Free Republic

I was almost starting to feel sorry for Shane Osborn. After all, he had been spurned by the conservative movement in favor of a fresher face named Ben Sasse, had been unceremoniously un-endorsed (for really no good reason) by FreedomWorks, had his military service questioned, and was effectively swift-boated in an ad paid for by an outside group. (SNIP) As Jonathan Strong points out, The pledge, from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), asks candidates to vow to oppose amnesty, increases in legal immigration, and increases in the number of guest workers. They dont just want to stop illegal...

The Republican Establishment always says conservative purists would rather lose than compromise. But the opposite is playing out in Nebraska. The moment Ben Sasse got endorsed by the Senate Conservatives Fund, Mitch McConnell went all in for Shane Osborn. Well, Osborn is now toast. He has extremely high negatives, extreme negative poll numbers, and outside groups have just finished him off with an ad blasting his involvement in a made up military memo. That leaves Sid Dinsdale who’d have you know he is a lifelong Republican despite years of significant giving to Democrats. Dinsdale too, however, is behind in the...

The victory notched by tea party Republicans in the Nebraska Senate race was modest, but they'll take it in a season that has yielded few bright spots so far. Ben Sasse won the GOP nomination for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Sasse was the closest thing to a tea party candidate in the three-man race, largely because he feuded last fall with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the epitome of establishment Republicanism. But Sasse is hardly the out-of-right-field firebrand that some tea partyers cherish. A college president with degrees from Harvard and Yale, he worked for...

Read the memo circulated by Shane Osborn's U.S. Senate campaign to counter criticism about his decision in April 2001 to land a disabled Navy reconnaissance plane in China. * * *Dogged by questions about his 2001 decision to land a crippled Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane in China, U.S. Senate candidate Shane Osborn has distributed an official-looking Navy memo supporting his account.The memo, written Aug. 8, 2013, on Navy letterhead, is titled “Disposition of actions by EP-3E flight crew on April 1, 2001.” It explains that Osborn's plane was authorized to land on China's Hainan island “due to the extreme circumstances...

Nebraska Senate candidate Shane Osborn seems to have made a habit of, one might say, overreaching during this campaign.First, there was the misrepresented memo:  In an effort to defend his military service, Osborn had a friend in the Pentagon write up a memo saying that Osborn was authorized to land in China, put it on official Navy letterhead, and release it without proper authorization. As the Omaha World-Herald reported, Osborn’s campaign then circulated that memo as if it were an official Navy document.  Osborn has since apologized. Now, Osborn is claiming to have the support of 51 economists from across the country. ...

GOP Senate candidate Ben Sasse announced Thursday he raised more than $850,000 in the first quarter of the year, significantly more than his main challenger in the race. Sasse made the announcement on Twitter. Another Republican candidate, Shane Osborn, announced earlier this week he raised more than $550,000 in the first quarter of this year. Osborn is a former state Treasurer and Navy pilot and his main rival is Sasse, who serves as president of Midland University. Last week, conservative group FreedomWorks withdrew its endorsement of Osborn and said it would support Sasse instead. They are among four GOP contenders...

In a major blow to former Republican state Treasurer Shane Osborn’s candidacy for Nebraska Senate, national conservative group FreedomWorks is withdrawing its endorsement and backing his main primary rival, Midland University President Ben Sasse, instead. At issue, FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in a statement, is the unspoken support Osborn is believed to have from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “Both Osborn and Sasse are great people, and this was not a decision taken lightly. The question at the heart of this decision is, who would caucus with the Freedom Caucus, and who would fall in line with the...

With every big name in national Tea Party politics lined up behind Ben Sasse in the Nebraska Republican Senate primary, a disinterested observer could be forgiven for assuming that Shane Osborn was some GOP Establishment today. Except, that’s not the case. Osborn, a Navy veteran who was once captured and interrogated by the Chinese military for several days, served one term as the elected Nebraska treasurer, stepping down in 2011 rather than run for re-election. He has never lived in Washington aside from a 15-month assignment to the Navy Yard following his final deployment to Afghanistan. Osborn moved home to...

Republican Shane Osborn nabbed the endorsement of social conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly in his bid for Senate in Nebraska. Schlafly, head of the anti-feminist, anti-abortion group the Eagle Forum, said in a statement obtained exclusively by The Hill that she’s endorsing Osborn because the nation needs “leaders with strong moral convictions.” ADVERTISEMENT "I am pleased to announce my support for Shane Osborn in the Nebraska U.S. Senate race. Our nation is at a crossroads, and we urgently need leaders with strong moral convictions to lead our nation back into prosperity and constitutional government,” Schlafly said. “Shane Osborn is just what...

A group called Americans for Prosperity in Nebraska gathered a crowd for a rally in Omaha to press Sen. Nelson on the reform bill. Anger over senator Ben Nelson's support of health care reform. Nearly 2,000 people rally in Omaha, hoping he's listening. The group's message is two fold -- reconsider your vote Senator Nelson and remember your decision when elections roll around. With their signs in hand, Nebraskans filled Omaha's Music Hall, rallying against the senate health care bill and Sen. Nelson's support for it. "I think that's why we're all here. To get him to listen to us,"...

Nebraskans like fellows who have distinguished military records, especially the kind that involve daring deeds worthy of an action figure. The Medal of Honor for service as one of the Navy’s vaunted SEAL commandos never did Bob Kerrey any harm in his successful campaigns for governor and the U.S. Senate. Shane Osborn, the political novice who drew international attention as a Navy pilot whose plane was forced down on Chinese territory, no doubt benefited from his experience Tuesday. Osborn defeated incumbent State Treasurer Ron Ross in the Republican primary. Osborn rolled up 63 percent of votes cast; Ross had 37...

Dear fellow Nebraskans; I am pleased to announce my candidacy for Treasurer of the Great State of Nebraska. I am running because I am a concerned citizen who, like you, is interested in a responsible, efficient state government. I am running because America is the greatest democracy in the world and I believe in giving voters a choice of candidates. I am running because I have the background and experiences to be a great Treasurer.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Former Navy pilot Shane Osborn, who became a national hero in 2001 when he guided a damaged surveillance plane to a safe landing on a Chinese island, said Wednesday he will seek the Republican nomination for Nebraska state treasurer. Osborn had been considering a run for the U.S. Senate but said his wife and two young children weighed on his decision to seek a state office instead. Osborn, 31, will face Republican Treasurer Ron Ross in the May 2006 primary. There are no other announced candidates. On April 1, 2001, Osborn was flying over the South China...