Leaders needed

If the answer is partisan foot soldier, that is a major demerit against the candidate.

Unfortunately, many of the legislative contests this fall are taking shape as bare-knuckle fights between the two major parties. And even in other, quieter legislative races, many candidates seem perfectly happy to be seen as party loyalists first.

But the Nebraska Legislature shouldn’t be a partisan playpen. It should be a forum for the conscientious study and resolution of problems facing the state.

If shortsighted party politics rule at the State Capitol, the result could be stalemate. Some Nebraskans will say, “Well, that would be fine.” But such a standoff would short-circuit Nebraska’s ability to tackle vital issues — school funding, tax policy, road-building, agriculture, budget discipline, water.

The Nebraska Constitution, after all, requires that the single-chamber Legislature operate with no party caucuses and no party leaders. And the body consists of a mere 49 people, with a minimum of 25 votes to pass most legislation. In such an environment, hyperpartisanship doesn’t enhance a senator’s effectiveness — it undermines it.

The history of the one-house Legislature makes clear that to accomplish their goals, lawmakers need to succeed at a crucial task: building trust with their colleagues. The more that a lawmaker sacrifices the integrity of committee deliberations and legislative negotiation to political shenanigans and the egos of partisan chieftains, the more he erodes his ability to gain his colleagues’ trust. It’s ridiculous for Democrats serving in the Legislature, for example, to say to some colleagues, “I can’t work with you — there’s an ‘R’ beside your name.” The same holds true for how Republicans should look on Democratic lawmakers.

State Sen. Bill Avery, a retired professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, deserves credit for firmly warning his fellow Democrats about the harm that furious partisanship would do to a Legislature required by the state constitution to look beyond party considerations in its operations.

Even from a narrowly practical standpoint, he says, Democrats should be careful: If they really push to make partisanship the key factor at the Legislature, the Republican majority would prevail.

Incoming lawmakers in 2009 should take a cue from independentminded senators in the current freshman class — Avery on the Democratic side, for example, and senators such as Greg Adams, John Harms and John Wightman for the Republicans.

These lawmakers have made important contributions in committee and during floor debate by looking to the state’s best interests rather than to self-promotion and party considerations.

Such a mature approach builds trust and respect. It is how thoughtful lawmakers promote a constructive atmosphere in the Legislature.

Another current freshman, Sen. Danielle Nantkes of Lincoln, offers a related lesson: the need for lawmakers to exercise independent judgment.

Nantkes, a Democrat, once worked as a lobbyist for a left-leaning advocacy group. But as a senator, she has communicated an important message to that organization: Although she continues to agree with the group’s philosophical stands in many cases, her role has changed in a fundamental way. As a senator, she now has a duty to look broadly at issues. She no longer can focus on the perspective and demands of only one group.

And she has to be ready to tell that interest group something it doesn’t want to hear: the word “no.”

In the Nebraska legislative races this fall, are the candidates ready to tell their party “no” if the state’s interests require it? Do the candidates acknowledge that to be a conscientious lawmaker, one should focus on legislative effectiveness and consensus-building rather than cheap partisan tactics?

If candidates answer these questions with a “yes,” then they indicate the potential for serious service in Lincoln.

And if they answer “no”? Then voters should brace for the gridlock the state could see quite soon on education, budgeting, criminal justice and other issues critical to Nebraska’s future.
Partisan fever on the rise, threatens the Nebraska Legislature.