Kerrey (D-Ne) says he may be leaning toward Senate bid

[Omaha Steve]

Published Friday | August 24, 2007
Kerrey says he may be leaning toward Senate bid
BY JAKE THOMPSON
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Bob Kerrey told trustees at his New York university Thursday that he is seriously considering running for the Senate again if Republican Chuck Hagel announces his retirement.


Bob Kerrey


"I'd like the answer to be 'yes' or 'no' as close to when Chuck makes his decision," Kerrey said in an interview. "I wanted to let them know the answer might be yes."

Kerrey said he discussed the possibility of running for Hagel's seat with board members of the New School University, where he currently is president, because he expects that Hagel's decision on his own future could come soon.

Kerrey, a Democrat who served two terms in the Senate and one as Nebraska's governor, said the New School trustees understood why he is interested in possibly returning to public life. He said they hope he decides not to leave the university.

"The odds still favor me saying no," Kerrey said.

Hagel, a Republican, is expected to announce within weeks whether he will seek re-election in 2008, retire from politics or possibly run for president.

FULL story at link.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

1. kick for Senator Kerrey.

And it would be fun to hear "...Kerrey, Kerry..." when the quorum calls happen..

:kick:

[karynnj]

15. wouldn't it be

Kerrey of Nebraska, Kerry of Massachusetts - like it is with Nelson of Nebraska, Nelson of Florida (Don't remember order there)

Nebraska is not very original!

[ncrainbowgrrl]

17. Alphabetically-because of first names there- Ben vs Bill

Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)

[saltpoint]

2. Bob Kerrey would be a far better Nebraska Democratic Senator than

the current Democratic Senator, IMO, and we would have his support on many key initiatives. He remains very popular in his state and could help us build our majority in the Senate, which is a major urgency.

He won't vote as reliably liberally as Massachusetts' senators, for example, but he'll do a great deal better than Chuck Hagel or any of the yahoo Pukes who the red team will nominate for that race.

Good luck to Bob Kerrey out there on the Great Plains, and thank you for posting this todya, Omaha Steve.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

3. This would add a (D)

The Nelsons were both up for reelection last time, IIRC.

So, 2 D from Nebraska.

Now we here in NC need to help y'all out... Liddy's up for reelection. :puke: Someone better beat the pants off that so-called senator of mine.

[saltpoint]

4. Your impulse to wish that Elizabeth Dole be removed from the U.S. Senate is

indication of a sound mind.

Bless you!

I'll send all the blue vibes I can muster for the Democratic nominee.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

5. Not sure if he was joking...

but there were rumors of Clay Aiken possibly taking 'er on... He'll be 30 right when elected....

I'd vote for a yellow dog- so... I'm for Clay.

[saltpoint]

10. I hear ya. If he's a Dem, I like him, and next to Liddy Dole I love 'im.

Whoever he is.

[sallyseven]

7. Kerrey is a dino

No question about it more like Joe than Kennedy. I watched him when he ran for President some time ago. I didn't like him then and he has done nothing since to make me like him now. I hope he won't run you need more reliable people.

[stray cat]

9. Kerrey is capable of critical analysis....I like that in a politician

I'm tired of political hacks who accomplish absolutely nothing. ie the rubber stamp republicans. Also, Nebraska can elect a dino, a rino or a right wing nutcase. Something about representative government - go figure...

[saltpoint]

14. Kerrey is Kerrey, which is closer to the essence of his politics. He is

unpredictable on the ideological track but that's not "unreliable."

As has been pointed out on DU and other blogs, we would have his vote way more than half the time we have Ben Nelson's and that's good for our side.

There are also overriding interests at stake, namely control of the Senate and the long-term investment in a strong majority for us there. It should not have been such a struggle to defeat the nomination of John Bolton; with more Democrats than Republicans as the mechanism for determining who gets through committee and who does not, I want more Democrats rather than fewer, and it is my best guess that Kerrey is the best shot we have for that seat in Nebraska.

[TheFarseer]

6. I'd love to see that

Although that might shut down Kleeb forever but still better than Hagel or some Pete Ricketts clone.

[rasputin1952]

8. Bob Kerrey is one of the D's that most Nebraskans are pretty

happy with. There are a few locals that would vote for satan before voting for a D, but all things considered, Kerrey is pretty well liked.

And even though when he was thinking about a presidential run for 2000, and they smeared him about his awards, he received the MOH, and that carries a lot of weight w/those out here.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Just what we needed, a war hawk and a war criminal rolled into one!

I wish Kerrey would spent his energies in pursuing Debra Winger.

[TwilightGardener]

12. Agreed, at least about the war hawk thing--my only hope is that the direction

of the Iraq war will be pretty much set by the time Kerrey has any influence on it. Because he's just another Lieberman. I can't get excited over Dems winning that seat if he comes back, and I'm not even sure, as a military wife, that I can vote for him. I feel THAT strongly about the war.

