3rd District debates off to spirited start Democrat Scott Kleeb Ne [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1673&u_sid=2237786

Published Thursday
September 7, 2006

3rd District debates off to spirited start

BY PAUL HAMMEL


WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

LEXINGTON, Neb. - Two candidates vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne engaged in a spirited exchange Wednesday night that highlighted differences about partisanship and use of fetal tissue in medical research.

In their first major debate of the fall campaign, Democrat Scott Kleeb said he would work to move beyond the partisan bickering that many voters complain about in western Nebraska's 3rd Congressional District and be an independent voice.

"I had a rancher in Alliance tell me he'd never voted for a Democrat in his life but he was supporting me," Kleeb said. "He said right now, it's not about moving left or moving right but moving forward."

The Republican candidate, State Sen. Adrian Smith, emphasized his 12 years of experience on the Gering City Council and in the Nebraska Legislature, and he called Kleeb "naive" for thinking he would not be required to back U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, for speaker of the House.

"When you look at the reality of the rules of the House, you can't stand up and support a Republican or an independent for speaker," Smith said. "It doesn't work that way."

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