Sen. Ben Nelson in a single day won more friends than he can count -- and certainly more enemies.
With the Nebraska senator's decision to back Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care bill, the partisan sea in his state has parted, with Democrats on one side applauding him for saving the bill and Republicans assailing him on the other.
Nebraska Democrats held a press conference Monday to sing Nelson's praises. State Sen. Danielle Conrad, one of the handful of state and local officials there, said Nelson did his job by protecting his state.
The news conference came after Nelson broke in favor of the bill on Saturday, giving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid the 60 votes he needs to overcome a GOP filibuster. Nelson joined 59 other senators in the first successful test vote shortly after 1 a.m. ET Monday.
But with the Senate bill now heading toward a final vote after months of negotiations, Nebraska Republicans see Nelson's decision as unforgivable.
"Senator Nelson frankly did a horrendous job negotiating and sold Nebraskans down the river," Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Fahleson said. The state GOP has launched a new Web page, GiveBentheBoot.com, to collect online donations in order to "retire" Nelson.
Fahleson said Nelson's decision makes the second-term senator highly vulnerable once he's up for re-election in 2012. The chairman said Nelson to this point has stayed in office in conservative Nebraska by running as a moderate, but his health care vote "obliterates" that persona. - FOX News Story
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