the conservative credentials and is a strong Republican, who should be taken seriously in the race for president."Leavenworth Street is sticking with its earlier predictions.Be sure to come back to Leavenworth Street after the announcement.

Watching the Hagel Announcement

Posted: March 9th, 2007, 7:17am CST by Street Sweeper

For those of you who can’t wait for the online news updates to Chuck Hagel’s 10:00 AM CDT Monday “announcement”, three of the local Omaha TV stations will provide streaming video of the event live on their websites.
They are:
WOWT.com
Action3news.com
KETV.com

In addition, you can listen to the announcement on your computer as well via radio stations KFAB or KKAR’s websites.

(Thanks to Sean Weide’s Reader’s Media Notes for the detail.)

And just to add fuel to the fire, today’s edition of The Hill carries a story with this headline: “Sen. Hagel’s retirement a ‘distinct possibility’”

If that is his announcement, as opposed to a Presidential bid, expect member of the national media, who flew in, to pelt Hagel with rotten vegetables.

On Monday, Hagel will say...

Posted: March 7th, 2007, 6:01pm CST by Street Sweeper

With Chuck Hagel’s cryptic message that he’s announcing…something on Monday, let’s take a look at the Leavenworth Street Odds on what he’ll announce:

That he’s retiring from the Senate and NOT running for President:
1000 to 1

That he’s running for re-election to the Senate, and NOT running for President:
500 to 1

That he’s running for President, not bothering with an exploratory committee, and is in it to win it:
30 to 1

That’s he’s forming an exploratory committee for President, but that he’s running full bore and not running for re-election to the Senate (essentially like what Giuliani and McCain did):
5 to 1

That he’s forming some sort of exploratory committee, and leaving his options open until the fall to decide if he’ll continue a Presidential campaign, run instead for re-election to the Senate or just retire all together:
1 to 1

The last one is the CW out there now and seems the most likely. We can’t imagine that with the way his poll numbers are running now, that he’d risk being a lame-duck in the Senate in order to pursue what could be a Quixotic Presidential run. Instead he keeps his Senate prestige, stays on Meet the Press, gets to rub elbows with the other candidates and give his views on the issues of the day, and if it doesn’t work out, he can decide later.

We’d point out that UNO isn’t exactly the setting that one ordinarily associates with a Presidential announcement – but if the weather is nice (it’s supposed to be 65 degrees on Monday!) a possible outdoor setting could work.

It will also be interesting to see what other GOPers are there. Heineman? Bruning? Terry or Fort? Daub? Ricketts?

It should make for an interesting morning.

Hagel will (finally) announce on Monday

Posted: March 7th, 2007, 10:36am CST by Street Sweeper

Eric Olsen of the AP and Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times are reporting that U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel will be announcing his "future plans" on Monday at 10:00 AM at the UNO campus.

According to Jake Thompson of the OWH, Hagel will speak in Bootstrapper Memorial Hall at UNO's William H. and Dorothy Thompson Alumni Center.

Thompson cites unnamed GOPers who think that Hagel may just announce an exploratory Presidential bid until September, then make a final Presidential or Senate campaign decision then. Which wouldn't surprise us...

As noted here earlier, Hagel is scheduled to address the Association of International Fire Fighters next Wednesday with all the other major Presidential candidates.

The Young Democrat view of Omaha

Posted: March 6th, 2007, 9:06am CST by Street Sweeper

We here at Leavenworth Street find it our civic duty to help others know about the great City of Omaha and all that it has to offer.

So when someone screws it up royally, we believe we should step in so that they can attempt to fix it.

Case in point: The Young Democrats of America (YDA) Spring Conference in Omaha this May.

Now as we mentioned in a recent post, former 3rd District Dem House candidate Scott Kleeb’s fiancé, Jane Fleming was the E.D. of the YDA until just very recently.

However, apparently Ms. Fleming never made it out of the 3rd to visit Omaha, since if she had, she would have let her staff know that there are no cattle ranches in Omaha (at least not since the old Renstrom property got turned into One Pacific Place many moons ago).

