So who does at least one informed on-the-ground professor of political science blame for moderate Democrat Heath Mello's loss to Republican Jean Stothert in the Omaha mayoral race?
Does he blame the DNC? No. Does he blame Daily Kos? No.
Does he blame the guy who is about as out of place in Omaha as Nancy Pelosi would be, yet showed up to campaign for Mello anyway?
Yessir, that's the one:
candidate Heath Mello took a gamble when he brought U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to Omaha to campaign with him.
But not only did that gamble not pay off, some political observers say it might have blunted Mello’s momentum against Mayor Jean Stothert.
Paul Landow, a political scientist and a former Democratic mayoral staffer, called it a “colossal mistake” to bring in Sanders.
“Why do you bring an ultraliberal into a moderate city to campaign for a moderate candidate for mayor?” Landow said. “Bernie Sanders is not going to do anything to expand your base.”
The Stothert campaign agrees:
Stothert and her staffers said her campaign started getting more positive responses after Sanders’ appearance.
“It was about that time that we had a good feeling,” said Bill Protexter, the mayor’s campaign consultant.
But nah, that couldn't be it. Musta been the Kos-DNC cabal.