| For months now, the well-connected conservative blog Leavenworth Street has been suggesting that Columbus industrialist and conservative Republican Tony Raimondo was being encouraged to switch parties in order to avoid the Republican primary for Senate. And for months we here in Nebraska's liberal blogosphere have completely ignored this story, figuring it nothing but an unsubstantiated rumor meant only to rile us up.
Unfortunately, it looks like we may have made a big mistake. The rumor has since left the conservative blogs and wormed its way into the mainstream media, where its source appears to be none other than the man himself: Tony Raimondo. Here's a brief recap for those who haven't been following this story:
First of all, Raimondo has been considering running for the Senate since May... as a Republican. But shortly after Bob Kerrey demurred, Raimondo announced he was dropping out as well - he said he just didn't think he could make it through a crowded GOP primary with Gov. Mike Johanns in the race. But then he made sure every story announcing his decision included some superflous comment about the possibility of switching parties:
NTV"Raimondo says no one's suggested to him that he run for the Senate seat as a Democrat. He said while he has no plans to switch parties, he would listen if asked."
Omaha World Herald"Raimondo also said he has not been approached by anyone, including his friend Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, to run as a Democrat. He said he would listen if approached but has no plans to switch parties."
Etc. So basically he's been saying "I'd never even think of switching parties by myself, but if you guys really want me to... okay." I'd be tempted to brush these comments off if they had just stopped there, but they haven't. After Mayor Fahey announced he wasn't running either, Nebraska Public Radio briefly recapped the remaining field of Democratic contenders: Scott Kleeb... and Tony Raimondo:
Kleeb said he will decide sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, Columbus industrialist Tony Raimondo, who earlier said he would not run for the Republican nomination, indicated he might run as a Democrat. Raimondo declined to be interviewed on tape, but told NET radio he's still interested in the Senate race. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Behlen Manufacturing, said he's always been an independent person... "I haven't let a brand slow me down," Raimondo said. He indicated he would probably decide whether to run by the end of November. |
| A subtle but significant change, don't ya think? No longer talking about how he "hasn't been approached" but would consider "if asked"... might it be because someone has approached and he's already been asked? I don't know, but I think we deserve to find out.
We can't be sure that there's a fire here yet, but there sure is a lot of smoke. And if there is even one spark of truth to this story, it needs to end right now. A Raimondo candidacy would be a disaster for Nebraska Democrats on every conceivable front, reducing us to a laughingstock while depriving our state of the true dialogue it deserves. What happens to our party when we start selling nominations to the highest bidder? And what happens to our democracy when we offer a choice between two Republicans in the primary... and a choice between two Republicans in the general?
It'd be a different story if Raimondo was a genuine progressive, or even a moderate, disillusioned with his party and willing to run strong and loud under the Democratic banner, but he's not. So far as I can see, Raimondo's only claim to bipartisanship is his personal friendship with Ben Nelson. That's all fine and good, but that does not a Democrat make. His stated reason for dropping out of the Republican race was not idealogical, was not even personal: it was a matter of pure political convenience. "Raimondo said he decided he couldn't compete in the GOP primary after Johanns jumped into the race." The motivation behind any potential party switch would be immediately transparent to all, and it could only do further damage to Democratic credibility statewide if we simply pretended our new Emperor was really wearing clothes.
Hell, it'd be a different story if Raimondo was the only candidate that was looking at this race, but he's not. Scott Kleeb may not have the ability to write his campaign a $10 million check, but he's a real progressive who'd give Nebraska Democrats a real reason to stand up and be proud. To me, even the hope of a campaign like that is reason enough to veto Raimondo. Whether we lose in November, whether we even compete at all, let us not surrender our party and our principles before this campaign even starts. |