Nonetheless, the YDA web site carries this photo to describe the conference, with the caveat that the photo was “taken on a ranch in rural Nebraska”. Which is fine, except that Omaha is not in rural Nebraska.

But we’re picking nits, right? We’re sure that the Nebraska Young Democrats (NYD) will do us right in representing our fair city! Right! Right?

Well, let’s jump on over to the NYD page, and click right over to the “Top Ten Things to Do in Omaha”.

Ok, so you could have guessed that Numbers 1 and 2 would be the zoo and the Old Market. But did you know that the Number 3 thing to do in Omaha is to drive to the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln? Are the NYDs privy to some info that their boy Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey plans to pull an Elkhorn-job on Lincoln? Should Lincoln start annexing land to pick up their size now? You’re on notice Lincolnites! Omaha’s comin’!

So then we go to Number 4 of the Top Ten Things, and find that it’s Boys Town. Well, that’s fine we suppose. But then after we visit the SAC Museum at Number 5, which, by the way is again NOT IN OMAHA, then we’re supposed to go right back to do Number 6 – Boys Town again! You know, just in case you missed some stuff when you visited in Number 4.

After our dual trips to Boys Town, we go to Number 7, the Durham Western Heritage Museum (which really is great, and if you haven’t been in a while you should check out). And we’re not sure what the NYDs have against the Joslyn Art Museum, but apparently they’re too busy in Lincoln to check it out.

So then we get to Number 8, and find the Omaha Royals. We love a nice spring evening at the ‘Blat. Of course, it’s nice to be there when the Royals are IN TOWN – since they will not be in town during the extent of the YDA’s conference. (But you know, that would have meant looking at the Royals web site, or something.)

At Number 9, we find the “Mormom Trail Winter Quarters” (sic). Who knows if these Mormoms are the same ones Mitt Romney hangs with.

And finally at the Number 10 thing to do in Omaha, we find both the Heartland of America Park and the Gene Leahy Mall. Essentially walking around water, but nice enough, we guess. Of course, this now makes this the Top 11 things to do. (But that’s depending on how many times you visit Boys Town, or whether you count Lincoln and Ashland as part of Omaha.)

We’ll assume that the NYDs will be changing the site soon. (And we like how they snuck that riverboat shot in their header. HINT HINT.) So let these screen shots serve them notice that we’re watching how they present Omaha when the rest of the country arrives.
Assuming they don’t just send them to Lincoln.

**Update 3/6/07 10:00 PM**
In under seven hours the NYDs read Leavenworth Street fixed their typos and amended their Top Ten list. Now about the YDA's Omaha cattle ranching picture...

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Hagel Presidential Update – Ver. 9.0

Posted: March 6th, 2007, 4:39am CST by Street Sweeper

Next Wednesday, March 14th, the International Association of Fire Fighters will be holding a “Presidential Forum” where nearly every Presidential candidate will be speaking.

Those included on the speakers’ list are Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and Bill Richardson.

Republicans speaking are John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter and…

Chuck Hagel.

Word is that there is a lot of activity in the Hagel camp these days.
Is an announcement imminent?

Welcome Don Walton readers!

Posted: March 5th, 2007, 3:03am CST by Street Sweeper

We appreciate the shout-out from the Lincoln Journal Star’s own Don Walton this morning. (Don Walton: What’s the role of a newspaper? – LJS – 3/4/07) As Leavenworth Street readers know, we’re big fans of Don, and if you don’t read his column, you’re missing out on the key political news in the state.

For those of you new to Leavenworth Street, you can read our previous posts by clicking on the links at the right, or searching by keyword up on the top-left. Also, you can take a look at our “Separated at Birth” posts at the right as well, featuring various Nebraska political figures.

And in that light, we present the above SAB from today’s link:
Don Walton and the late Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, Mike Royko!

Kleeb finds a Cowgirl

Posted: March 1st, 2007, 6:36am CST by Street Sweeper

The Kearney Hub reported that Scott Kleeb told a group of Dems he's planning on running for office again some day.

