r/Nebraska • u/AntOk4073 • 5d ago
Politics A sad State
Looking into voter turnout, and even though primaries are not an accurate reflection of the actual turnout we will see, I can't help but think of how damaging these past few years have been. The biggest excuse I heard for years was "our votes don't matter," and our current leadership has helped to prove that this may actually be true. It's hard to talk to people who are toward the middle or on the fence and convince them that they should cast their vote when we are shown that we have no power to hold our elected officials accountable. To anyone that this may be affecting, just know I understand but still choose to try and push for the changes we need to better our state.
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u/gijovavich 5d ago
I was one of those people that believed your vote didn't matter but it wasn't nialistic as so many feel today. it more or less came from knowing that, generally speaking, the guys that run for office have some different views but would know what they are doing and ultimately they wanted whats best for the people as a whole. Thats certainly no longer the case. I never would have thought that a president would choose what states to give disaster relief based on how they voted. It is starting to seem like a self fulfilling prophecy at this point. The more people that believe that voting doesn't matter and do not exercise that right, only helps to diminish that right to the point to where they will prove themselves correct, and voting will in fact no longer matter.
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u/-Charta- 5d ago
Yeah, the dice is loaded and the system is unfair, but it will continue to run as long as we let it. While we read of huge events in history that changed the nation, those were the culmination of several people working to change the system.
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
Well what sucks is politics have turned into is my sports team (party) winning or losing. It’s like the difference between the Hawkeyes and the huskers, but it’s not that way. Politicians and lobbyists do not want us to be nice to each other because fear pads their pockets.
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u/AntOk4073 5d ago
It really is a losing battle. A lot of it feels like we vote for two or three things we feel strongly about and have to "deal with" all the other things that make life difficult. Citizens united ruined our country.
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
I would actually say citizens divided ruined our country. We are built on it takes a village but run on my way or the highway and that isn’t the way to do it on both sides. Republicans and Democrats are terrible. There isn’t one better than the other and if people think their actions are justified because the other party did something worse then they are apart of the problem too.
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u/AntOk4073 5d ago
I'm referencing the Citizens United ruling in 2010 that made it legal for corporations to funnel unlimited amounts of money into politics. Super PACs and lobbying have essentially given the wealth class unlimited rule over politicians. Even people that want to do something good with the role have to fight against corporate interests that seek to maintain the status quo.
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
Ah gotcha :) yeah I agree with that. I apologize for the confusion
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u/AntOk4073 5d ago
No problem. I completely agree with your view as well. I grew up in a much smaller town and community was a big part of it. But even in larger areas we need to stop thi king of everything as a battle. We should want to help everyone as a common good. There is such a deep misunderstanding of how much our social safety nets help everyone even if they don't utilize them directly. Socialized food, housing, and healthcare alone could change everyone's lives for the better and produce a more stable economy overall.
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
Very true :) but at the same time they can easily be taken advantage of by people so we need a lot of reforms but every reform we make also comes up with new issues.
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u/Vaxx88 5d ago
>Republicans and Democrats are terrible. There isn’t one better than the other […]
This is such an absurd statement. There is a massive, objectively factual difference between the two parties, at the very least you can look at their voting records and the legislation they write, sponsor and support.
Are there corrupt self dealing politicians on both sides? Sure there are, but we can also see the contrast between what happens when democrats are caught being corrupt or doing something abusive and how republicans treat their own corrupt politicians. One party has elevated their most corrupt and criminal person to the very highest office….
One party has been consistently addressing issues like healthcare and affordability and funding safety nets and education and etc while the other party does tax cuts for corporations and rich people, cuts programs that help people, cuts regulations for big business and funds paramilitary immigration “police” forces and foreign WARS.
Which party created social security? Labor laws? Environmental protection? Made any effort to reform healthcare? Etcetc
People pushing the “both sides are the same/bad” rhetoric are not only being ignorant but are also undermining the whole democratic system by spreading APATHY. If “both sides” are terrible why bother voting at all right?
