Give Ben the Boot

Ben Nelson's decision to vote for Harry Reid's abortion funding, Medicare ballooning health care bill has not gone over too well with some in Nebraska.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- It was the concern of Nebraska's Republican governor over expanded Medicaid costs in the proposed Senate health care overhaul bill that led to a compromise to cover his state's estimated $45 million share over a decade, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson said Sunday.

Gov. Dave Heineman "contacted me and he said this is another unfunded federal mandate and it's going to stress the state budget, and I agreed with him," the Nebraska Democrat said. "I said to the leader and others that this is something that has to be fixed. I didn't participate in the way it was fixed."

But Heineman expressed anything but gratitude, saying he had nothing to do with the compromise and calling the overhaul bill "bad news for Nebraska and bad news for America."

"Nebraskans did not ask for a special deal, only a fair deal," Heineman said in a statement Sunday.

That criticism is only a taste of what Nelson has received since announcing Saturday that he would become the 60th vote needed to advance the landmark legislation.

Despite the perks Nelson managed to garner for Nebraska in finally agreeing to support the overhaul bill, the backlash from those who wanted Nelson to hold a hard line against the measure was immediate.

Abortion foes howled in protest. Nebraska Right to Life, which has long endorsed Nelson, issued a scathing statement that dubbed Nelson a traitor. The state's Catholic bishops followed Sunday with a statement that they were "extremely disappointed" in him.

The chairman of Nebraska's Republican Party declared Nelson's decision to be the end of his political career in Nebraska, and within hours of Nelson's announcement, the state GOP launched a Web site, http://www.givebentheboot.com, to collect funds to oust the Democrat in the 2010 election.

Given that 67 percent of Nebraskans oppose the current health care reform, it shouldn't be too difficult to "Give Ben the Boot."

What perks did Russ Feingold get for Wisconsin in order to secure his vote for health care?

Where's our payoff?

What did Herb Kohl get for his constituents?

What chumps for just giving their votes away!

GIVE RUSS THE BOOT!

Note to the Republican Party of Wisconsin: GET A CANDIDATE TO CHALLENGE FEINGOLD. The election is on November 2nd.

2010!