For Nebraskans trying to make sense of the “Working,” “America,” “First,” “Family,” “People” political party word salad, this week should offer some relief. That’s when a Lancaster District Court judge is scheduled to rule on whether to certify a couple of political newbies to state politics and the November ballot.
If you’re thinking her decision will clear things up, don’t hold your breath. If this election cycle has proven anything, it’s that the voting booth and the courtroom are becoming inextricably linked. While the courts are critical to ferreting out the phony and fictitious, I worry that winning with better ideas has become archaic.
Meanwhile, some good news has arrived. The state’s U.S. Senate candidates, GOP incumbent Pete Ricketts and nonpartisan challenger Dan Osborn, will debate on Sept. 1 at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. More on theirtête-à-têtebelow.
They will be in a good spot. As one of two panelists during a nationally televised Senate debate between Bob Kerrey and Deb Fischer in 2012, I can assure you that the State Fair is among Nebraska’s most appropriate debate venues.
Political debates have their limits, from canned answers to punchless platitudes to timed responses to delays in fact checking to the onset of shouting … between candidates or from a candidate to a moderator.
Still, debates can provide voters with a side-by-side comparison of a candidate’s ability to think on his or her feet. Seeing how someone who would write laws, make policy and affect my life reacts to tough but fair questions can be enlightening, too. I’m also always curious about whether their answers are based on data, evidence and science rather than politics.
Joining Sen. Ricketts and Osborn with debates this campaign cycle are GOP Rep. Mike Flood and challenger Democrat Chris Backemeyer in District 1. In the Blue Dot Special (District 2), Democrat Denise Powell and GOP nominee Brinker Harding have three debates planned before Election Day.
As was the case four years ago, incumbent Gov. Jim Pillen will not be debating. His campaign at that time called such events “political theater.” We remain unsure of what they meant by political theater, but if showing differences between candidates and providing details into their character evokes a little drama, so what? Healthy democracies can handle that. Buy us some tickets.
Nor are regular interactions with voters the same thing as a debate. What separates political debates from more controlled gatherings — “regularly connect(ing) with constituents,” as 3rd District Rep. Adrian Smith’s office put it — is that too many of those confabs comprise only grips, grins and softball questions. They are not to be confused with town hall meetings, which can be raucous, rambunctious assemblies. See Flood videos for details.
Which brings us back to the main event, the State Fair face-off between Ricketts and Osborn, who, to date, seem to have very little in common according to their endless TV spots with charges and countercharges of fakery and financial missteps.
Nobody asked, but here’s hoping the debate lasts long enough for moderators to get answers about the cost of everything, Iran, tariffs, the Farm Bill, ICE (Shock gloves? Seriously?) and Epstein but save enough time to ask something along these lines:
Yes or No. Did Joe Biden legitimately win the 2020 presidential election?
Was the recent debacle at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool the result of vandals? If yes, what’s your evidence? If no, what was the cause?
Are vaccines in the U.S. safe and effective? Please explain.
A congressional committee recently voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he evoked his Fifth Amendment right when testifying before the committee. Do you agree with that decision and if so, are you saying Fifth Amendment rights should be negated when someone testifies before Congress? (Hint: They’re not.)
Do you believe in the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment and, if not, how would you determine citizenship?
In the last 10 years in Nebraska, out of the estimated 64% of high school students who participate in sports, a number in the several hundreds of thousands, how many transgender students have petitioned to play school sports? (Hint: It’s 8.) So why the inordinate focus on it?
What’s your primary source of information and news?
Is the detailed study of slavery and its consequences in the U.S. imperative to understanding American history? Why or why not?
Recent research concluded that we are reading fewer books than ever. The first week in October is Banned Books Week. What banned books have you read? What book — banned or not — are you currently reading?
Time to open the doors of this season’s political theater.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.