But before that, he's getting married (and YOU just may be invited to their PUBLIC wedding reception down at the Dunning ranch…).
Kleeb’s fiancée is Jane Fleming.

Ms. Fleming was the Executive Director of the Young Democrats of America.

She is frequently on FOX news -- Hannity and Colmes, Shep Smith -- and MSNB with Scarborough. (See a list of her appearances via YouTube here.) She is generally the attractive female Democratic foil to Ann Coulter, where she’s argued on behalf of various Democrat positions such as the John Edwards anti-Catholic bloggers and for Madonna’s African adoption.

She is VERY party-line, and describes herself on her Daily Kos diary, as “an Activist first, and the E.D. of the YDA second.”

She has not shied away from publicizing herself, as is evident by her blog on Eating Disorders (which includes many many personal photos) and her MySpace site. (We're not sure if she's a blonde or a brunette these days...)

So lets lay it on the line:

There’s no way Ms. Fleming is going to sit on her laurels when she gets to Nebraska.
Will she be involved with the state Democratic party?
Heck, will she run on her own someday?

Do not be one bit surprised if Mr. and Mrs. Kleeb attempt to become the Bill and Hillary of Nebraska.

Oh, and according to the Hub, Kleeb said he has moved to Hastings.
We’re just wondering if Ginger ten Bensel will be singing at the wedding…

**Update 3/1 2:30PM**
Attentive reader Jane Johnson points out that the YDAs are having their Spring meeting in Omaha in May. And apparently the YDAs think that coming to Omaha means that they'll be joining Mr. Kleeb on his dude ranch. Nice impression you're giving the rest of the country there, Ms. Fleming. Thanks a ton...

The Day the Music Died

Posted: February 26th, 2007, 6:01pm CST by Street Sweeper

We at Leavenworth Street are coming late to an issue already addressed by a number of bloggers, but we think it's one of which all Nebraskans should be aware.

Yes, we’re talking about the musical travesty that is "I Love Nebraska" by Hastings newscaster Ginger ten Bensel.

State Senator Carroll Burling has proposed changing the state song from “Beautiful Nebraska” (which you can hear part of here, in this NPR story about the matter) to this Nashville pop-country bacon fat covered cheese fry of a ballad. Now we’re not saying this is the weightiest matter before the legislature. But it’s probably the easiest to get your head around.

Ms. ten Bensel has even made a music video that you can watch on You Tube here (we would suggest an airsickness bag if you have one handy).

Note Ms. ten Bensel’s frequent flashing of apparent “gang signs”.

Note the prominence of Nebraskans wearing jorts.

Note the hawk that comes flying out of a dog kennel.

Heck, note the near complete lack of, say, Omaha…
Where’s North Omaha?
Where’s South Omaha?
Where are the meat packing plants?
Where is the CWS? Creighton? Barrett's Barleycorn? The Q? Healthy Choice foods?
(But we digress…)

And to help us put it all in perspective is former Nebraskan Thomas Irvin, who has posted his You Tube parody version of ten Bensel’s Hee-Haw diddy.
Tom, you are a true hero.

So while Leavenworth Street may be coming to this discussion late, let it be known throughout the land:

This song sucks ass.

And if it becomes the State Song, Johnny Carson's soul will disown Nebraska.

**Update, 8:30 AM, 2/2707**

Don't worry, saner heads prevailed...

(The state song remains the same - LJS - 2/27/07)

Hagel Gives Four-Day Break

Posted: February 21st, 2007, 10:46am CST by Street Sweeper

How many more months?

The OWH reports today that:

Sen. Chuck Hagel says an announcement about whether he'll seek the GOP nomination for president in 2008 won't come in the next four days while he's in Nebraska.

(Hagel still won't say whether he's a presidential candidate – OWH – 2/21/07).

So you can all go on about yer business.
Move along!

What does the OWH know?

Posted: February 19th, 2007, 6:01pm CST by Street Sweeper

The kingmakers at the Omaha World Herald just happened to toss out a glowing random feature article about Ag Sec and former Gov Mike Johanns today. (Despite challenges, Johanns enjoys work as agriculture secretary – OWH – 2/20/07.)

