I already posted my ‘official’ view of this endorsement on the http://nebraskateaparties.com website. I posted it before the actual person was announced who was going to get the supposed added benefit.
However, I have some personal things that must be said concerning this endorsement.
Amy Kremer is the spokesperson for Tea Party Express. She was involved in the first set of Tea Parties, and joined TPE after that batch. Her presence gives the TPE more credibility than the Ron Paul folks who claim they were involved but were not. However, on a personal note, I have met her and I have found her more concerned about promoting herself and her organization than actually advancing the Tea Party agenda of lower taxes and less government involvement. She has rubbed more than myself the wrong way in this fashion. But, I cannot fault her for her work in public relations. She does a good job.
As I stated in my official statement, I felt this endorsement is way too early. Nebraska’s primary is in the month of May. If we were Iowa, who holds their caucus early in the 2012 election cycle, this would have made more sense. However, Deb Fischer still has yet to declare if she is going to join the race. Right now, the candidates are Jon Bruning (who is the person TPE endorsed), Don Stenberg, and Pat Flynn. Of these three, Flynn has been involved in the Tea Party movement while the rest are seen as establishment politicians.
Nebraska’s Republican party has shed much of its old RINO philosophy since the Tea Party arrived. Don, Jon, and Pat are all good true conservatives. I do not know much about Deb, but seeing who is pushing her into the race, I’m a bit more cautious about her. Call it guilt by association in this case, but she could be good as well. That is why this endorsement is way too early. We need to know more about these candidates before we can jump in and back someone.
Right now, Jon’s on top of the polls, but he recently acquired a black mark due to his friendship with David Sokol, who did a bit of unethical speculation as vice president of Berkshire Hathaway. How bad this hurts him, we will have to see. Things like this, if they start accumulating, have the potential to sink a candidate this far out. Again, better to wait to about three months away from the primary to make such an endorsement.
The final thing I want to bring up is what does such an endorsement bring? Money to TPE, obviously, but how will they spend it in Nebraska? If they use it on social media in this state, then it is a waste of money. Radio is king in Nebraska still after all these years. This is because you can’t really watch YouTube videos when you are driving a tractor in the fields. People in the city of Omaha won’t be involved until the general election, and more importantly we are going to have a fight on our hands to stop Obama from stealing Omaha’s electoral vote again this next cycle.
Personally, I think Ben Nelson is a dead man walking come 2012, no matter who the opposition is. However, wait until the people around here start to care before endorsing anything. That date is February 2012, not May 2011.
Tags: Ben Nelson, deb fischer, don stenberg, Election 2012, jon bruning, pat flynn, tea party express
