Scott Kleeb: The NNN Interview

by: Kyle Michaelis

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 16:44:56 PM CDT

You are running to replace Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican.  Hagel has played a complicated role on the national political scene, largely  over his outspoken criticism of Iraq war.  What do you think Hagel's legacy will be in Nebraska politics?

I think he's going to be part of a long strain of independent-minded Senators from Nebraska...You can go George Norris to Chuck Hagel and several Senators in between - several Governors in between.  What Nebraska voters do more than anything else is respect person over party.  He has a tremendous amount of respect from people for saying what he believes even when it may not be popular within his party.  He knows why he ran for office.  He knows why he wanted to...commit the last 12 years of his life to public service.  And, people respond well to that.

I think that [we'd be better off] if we could have more representatives that sort of grabbed on to that aspect...I'm not saying that all politics is bad because it certainly is not.  But, I think that he falls into line with a long tradition of Nebraska politics at its best - which is you say what you believe and you believe what you say, and then Nebraska voters respect that. He's been successful at it.

Of course, it's our greatest strength as a state.  It's our greatest strength as a people.  And, it's what we hunger for more than anything.  Now, more than any other time in my lifetime, there's a real hunger for that, and that's why I ran.  I'm tired of the same battles that we've been fighting for twenty years...We do need new directions.  If it's a good idea or if it's something that does include...reducing the number of people that are either uninsured or underinsured, let's talk about that.  Let's bring that out on the table.  Let's bring folks together for new ideas to find ways to solve these questions.  Absolutely.

...I look forward to this race with Tony because I like Tony...I've known Tony...I think it's going to be great.  I think the fact that there's two candidates in this race is terrific for the Democratic Party in Nebraska.  So, I think it's going to be a wonderful race.

I think what voters in this primary need to ask themselves is "who is going to be best positioned to take on Mike Johanns? Who is more electable to take on Mike Johanns?"  I think that the strength that we showed in the Third District - the most conservative district of our state - does give us the advantage in that...The electability argument about who is best qualified...or best able to take on Mike Johanns in the general election is a question voters should ask themselves.

And, that's where I feel comfortable and confident....

I think we need to have a bedrock below which nobody can fall in this country.  It's the greatest program in the history of our country.  Social Security - my grandparents lived on it...The trust and the support that we give to generations who have allowed me to do what I'm doing - what my grandparents built, what they gave to our country - we need to respect and honor that.  There has got to be a floor below which nobody can fall.  That's why Social Security is one of the strongest programs in our nation's history....

I think it's going to be a partnership between the public sector and the private sector in order to make sure that 47 million Americans that are now without health insurance are going to have health insurance.  This is a question not of just morality but it's also a question of cost and of economic competitiveness.  We've got to find a way to reduce the medical costs that Nebraska families are enduring, that businesses are enduring here in this state...The public sector - government - is going to play a role in that.

One small thing, for instance, if you look at Medicare Part D and the fact that the government can't negotiate for the lowest prices, it's ridiculous.  The government...buying in the bulk that they are buying under Medicare Part D, they should be able to negotiate just like you or I when we go out to buy something.  If we buy more of one thing or another, you can usually negotiate to reduce that price.  It's that simple - simple economics....

Don't cite the exact date...but [eventually statistics show] twenty-five percent of the median income of every Nebraska household...is going to go to medical prices.  That's staggering.  Something's got to be done about this.  And, the government is going to have a role.  There's no question.

I think we need to not repeat the mistakes that we've made in Iraq...One, we need to listen to the generals...General Petraeus is saying there's no military solution to this conflict.  We need to have a robust economic, diplomatic surge to match the military surge and political surge on the part of...the Iraqi government....

We need to exit Iraq not as quickly as we went into Iraq.  The problems that we're now dealing with were in large part because we went in without a plan, without any sort of forward thought, without any notion of what we were going to leave instead...The de-Baathification program that we had...was a complete and total disaster where we just basically went in and ripped a society apart.  Now, Humpty-Dumpty is broken and we have to figure out a way to put it back together again.  That is going to be a process that is going to take a lot of time and a lot of commitment and not just commitment on the part of the United States.

Here's where the diplomatic solution comes in.  We need to make the case to every regional power and to other powers around the world that they have just as much interest in a safe and secure Iraq - a stable Iraq - as we do.  We can not foot this bill any longer ourselves as a country.  Nor can we do it militarily.  Nor should we or can we.  Our military is now suffering from the strains of the current situation in Iraq - that it's mostly a United States effort.  We need to replace this unilateral presence that we've got with a multilateral, multinational presence.  That's what this administration has been unable to do.

I have resisted [talking about dates]. Again, I think one of the major mistakes we made going in was we didn't listen to the generals.  In fact, we fired Generals like General Shinseki, which was a major problem. There is a reason to not put a specific date on withdrawal.  But, that doesn't mean that we can't put benchmarks and that our commitment to the country is not tied directly to progress on a number of fronts.  What we have been asked to do is write a blank check by this administration - to just trust them that everything will be fine.  That's wrong....

We do need to tie to very concrete benchmarks of progress...Whether it is 1, 3, 5, or 10 years...whatever the case may be. I think it needs to be...the shorter aspect of that time frame.  But, I don't think that we should put specific dates - say, "by January 20th we're going to do this."  That is part of the problem of how we got into the situation we're in right now.  

That doesn't mean we don't need to start reducing our presence and actually turning more over to the...Iraqi soldiers...Even just the threat of reduction on the part of American forces, look at the political will that has begun to at least be talked about.  There hasn't been enough progress on it, but the very fact that it's even being discussed now in Washington is a good thing.  That's a tremendous move that needed to happen.  Just the threat has been a very good thing.  We do need to shift that ownership more to Iraq and have them take control of their own country.

I think it's wrong for Senator McCain to be talking about the long-term presence that he's talking about....For military reasons, for the personnel...we need to find ways to reduce our presence much sooner than later...

It's made me a much better person.  And, by being a better person, a better candidate, I know why I'm running.  I knew why I was running before, but now I see it on their faces.  I want them to be proud of what all of us can accomplish at this moment.  We're facing climate change.  We're facing a health care crisis.  We're facing an economic recession on a scale we haven't seen since the 1930s.  We're facing a lower standard in world opinion than we've ever had before.  We're facing a war that there doesn't seem to be any answers by the current administration as to what to do other than just simply "stay the course" - which is not a strategy, it's a talking point.

There's so much that we can do.  It's given me a reason to focus on all those things that I hold dear and [to] know that there is a future here that we're talking about.  This isn't just about today.  It's about their life.  And, that's made me a better person.  It's made me a better candidate, a better father, a better husband.  That's what politics is.  People can get engaged for their own personal reasons and realize through their involvement - at whatever level it might be, whether as precinct captains or whether its  candidates themselves - they have the power within themselves to change the world for those things that they hold dear.  I understand that.  I recognize that, and that's why I'm running.

I'd love to, Kyle.  Thanks.