Dysfunction Junction and more — #NebDems News

October 1, 2021

As Congress hurtles toward its next meltdown, it has become painfully obvious that dysfunction fostered by blind GOP partisanship is the rule.

Chaos is the new normal. It’s what’s expected. And it comes courtesy of the GOP.

To wit: Nebraska Reps. Don Bacon, Jeff Fortenberry and Ardian Smith on Thursday were among the 175 Republicans who voted against raising the national debt ceiling, potentially causing a horrific economic catastrophe for the nation. Luckily, the measure passed.

As Esquire’s venerable Charles Pierce puts it:

“Let’s begin the day by restating the simple fact that every bit of legislative foolishness and reckless vandalism occurring in Washington is caused by the Republican Party’s disinclination to cooperate in governing the nation.

In fact, let’s begin every day that way for the foreseeable future, because too much of the elite political press is casting this foolishness and vandalism as a “stalemate,” or, worse, as a problem for Democrats. This, of course, in the face of repeated Republican statements that admit what they’ve been doing and why.

Pierce noted a quip from Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota: “I’m confident they’ll figure it out,” Cramer said with a chuckle. “Either that, or they’ll implode. Right now, I have to admit, while I don’t generally relish in other people’s misery, it’s sort of fun to watch their chaos.”

With a chuckle. How completely adorable. Cramer is involved in a strategy that will tank the U.S. economy, throw an estimated nine million Americans out of work, crater the stock market, and visit upon the country god alone knows what other horrors, just so Cramer and his party can have some B.S. to sling in 2022 and 2024.

Sigh.

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A special legislative session on redistricting ended Thursday, with Sen. Justin Wayne and NDP Chair Jane Kleeb issuing a statement.

Redistricting happens every 10 years after the census and is meant to even out the populations of Nebraska’s three congressional districts, 49 legislative districts, six Supreme Court districts, eight University of Nebraska Board of Regents districts and State Board of Education districts and five Public Service Commission districts.

Thanks to Democratic Sens. Sens. Carol Blood; Mike McDonnell; Machaela Cavanaugh; Tony Vargas; Megan Hunt; John Cavanaugh; Wendy DeBoer; Terrell McKinney; Steve Lathrop; Justin Wayne; Lynne Walz, Matt Hansen; Anna Wishart; Patty Pansing Brooks; Eliot Bostar; Adam Morfeld; and Jen Day for fighting for fair maps.

See the final maps here.

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Sign up below for the Midwest Rural Conference, which is TOMORROW, Oct. 2! We have three great speakers on three amazing topics. The event is hosted by the NDP’s Agricultural and Rural Council.

There will be three conference sessions:

The Politics, Myths, and Realities of Rural School Consolidation: Paul Theobald
Breaking Through: Rural Healthcare and the ACA: Cynthia Nunlaey
30 x 30, The Actual Plan vs the Republican Disinformation Machine: John Hansen

SIGN UP HERE.

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Our Morrison-Exon event, which is our annual fundraiser and where we celebrate the volunteers and party leaders who build and grow the Nebraska Democratic Party, is Nov. 13.

Get tickets to the Morrison-Exon event here.

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Colette Yellow Robe, chair of the NDP’s Native Caucus, issued the following statement Thursday in honor of Orange Shirt day — set aside to honor survivors of abuse at government schools for indigenous children.

READ IT HERE.

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Our series of training for campaigns, led by state Sen. Carol Blood, continues.

The next session is Oct. 24: Keeping Your Campaign Momentum Going.

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Sign up for our next Block Captain training on Sunday, Oct. 17.

To find out more about the Block Captain program, click here.

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OK all you political brainiacs, sign up here for NDP’s trivia night! Five rounds of trivia questions ranging from current politics, past politics, Nebraska history and so much more. Grab your team of six, or if you are solo, we will match you with other solo players.

Nov. 7, 2021: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. CT. Via Zoom

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Help build the NDP and become a Monthly Donor!

You can help us help Dems win!

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Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day. But you can still make sure you, your family and friends are registered here.

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Join our Welcome-to-the-Party calls! We are excited to cover topics such as voter registration and redistricting. We also will be giving our caucuses and councils the floor to talk about their goals and how you can get involved.

The next call is Oct. 5, where we will do an update on redistricting and talk about the NDP Platform

If you have suggestions for topics to cover, please email gina@nebraskademocrats.org.