This Friday, we celebrate 232 years of independence. We celebrate not only our country's independence - but the independent spirit we as Americans all share. 

Independence Day isn't just about our past, it's also about our future.  Our campaign is committed to practicing a new brand of politics, and that requires each of us to recommit ourselves to the principles our founding fathers fought for.

Candidates in Nebraska are getting dirty...in rivers and parks that need to be cleaned up.  Come meet some of the candidates running for office in Nebraska that are taking part in new brand of politics—the politics of service.  (watch the video on MTV).

(Been a long time everyone but it's good to get a post off every now and then! - Mike)

My fellow bloggers, as I'm sure you know, our 2nd quarter financial deadline is coming up this Monday at midnight and we need your help! While our opponent has taken nearly $1 million of special interest PAC money, our campaign has been powered by small dollar contributors like yourself! Now we're taking that message viral!

Since I never ask anyone to do something I wouldn't do -- I donated the first $5!

The deadline is looming. A five dollar contribution can truly be the difference in this race!

Thank you for your support -- and your eventual contribution!

Mike Nellis
Nebraskans for Kleeb

Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund is holding a vote to determine which Senate challenger deserves support from the fund and from Progressives.

There are some very good candidates, but my vote has gone to Scott Kleeb.

I would encourage everyone to go and check out the list and cast your vote for Scott. He has been a member of this community for a couple of years, always been here for us and we should do our best to be there for him.

He's got a tough race in Nebraska and this is a way we can help from around the country.

SO CLICK HERE to cast your vote for Scott.

First, I just want to take some time before a busy weekend of campaigning to thank you all for everything you've done.  Without the support of the grassroots, we'd never be where we are today.  

That being said, we all know that in a campaign every day brings a new challenge, and we must always be pushing ourselves to do more.

I'm proud to say that our campaign is the fifty-state strategy in action.  Our grassroots volunteers are making connections and building relationships in a part of the country that hasn't seen a true political dialogue in generations.  That's what this election is about.

Kossacks,

Nebraska Senate candidate and Netroots favorite Scott Kleeb is live blogging NOW at Future Majority.  

I hope you'll join us.  I've posted Scott's initial comments below the fold.

Yes, everyone in the country can vote for our campaign! Let me explain.

Two years ago, Sen. Russ Feingold looked at our political landscape and said: the moneyed interests have a PAC, it's time the people had one, too!

From this simple idea, the Progressive Patriots Fund was born. Candidates for every office and from every state in the union compete for the votes of you, the people, in an online election to decide who receives the Fund's support.

I've always believed that the biggest division in our politics is not between Republican and Democrat or even liberal and conservative. It's between those who put their faith in money and those who put their faith in people.

I know, I know...it's not likely, but a brother can dream can't he?

Following up on my post from yesterday and incorporating some of the suggestions/corrections from the comments made there, let's take a look at our best case scenario in the November Senate elections.

Right now, we're at 49 Ds, 49 Rs and 2 I's.  When the smoke clears on election night in November we'll be at 62 Ds, 37 Rs and 1 I.
Here's how it's going to happen....

Glenn Hurowitz over at Grist, the on-line environmental magazine, interviews Scott Kleeb, the 32-year-old, highly photogenic, Yale Ph.D who is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska.

The hot rancher speaks

^{U.S. Senate candidate Scott Kleeb and the clean energy roundup}

Question: Where do you see Nebraska's economic future, and what role do you think clean energy will play in it?

Answer: We've got to transform the way we produce and consume energy. There's a failure of leadership we've seen at all levels of government. We've got to figure out how to do more with less. That's true of our elected officials and true of ourselves as individuals. This is a generations-long process. We are on the cusp of it right now. Biofuels and wind energy and solar energy and algae-based energy is just the tip of the iceberg.

Nebraska's economy is going to be transformed by that revolution. Farmers will find new ways of feeding or, once we get to cellulosic ethanol, fueling the world.

Question: Recent studies have suggested that devoting American land to growing biofuels instead of food is causing massive deforestation in carbon-rich tropical forests. How can switchgrass and cellulosic ethanol be viable if it's just causing food to be grown in these highly sensitive ecosystems thousands of miles away?

Answer: The rainforests are the world's largest carbon sink. The impact [of deforestation] there is much more important than what we're talking about in this country. You saw it in the farm debate on what we do about Conservation Reserve Program land [agricultural land that's set aside for conservation purposes]. You're even seeing an internal battle. Many farmers are members of the Farm Bureau or the Farmers Union, but are also members of Ducks Unlimited or Pheasants Forever. On one side, they're being lobbied by their farm organizations who talk about $5 [a bushel] corn or $6 corn and talk about how great it is and how we should produce more of it. On the other side, they're being lobbied by the organizations they're members of like Ducks Unlimited talking about increasing the CRP acreage. Farmers are personally conflicted about it. That's only going to get bigger. These are not easy questions that we're trying to deal with.

