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PACHYDERM PRESS
THIRD DISTRICT REPUBLICAN NEWSLETTER
March 1,
2004
Herb Knudsen, Editor
Go elephants!! It’s a great election
year – especially with so many terrific Republican office holders
and candidates. This newsletter gives us an opportunity to hear
from Republicans and discuss the issues that face our nation and
state. And to synchronize our calendars. Let’s get going!
Greetings From Tom
Osborne
As we move into the spring of this
year, there are many things that capture our attention. We are
concerned about the national and state budgets, the economy, and the
opportunities for those entering the work force. As I travel the
District, people talk to me about education, health care,
immigration, water, agriculture, crime, and substance abuse, just to
name a few. Although each of those issues is very important and
must be addressed, there is one I hope will not slip from any of our
minds - our nation’s efforts in the Middle East.
Recently
I traveled to the Middle East. While on that trip, I saw how our
country and our military personnel were doing everything possible to
ensure the safety of all Americans. The morale of the troops I met
overseas was excellent, especially in light of the recent capture of
Saddam Hussein. Given all the obstacles our troops have to
encounter, I was thoroughly impressed by what they have accomplished
so far.
Yet
there is a concern that can best be told by sharing a conversation I
had with a young serviceman from Nebraska regarding the challenges
of defeating the insurgent forces in Iraq. He said, “I hope the
American people don’t lose patience.” He was referring to our
nation’s need for instant gratification and our apparent
unwillingness to endure hardship for any length of time. We both
agreed that this was a war the United States could not afford to
lose. If coalition forces pull out before Iraq is secure, it will
send a message to terrorists that our country is a “soft target” and
could then invite more attacks on our citizens.
This is
a difficult time for all Americans, many of whom have loved ones far
away. If our servicemen and women, who have sacrificed so much, can
see this mission through, I would hope that those of us who have
sacrificed little would be willing to stay the course. The United
States can be very proud of our military personnel and they deserve
our utmost support. In the end, I am confident that our troops will
prevail. Through the strong will and determination of our nation we
will secure peace. Please keep those serving our country around the
world in your hearts and prayers. Best Wishes, TOM OSBORNE,
Member of Congress.
Let’s
Hear From Our Chairman, David Kramer.
The 2004 election year is off to a fast start.
Since
the beginning of January we’ve had a State Central Committee meeting
(in Omaha) and the RNC Winter Meeting (in Washington, D.C.), two
successful State Party fundraisers (one in Omaha and one in
Washington, D.C.), and I have spoken at local GOP events in Omaha,
Grand Island and Kearney.
While in
Washington I had the privilege of participating in a White House
meeting with the President. I can assure you that the President is
focused and ready to fight for his re-election. No one needs to
tell him how high the stakes are in this election for our nation. I
came away from the hour-long session even more energized about the
2004 elections.
Candidate recruitment comes to a close today (March 1) in Nebraska
and our focus is clear – deliver Nebraska for President Bush and
re-elect Rep. Terry and Osborne and hold the open First
Congressional District. We also have seven open seats in the State
Legislature including six Republican retirements. These legislative
races will serve as real challenge and your help will be needed to
maintain a strong GOP majority in the Unicameral.
As
always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or
suggestions. I greatly appreciate your commitment and support of
the Nebraska Republican Party. David Kramer, State Chairman,
Nebraska
Republican Party.
National Committee Woman Pat Dorwart Tells All about the Big Apple
Super Event.
"Start Spreading The News" - The 2004 National Convention will be
held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, August 30th through
September 3rd, 2004. Nebraska's hotel assignment is the New York
Marriott Financial Center, 85 West Street, N.Y.,
www.Marriott.com.
Rudy Giuliani, chairman of the host committee, promises the best
national convention ever. The convention will showcase a program
that will reflect the Republican Party's leadership, diversity and
commitment to the American people. If you have never been to a
National Convention, I would encourage you to consider going. It
will be fun and will be a great setting where we will nominate
George W. Bush as our next president.
We have received the following information regarding the Republican
National Convention in New York - The New York host committee
2004 is developing special programs and events to guarantee that
delegates and other attendees enjoy wonderful experiences prior to,
during and following the Convention. The New York Tourism
organization is creating a delegate experience information packet
encouraging delegates and their guests to arrive early before the
convention begins and stay through Labor Day. The "Come Early-Stay
Late" program will include unique offers to many of New York's
greatest attractions. They are working to extend discounted hotel
rates offered prior to and after the convention period.
All state delegation
reservations
must
be processed through
the
Nebraska party. Each reservation requires a five (5) night minimum
stay between the convention period of August 28th, 2004 up to and
including September 2nd, 2004.
All reservations
must
be secured with a credit card by
June 14th, 2004. Please telephone the Nebraska Republican Party
(1-800-829-3459) as soon as possible if you are interested
in attending.
