Blog

Governor Heineman Really Liked Purple People Before They Were “Cool”

Editor’s Note: This article is the fifth in a series of articles discussing Nebraska politics particularly the NEGOP, its leadership, elected officeholders, candidates, campaigns and closely-connected interest groups as they all relate to “the Tea Party Movement”. We recommend starting with “Nebraska’s Ruling Class and the Perils of (Assisted) Political Suicide“, which includes links to preliminary articles.

Republican Governor Dave Heineman

I’m not sure there is a whole lot that I need to say in this article, besides giving some necessary background, because the information here speaks volumes, all by itself. The image, below, was taken from “Follow the Money”, which gets its numbers from the State of Nebraska filings.

Click to see an updated version

Note that my annotated snapshot was taken several months ago and does not reflect the fact that there must have been some additional filings received. The key difference between my snapshot and the updated live version is that Nebraska State Education Association actually gave the Governor more money and now sits in the #2 spot on the list.

NSEA is the state teachers’ union

Service Employees International Union are the purple people I referenced in the title.

“Purple People” is a nickname given to SEIU because the members are known to don purple t-shirts and other garb based on the union’s logo whenever they gather.

The title notes that Governor liked SEIU “before they were ‘cool’”, because the group essentially operated “under the radar” of American political discourse until the 2008 election season, when the their association with candidate Barack Obama began coming to light. It seems interesting and important to note that the Governor did not receive any contributions from SEIU after the 2006 election.

Some interesting links about SEIU…

A segment with Fox’s Stuart Varney about an organizing manual SEIU sent out to its members regarding how to “organize” in July 2011:

__________________

For at least some Nebraska political junkies, I might have titled this article…

What do Jane Flemming Kleeb and Dave Heineman have in common?

 

Jane Flemming Kleeb being asked to leave UNO in 2009 at SEIU event she organized

While one could say much about Mrs. Kleeb on the subject, for the moment, I’ll merely link to the “Change That Works” case study page, where a Lincoln health care rally is listed among the successful efforts. “Change That Works” was an affiliate group of SEIU for which Mrs. Kleeb worked.

________________

Three relevant links…

Top Ten States Where an Absurd Number of People Work for Government

Testimony and Presentation Documents, Business and Labor Committee Hearing, February 2011 (Includes important statistics and facts about Nebraska’s economy.)

“Rich States, Poor States 4th Edition” (Nebraska is on p. 76)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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