And they mention, just haphazardly near the end, that gee, some people have even mentioned that Johanns may be interested in Chuck Hagel’s Senate seat if Hagel doesn’t run for re-election.

With Hagel making up his mind soon, what a fortuitous time to run such an article.

Ain’t that a coincidence?

Unicameral Gone Wild!

Posted: February 15th, 2007, 6:01pm CST by Street Sweeper

We’re fairly certain that we could post on the subject of Antarctic based Bulgarian tofu missiles, and the commenters would bring it all back to the State Senator Danielle Nantkes’s DWI (as they’ve been doing on the Fahey post).

So have at it!

Topics to discuss:

Should her past drinking and driving record (when she was 19) have mattered in her election?
Should State Senators be subject to arrest during session?
No ethics committee in the Legislature?
Closing the bars on a Tuesday night?
A 1990 Dodge Spirit?
$1500 damage to the 1990 Dodge Spirit?
What’s the Blue Book on that sled?
Should State Senators make more than $12K a year so they can get out of the 1990 Dodge Spirits?
Cops said “Nantkes smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, noticeably impaired balance and bloodshot, watery eyes”. Had she not refused, what do you think she would have blown? A point-one-nine?
Will the Senator be taking part in the Democrats’ “Drinking Liberally” party? (Dems, please let us know if you think this affected turnout. Any press there?)
What’s the appropriate punishment for a lawmaker here? Feel free to be creative.
What should she do to make amends? Be very creative.
A big deal, or not a big deal?

(See a copy of the Accident Report here...)

Fahey Looking for New Country Club

Posted: February 12th, 2007, 3:17am CST by Street Sweeper

B-B-B-Buy Bushwood?!

The Omaha Country Club just isn't doing it for Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey.

No the sixty-two year old needs to find an "attractive" new club that will suit his needs for prestige and just the right amount of back-slapping. And Dem Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have just the place for him. (D.C. chat has Fahey considering Senate bid – OWH – 2/11/07.)

Congressional County Club…er...the U.S. Senate.

Let's let Fahey put it in his own words:

"You'd be a member of the 100 Club…It's one of the highest honors a person could have."

OK, so now that we know what issues Fahey will run on – him being in a swell new club and him being honored by you – let's get down to brass tacks and determine if he'd have a shot at winning the general (and this is all assuming Chuck Hagel doesn't run for re-election):

Fahey vs. Mike Johanns
Fahey gets blown away, potentially with David Hahn-esque numbers.
And it would probably be more likely that Fahey would wait to see whether Johanns would get in before committing.

Fahey vs. Jon Bruning
Some (like apparently Fahey and his manager Paul Johnson) think that Fahey would have a pretty good shot here. The view here on Leavenworth Street is that Bruning would out-hustle him every step of the way, and everywhere west of 150th Street Fahey would look like a rich old Omaha guy who doesn't understand the rest of Nebraska.

Fahey vs. Jeff Fortenberry
Fortenberry would clean his clock, Maxine Moul style. A possible reason for Fort to get in the race (assuming he could beat Bruning).
(Note we're leaving Lee Terry out of this analysis b/c we still think he's more likely to stay in the House, as his cred continues to rise.)

Fahey vs Pete Ricketts
The battle of Fairacres! We'll give Fahey a decent shot in this one – and the reason Nebraska Republicans probably wouldn't give Pete another go right away.

Fahey vs Hal Daub
Most would say give it to Fahey, since he beat Daub in Omaha. But this would still be an old school battle between party elders. Just for the heck of it, we'll give the edge to Daub and let the usual suspect hit the comment line to bitch about it.

Fahey vs Kermit Brashear
The OWH keeps mentioning his name in Senate stories, so they must know something about Brashear's interests. We just don't see a GOP nomination as the least bit likely, even if Kermit brings back his infringing green frog commercials.

Of course the scramble will be on (or off) as soon as Chuck Hagel announces his intentions…

Newsflash! Nelson is Anti-War?

Posted: February 6th, 2007, 4:20am CST by Street Sweeper

Are we now living in bizarro world where what you've said for the past year means nothing?