Transportation will be provided by a delegate bus shuttle system to
transport delegates to and from the hotels and Madison Square
Garden, utilizing police escort and dedicated traffic lanes.
Continental Airlines has been chosen as the official carrier for the
convention. It will offer a special discount and contact information
for making reservations. Additional travel information for Amtrak
rail service arrangement will be provided at a later date.
At the January winter meeting in Washington, D.C., we were reminded
that we need to prepare for a close election this November. One of
the most important things we can do in Nebraska to help re-elect
George W. Bush, is to ask you to rally an army of grassroots'
activists in your counties by signing them up to become team
leaders. All they have to do is go to
www.GOPTeamleader.com. They can also call the Nebraska
Republican Party which can send them a team leader card to mail in.
The team leader site will be a valuable source for information as
the RNC and White House publications will keep them up to date on
the President's policies.
Thank you for the honor and privilege of serving as your National
Committeewoman from
Nebraska. I will be
looking forward to seeing you at our State Convention on June 25th &
26th, 2004.
Kind Regards, Pat Dorwart, National Committee Woman.
A Word From Our
Executive Director, Chris Peterson.
I’ve been on the job as
your State Party executive director for less than six months and the
change and transition continues.
We are building the election-year State Headquarters staff with the
addition of Jessica Moenning as finance director and Francina Berney
at administrative assistant. Brandon Luetkenhaus has been promoted
to political director and Kip Murphy continues as field director.
Stacy Anderson and Tory Bowen continue to intern for the Party. We
expect to hire election-year field representatives by this summer.
The new
State Headquarters building at 1610 N Street continues to come
along. As of this writing, demolition work inside the building is
nearly complete with framing, wiring and general remodeling to begin
soon. We hope to move in well in advance of the State Convention in
Lincoln on June 26.
Recently
our focus has turned to planning for the 72 Hour Program – our
get-out-the-vote effort for November. More so than ever before, our
GOP volunteers will be reaching out to individual voters to get them
to the polls and to convince them to vote for our Republican
candidates. One of the first steps in this process is to identify
and register new Republican voters. That’s exactly what we are
doing the week of March 6-13 (GOP National Voter Registration
Week). We’ve encourage Republican county chairs all across Nebraska
to organize a voter registration activity.
If you
have questions about this update from the State Party or any other
issue, please don’t hesitate to call or email. Chris
Peterson, Executive Director,
Nebraska Republican Party, (402)
475-2122
chris@negop.org
Great
Campaign Information Source Available
For
those of you who unfortunately could not make the excellent campaign
school this past weekend in Omaha. The Nebraska Federation of
Republican Women and The Douglas County Republican Party have a
wonderful offer for you. For a Mere $35 dollars you may buy the Very
comprehensive and well written Campaign school book. To take
advantage of this offer please contact the Douglas Co. Party at
1-402–330–8133 or
chris@dcrpnet.net. Keith County Republicans bought a copy of
this fine book. You should too!!.
Calling
All Pages. Hello.
In less than 200 days the Republican
National Convention will be held in New York City. The anticipation
is already building here in Nebraska as we look forward to sending a
large delegation of Cornhuskers to New York for an
action-packed, fun-filled and historic week culminating in the
nomination of President George W. Bush for a second term.
As has
been the case at past conventions, there is once again an exciting
opportunity for young people to play an important role in the
success of the convention. Individuals age 18 to 20 can apply to
serve as a Page for the National Convention.
Page
duties will involve vital Convention related activities such as
floor runners, assisting with caucus meetings, distribution of
official Convention materials and duties within media operations.
Please
be informed that Pages are not assured floor credentials. The tasks
that they perform at the Convention will determine their access
during any given session. Pages will, however, be involved in floor
rallies and other activities highlighting the Republican Party.
Nebraska, like every other state, will send three Pages to the
National Convention. To be eligible to serve as a Page, persons
must meet the age requirement and must be available to be in New
York from approximately 12 noon ET on Saturday, August 27 until
departing on Friday, September 3.
Pages
will be expected to pay approximately $600 for six nights of
lodging, pay for their own airfare, and cover the costs of some
meals and other incidentals. It is fair to estimate a total cost of
$1100-1500 per person.
If you
or someone you know wants to apply to be one of Nebraska’s three
Pages, please contact Francina Berney at the Nebraska Republican
Party no later than Friday, March 5 by calling 402-475-2122 or
e-mail
info@negop.org.
BETTY HEINSSEN, PRESIDENT, NEBRASKA
FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN HAS THE FLOOR.
Ladies Day at the Legislature is planned for March 30th.
This includes a visit to our state capitol, state senators, court
rooms and judicial system. We will also attend lunch at the
Governor’s Mansion with First Lady Stephanie Johanns.
April
2-3, the NeFRW will conduct their Spring Workshop at Kearney.