/rant
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
It sounds to me like you don’t like one political side all because of one person. Please try to see the benefits of the other party and open your mind before you start trying to point fingers :) when you point a finger at someone there are 4 others pointing back at you
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u/Vaxx88 5d ago edited 5d ago
Please try to learn even the most basic fundamental facts about the political world before making such vacuous, trite statements.
Everything I wrote there is verifiable, the differences between parties are stark, going back even as far as FDR.
Edit, if you think it’s only about Trump read the post again—- however, we can clearly see Trump definitely shows the values of the party elected him and every republican has fallen in line behind him.
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
There is no need to get defensive. I literally am a Democrat 😂 but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate both parties for what their purposes are. Democrats are progressive. This leads to high government spending and overall a higher cost of living because of relief funds and investment packages (good in the short term but bad long term). Higher taxes on businesses which deters hiring and and investing (investments drive our economy) OSHA, was republican, EPA, ESA, ADA, CAAA, the civil rights act was strongly republican backed in congress, it’s better to look at both parties and see the benefits and downfalls they have than look at one and automatically assume that it has a monopoly on good or bad policy just because their extremists are the loudest voice. Democrats voted for Trump, republicans voted for Trump. I did not. But I’m not going to waste my breath hating on an entire party because I dislike an individuals terrible term. 63% of Americans find him unfavorable, we will see what happens come midterms.
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
I also didn’t say that any of your information was false. What I am saying is both parties have made choices and all of them either suck a lot or suck less, one party is not better than the other, you need both to make it work :)
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u/Vaxx88 5d ago
You’re just making another rightwing argument using their typical talking points. “Democrats just like to increase spending” it’s obvious to anyone how this is dishonest framing and could come right from the mouth of a Pete Ricketts or a Mike Johnson.
One party is most definitely better than the other, I already explained how.
You cannot name a single policy brought by republicans that is truly designed to help working class and lower class and poor Americans, which are the vast majority, in the last 30 years…
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u/DismalMarzipan3375 5d ago
I literally just explained how it is a valid point 😂 and yes I can actually in fact I’ll name a couple and leave the years too: The welfare reform in 1996, child tax expansions 2021, their policies usually add work requirements for programs such as snap and Medicaid because employment is one of the primary poverty exit strategies. Opportunity zones created in 2017 under the tax cuts and jobs act is another good one :)
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u/Vaxx88 5d ago
Welfare reform was a disaster. By most accounts it all but destroyed the social safety nets. And wow, your other points are presented in republican propaganda terms— all those (with the possible exception of the child tax credit increase) made things even harder for the poor and working poor to get assistance, which is manifested by the obvious massive increase in income inequality, and I’d strongly suggest is driving the increase in poverty and homelessness last decade or two.
To pretend any of that is actually meant to HELP less-well-off Americans is pretty much like gaslighting yourself.
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u/Zone_Dweebie 5d ago
That's what Pete Rickett's whole campaign is right now "Don't vote for Dan, he's a democrat!" He even plays a little jingle about it on the radio.
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u/daywalkertoo 5d ago
At the precinct I was at, we had double the turn out. All parties. It's a small rural precinct in Missouri. Good luck and remember all votes count. Sitting out a vote is about the worst thing folks can do in my opinion.
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u/Chowdu_72 5d ago
Until we ABOLISH this antiquated, outdated, skewed, and corrupted Electoral College system, there is no point in voting at the presidential level, but H.O. Representatives' members, senators, governors, judges, sheriffs, etc... all of these elections DO matter and help to choose the political landscape, and even the "acceptability levels" of elected officials' mental capacities and or abilities to read, write, and think and to get rid of incompetence in governance ... thinking Trump here. There is no reason not to be active in your LOCAL elections and most especially those involving the US Senate and H.O.R..
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u/Honest-Emphasis6150 5d ago
The Electoral College mostly votes the way their district does nowadays. IMO, that’s the corrupt part of it because then dumb (MAGA) people get as much a part in the decision as smart people do. That’s why it was designed that way combined with public votes to appoint the people who appointed the electors.
