Pete Ricketts sure sounded like he would be tough on illigal immigration on his TV commericials which have ran non stop for months now. It's not so.

http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews.../449feb30b7997

Conflicted Republicans Walk Softly On Immigration Policy; Dems May Do The Same
By ED HOWARD

June 26, 2006

Nebraska Democrats will have it just a bit easier than the Republicans.
At the GOP state convention in Grand Island, party regulars didn’t take a definitive position on the issue of illegal workers who cross into this country from Mexico.

It would have been awkward, and it wouldn’t have been politically practical.

Senator Chuck Hagel is point man for the proposal favored by President Bush. It includes a path to citizenship for illegals who qualify. It also concentrates far less than House legislation – favored by Nebraska’s three Republican congressmen – that puts far greater border security at the top of the agenda. Republican Senate candidate Pete Ricketts supports the Bush-Hagel plan.

Ricketts faces incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson in November – and Nelson is a full-fledged and pledged border security guy.

Nebraskans are generally perceived to favor much tighter border security. That works nicely in a couple of races for the state’s greatly outnumbered Democrats.

Nelson and gubernatorial candidate David Hahn have been vocal border security advocates from the get-go – putting both on record endorsing the more conservative approach to the border issue. It means Nelson will be at the top of the Democratic ticket with a policy perceived at this point to be more popular among the electorate. It gives Hahn something of a talking point in his long-shot bid against Republican Governor Dave Heineman. Heineman hasn’t endorsed the Hagel-Bush proposal, but hasn’t come out in favor of the more conservative House plan, either.

Keep in mind: It isn’t likely that Democrats will endorse those “get tough at the border” notions when they meet for their state convention in August. The Ds, just like the Rs, have many diverse opinions within their ranks. That diversity could be evident among Democratic congressional candidates, too. Republicans adopted a generalized statement on border issues. Democrats seem likely to do the same.

Interestingly, Hagel told fellow Republicans that Nelson “spins this great yarn he’s a conservative.” Nelson has to figure voters will see his immigration views as more conservative than those of Hagel and Ricketts. Nelson’s position is in tune with the House legislation greatly favored by conservative Republicans.

Hagel also took a swipe at Nelson for endorsing an increase in the minimum wage, which would represent the first such hike in a decade. Will rank-and-file Republicans think such a boost in pay for the lowest-paid workers (legally) is a bad thing? Hagel packaged his knock on a higher minimum wage with a ‘Ted Kennedy is in favor of it’ ribbon.

Meanwhile, Nelson’s campaign continued to note his support of all the tax reductions proposed by Bush, and the fact that he has voted with the president on major issues more often than any other Democrat. His favoring of a higher minimum wage, the theme goes, reflects concern for ordinary Nebraskans.


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David Hahn is the publisher of StatePaper.com He has had no input on editorial content since entering the gubernatorial race. That responsibility lies solely with the editor.