Thread: Heineman Strategy May Have Helped In Win

http://www.ketv.com/politics/9194237/detail.html

Heineman Strategy May Have Helped In Win
Hispanic Leader Says Immigration Issue May Have Put Governor Over Top

POSTED: 5:34 pm CDT May 10, 2006
UPDATED: 10:25 pm CDT May 10, 2006

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Gov. Dave Heineman won the vote in 74 of Nebraska's 93 counties on Election Day, and his campaign manager said Wednesday that a last-minute push helped put the incumbent on top.

U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne won narrow victories in Douglas, Lancaster and Thurston counties. The other 16 counties where Osborne finished first are in the Panhandle and southwest Nebraska.

In 11 counties, Heineman received more than 56 percent of the vote. They include an area in northeast Nebraska, plus Custer and Dawson counties.

Osborne did not get more than 55 percent of the vote in any Nebraska county.

Heineman campaign manager Carlos Castillo said volunteers visited 5o,000 Nebraska homes in five days to talk about the major issues.

"They all boiled down to education, Class One schools, (Omaha Public Schools) and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants," Castillo said.

The illegal immigration issue may have had the biggest impact. Both Osborne and Nabity said they would support a bill allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Nebraska colleges and university.

Heineman vetoed the bill, but his veto was overturned by the Legislature.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Marty Ramirez said he is disappointed that Heineman tapped into an anti-immigration attitude that has developed across the country in recent months.

"Anything that smelled of being pro-immigrant, it was going to cost you," Ramirez said.

Heineman won the six counties with meatpacking and processing plants that employ a large number of immigrants. In three of those counties, he got more than 56 percent of the vote.

"The reality of racism, and towards ... Latinos -- that doesn't surprise me. It still exists out there. You can't prove it, but you can't disprove it either," Ramirez said.

Castillo said race did not play an issue.

"I don't think so. There were definitely differences when it came to issues and at the end of the day that's what it's all about," Castillo said.

Ramirez, who met with Heineman earlier this year, said he wants to talk to him again to find out how the immigration issue will affect Heineman's policy, and which direction he plans to go from here.

Osborne wasn't available to comment on Wednesday, but told KETV NewsWatch 7 on Tuesday night that the immigration issue is one of the reasons he lost the election.

"The reality of racism, and towards ... Latinos -- that doesn't surprise me. It still exists out there. You can't prove it, but you can't disprove it either," Ramirez said.

I am so tired of the race card. And w/ Ramirez's logic...well, there isn't any. If you can't prove it or disprove it then what's your point? The fact is that most people do not like ILLEGAL trespassing...it has nothing to do w/ immigration.

On a side note...Kudos to the Governor! I am sure that word is spreading quickly. The timing of these recent elections just may be a blessing!

University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Marty Ramirez said he is disappointed that Heineman tapped into an anti-immigration attitude that has developed across the country in recent months.

I don't think that the old professor is as smart as he thinks.
It is anti-ILLEGAL-immigration attitude.
Maybe he needs a few more courses.

http://humaneventsonline.com/blog-detail.php?id=14810

Illegal-Alien Tuition Decided Neb. Race

by John Gizzi
Posted May 15, 2006

The issue of whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to pay in-state tuition at Nebraska state colleges was pivotal in Nebraska’s Republican gubernatorial primary last week.

It helped defeat Rep. Tom Osborne, who served 25 years as the football coach at the University of Nebraska, and who enjoyed mythic status in the state after leading the Cornhuskers to three national championships in the 1990s.

Osborne, who is in his third and last House term, began the primary campaign with a double-digit lead over incumbent GOP Gov. David Heineman (who, as lieutenant governor, inherited the job last year when then-Gov. Mike Johanns was named U.S. secretary of Agriculture).

Last week, Heineman defeated Osborne, 50% to 45%, with Omaha businessman David Nabity placing a distant third. Heineman’s success against the former football coach was in large part due to his veto of a bill passed by the state’s unicameral legislature earlier this year to allow illegal aliens who graduate from high school in Nebraska and promise to continue trying to achieve U.S. citizenship to pay in-state tuition at state colleges. Osborne supported the in-state tuition bill, which became the law when the legislature overrode Heineman’s veto.

“It was certainly one of the major reasons Dave Heineman won and Tom Osborne lost,” said Omaha City Councilman Chuck Sigerson, a former Republican state chairman. Sigerson noted that the issue was widely discussed at the candidates’ debates and in commercials run at the end of the campaign. “Illegal immigrants are coming to Nebraska in significant numbers—in Omaha and Lincoln in particular,” Sigerson said. “The issue of illegal immigration is a growing problem.”

