Poll: Nebraska Senate--Nelson in big trouble in '12

[WI_DEM]

Granted it's a GOP poll

Nebraska

Job Approval / Disapproval
Pres. Obama: 30 / 63

Favorable / Unfavorable
Ben Nelson: 32 / 57
Dave Heineman: 67 / 24

2012 Senate
58% Heineman (R), 28% Nelson (D)


http://www.pollster.com/blogs/ne_2012_senate_magellan_712.php

[geek tragedy]

1. Boo hoo. nt

[dmallind]

7. So you trust Heineman to vote 81.2% with Democrats?

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/party-voters/

[flpoljunkie]

14. Yes, but the 8.8% when Nelson votes for the R's is really problematic.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

16. ...and 88.8+% voting with Republicans is better...how? (nt)

[TheWraith]

18. So? A Republican isn't going to give you that 8% either.

I think Nelson is a prima donna asshole, but he's still infinitely better than a Nebraska Republican.

[flpoljunkie]

21. On that we agree.

[MyNameGoesHere]

26. I wish there was a way to punish him for being a shit head 8.8% of the time. n/t

[dmallind]

29. Yeah me too - but it's cutting off our nose to spite our face to get 90% the other way. NT

[Hawkowl]

33. Oh there is

The president simply does not appoint any of Nelson's friends to any political jobs or judge ships. Then the president makes this fact known to everybody in Nebraska making Nelson more toxic than Chernobyl. Then the president holds up or foot drags on every. damn. dime. of federal stimulus and or aid to Nebraska.

That my friend is the political hardball practiced by JFK, FDR, LBJ, and yes, the devil's apprentice, Shrub.

If the president makes an example of just one piss ant senator, from a piss ant state with less people than the city of Houston, you can bet your ass the rest of the party is going to toe. the. fucking. line.

But no, we have Barney the Dinosaur loving on everybody as president. Some senator shows up at the White House and pisses in the president's cornflakes and next thing you know, they pull up a chair for him and serve him steak and eggs.

[SusanaMontana41]

36. There is.

We need a progressive to challenge Nelson in the primaries. If his numbers stay that low, someone will step up. I hope it's Scott Kleeb.

[Renew Deal]

2. Can we at least take him out in a primary first?

Just on priciple...

[patrice]

3. Too bad the Green Party can't organize their way out of a wet tissue-paper bag.

[WI_DEM]

10. who knows Nelson may be challenged in the democratic primary like Lincoln.

[patrice]

11. I wish Labor would put forward a strong Progressive Populist Democrat, but I'd

settle for any strong (and the operative word here IS "strong" as in has grassroots support) Progressive Populist.

[Ian David]

12. You know how long it takes to compost a wet tissue-paper bag? n/t

[TwilightGardener]

4. I think the Benator knows it's over. He's just going to keep doing the bidding

of banks, business, and insurance co's to line up a high-paying post-Senate career.

[CanonRay]

5. So all of his siding with Rethugs got him what, exactly?

Zip, nada, nothing but scorn.

[dmallind]

8. Hagel votes against R more than Nelson votes against D BTW. NT

[Davis_X_Machina]

15. Simply not true.

has Snowe as the only Republican with a more liberal voting record than Nelson. No Republican in the Senate, save Snowe, is as conservative as any Democrat, including Specter.

And Hagel's not voting at all -- Johans is.

[dmallind]

22. Not measuring teh same thing however.

It's not that Hagel was better than Nelson it's that he was more likely to vote against his own party than Nelson in the last Congress

Check the link in my first post upthread for data - which simply IS true whether you understood it or not.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/party-voters/

[BrklynLiberal]

13. Zactly!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. It got him 8 years as Governor and 12 years as Senator.

So... yeah... nothing, right?

[Nite Owl]

6. I wonder if he really cares

He would make a lot more money in the private sector, he's been serving the corporations anyway so I'm sure they will reward him nicely.

[KingFlorez]

9. Two years is a long way off

The right-wing really ought to stop trying to count chickens that are nowhere near hatching. I'm not going to worry about this one yet.

[Mr. Sparkle]

19. If you act like a republican...

you should expect to get replaced by a one. Nelson has no Democratic base to come out for him, so essentially he is screwed.

[JVS]

20. What did he expect after the way he acted on HCR?

We replace him with a better candidate in the primary.

[dmallind]

23. But everybody is responding as if this means a better option. It doesn't.

It measn instead of a guy who turns against Dems 18.8% of the time, we will get a Reop who votes against Dems 90% of the time. This is Nelson losing to a Rep, not another Dem.

[JVS]

25. But his assholery was through the roof. Even Nebraskans thought his holding up the process...

until their state got exemption from having to pay for medicare/medicaid was over the top. He didn't look moderate pulling that shit, he looked like a goddamned sleaze. And now his chickens are coming home to roost. We need a new candidate in 2012 and there is plenty of time to find one.

[IndianaGreen]

24. And I should care about Ben Nelson because...

Blue Dogs should be euthanized!

[dmallind]

28. ...because you'll never get a Rep to vote with Dems 80%+ like he did?

Or do you somehow think we could get Feingold or Frank elected in a statewide NE election?

[rasputin1952]

27. I'm out here in NE, and I worked very hard to get Nelson re-elected...

I am ashamed that I worked as hard as I did, (caveat, his opponent was a real slug).

I have fired off so many e-mails and snailmails I figure he thinks he's invited to Thanksgiving Dinner this year; no way!

He told us that would be his last run for the office...I think he's right, NO ONE likes him now. D's are seriously pissed off, we see him as a shitweasel.

Now, I'll send him another note...just to piss him off...:evilgrin:

[davidpdx]

37. I ought to do this same thing with my Republican Congressman

I applaud you for being persistent.

[backscatter712]

30. Nelson desperately needs to be primaried...

Hell right now, my own senator, Michael Bennet's being primaried. Amazing how it focuses their minds! :evilgrin: All of the sudden, Michael Bennet supported the public option, Blanche Lincoln supported tough derivatives language in the Wall Street reform bill, and even Arlen fucking Specter impersonates a progressive - when they get primaried.

Nelson's desperately asking for it. He needs a primary challenge.

[southernyankeebelle]

31. Who cares this man is a republican lite. In my district we have one also and

we have early voting and my husband left it blank and I typed in Mickey Mouse. I made sure to call his office in DC and left my name and let them know I voted for Mickey because I think he could do a better job then what is there now. I also informed her I didn't vote for him because he voted no for the healthcare. I told her to make sure she tells him what I said and my name. Besides that he is going to lose.

[BlueMTexpat]

32. And that was BEFORE his "No" vote on unemployment.

It's unlikely that he would ever have gotten votes from the Rethugs, but if there's any justice, he's even lost the Dems now.
Hopefully, NE will come in out of the cold and elect a Democrat who acts like one. Surely there is someone.

[rpannier]

34. It's still 2 years off so I don't think anyone should seriously start

planning on getting his office space or his committee seats

What I find most interesting about the poll is, he used to have the highest favorables among all US Senators within their home state.

For the last year his approval rating has just bled

His supporters will blame the Administration, his detractors will blame him
Maybe people in Nebraska are just tired of him

We'll see what happens come election time
6 months ago Harry Reid seemed finished and all the discussion revolved around Shumer or Durbin

[AtomicKitten]

35. Ah, that's a shame. nt