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Where's the Beef?(The Talk of the Town)
As our thoughts turn to Denver, it's tempting to imagine that the political stagecraft on view will be different this time--that after eight years of watching our leaders hunting quail and clearing brush in front of television cameras the country will have got over its thing for cowboy statesmen. Wrangling, roping, and a fondness for pork rinds no longer seem like the best indicators for leadership abilities.
As it happens, a cowboy arrived in New York last week: Scott Kleeb, a thirty-two-year-old senatorial candidate from Nebraska. Kleeb (pronounced "Kleb") is best known, among Nebraska liberals, for being a bright, blue hope in a red state: a charismatic beef farmer with a Ph.D. from Yale. To others, he's the guy who was sabotaged, during his first congressional campaign, in 2006, by a series of fake middle-of-the-night robo-calls, which greeted groggy voters with a recording of his voice: "Hi, this is Scott Kleeb!" (The investigation concluded this year; the calls couldn't be traced.) He's also known, locally, for having defeated his current opponent, the ex-Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, in a milking contest (painful, since Johanns is the son of a dairy farmer). And congressional-race watchers call him "the hot rancher": Kleeb is six feet three, and he tends to wear tight Wranglers for publicity shoots. He looks, it has been pointed out on political blogs, something like the young David Hasselhoff.
Last Wednesday, the fund-raising group Think Blue hosted a cocktail party in Kleeb's honor in a Chelsea apartment. The invitation urged guests to welcome "our favorite Democratic cowboy": "Enjoy BBQ and an ice cold beer or stick to wine and cheese. . . . Your call, just leave the bull riding to the candidate (seriously, he knows how)." There were chicken wings, sausages, and buckets of beer. (Earlier, Kleeb had eaten a bacon burger at Ted's Montana Grill with a Nebraskan pal from the Willa Cather Foundation.) Someone was selling twenty-dollar tank tops that said "I Only Sleep with Democrats." Kleeb stood off to the side, his thumbs hooked in the front pockets of his Wranglers. He had on a striped cowboy shirt and dusty boots. He opened a bottle of Rolling Rock with a lighter.
"He's the most all-American candidate I've ever met," ...
- Kleeb confident GOP stronghold ready for change.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) September 29, 2006 700+ words
...NORTH PLATTE, Neb. -- Democrat Scott Kleeb is confident he can do the nearly...fourth-generation" Nebraskan. Kleeb appears to be energizing Democrats...s happening in Washington. "Scott Kleeb is a breath of fresh air. He...
- Kleeb has western Dems hopeful.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) October 19, 2006 700+ words
...toes. The man behind the tingle is Scott Kleeb, a 31-year-old Yale graduate...before Smith. And as of Sept. 30, Kleeb had $255,000 in the bank, while Smith had $318,000. "Scott Kleeb is running a smart, centrist campaign...
- Kleeb sees momentum.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) November 1, 2006 700+ words
...ISLAND, Neb. -- A barrage of anti-Scott Kleeb advertising in western Nebraska was...underdog campaign now has momentum. Kleeb is running for Congress in a GOP...conservative organizations seeking to brand Kleeb as a liberal who would raise taxes...
- EDITORIAL: Kleeb for 3rd District.(Editorial)
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) October 15, 2006 700+ words
...do in Congress. One candidate, Scott Kleeb, stands out as the better choice...stability. When pressed aggressively, Kleeb's opponent, State Sen. Adrian...pressed under the same conditions, Kleeb draws on different resources...
- Kleeb and Smith go toe-to-toe.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) October 16, 2006 700+ words
...Republican Adrian Smith and Democrat Scott Kleeb exchange verbal blows over abortion...most competitive races this fall, Kleeb and Smith are vying to replace U...2-to-1 in the 3rd District, Kleeb, a political novice, has managed...
- Smith cites stance on abortion as key in race with Kleeb.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) September 8, 2006 700+ words
...between himself and Democratic rival Scott Kleeb of Dunning in their race to win the...Smith said in a press release. Kleeb is opposed to abortion on moral grounds...campaign spokesman Ben Lumpkin. Kleeb does not support a constitutional...
- Kleeb accuses Smith of missing big votes on bills.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) October 26, 2006 700+ words
...District congressional candidate Scott Kleeb criticized his Republican opponent...s session of the Legislature. Kleeb said the Gering lawmaker was "excused...how he's proud of his record," Kleeb said in a phone interview. "But...
- Kleeb raises campaign funds, but he's still mulling next step.
- Newspaper article from: Omaha World-Herald (Omaha, NE) August 16, 2007 700+ words
...HASTINGS, Neb. -- Democrat Scott Kleeb has been hitting up supporters for...year that I'm still engaged," Kleeb said of his fundraising e-mails...pick up and move out of state." Kleeb gained national attention in his...