I don't think it's that Mr. Murphy. I think this shows that those people are in the minority, and that's why they have to use the Courts and Congress to get what they want.

Matt,

Actually, considering some of the power grabs both Omaha Public Schools and the Unicameral were trying with education, I'm not too surprised Dr. Tom lost. He looked as though he wasn't going to make a huge fuss about it. And many state residents were just a little put off by that.

And you can't tell me that bill to kill off rural schools wasn't a power grab.

As far as Dr. Tom's future goes, this primary loss and one National Championship run by Bill Callahan's Huskers will make Neb. wish Dr. Tom a happy retirement and a good fishing spot on Lake Mac. PS: Callahan's got both the team and the favorable sked to make such a run:)

Robert Mitchell Jr. :

Quite true that the people who care enough about it to actively support reform of the system are a small minority. Still, plenty of people are nominal supporters of things like CF reform and certainly the majority of Americans think politicians are crooks.

It does seem like people frequently care enough to complain but not enough to do anything, like vote for an honest candidate (plenty of folks in Massachusetts complain about Ted Kennedy and look how he does there). This isn't always a bad thing, but it's irritating when it hurts a candidate I support!

Brad S:

Unquestionably a power grab, but I thought Osborne took it seriously by suggesting everybody sit down and talk it out -- that sort of thing unfortunately doesn't work well in the soundbite culture.

You sound like you're a former Nebraskan. Perhaps I'm just upset because I think Osborne has been unquestionably loyal to our state, through thick and thin, and some part of me thinks we ought to reciprocate for that.

PS I will, somehow, manage to secure tickets for their upcoming victory against Texas next season.

Yes, I am Matt (Stanton High '90!). I probably couldn't totally explain how I managed to end up in Denver, but I'm here. Ready to harass Buff fans about last year's humiliation in Boulder;)

I agree Dr. Tom has given more to Neb. than it can ever repay. But giving him the governor's seat is no form of repayment. I don't think he would've stood up to The Nation's Worst Legislature (that group of 49 egomaniacs known as the Unicameral) all that well, and Neb. is the kind of state that needs to move on from bigger-than-life people who've dominated the scene for the last 30+years.

Kind of like South Dakota moving on from Tom Daschle and Bill Janklow, if you know what I mean.

Brad S:

Mount Michael '99. (It's out in Elkhorn, but please don't confuse us with Elkhorn High.)

Osborne has demonstrated what I think is an impressive level of stubbornness once he figures out the right solution to a problem -- an absolutely perfect quality for a guy who has to work with our antiquated, frequently ridiculous legislature. His plan to use private sector guidelines to enhance the performance of state agencies was a very, very good idea, particularly considering Nebraska's budgetary problems.

Stormy Dean had a similar plan when he was a gubernatorial candidate (I interviewed him and he told me about it), and I remember thinking it was just about the only good idea he had. Dean's Democratic affiliation was a killer, but Osborne is a conservative Republican and the amount of respect he gets in this state would've been very convenient. I think Nebraskans made a rare mistake yesterday in turning him down. And it's the last chance they'll get.

Matt: I voted for both Ricketts and Heineman. I thought Osborne would have made a fine governor, so I wouldn't have been upset if he won the primary. I think Heineman ran a good campaign and he has done a good job as governor. I think Heineman ran to the right of Osborne with the OPS school district issue and the illegal immigrant in-state tuition issue.

I actually think Ricketts will beat Nelson, if he can stress the $150 million dollar nuke dump scandal and hammer Nelson as a Democrat (he would vote for Harry Reid as majority leader if the Dems took back the Senate). I like Ricketts saying he isn't a career politican and isn't a lawyer. Although Nelson isn't as rich as Ricketts, he is a multi-millionaire. In past races, Nelson has escalated the spending by dumping in his own money (I think he kicked in some of his own money back in the 1990 governor's election against Kay Orr).

pchuck:

Good point. I don't want to give the impression that I dislike Heineman, who I expect to do a good job. I thought it was a good choice versus a better choice.

I voted for Stenberg -- I met him a number of years ago and was very impressed. I was under no delusions that he would win, however.

Considering that the nuke-dump fiasco cost every taxpayer in our state about $200, I hope Ricketts pounds that theme at every opportunity.

The most unbelievabe barb regarding the reported Tom Osborne defeat at the hands of the private vote counters of Election Systems and Softwate ( a private UNAUDITED, NO PAPER TRAIL VOTE COUNTNG COMPANY HQ'd in Omaha & owned by the Omaha World Herald and a hand full of select elite neo-conns) is how they claimed Osborne's Home Town of Hasting (Adams and Hall Counties) voted decisively for Hinemann!!!!!!!
Honestly, as you drive through these 2 counties on the Tom Osborne Expressway ( a portion of the Interstate named for Nebraska most renounded citizen) it's hard to believe those 2 counties favored the Republican insider Hineman who was not elected, but inhereted the govenorship when Mike Johanns (another Bush insider) was appointed Secretary of Argiculture.
If the ballots could be hand counted, at least in Adams and Hall counties, we may find that Joseph Stalin's advise dictated:

"It's not how the people vote, but how you count the Votes"
JS
Source: Fooled Again by Mark Crispin Miller PH.d
www.infowars.com