In a debate at Norfolk, Neb., in April, Osborne attacked Heineman over the veto. “You don’t punish somebody for something they had no control over,” he lectured the governor. “Why would you take away that opportunity to better themselves?”

Heineman fired back that giving tuition breaks at tax-funded colleges to people in the country illegally is “not right. It’s not fair. It’s not appropriate. There is a legal way to go through the immigration process.”

Evidence that Osborne feared he had injured himself on the issue emerged when his campaign started doing “push polls” trying to paint Heineman as weak on illegal immigration. NebraskaStatePaper.com dubbed the push polling “the telephonic equivalent of an attack ad.” In one call, the voter was told: “Tom Osborne has voted for tighter border security and proposed measures to allow hard-working immigrants to obtain temporary worker visas. Dave Heineman does not even have a position on illegal immigration listed on his Web site. Does his silence on illegal immigration make you less likely to vote for Dave Heineman?”

Osborne’s defeat, Sigerson said, “came on the heels of all those rallies for illegal immigrant rights—and voters said they were fed up with them.”

You would have to be a Nebraskan or know about Nebraska society to truly understand the newsworthiness of Osborne losing the race.

Osborne was the University of Nebraska (Big Red) football coach for many years. In this state, MANY citizens worship "Big Red" and Osborne held a cult-like status among a large percentage of the population.

To an educated person (perhaps) not brainwashed into the "Big Red" cult it is astounding as to the fanaticism Nebraskans hold all that is "Big Red." The fanaticism is close to adoration for many.

Personally, I find the whole thing disgusting and indicative of the power of humanity's basest instincts. Whatever......

For the "coach" (peace be upon him, hallowed be his name... scarcasm here an accurate indicator) to lose the election is extremely surprising to many people.

I hope that it is true, that the worries about the invasion and treatment of those who have invaded us led enough folks to shrug off their avid loyalty to "Big Red" and vote for the one who came across as being more anti-invasion.

Thus, this news story may be a ray of hope for patriots.

Talking to another teacher today, he mentioned the election's outcome. An educated older chap, he also proclaimed that Heineman's win was likely due to his stance on tuition for the spawn of illegal aliens while Osborn tends to shun taking a stance against illegals; though he is nowhere close to being the illegal alien-loving scum senator Chucky Boy Hagel of Nebraska!!!!!!

Sadly, Nebraska's legislature over-rode Heineman's veto and has allowed in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Just one more instance where our politicians spit in the face of the masses, the common folks harmed so much by the invaders.

Is the Nebraska state legislature up for election this November?

By golly gosh almighty.......... a couple hours after posting my diatribe above I came across this commentary found on a link at americanpatrol.com.

I have grabbed a portion of the writing..... it verifies my written utterances!!!! Wheeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Mz ... mUwNWY3ODI

"Likewise in Nebraska last week, immigration toppled the favored candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary, Rep. Tom Osborne, in what was called “one of the most surprising defeats in Nebraska political history.” Osborne, whose success as the University of Nebraska football coach made him an icon in the football-mad state (he was once called “Nebraska’s God” by one of his hapless political rivals), had never received less than 82 percent of the vote in his congressional races, and was expected to win easily over Gov. Dave Heineman. But that was before Heineman vetoed a bill providing in-state tuition for illegal aliens at state universities, while Osborne approved of the bill. Both Osborne and his campaign manager acknowledged that his support for illegal immigrants was a major reason for his defeat."

When Osborne (peace be upon him. Hallowed be his name.) ran for Congress he defeated a long-time incumbet who was widely regarded as being an excellent Congressman with much more political experience and who, with his years in office, was much more effective due to all the connections and clout he had in Congress. But, Osborne (peace be upon him. Hallowed be his name) was THE COACH so...... the braindead inbred denizens of this cultural backwater simply HAD to vote for the COACH (Hallowed be his title. Peace be upon him).

Kinda' shows how seriously angry enough Nebraskans are about the invasion Heck... to vote against the COACH, the great wonderful more-than-mere-mortal Osborne (bow down to his immenence. Worship he that is so God-like) is almost unbelievable but... it happened!!!!!!

I am still in shock!!!!!

Sure hope his emminence, the COACH, the wonderful OSBORNE doesn't decide to hurl lightening bolts down upon his subjects to show HIS displeasure.