As we mentioned in the first new commentary of 2012, a major focus for us in this new year is that we are striving to be be a better example of a solid media and communications outlet.
Some of the energy behind that goal was generated from a couple of messages we received over our recent holiday break, worrying that we might not return to production in the new year. It seems our publication is not the only media outlet that suffered from a similar lack of communication with its audience recently.
There's no need to worry about our collective sanity, as Paul is certain to continue drawing cartoons, and we're not about to stop writing and aggregating high-quality news and opinion content anytime soon. It frankly makes us chuckle a bit at how small actions some people make, and some stories that readers may have missed while we were away, can occasionally get blown out of proportion.
Take, for example, the story surrounding the U.S. Senator from Nebraska, Ben Nelson, that happened over the holiday break.
In case you missed it, Senator Nelson has decided NOT to run for re-election this year, 2012 - which leaves Nebraska Democrats shaking in their political shoes, and Nebraska Republicans gearing up for open war with each other.
We know exactly how the GOP side of the race is likely to unfold. It already began last year, with some offensive comments by leading Republican candidate and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, and continued with true stories - leaked in a misleading way - about Bruning, likely leaked by one of the other Republican candidates.
We doubt the Republican contest for the nomination will get any less crazy in 2012. Just yesterday, state senator Deb Fischer, one of the many candidates for the GOP nomination, introduced legislation to - no surprise - limit the ability of Nebraska cities and towns in need of revenue to charge taxes to pay their bills. Meanwhile, some Republicans are still begging current Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman to enter the race and grab the nomination - which he would likely get, if he chose to run. At this point, it appears he may not want to declare for the Senate race.
On the Republican side, the problem is that the GOP is really at least five separate parties these days, who are all pretty sick of one another: the corporatists, the libertarians, the "religious" right, the Tea Party, and the real Republicans - sane, old-fashioned, moderate folks. Any candidate that tries to appeal to all five of those groups is going to have to try a series of crazy stunts and contortions that not even Cirque Du Soleil could achieve.
On the Democratic side, the divisions are less well-known than on the Republican side - but they are just as intense. In short, there are the passive Democrats, and there are the progressive Democrats. The passive Democrats would prefer to make nice with modern Republicans - who frankly would like to see the Dems elliminated from all Nebraska politics. So far, the passive M.O. of state Democratic Party leaders has basically emptied the top political offices of Democratic representation for Nebraskans.
The progressive Democrats are nominally led by Jane Kleeb, political activist, school board member, and wife of former Nebraska U.S. Senate candidate Scott Kleeb. To say that Jane is assertive and direct at times would be understating things. However, she might really shake up the race for U.S. Senate, if she were to run for the nomination, which could be a very good thing.Then again, that's exactly what many in the NDP seem to be afraid of.
Regardless of who runs and who wins, we have no intention of laying down our pencils, keyboards, mice, and cartooning tools any time soon.
After all - we're not running for the open U.S. Senate seat from Nebraska. That would be crazy.