For all of 2006 Ben Nelson was FOR the war. He never once said that he wanted the troops to leave immediately, or that it was a bad idea, or that we shouldn’t be there, or any other anti-war statement you want to come up with. You could certainly claim that one of the problems Pete Ricketts had in his campaign against Nelson was that Nelson held so many traditionally Republican positions – including being for the war – that Ricketts couldn’t differentiate himself from the “conservative Democrat”.

So Ben Nelson waits and waits and waits to take a position on the troop addition, then finally comes out against it. Why? He’s never told us why. But he’s not for cutting funding. And he’s not, as near as we can tell, for just leaving Iraq and ending the war, or really any other proposal for getting out.

Now all the Dems are up in arms, beating their chests, claiming that Republicans don’t want to debate the resolutions in the Senate. And Nelson comes out with this little gem:

If not now, do we wait for more troops to die before we oppose the president’s plan?
New York Times – 2/6/07

Or even:

It seems that even when it comes to the lives of our troops, partisanship prevails.”
Lincoln Journal Star – 2/6/07

Uh, well, guess what Senator? You can debate and debate and vote and vote on your swell resolution. But it sure as heck won’t stop anyone from dying. And it won’t stop the President’s battle plan. Oh, and even if your plan DOES pass, YOU still want to keep THE OTHER 140,000 TROOPS THERE!

You’ve said it over and over for the past year.

For/Against Hagel

Posted: February 2nd, 2007, 5:30am CST by Street Sweeper

For those of you jonesing because you haven’t had your Chuck Hagel Presidential fix, here are two articles from the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza in his blog/column, entitled none other than...“The Fix”.

First:
The Case for Chuck Hagel

and then:

The Case Against Chuck Hagel

Feel free to continue the debate in Leavenworth Street’s comment section below, as you will probably find your ideas drowned out in the cacophony of the Post's comment section.

Separated at Birth - Mike Johanns

Posted: February 1st, 2007, 3:09pm CST by Street Sweeper

There are various things we could talk about today.

We could talk about the fact that someone is doing polling in the Third District, asking about preferences between Jon Bruning, Mike Johanns and Pete Ricketts.

We could talk about the fact that Friday was the original deadline Chuck Hagel gave for announcing his intentions for 2008, but has now apparently given himself until March.

We could talk about the fairly good national and local press every member of the Nebraska Congressional delegation is getting these days.

And we could even talk about the crappy new website that the Omaha World Herald is now offering, which eliminates, among other things, all of its columnists, editorials and the Public Pulse, but adds a whole new section called “Games & Gadgets”.

We could talk about all of those things, but instead, we’re just going to offer what we’ve been thinking about for a while -- a Separated at Birth featuring…

Mike Johanns and Mr. Rogers!

Have a weekend.

Hagel Watch

Posted: January 29th, 2007, 3:06am CST by Street Sweeper

Don Walton states (without citing his source -- but probably Hagel's press dude Mike Buttry) that while a recent Washington Post interview indicated Hagel wouldn’t decide on his Presidential/Senatorial ambitions for six weeks, in reality, “it was just an offhand remark, not actually a revised timeline.” So from that we’d guess it should come this week, right? Oh, who the hell knows… (Don Walton: Tick, tick, waiting for Hagel - LJS – 1/29/07.)

And despite at least two different indications from Hagel that he may run for President as a member of the Bull Moose Party (or, some other less interesting sounding Independent party), in a lengthy Newsweek feature, Hagel says that notion is “ludicrous”. (Rebel Chuck Hagel: A President in the Making? a/k/a A Reluctant Rebel’s Yell – Newsweek – 2/5/07 issue).

Hagel the Bull Moose?

Posted: January 26th, 2007, 2:32am CST by Street Sweeper

Today the Washington Post has a front page (below the fold) story on Chuck Hagel’s possible Presidential ambitions (Hagel Ponders White House Run As War Criticism Raises His Profile – Wash. Post – 1/26/07). The story notes that Hagel has become a pariah in the Republican Party and garners ab

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