You know how the KXL pipeline has been called “Game Over” for climate change? That’s because if it goes through, burning the tar sands oil it would carry would put so much carbon in the air so quickly that climate change would accelerate faster than we and most species will ever be able adapt to. Ever. Hell on earth will come even sooner than it already seems to be coming.
And do you know why we still don’t have a pipeline? Because the northern leg is tied up in legal battles, thanks primarily to a grassroots bipartisan organization called Bold Nebraska.
Bold Nebraska got Dave Domina, Nebraska’s toughest trial attorney, to represent three landowners on the pipeline route. Domina filed Thompson v. Heineman challenging the state governor's right to select and approve the pipeline’s route.
And he won.
Thanks to Dave Domina’s hard work, a Nebraska District Court declared a recent pipeline siting law unconstitutional, meaning TransCanada now has no legal route in Nebraska.
Domina also found and organized a strong force of rural public opposition to the pipeline, with 100 landowners along the route joining the cause.
This is a significant blow to TransCanada’s plans to build the pipeline. It culminates five years of delays to the project, all originating in a nondescript rural Midwestern state not typically expected to stand in the way of any new development scheme.
A true David and Goliath story.
Now there’s an open US Senate seat in Nebraska, and Dave Domina is running for it. His opponent is Ben Sasse, a tea party Republican who has declared all-out war on Obamacare and other successful social programs like social security. Sasse is so extreme that he has even publicly stated that it is perfectly acceptable to break any law that doesn’t comport with your religious beliefs.
In other words, Mr. Sasse wants to turn back the clock to a time when virgins are sacrificed to the gods, children with congenital disabilities are denied health care, and grandma has to eat cat food.
In contrast, Dave Domina has a history of standing up for the little guys. He's represented cattle ranchers against one of the world's largest meat companies, and championed farmers in water battles. He's taken on corruption at the highest levels of government, causing the impeachment of both UNL Regent David Hergert and Nebraska Attorney General Paul Douglas.
A true David and Goliath candidate. Accomplished at winning, and ready to lead.
Mr. Sasse is considered a rising star in the Republican party, so if he gets elected the entire nation will be mercilessly subjected to his brand of nonsense for years to come. He’s so confident of winning that he has already submitted his resignation from his current job. A Senator Sasse is a fate too horrible to contemplate, one that will adversely affect not just Nebraskans, but all Americans.
Because just like the KXL pipeline, what happens in the current US Senate race in Nebraska affects the whole nation, and ultimately makes a real difference to what happens to our planet.
Mr. Sasse is backed by some deep pockets, including the Koch brothers. Domina has a solid constituency of folks with sincere intent but modest means. In short, Domina needs more money to mount a successful campaign.
And that’s where you can help. Go here and chip in whatever you can. Or volunteer. Or something.
Because now you know that what happens in Nebraska really matters in your world. You can do nothing and allow another noxious tea bagger to bog down Washington with yet another time-wasting assault on Obamacare, or you can help send a skilled defender of the planet to work in the federal government.
Nebraska needs your help. But really, we’re all in this together. This is your chance to be part of a global solution, just like Dave Domina.
I trust you will do the right thing.
Thu Jul 31, 2014 at 1:28 PM PT: Full disclosure: I am not paid by the campaign. I did this entirely without their knowledge or approval.