Nelson seeks broad appeal
NELSON from pagel
Nelson has served as state
chairman for the presiden
tial campaigns of
Democrats Jimmy Carter,
Bill Clinton and A1 Gore.
Also, all seven of his
Nebraska Supreme Court
appointees were
Democrats.
Critics also say Nelson is
»thin-skinned, that he does
n’t take criticism well. He
says he just works hard to
make sure people under
stand his views.
On issues, clear differ
ences are evident between
Nelson and Stenberg.
Whereas Stenberg sup
ports allowing workers to
invest a portion of their
payroll taxes in private
investments, Nelson
opposes that idea. He wants
to extend Social Security’s
* solvency by infusing budget
surplus funds into the trust
fund.
“The issue is, when you
take money out of Social
Security, what happens?”
Nelson said. “It brings the
day of reckoning on Social
Security’s insolvency just
that much closer to you.”
On taxes, Nelson favors
the elimination of the
inheritance tax and the so
called “marriage penalty,”
which forces some married
couples to pay more
income taxes than if they
were single.
He said his priorities for
using budget surpluses
would be to pay down the
national debt, preserve
Social Security and provide
a tax cut. Like Bush,
Stenberg supports a larger
tax cut.
On prescription drugs,
Nelson supports a proposal
to bring all Medicare bene
ficiaries into a prescription
drug benefit program.
Recipients would pay
monthly premiums and co
payments to spread the risk
and lower drug prices
through the power of
Medicare in the market, he
said.
On social issues, Nelson
and Stenberg find much
agreement. Both men sup
port the death penalty,
oppose abortion and sup
port a proposed constitu
tional amendment to ban
same-sex marriages and
civil unions in Nebraska.
Nelson said he wants to
work with “sensible cen
trists” in the Senate on
those issues, as well as on
reforming farm policy and
education.
“People are going to
look at the candidates for
Senate, and there are just
two names there - Ben
Nelson and Don Stenberg,
just the two of us,” Nelson
said.
“I’ve been dealing with
the issues, while my oppo
nent has been trying to fig
ure out who his team is. I’m
going to be an independent
voice for Nebraska.”
Osborne's cruises to easy victory
OSBORNE from page 2
form. It may not be right,” he said. “But if you
have an opportunity to make a difference and
don’t use it it’s a wasted opportunity.”
‘ Osborne grew up in Hastings and has a
residence near Lake McConaughy. He said he
ran in the 3^ District because that is where
the state’s greatest challenges are.
The district which extends from western
Nebraska to 40 miles west of Lincoln and is
bigger than Iowa, has been ravaged by a
struggling agricultural economy. Commodity
prices have nosedived, and many farmers
have gone out of business.
Some critics, including Reynolds, have
said Osborne knows little about agriculture
and is ill-equipped to handle challenges.
But Osborne said he spent time on a dairy
farm as a child and still owns three pieces of
r farmland in the district. He has convened
agricultural discussion groups this year, and
said he has learned much about farm policy.
He supports federal crop insurance,
wants to expand the use of ethanol and hopes
^ to unify the agricultural sector for more effec
T tive lobbying. He also hopes to limit federal
regulations, which he said have crippled
farmers and small businesses.
Osborne frequently laments over what he
calls the “steady, progressive unraveling of the
culture."
He opposes abortion, same-sex marriage
and further gun control. He believes sex,
drugs and violence in TV movies and video
games have contributed to society’s moral
collapse. In order to regain lost ground, the
country must once again focus on strong
families and religious faith, he said.
“I think it’s a real cultural war,” he said.
“It’s not imagined. It’s out there.”
Osborne also holds beliefs that are con
trary to the majority of his constituents. For
example, he opposes the death penalty.
Osborne continues to receive criticism
for his handling of several players who ran
afoul of the law, especially running back
Lawrence Phillips. In 1995, Phillips sat out six
games for dragging his former girlfriend
down the stairs by her hair. Osborne reinstat
ed him at the end of the season.
He received intense criticism, both local
ly and nationally, but he stood by his deci
sions.
| Stenberg aims for new vision
STENBERGfrom pagel
Gore."
As attorney general, Stenberg has
been a staunch advocate of the death
penalty and an opponent of abortion.
This year, he argued unsuccessfully
before the U.S. Supreme Court in defense
of Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth abor
tion.
Critics say Stenberg has politicized
the attorney general’s office, making deci
sions to gain political advantage rather
than basing them on the law. Stenberg
said those critics are simply liberal parti
sans who disagree with his views.