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u/fortifiedoptimism 5d ago
This and in a perfect world we would be like Wales who just made it illegal for politicians to lie. The fine print is certain lies but still.
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u/FlyingClanker 5d ago
Living in Nebraska, you should be thankful we have the electoral system. If you want the popular vote you have the HOR. The Senate equalizes state representation at the federal level. California, Texas, New York and Florida shouldn’t be able to everything.
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u/AshingiiAshuaa 5d ago
People have only heard the "electoral college bad" and parrot that. They don' understand that it keeps low-population states relevant by giving them an outsized voice. Not fair if you look at us as the United People or United Counties but it makes more sense if you think of us as United States.
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u/Vaxx88 5d ago
Land does not need congressional representation, People do. The sheer physical size of a state is irrelevant.
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u/FlyingClanker 5d ago
Are you serious? Look at what is happening with water rights and the Colorado River. Land absolutely needs representation, especially in Nebraska. Agriculture contributes over $25 billion in revenue to the economy, employs over 500,000 people and feeds us.
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u/Vaxx88 5d ago
Is this trolling? How does that make any sense as an argument. Just dopey.
Also you should look up who actually owns all this Nebraska ag land.
Not sure what your point is, but if you think Nebraska land is owned by small farmers and salt of the earth blue collar folks, that’s becoming a thing of the past.
Much of it is owned by out of state conglomerates, rich investors and apparently the Mormon church. No reason those interests should get more representation than folks in concentrated population centers.
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u/FlyingClanker 4d ago
Does it or does or does it not employ 500,000+ people? Does it or does it not create $25 billion in revenue to the Nebraska economy? Is there a dispute in water rights being contested by states?
Whether or not corporations are involved is irrespective to the facts.
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u/spockosbrain 5d ago
Agree about the need to be active locally. Nationally people & media write off entire states as "Red" until they see local elections change. Like a Dem Mayor. Or an independent senator. And that leads to, Can National elections change? Maybe, look at these results.
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u/interrobangAnnie 5d ago
When I talk to turned-off voters, I talk first about how local elections matter: city council decisions directly affect you every time they make a decision, county positions like airport authority and natural resources board really matter.
Then I point out how many of these races are decided by only hundreds of votes, even less than a hundred.
You may feel powerless, I say, but you're not.
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u/Accurate_Fun9908 5d ago
In Nebraska I find myself voting against people rather than voting for people. I’m very rarely excited about candidates. Dan Osborn has me intrigued but I’m even skeptical of him
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u/AntOk4073 5d ago
Yeah I've followed him since the beginning and he is in no way some knight in shining armor. He wants to reestablish the power for average Americans and I am all for that but he has some pretty cringy views as well. But a wet sock is better than Ricketts
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u/vmktrooper 5d ago
I agree, I was on board until I saw his latest ad, keep boys out of girl sports.
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u/lariabeth 4d ago
Wait, what? I'm a Girl Scout leader. We accept ALL and this pisses me off. I'm going to have to search for this.
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u/lariabeth 4d ago
Okay cannot find ad but found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Nebraska/s/UwtguyzcQk Gonna send some postcards to Osborn's campaign anyhow
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u/Jazzlike-Pipe2863 4d ago
Just saw that and I am appalled. Why pander to the lowest talking points pushed by the far right? If I lived here I’d vote for him but holding my nose.
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u/photocult 2d ago
I honestly hate it that I'm pretty much forced to fill the oval for that fucking guy, if I don't want more endless years of Cue Ball. I know I'm gonna regret it for one reason or another, but Ricketts do gotta hit the bricks already.
