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Ben Nelson Received $500K From DNC For Post Healthcare Vote TV Ads

NOT Run by the Government…by the DNC…what's the difference?

Ain’t it grand?

Nebraska’s Ben Nelson apparently is better at cutting deals than a Persian bizarre rug salesman. In addition to securing “The Cornhusker Kickback” in exchange for his healthcare vote, it seems Nelson also made sure he obtained some big money to provide himself with political advertising cover. The Democratic National Committee provided $500,000 for Nelson to run a flurry of TV ads in Nebraska to calm down angry constituents.

I am highly suspicious regarding just when the funds were offered / secured.  Was it part of the deal brokered in the closed door meeting with Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer to garner Nelson’s vote?

It’s hard to believe the ad campaign was devised after Nelson decided to vote for cloture, considering word hit the streets here in Nebraska within days of his Saturday, December 19 announcement in D.C. I can’t cite you a source online for that information, but I can make the statement about “the word on the street” as a first hand witness. At least two people who are political activists in Omaha informed me about the scheduled shooting of the commercials by the end of Christmas week. Those activists informed me they were aware of the commercial shoot, had some information about the location, and there were a couple of groups intending to show up to protest. Whether the original information was a deliberate disinformation campaign or the day and location were switched once someone in the Nelson campaign heard of the protests, the day and location were switched and the commercial shot early.

By December 30, the commercials were ready to air and the announcement of the commercial airing during that evening’s Holiday Bowl had hit the Lincoln Journal Star. December 19, Nelson announces he will vote for cloture, Christmas weekend the word is out there will be a commercial shot, and the ad is hitting the air by December 30.  That seems like a lot of fast footwork in 11 days considering Christmas fell in between. It’s a bit hard to swallow the idea that the ad money on the order of $500,000 was made available so quickly.

News of the ad money has been floating around for months in story after story. Here are just a few:

Huffington Post: DNC Defends Spending 460K 12/30/09

Michelle Malkin: Damage control in 30 seconds: Nelson’s CYA ad 12/30/09

Politico: DNC provided half a million for Nelson air cover 2/1/2010

As one of Nelson’s constituents, a voter, taxpayer, and American citizen, I’m appalled. The half-mil in Nelson ads was paid for by a political party. It’s just further evidence that the political parties have more control over our elected officials than we do.

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Stubborn_Facts

Shelli Dawdy is first and foremost the mother of three children whom she has taught at home via the classical method since removing her children from school in 2001. During her early years as a homeschool mother, she worked part-time as a freelance writer. Born and raised in the Iowa, Shelli and her husband moved to the state of South Dakota in 1997, attracted to its more limited government and friendly tax environment. In 2006, Shelli and her family relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, when her husband’s employer offered a new position. She took a break from work and politics for a time, recognizing the need to focus solely on her childrens’ schooling with two now of high school age. Distressed by many things she was witnessing on the national political scene and disillusioned about the Republican Party, she decided to start writing again, this time online. Motivated to get involved with others at the grassroots level, she networked with activists on the social media tool, Twitter. She was involved in organizing the first tea party rallies inspired by Rick Santelli’s “rant” on CNBC in February 2009. Recognizing that activism should generate on the local level, she founded Grassroots in Nebraska in March of 2009. The group’s mission is a return to Constitutional, limited government, according to its original meaning. While the group has held several tea party rallies, it’s focus is to take effective action. Among its many projects, GiN successfully coordinated testimony for the hearing of the Nebraska Sovereignty Resolution, networked with other groups to ensure a large show of public support at the hearing, and coordinated follow up support to ensure its passage in April 2010. While working to build up GiN throughout 2009, she was asked to work as writer and producer of the documentary film, A New America, which lays out how Progressivism is responsible for how America has moved away from its Constitutional roots. You can see more of her work on Grassroots in Nebraska (GiN) and StubbornFacts