[AX10]

13. Liebermanesque war monger.

:puke:

[Nutmegger]

16. Couldn't have said it better myself.

:)

[Omaha Steve]

18. Lesser of 2 evils????

Former Senator Kerrey would be much better than Hagel etc...

Senator Kerrey was a friend to most Democratic causes. There were some items that come to my mind however. A print company he used for his first campaign for Governor was not unionized. But that company illegally used a union bug (trademark) to indicate it was printed in a union shop. I was on GAU (Graphic Arts Union) benefits at the time for being fired for organizing in an Omaha print shop. I later won my case in the NLRB and US Appeals court. I remember this well.

Other than Kleeb, I think Kerrey would be our best choice and chance to win the race for Senate.

[Joe Bacon]

19. We don't need another LIEberman

Stay at the New School, Bobbyboy until it finally sinks into your cerebrum that LIEberman is NO role model!

[kenny blankenship]

20. We could use another D in the Senate so we could tell Lieberman to fuck himself

[TwilightGardener]

21. Kerrey would just add to Holy Joe's influence--more of the same, when it comes to the war.

We'd be replacing an antiwar vote (Hagel) with a pro-war vote. I only hope the war is mostly resolved by 2009.

[Joe Bacon]

23. oh please, like we need another Zell Miller to tell LIEberman off??????

One LIEberman in the Senate is enough! We don't need 2!

[kenny blankenship]

26. Oh please yourself, we are only 2 seats away from being the minority again

And we're just one seat away from having a tied Senate votes decided by Dick GO FUCK YOURSELF Cheney. I wonder if you are acquainted with the way your government actually works? The majority party gets the chairmanship and majority of the seats in every standing Senate committee. Those committees determine if and when bills are submitted to the full Senate, and also what the bills look like: the party in control of the committees therefore controls the Senate agenda. It's kind of important!

Lieberman could decide to caucus with the Republicans after the next election, and without any pickups for us, we'll have a tied Senate. I'm sure you're hoping we win the Presidential election - but what if we don't? A tied Senate would then be a Republican Senate. Also it could happen that we win the Presidency but lose a Senate seat from our total. There would then be 50 Rs in the Senate and Lieberman could very well decide to caucus with them. That would reverse the current 51-49 split. The Republican controlled Senate could mess with our incoming President's Cabinet nominations for the sheer hell of disrupting our progress, and bottle up many new judicial appointees til the end of the President's term. Do you remember what that was like when Clinton was President? They could also prevent the new Dem President from being able to move and sign any significant new legislation, probably dooming our Pres. to one term. Picking up ANY seat currently held by the Republicans and putting a Democrat in it is thus of great value, even if that new Senator were to be Joe Lieberman's twin brother. Or yes, even if it were Zell Fucking Miller. Zell Miller used to be my Senator, along with Max Cleland. But now I have TWO NeoNazi Republicans representing me in the Senate. Do you see how that isn't working any better for me and the Democratic constituencies of Georgia? Now to be sure, Zell Miller is a demented, raving, redneck zombie moron. He's a monster descended from a long inbred line of monsters. I expect he would vote contrary to my wishes in an overwhelming majority of cases. And yet I would walk barefoot over broken glass to vote for him if were running again as the Democratic candidate versus Saxby Chambliss for Senate - because that's how important a SECURE Democratic majority in the Senate is. It's not the way he votes that justifies electing him it's the composition of the Senate and its effect on the process of legislation. Without a secure majority every vote is too close, and a treacherous bastard like Joe Lieberman can amplify his threats to walk out of the Democratic caucus and constantly drag the Democrats in his direction. The greater the margin of Democratic majority in the Senate, the less Pissy Joe and his pissy threats will matter. The closer the split in the Senate composition, the more critical ANY pickup is for us, even if the individual who gained the seat for us is a Miller or Lieberman and pisses you off everytime he votes. Two years or four years onward the fact that this seat went to a Dem could become even more important. What if we had a Senator from a state with a Republican Governor die in a mysterious plane crash? When things are close every little advantage, every little reserve is of immense importance.

If you can find a better Democrat than Bob Kerrey in Nebraska, that's great. Make sure that other Democrat wins the primary. If Kerrey wins the primary, for fuck's sake vote for him in the general.

[Progressive Friend]

24. Exactly, although Kerrey is right-wing enough that he could win here in Nebraska...

[maximusveritas]

22. I don't understand these comparisons to Lieberman

Kerrey was a moderate Democratic Senator of a red state. He was for the most part a good Democrat who didn't go around bashing his party.
Lieberman was a moderate Democratic Senator of a blue state. He did go around bashing his party before leaving it when he lost a primary.
The only major similarity is that they both supported the war.

I may not agree with Kerrey's politics completely, but I'd be very happy if he was in that Senate seat again.

[ChipperbackDemocrat]

25. Bob Kerrey back in the fold?

He would be serious shot in the arm from Nebraska Democrats...He was a good Governor and a good Senator..


If you want to know what a Republican does to Nebraska, go to Henry Doorly Zoo during the mating season!