Wauneta Breeze: Kleeb says, "Strong Leadership needed for Nebraska"

By Tina Kitt
The Wauneta Breeze

U.S. senate candidate Scott Kleeb and a team of young campaign staffers made their way across western Nebraska last week, with the schedule including stops in Imperial, Curtis and Madrid.

Kleeb, a 33-year-old Democrat, is seeking to upend Republican heavy-weight Mike Johanns, a former Nebraska governor who served as U.S. secretary of agriculture before stepping down to seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Chuck Hagel who has opted not to seek re-election.

Kleeb was the guest of honor at a Boots and Barbecue potluck dinner at the Imperial City Park Wednesday after a day spent meeting with students and staff at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis and touring the ethanol plant at Madrid.

Clad in blue jeans, boots and a crisp white shirt, the former ranch hand turned college instructor fit in well with the 50 or 60 southwest Nebraskans who turned out to meet him. With roots which run deep in the Sandhills ranching of Dunning, Kleeb discussed cattle and grain prices as easily as politics as he stopped, table by table, to greet each person who had shown up to hear him speak.

"It's incredible what's happening across our state and across our country this year," said Kleeb. "People are realizing that we can do better than this, given the crises we are seeing in health care and energy prices, and they are getting involved and asking how they can do something about it. Change is never going to come from Washington - it's always going to come from us out here, believing that we can do better than this and becoming the change that we want to see in the world."

Kleeb said he had second thoughts about running against Johanns. In 2006 he fell short in his bid to become the first Democrat to win election to Congress from the 3rd District in over 40 years. But concern for the future of his two young daughters as well the other children of Nebraska spurred him to throw his hat into the ring.

High on his list of concerns is addressing the problems the nation faces with raising health care costs and the ever-growing number of uninsured Americans who are falling through the cracks; the energy crisis and the rising costs of fuel and other farming inputs; the state of the nation's education system; and the diminished status of the U.S. on the world stage.

He gave a broad overview his policy stances which are spelled out in more detail in a 55 page policy document which is available through his campaign Web site www.ScottKleeb.com.

He noted he is still seeking input from fellow Nebraskans on the solutions they have to offer.

"We need government policies that aren't just written by Washington lobbyists and politicians, but by country lawyers and country doctors, by businessmen in Omaha and businessmen in Dunning," said Kleeb.

In a give-and-take discussion with the crowd he was asked his positions on:
• Gun control - "I've got an 'A' rating from the NRA," said Kleeb.
• Ethanol - Strong supporter, believes it is paving the way for the energy infrastructure and energy security for the future.
• Alternative energy - Wind and solar development are key to breaking U.S. dependence on Mideast oil. Supports nuclear energy too, noting a way must be found to reconstitute the nuclear waste. "With these higher fuel prices what we are really paying for is a lack of leadership in Washington," added Kleeb.
• War in Iraq - Kleeb said the U.S. needs to start drawing down troop levels and turning the country over to the Iraqi citizens.
• Veteran's services - Kleeb, who was raised on U.S. military bases around the world, says he is especially frustrated when politicians claim to support the troops and then vote to cut VA funding. He also noted that family members left behind are often overlooked, with members of the National Guard bearing a disproportionate share of the burden in this present war.
• Budget deficit - Kleeb places a priority on stopping the runaway spending of the past eight years and adopting PAYCO ­(pay-as-you-go) rules. "We need to treat federal spending like we do our checkbooks and make sure we don't spend what we don't have."
• What about taxes? - When asked how to address the ballooning federal deficit Kleeb noted that on the tax side of things it's not that more taxes are needed, just that the existing tax loopholes have to be plugged. Under the present Republican administration, two-thirds of U.S. corporations pay no taxes, said Kleeb.
• Keeping American jobs from being shipped overseas - Kleeb explained that with the current tax breaks in place, U.S. companies are discouraged from keeping jobs here and rewarded for shipping American jobs overseas.

If elected, Kleeb said he will seek positions on the agriculture, energy and foreign relations committees.