Uncle Wiggily, head lagomorph of one of Nebraska's indispensible political blogs, has a thoughtful piece on the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative. He take me gently to task for suggesting that David Kramer, lawyer for Nebraskans United, might be motivated by being a recipient or potential recipient of preferences. And he's probably right; while anyone arguing the case against preferences gets frustrated by the continued accusation we're motivated by a desire to perpetuate 'white privilege'*, they object vehemently to any suggestion that their own desire to maintain the present far less nebulous system of preferences might not be entirely selfless. But UW's right. We should be above all that. The case against preferences stands on its merits; let its antagonists, if they are into self-examination, analyze their own motives.
Somewhat surprisingly to this long-term observer of the state GOP, the Nebraska Republican convention today voted in support of the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, creating a clear contrast to the state Democrats, who opposed it. It makes perfect sense, of course, for the GOP to do this; 71% of the state's voters favor the initiative.
NCRI today announced, at a press conference in the Nebraska Capitol Building, that they have 167,000 signatures to put the NCRI amendment on the November Ballot, almost 50% more than the legal requirement. NCRI has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in every single one of Nebraska's 93 counties. Grassroots that! While no doubt we're in for a good two months of lawyering from the ACLU and their antidemocratic allies, I can't imagine that even the most activist judge would override the expressed wishes of a full 1/6 of the state's registered voters.
According to the Lincoln Journal Star, we have enough signatures.
Browsing through the campaign finance reports for Nebraskans United, you come up with some very interesting information. Of the approximately quarter million dollars NU has spent trying to prevent the NCRI petition from going on the ballot, $200 K has come from four individuals, all Omaha millionaires — Warren Buffett, Wallace Weitz, Diane Lozier, and Richard Holland. Buffett, of course, is a prominent Democrat contributor who contributed the maximum early on to Obama. Weitz, also a Democrat, pledged $50 K on the same day Buffett did; his other contributions this year are to Obama for America (early in the primary season) and to the Nebraska Democratic State Central Committee. Lozier is also maxed out as a contributor to Obama for America and has given tens of thousands to other Democratic causes. And finally, so did Richard Holland. The three others are all associates of Buffett, and it's likely this was a coordinated campaign.
