Kennedy a lightning rod in Nebraska

The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy lived, worked and even vacationed on the East Coast, but he still managed to be a lightning rod in Nebraska politics.

Republicans invoked his name as a sure-fire fundraising tactic and, less effectively, as a way to link Nebraska Democrats such as J.J. Exon, Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson to liberal policies.

Meanwhile, those Democratic candidates kept their distance from Kennedy. The liberal icon's ability to motivate the Democratic base would have been offset by the political criticism from Republicans.

“You wanted to run your campaign about Jim Exon, not Ted Kennedy,” said Tom Monaghan of Omaha, a former state Democratic Party chairman.

With Republicans holding a solid majority in voter registration in Nebraska, Democrats could win only with support from independent voters and moderate Republicans. Kennedy didn't help with those crossover votes.

At the same time, Republicans knew they could run against Kennedy, said Norm Riffel of Springfield, a former state GOP chairman.

“That doesn't necessarily mean we didn't appreciate his position,” Riffel said. “He certainly had the respect of Republicans as well as Democrats. We're saddened by his death.”

Nebraska Democrats never attempted to defend Kennedy against GOP attacks, Monaghan said, fearing it would take too much effort.

But over the years, Monaghan said, he's heard from Republicans who met Kennedy and were impressed..

“Had we given the people of Nebraska an opportunity to know Ted Kennedy,” he said, “they might have come to the same conclusion.”