The Jack & Dave Blog

John Bishop of Jack & John in the Morning awards his first Real American Award.....it's an idea that he came up with while doing his "morning business", so you know it must be good!

A couple of weeks ago we debated the merits of Nebraska's Electoral College votes and how they are distributed via the Congressional District model.  A bill introduced in the Legislature wanted to change the system back to the "winner take all" format that existed since, I believe, our statehood.  It is our current law that allowed Barack Obama to peel off one Nebraska Electoral Vote because he won the 2nd Congressional (Omaha) District in 2008 - John McCain got the other four.  It was that "victory" for the Democrats, and the subsequent bragging by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, that got the Nebraska GOP all worked up into a frothy lather.  The Nebraska Republican Party's goal: to take no prisoners on "winner take all."

Debate on "winner take all" with Sen. Beau McCoy from Jack & John in the Morning
 

In late 2010, State GOP Chairman Mark Fahleson made no bones about his party's desire to switch to the "winner take all" format when he announced that any GOP state senator who failed to vote for the bill would be subject to the wrath of the Party.  He said that those senators could likely lose any Republican support in bids for future re-election.  Fahleson wasn't jerkin' around.  It was a threat to keep the 34 Republican senators in the Unicam in line with the Party's will.

But along came Columbus Senator Paul Schumacher.  The rookie senator earned his first term by beating (ironically) another Republican in the general election.  One of his first committee assignments was to sit on the Government Affairs committee which would hear the "winner take all" bill.

The testimony was passionate, but civil.  Republicans making their case for change.  Democrats making their case for retaining the current system.  The bill wasn't going to get support from the three Democrats on the committee, but they needed a fourth vote to kill the bill for the session.  That vote came from Paul Schumacher.

Now, a quick aside for those of you already seething because you believe you are reading words of a Democratic sympathizer.  I really don't give a rat's behind about which party is doing what.  I dislike the Electoral College with a passion.  It is an antiquated system akin to the horse-drawn plow.  The College needs to be abolished altogether.  But short of total elimination, I am for any system that draws us closer to a Presidential election that is determined by the candidate with the most popular votes.  The current Nebraska (and Maine) Congressional District system is far more representative of the people's will than "winner take all."

With that out of the way, I am also against nearly every proposal that smacks of blatant partisanship.  This effort by the state GOP was exactly that.  They got their shorts in a wad because Obama got the Omaha vote and they wanted to move Heaven and Earth to prevent that from happening again.  Their motivation was for the good of the Party, not of the people.  Which is my number one gripe with political parties...BOTH of them.  In this case it was the Grand Old Party trying to scheme their way to victory, but next time, it could be the Democrats.

So, for his intelligent vote, for ignoring the threats from his party, and for fighting for the rights of every man, I present the title of Real American to Senator Paul Schumacher.

Now watch the following video and mentally superimpose the head of Sen. Schumacher onto Hulk Hogan's body.