Top Republican officeholders — Gov. Jim Pillen, Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, Reps. Adrian Smith and Mike Flood – were in North Platte Friday on a campaign swing around Nebraska to consolidate support on Election Day.
They warned of Nebraska Initiative 439, which would allow an abortion until a fetus can survive outside the womb. They warned of Dan Osborn’s challenge to Fischer, and of the danger of a Democrat majority in Congress and the White House.
“We live in a very interesting time,” Fischer said. “This race (with Osborn) is going to be the most expensive Senate race, or any race, in the history of Nebraska.”
Fischer said millions of dollars from George Soros-type sources are pouring in to support Osborn’s attack ads against her. And, she said Osborn is certain to caucus with Democrats if elected, despite his proclaimed independent status. He will likely sway federal legislation in a liberal direction.
She said she has answered attacks by using Osborn’s own words against him, and then when Osborn called her a “fake rancher,” it clearly went to far. She’s cleaned out calving sheds, she said with a knowing smile.
Ricketts said the U.S. is better under conservative leaders in Washington. He said former President Donald Trump fostered the best economy in years, with low unemployment and low retail prices.
Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the country has high prices, high unemployment and an out-of-control border, and families suffer, he said, and the Biden-Harris administration have created 5,000 regulations in the last four years.
Ricketts pointed to Fischer’s influence in the Senate with 12 years of experience. She is the second in command of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She is the chairwoman of the Rules Committee, and a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.
Ricketts said with Fischer on Appropriations, that committee advanced 12 funding bills for the federal government. It used to be standard procedure to consider 12 sections of appropriations, but last year was the first time in five years, thanks to bipartisan support. However, Senate leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, did not schedule the bills for floor debate.
“Conservative leadership matters,” Ricketts said.
Regarding the two abortion questions on the Nebraska ballot, Gov. Jim Pillen said a national effort is underway to make abortion a constitutional right in each state. That has already happened in seven states, and advocates put Measure 439 on the ballot.
Pillen said he has a personal interest in supporting 434, which would restrict abortion to the first 12 weeks of gestation. He said two of his grandchildren were in-vitro babies. They were born prematurely, weighing about two pounds apiece.
He said love and life are sacred, especially in Nebraska.
Ricketts and Rep. Mike Flood noted that Measure 439 would give every “person” instead of “woman” the right to an abortion. So legally, a sex trafficker might force a woman to have an abortion, and a husband could force his wife, and a minor could have an abortion without parental notification.
Flood also extolled Fischer’s experience.
“We have not had this much influence by a senator representing our state in 35 years,” he said.
Flood said Osborn says he is pro-life but would make the Row v. Wade boundaries into a federal law. He says he is pro-second amendment but has an F rating from the National Rifle Association.
Smith said Nebraska’s Republican delegation in Washington works together and it’s important to keep it together. He spoke highly of Donald Trump’s presidency. He said wages increased faster than executive compensations, and Trump’s tax cuts of 2017 brought profits that U.S. companies earned overseas back to the U.S. Otherwise, those profits would remain overseas to avoid taxes.
Photos by Elizabeth Tegtmeier.
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