'Democrats hope to oust this Republican senator by not running against him'

[ShazzieB]

13. Yes, he is very progressive.

That's what a lot of us love about him. But he's not a member of the Democratic Party, and that's okay. Bernie's an Independent, but he caucuses with the Democrats because they stand a for a hell of a lot more of the things he stands for than the other party does. He's been doing it for nearly 20 years now, and he's had that (I) after his name the whole time.

The point I was trying to make is there is already at least one person in the Senate wearing the Independent label who is anything but a Republican. I see no reason why "Independent" should automatically be regarded as code for "I'm really a Republican and just don't want to admit it."

When it comes to Osborn, I am in no position to judge. I don't live or vote in Nebraska, and I know nothing about Nebraska politics except that it's a mostly red stste that went for Trump by 20 points in 2024. The Nebraska Democrats, otoh, are on the scene. They know all about Osborn, they know all about the guy they want to get rid of (Ricketts), and they know how Nebraska voters think. If they've carefully thought this thing through, and it sounds like they have, I see no reason to immediately jump to the conclusion that they don't know what they're doing. I also see no reason to assume that the Democratic Party in Nebraska is led by a bunch of stealth Republicans who are conspiring to replace Ricketts with another Republican, lol.

Nebraska Democrats are saying that they've decided to back an Independent rather than running their own candidate because they feel it's the best chance they have to unseat Ricketts. I have no grounds on which to second guess them, and I'm not going to. If I lived in Nebraska, I would carefully research Osborn before voting for him, and I'm planning to do that anyway. This is an unusual move on the Democrats' part, and I'm curious to know more. I may find out something that could change my mind, but for now, I'm comfortable assuming that the Denocrats in another state know the situation there and the people involved much better than I do.

So I also stand my previous statement, at least for now.