Starting June 14th, a caravan of Republican Women across
Nebraska is planned to visit each club. It is a great way of
drawing the clubs together and to build spirit, vigor, and energy to
get out the vote in November. We will continue to support the No
Child Left Behind project, by gathering and donating school supplies
to various schools.
And on the National Scene A March Push to Register
One Million New Republican Voters
One of the greatest parts of my job is working with you and others
in our Party who are so committed to building the GOP and making
America a more prosperous, safer and more caring nation. Voter
registration is critically important for this election year and for
the future of our Party. The right to vote is the most fundamental
expression of human freedom we have - the power to decide by whom we
shall be governed. People have sacrificed their lives to win and
protect this right, and we must make sure in the next election that
every Republican exercises their sacred right. Please take time to
help increase Republican Party voter registration in March.
Sincerely,
The
Official Campaign to build Republican voter registration begins
March 6. Brainstorm ideas that can make your local effort
successful. How ‘bout, letters to the editor of your local papers,
door-to-door contacts, a booth at a prominent place in you community
etc, etc. Let’s make it happen!.
HAGEL RATES AS MOST CONSERVATIVE US SENATOR
The
American Conservative Union has released its annual ratings of
Members of Congress and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has been rated one
of the three most conservative members of the United States Senate.
Joining Hagel with a 100% rating for 2003 were John Ensign of Nevada
and Don Nickles of Oklahoma.
Senator Hagel now has an 85% rating over his seven years in
Congress. In contrast, Ben Nelson of Nebraska has a 51% rating
during his three years in Congress including a 42% rating in 2003.
Nelson’s record clearly does not reflect the view of most
Nebraskans.
According to the American Conservative Union, a score of 80% or
better is considering conservative. Let’s give Chuck Hagel loud
applause for his voting record and service to our country.
County Republican
Conventions
Nebraska state law requires that
Country Conventions be held during the first 10 days of June,
Tuesday June 1 to Thursday June 10, 2004. Delegates must file with
the County Clerk for election by
today, March 1. So if you missed this deadline this year, you
cannot be a delegate to the County Convention. There’s always
2006. If there are more candidates for delegate than there are
delegate positions, an election is held for County Convention
delegate on the primary date, May 11. Normally, most counties set
10 delegates per precinct so everyone who files is elected.
By
Saturday May 1, county Republican leadership should
prepare an advertisement giving notice of the County Convention.
The notice must be published in local papers at least 15 days before
the convention. By May 6, the County Convention date, time and
location must be submitted to the Nebraska Republican party. The
County Convention is held between June
1 and June 10. Easy! Right? Right!!
How Can I Become A
Delegate to the Republican National Convention in New York City?????
Well….you could change
your identity to Dave Kramer, Pat Dorwart or Duane Acklie. They are
the tree automatic delegates. Failing that, you must be elected as
a delegate or alternate to the Nebraska State Republican convention
by your County Republican convention. Each
County has been allocated a number of delegates and an equal number
of alternate delegates to the State Convention. If you do not have
this magic number, call the Party headquarters or talk to someone in
the third district leadership. A list of delegate allocations was
approved at the last State Central Committee meeting in Omaha.
No
later than two weeks after the primary on or before Tuesday, May 25,
2004, you must submit to the Nebraska State Republican Party a
notice of intent to be a delegate or alternate delegate to the
National convention. Only individuals elected to be state
convention delegates or alternates at their June County Convention
are eligible to be elected as delegate or alternate to the national
convention. You cannot just show up to the State Convention and run
for the national convention.
The
State Republican Party convention is scheduled for June 26 in
Lincoln at the Holiday Inn Downtown. At that convention, three
delegates and three alternate delegates will be elected in the Third
District Caucus. An additional 23 delegates and 23 alternate
delegates will be elected at-large by all the delegates to the State
convention. There are a total of 52 delegate and alternate delegate
positions open for people from the Third District at the State
Convention.
PACHYDERM PRESS
QUICK
DATES
All the Month
of March – Register New Republican Voters
Saturday April
24 – State Central Committee Meeting in Norfolk
Tuesday, May 4
-- Certify date, time and location of your County
Convention
Thursday, May 6
– Submit your County convention date, time and location to the
State Party headquarters
Tuesday, May 11
– Primary Election: VOTE REPUBLICAN
Monday, May 17
– Deadline for publishing notice of your County Convention date,
time and location and date in local newspapers.
Tuesday, May 25
– Final day to submit to the State Party notice of intent to be a
delegate or alternate delegate to the national convention.
Tuesday, June 1
to Thursday, June 10 – County Conventions
Saturday, June
26 – State Republican Convention Holiday Inn Downtown, Lincoln
August 28 to
September 2 – Republican National Convention, New York
City
Tuesday,
November 2 – General Election: VOTE REPUBLICAN
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