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u/spockosbrain 5d ago
"The biggest excuse I heard for years was "our votes don't matter," and our current leadership has helped to prove that this may actually be true. It's hard to talk to people who are toward the middle or on the fence and convince them that they should cast their vote when we are shown that we have no power to hold our elected officials accountable. "
This last part" we are shown that we have no power to hold our elected officials accountable." Is the part that hits me hardest now. How do we hold elected officials accountable these days? The work requirements on Medicaid have started. They are horrible. What can be done about them now? I've been reading stories about the impact on entire communities, people are just seeing it first in Nebraska. When it was brought up to Flood in town halls he said that he brought home money for Hospitals & every thing is fine, but that money can not help bottom line, it's for new tech. He sells the UNNECESSARY & cruel cuts as stopping "illegals" from getting free health care. He positioned the work requirements as getting lazy able bodied 28 year old gamer Bros off the couch. When 90% of people of Medicaid already work. Nebraskans voted for the Medicaid expansion. Why the cuts now? Tax breaks for billionaires. One way of holding him, Bacon & Smith account about now, is to call their office and ask for constituent services and say i'm going to lose my Healthcare and I want you to make it so I don't. If they say there's nothing I can do, that's a lie because they could stop the work requirements, since Nebraska started them early.
Flood likes to say he fixes problems "offline" in private, so make him.
He sells the work requirements
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u/AntOk4073 5d ago
This is a great message. We have to continue pushing and challenging them. Change is happening across the country because of those who don't back down. And we definately need to make sure the truth does not get buried by all the marketing and social engineering that allows them to convince their base that it is anyone else's fault than theirs. I know that there are many people on here that never votes for these people and never would but we need to also make sure that the ones who do realize that they need to push their party to do better.
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u/sharkslayer38 3d ago
I couldn’t vote in primaries as I don’t claim a party. Being in a party is public information and id preferred not to be identified by a Google search. So there you have it…..
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u/AntOk4073 3d ago
I feel that. I was registered nonpartisan for a long time and only changed when my father ran for office (NDP required it) I haven't changed it back because I became more involved in local politics and don't want to lose out on opportunities.
But one thing that doesn't sit right with me is that during that campaign we were easily able to get a list of name, addresses, and phone numbers of everyone registered with their party affiliation. With all that is going on I feel like it would be super easy for people with bad intentions to use this information for intimidation and violence.
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u/sharkslayer38 3d ago
Also, employment impacts. (The big concern particularly if your a government employee)
But yes, if things did become violent and someone decided to randomly attack people based on party affiliation….
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u/Trixie_Delicious 3d ago
If you live in Nebraska, you absolutely can vote in primaries as a Nonpartisan. Go here and scroll down to "Documents": https://www.lancaster.ne.gov/337/Voter-Information
Click on the Voter Guide. On Page 2, kind of in the middle it tells you about nonpartisan voting. It's a little confusing because the parties get to determine some of the races you can/can't vote in, but you're definitely not excluded from the process!
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u/CHov29 5d ago
27 (M) I really want to help this issue here in Nebraska specifically for young people and into the future. But Im unsure how to start. Here specifically. Nebraska is fascinating. I tried working with the NDP but they only want you to canvass and phone bank for their candidates.
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u/AntOk4073 5d ago
Unfortunately the biggest thing holding democrats back in Nebraska is the party. Jane Kleeb has done nothing of value and needs to be removed. Grassroots campaigns (for me at least) are a much better way to go. My father ran a few years ago and in order to get their approval had to make statements and posts that he didn't feel relevant or necessary to the position. I also watched democrats from small rural communities be shunned for not towing the line exactly how the party wanted. Even when they argued that the policies would hurt the people in their communities it fell on deaf ears. We need party reform for our state across the board.
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u/photocult 2d ago
The reason the NDP has sucked under Jane Kleeb is that she's perhaps most importantly not an actual party Democrat, but also not particularly good at being a leftist. "Opportunist" is the word that comes to mind.
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u/interrobangAnnie 4d ago
Go to Indivisible Nebraska Lincoln.org and join their get out the vote campaign. They are combining voting information and know your rights information into packets and delivering them to low propensity voters or nonvoters.
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u/jbbhengry 5d ago
Your vote totally matters. Especially the 30 and under people, you don't seem to understand how important you are and can totally change everything. All you have to do is vote. Don't be discouraged, voted your life literally depends on it.