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Lawmakers support Lathrop, nonpartisan legislature

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BY NANCY HICKS AND JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008 - 04:59:50 pm CDT

Nebraska senators rallied Wednesday to uphold the unique nonpartisan structure of the nation’s only single-house legislature and to support a colleague recently attacked by a flier and phone messages produced by the state Republican Party.

In sometimes emotional discussion, senators described the value of a Legislature in which political parties don’t control the committee structure or the agenda and where party labels make little difference on most issues.

Coalitions form on some issues, but their members change, said Sen. Greg Adams of York, a Republican. The coalitions may be urban and rural. They may be Republican and Democrat, he said.

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“It is a culture of respect. It is a culture of civility. It is a culture of transparency,” Adams said.

Sen. Pat Engel of South Sioux City, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican a few years ago, also described the lack of party control in the Legislature.

“We don’t have an aisle here,” said Engel, who said he often brags about the Nebraska system in meetings across the country.

“We don’t have to give in to party politics. You are one of 49, and you have just as much clout as anyone else.”

Senators also defended Democratic Sen. Steve Lathrop, who has been criticized by the Republican Party for not living up to his campaign promise to be tough on illegal immigration.

His colleagues described Lathrop as a thoughtful, hardworking lawmaker who has negotiated successful compromises on several controversial issues in his less than two years in the Legislature.

“He’s one of the best negotiators I’ve ever seen,” Engel said, referring specifically to the cloning bill that became law this year.

The political message criticizing Lathrop was an insult to the entire Legislature, particularly since it came from a former state senator who understands the nonpartisan nature of the body, Engel said, referring to the fact that Republican Party Chairman Mark Quandahl is a former state senator.

Lathrop doesn’t run for re-election for another three years.

“An apology from him (Quandahl) and the party is warranted,” Engel said.

But the Republican Party did not apologize or back off from the message in fliers and automatic telephone messages.

Quandahl said he understands how the Legislature operates but doesn’t “recall signing any sort of an oath, any code of silence.”

As chairman of the state Republican Party, he said, he’s not bound by the nonpartisan nature of the Legislature.

Quandahl also defended the message. 

“What they didn’t like was somebody from outside criticizing a politician who was not living up to his campaign promise. That’s what this is all about, circling around and protecting one of their own.”

Several Republican senators did apologize.

“I am ashamed of what has transpired here and apologize on behalf of my party,” said Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island.

Others said they were discouraged and embarrassed by the partisan attack on Lathrop.

And Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek, a Democrat, invited the public to be alert to the partisan politics that go on with independent groups that do the dirty work for parties.

Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, a Republican who opened and closed the discussion, showed the depth of emotion on the issue.

He recalled going to the Legislature with his mother when he was 10. Then in 1991, in the beginning of his second term as a senator, his mother came to visit what had become an important part of her son’s life.

She was dying of cancer, and Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers went to her to tell her, “Your son is a good man.”

“I just don’t know how much better it gets than that,” Ashford said through long pauses to gather himself.

“This is a great place, and we have to stand up for that.”

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com. Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.


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Tired wrote on April 2, 2008 8:59 pm:
" I think this is just typical of the type of dirty politics that the state Republican party has started using since it has been under the new leadership of Matt Miltenberg.

The Unicameral is truly a great institution and I think there are certain people that will do anything to win an election. "
Edgar Pearlstein wrote on April 2, 2008 9:31 pm:
" I once thought that a partisan legislature would be less irresponible, in that party discipline might prevent some of its stupid actions. But on reflection, I thought of the US congress, which is so partisan that little gets done except for a lot of posturing. "
Col. Parker wrote on April 3, 2008 8:07 am:
" I have no love for anything republican, but I honestly cannot understand why there is such outrage over the fact that some people excercised their first amendment rights and criticized an elected official. "
Get real wrote on April 3, 2008 8:34 am:
" If these legislators want to claim that they are "Republicans" then start acting like it otherwise register independent and be done with it. Sen. Lathrop voted the way he did and it perfectly fair to discuss somebody's voting record is it not? "
By the sword which he lives.. wrote on April 3, 2008 2:31 pm:
" Senator Lathrop has been one of the most partisan of senators in recent memory. He uses his group of Democrats to intimidate others and push his personal agenda. He shouldn't be surprised or offended by criticism of his hypocritical application of campaign committments. Of course he's a good negotiator, you don't become a partner in a big litigation firm such as his without negotiation or deception skills. "
Mike McDermott wrote on April 3, 2008 2:38 pm:
" To suggest that this legislature is not partisan, or doesn't have a partisan agenda is hogwash, or at least pollyanic. I think that George Norris was one of the greatest Nebraskans as well as American to ever live. Can you imagine trying to persuade a country into paying for developing electricity for the common good, appeciated by rural farmers today hopefully, a fete considered by many to be "socialism" and "anti-American" at the time. He was so revered for his compassionate statesmanship that a dam in the Tennessee Valley Authority was named after him. As I understand it, Senator Norris was responsible for creating the Unicameral, his idealistic venture. Unfortunately, there is black and white, day and night, right and wrong, poor and rich, cheap and expensive, compassionate and selfish, conservative and liberal, wide and thin, long and short, winter and summer, wet and dry, light and dark, sweet and sour, fast and slow, heaven and hell, and on and on and on. There can be a whole host in between, but there are naturally at least these two extremes. The Unicameral then defies nature. Even Norris himself represented that in his book entitled, "FIGHTING LIBERAL." The best thing that this state can do then is to admit the obvious, the natural, and change this pollyanic assemblage to represent what every other state acknowledges, the natural state. Let the fight begin. "
WCG wrote on April 6, 2008 12:04 pm:
" This is top-down slime. The very top levels of the Republican Party nationwide have shown us the most divisive, overly-partisan, negative-campaigning slimeball behavior, and this... stuff has flowed downhill. It seemed to work in the 1990's, and it got the disastrous George W. Bush elected - TWICE! - to our nation's great harm. So now lower-level politicians try to join the act, too. We've seen it with Bruning, and we see it here. But as long as voters make excuses for this sort of behavior, it will continue. You get the kind of leadership you deserve, after all. My compliments to those Republican legislators who've objected. Perhaps they need to re-think their party affiliation. "

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