On issues such as Social Security,
taxes and prescription-drug coverage,
Stenberg and Nelson disagree strongly.
Stenberg supports allowing younger
workers to invest a portion of their payroll
taxes in private investments, which he
said would yield higher returns.
“I trust the American people to make
those investment decisions,” he said. “I
don’t think we should condemn a future
generation of Americans to a 2 percent
return on their Social Security taxes.”
Like Bush, Stenberg supports a sub
stantial tax cut, saying American families
face too heavy a tax burden. He says
future budget surpluses will be large
enough to support a large tax cut,
increased defense spending and addi
tional spending to preserve Social
Security.
On prescription drugs, Stenberg pro
poses allowing seniors to enroll in a pre
scription-drug discount card program
through which they could bargain for dis
counts. He also supports catastrophic
coverage to limit the total amount seniors
would have to spend on prescription
drugs.
Stenberg said he and the Republicans
can achieve these goals only if Americans
elect Bush and a Republican Senate and
House of Representatives.
"It takes a team to govern this great
nation.”
Unicam hopefuls list key issues
BY UNDSEY BAKER
Tuesday’s election will
see six senators from the
Lincoln area elected to the
Nebraska Unicameral for
the next four years. What
follows is a short descrip
tion of the candidate and
his or her view on perti
nent issues.
District 1
Lavern Bartels:
Bartels, a Johnson County
native, was mayor of
Tecumseh from 1978 to
1990. Bartels said his cam
paign goals are lower
taxes, welfare reform and
pro-abortion issues.
Floyd Vrtiska:
Unicameral incumbent
and semi-retired farmer
and cattle-feeder, Vrtiska
has been in the legislature
for eight years.
Vrtiska said his goals
focus on economic devel
opment, education, provi
sion of money to state col
leges and teacher pay.
District 21
Carol Hudkins:
Hudkins, a grain and live
stock farmer, is finishing
her second term in the
Unicameral. Her goals
include improving agri
culture, education and
economic development.
District 25
Ron Raikes: Raikes, a
farmer, was appointed to
the Nebraska Unicameral
in 1997, and elected two
years ago to complete the
term. Raikes said he wants
to pay attention to both
taxation and education.
District 27
DiAnna Schimek:
Incumbent Schimek has
been a member of the
Unicameral for 12 years.
Schimek focuses on
health care, including
women’s health and dia
betes, and election laws,
such as campaign finance
reform and lobbying laws.
Paul Edwards:
“Homegrown Nebraskan”
Edwards, Director of
Public Affairs for the
Rural/Metro Ambulance,
is centering his legislative
goals on child care for sin
gle-parent families,
including tax breaks for
businesses that offer in
house child care and edu
cation. Edwards also
spoke out against drug
trafficking and handgun
related crimes.
District 29
Mike Foley: Foley, a
corporate planning ana
lyst for the Nebraska
Public Power District, said
his key theme is campaign
finance reform. Foley also
supports higher teacher
salaries and lower taxes.
James Hewitt:
Attorney Hewitt has spent
40 years in Lincoln’s 29th
District. Hewitt stressed
three goals: higher teacher
salaries, reassessing taxing
processes and the mainte
nance of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln cam
pus’s high status.
District 23 candidate
Curt Bromm could not be
reached for comment
Sunday.
Underdog Reynolds focuses on agricultural issues, not football
REYNOLDS from page 2
gerous gamble.
“It’s the death knell for agricul
ture,” he said. “We're going to lose
t most of our farmers shortly, and
he’s just going to wave them good
bye.”
As the agricultural economy
withered, Reynolds believed 3rd
District Rep. Bill Barrett was ignor
ing the depths of the problem.
Reynolds entered the race in
the fall of 1999. A couple of months
later, Barrett decided to retire. But
then, Osborne entered the race,
and the campaign changed.
But Reynolds has made his
campaign a quixotic crusade to
reverse die agricultural economy’s
sagging fortunes. He said he forced
Osborne to address agricultural
issues more direcdy.
“Let's get the agricultural
economy going again,” said
Reynolds, who left farming to
become a Grand Island real estate
investor. “Everyone’s talking about
it, but nobody seems to want to do
anything about it”
He said the 1996 Freedom to
Farm Act, which removed govern
ment production controls and
encouraged farmers to produce
crops of'their choice, hasn’t
worked.
He said the government
should pay farmers who volunteer
to put some of their land out of
production. This would help raise
commodity prices and boost
farmers’ incomes.
“Agriculture has to do well
before the rest of the district can
do anything,” he said.