The advantage of switching to switchgrass is that you can do it because you don't harvest it the same way you harvest soybeans or corn or other row crops. You don't have to plough up the ground or disrupt the soil. With switchgrass, it's a little bit like mowing your yard. You never actually dig the roots out of the system. You never actually turn over the soil in any way, you just sort of mow off the top part of it. You don't actually disrupt the soil underneath it. You can raise switchgrass in areas we now consider marginal lands, low water lands so that it would not be competing with the river systems like the Mississippi or the Platte or some of the Corn Belt states where they do have a lot of rain or wherever it might be. You're competing on a different set of areas than you would be for food production.

Click on. There's lots more.

The Overnight News Digest is posted.

This is my assessment of Nebraska's Douglas County Democratic Convention held at Benson High School on June 7th. It is cross-posted on the New Nebraska Network page.

Today I attended the Nebraska Douglas County Democratic Convention, and I got FIRED UP AND READY TO GO.

I was elected an Obama Alternate Delegate for Legislative District 09 to the state convention later this month, and was also elected to the Douglas County Democratic Central Committee for LD 09.

We just finished paying off both cars (neither a hybrid, but both high mpg compacts) and decided to celebrate with a round of donations.

I'd love to see anyone match me for these great candidates!

More after the break:

Democratic Nebraska Senate hopeful Scott Kleeb faced off against former councilman/mayor/governor/Ag Secretary Mike Johanns today (Thursday) for the first time.  Both are vying for the Senate seat vacated by Republican Chuck Hagel.

By all accounts, this was a sedate affair with the candidates just sorta getting to know each other.  No sparks, no fur flew.  And since we’re in the midst of some stormy weather, I suspect it didn’t get much attention.  

Last night, tornadoes tore across parts of central and eastern Nebraska.  I visited Kearney earlier today and saw where the storm toppled power lines, ripped off roofs, and completely destroyed several buildings.

I saw that the storm had done something else, too: it led neighbors to help neighbors, friends to help friends...all in the spirit of cooperation and community that has lifted us out of every challenge we've faced before.

The Red Cross has raised its designation for this disaster from Level 1 to Level 3, which means that this is now a statewide disaster, with damage reported from Wellfleet to Omaha.  National help is on the way.

Food and shelter will be provided by The Salvation Army at 1719 Central Avenue in Kearney.

Will you help our neighbors in need?  

At the Democratic Convention in Boston in 2004, a magnificent keynote address transformed an unknown Illinois state senator into a future president. A keynote speech gives a candidate a lot more name recognition all around the country. It also makes the candidate's ideas part of our national Democratic platform.

There will be televised speeches from Denver running all weekend, but the ones that get the most attention will be the ones right before the President's and Vice President's address. With so many excellent politicians on our side, it's hard to choose who should get these coveted spots. I put a lot of thought into it and here is who I would recommend:

A Rasmussen poll earlier last week offered a shocker of a results -- Democrat Scott Kleeb trailed just 55-40. While 15 points sounds like a big margin, it suggested that Kleeb's tough race, in a tough race, against a popular former governor, in a tough year for Republicans, had the potential to close in the coming months.

A new Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos of the Nebraska Senate race isn't as optimistic as Rasmussen.

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 5/19-21. Likely voters. MoE 4% (11/15/07 results)

In the poll, 50 percent of voters still have no idea who Kleeb is, and being a cheap state, the Democrat will be able to get the word out. And with just 65 percent of the Democratic vote right now, Kleeb can close the margin by merely bringing those guys home. After that, it all becomes a battle for the independents.

Full crosstabs below the fold.

Race tracker wiki: NE-Sen

The DCCC has been calling and calling and calling and CALLING for months now. I've consistently said "No, once Pelosi took Impeachment off the table you lost my $$$." Usually the caller hangs up real fast at that point. Last week I got another DCCC call. This time from a history professor. She's good. She just about had me convinced to contribute once more. I told her this was a joint decision in our household, that she now needs to also convince my husband. She intends to call him Saturday morning.

I want to take a moment after last week's remarkable primary victory here in Nebraska to say thank you.  Thank you to the Netroots for all the support you have provided to our race, and especially to McJoan for all she has done.  Truly, I will never have words to thank each of you enough.  

What we did was nothing short of incredible.  Facing a well-liked and well-funded opponent, we won with nearly 70% of the vote.  We did it the democratic way -- through pounding the pavement, making phone calls, organizing new voters and new Democrats, and running a full grassroots campaign rather than a TV-only effort.

This summer and fall the Scott Kleeb for United States Senate campaign is looking for highly motivated students and recent graduates who believe, like Scott Kleeb, that Washington cannot change Nebraska, but Nebraska can change Washington.

The New Pioneer Academy will train a new generation of political activists who can take hold of their government and demand a new brand of politics. Interns will be encouraged to pursue a particular division based on current major, skills, and overall interest.

Internships are unpaid, volunteer positions and divided into the following divisions: