Okay.....today's the big guy's big day.
www.electstevedawes.comThere's not much going on in the Nebraska primary today, other than the tight three-way race for the Republican nomination to replace the retiring E. Benjamin Nelson (D) in the Senate.
And since Nebraska's a pretty small state, with no corrupt blue machines (other than a very pale one in Omaha) to muck up the count, it should go quick and fast; I anticipate we'll all know how the big guy did by circa 10 p.m. central time.
No point in looking for numbers prior to 8 p.m. central time, as Nebraska law prohibits release of the official numbers until all polls in the state are closed. This isn't a legacy of the 2000 presidential race; it goes clear back to 1960, and our resentment that Cook County was able to manufacture votes out of thin air once they learned how the votes were going in downstate Illinois.
It's very odd; the states that
least need strict election rules have them, and the states that
most need such rules, don't have them.
There's four candidates for two slots on the November ballot in the big guy's race; the top two of the four advance to the general election. There's two (R)s, one (L), and the big guy.
My guess is that the establishment Republican (the incumbent) and the Tea Party Republican are going to end up the top two, to duke it out in November, whatever their differences are.
It's too bad about the (L) candidate, who would make an excellent (R), but as long as he persists in his pipe-dream about an alternative to the two-party system, well, he must accept his fate. It's been obvious the (L) candidate has worked the hardest, and possible that the (L) candidate wants the job more, than the other three candidates.
But there are penalties to trying to work outside the system, trying to upset the Natural Order of Things.
My biggest fear remains that the big guy could possibly end up in third place--or, God forbid, second--simply because of his name. Party affiliations are not on the ballot, just the names. And "Steve Dawes" is a rather friendly, informal, innocuous name. It might make voters think the candidate is some obscure third-string running-back from the Nebraska football team 30 years ago, or it might remind voters of a fondly-remembered history teacher from their high school.
And so they'll fill in that blank.
It's too bad the big guy doesn't have a real name that truly and accurately reflects what he is, something like "Steve Tse-tung" or "Steve Beria" or "Steve Kaganovich" or "Steve Pol Pot" or "Steve Guevera."
We'll see.
At any rate, this thread goes "live" at 8 p.m. central time, to keep all interested parties informed of how the voting went.
