I have been fighting tooth and nail with my own Nebraska Democratic Party over several issues for more than a year now. I'll admit I am an irascible curmudgeon and am more of a street fighter than a pugilistic artist. But when you are a Liberal that lives in one of the reddest damned states in the U.S., and many in the party who call themselves "centrists" actually lean further to the right than Joe Scarborough, what are you gonna do? To top it off, we get saddled with Sen. Ben Nelson as our "standard bearer."
Well, I've got my head on the chopping block now because not only am I a capital "L" Liberal but I've got a big mouth. I have come out VERY publicly against the latest abomination that our State Chair, Steve Achelpohl, is trying to pawn off on us as the "salvation" of our party - the recruitment of a VERY Republican candidate to accompany Sen. Ben to Washington. This guy's name is Tony Raimondo. He is the CEO of Behlen Mfg. and Sen. Ben's best buddy. Many of us would prefer that Scott Kleeb run, but he's being very coy.
Up until about forty days ago, Raimondo had made it very public that he was going to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. His donations to Bush, the RNC, etc. are notable. Sure, he's contributed to the Democrats, if you can call contributing to his BFF, Ben Nelson, that. Then, Mike Johanns, Bush's Secretary of Agriculture entered the fray on the Republican side. Tony said he couldn't afford to run in the Republican primary so he sought greener pastures and, with his buddy Ben's aid, came knocking on my party's door. Our State Chair has strewn his path with rose petals.
There is just one little snag, and that brings me back to my main topic. The things that have irritated me so with my own party is that its own Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) seem to be optional for all things. The State Chair and some of his cronies don't seem even to have ever read the damned thing! There have been some very questionable financial dealings that were brought to the attention of the State Central Committee, our party's governing body, of which I am a delegate, and they all were immediately obfuscated, and swept under the rug.
Our C&B calls for an annual audit of the books. They haven't been audited in years. Our C&B calls for a Finance Committee but it never meets. Our C&B delineates who sits on the State Executive Committee but the State Chair packed it with his pals. But it is the latest impending violation that, if it takes place will be the most egregious.
Our C&B very clearly states that it is against the policy of the NDP to allow anyone to be on our primary ballot that "has announced his/her intention of being a candidate for public office on the ticket of any other than the Democratic Party."
Mr. Raimondo has made very public pronouncements that he had intended to be a Republican candidate for U.S. Senator.
Any officer of the NDP that would attempt to place Mr. Raimondo under consideration as a candidate on our primary ballot would be in violation of our Constitution and Bylaws, an impeachable offense.
So, I guess my question for all you Kossacks out there is, what can be done if the State Chair goes ahead with his plan of introducing Mr. Raimondo as our next candidate for the U.S. Senate - an impeachable offense, as I see it - and my fellow SCC delegates do as they so often do and just comply with his wishes? Is there any legal recourse? Could I sue my own SCC for failure to perform their fiduciary duties even though I am a delegate of it? Would I, in effect, be suing myself?
So you see, it is quite a conundrum I find myself in. Any suggestions?
Brian T. Osborn
Phelps County Chair
SCC delegate LD38