PublicChristian

Democrat David Hahn is not your typical candidate for governor.

So said the Omaha World Herald recently. Seems to me we could use some untypical candidates.

Ask him about tax cuts, and the first thing he does is defend a government’s right to tax.

Ask about abortion, and he doesn’t dance around his belief that a woman has a right to choose.

He also isn’t afraid to tangle with the religious right.

“I feel there has been too much push by one side in the religious area to make those of us who are pro-choice feel as if, or try to make us feel, that we can’t be religious, believe in God or believe in Jesus, if we don’t hold that view,” he said.

“That’s just wrong.”

My thoughts on abortion, and on pro-life legislation have been made clear here I think. But Hahn is certainly right in his complaint.

I (like Hahn and everyone else I know) am anti-abortion – but I can see that it is hypocritical and destructive to “vote pro-life” when the people you are voting for do not bother to compassionately and effectively help reduce abortions in their own churches and communities, do not actually help reduce the pressures toward abortion in political and economic life, and do not call each other on their blatant manipulation of the issue for reasons of political power and economic advantage.

Hahn has a little broader perspective than many candidates for governor.

As a political science major at a small college in Sterling, Kan., in the 1970s, Hahn decided to go to Marburg, Germany, to study philosophy for a year. He chose the school in part because the biographer of his favorite theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, taught there.

He wrote recently about the importance of Bonhoeffer’s thinking for us today. That is a short but important article. Hahn wrote, for example: “The triumph of evil is not inevitable, but we must guard against hate, simple-minded unreason, fascism in God-talk; and we must be aware of the frailty of our life together.” (PublicChristian’s comments on Hahn’s article can be seen here.)

Hahn does not fit into an easy political classification.

He supports abortion rights and gun rights, including the state’s new concealed-carry law, and opposes same-sex marriage.

On the death penalty, Hahn appears to have some personal qualms but says, “It’s the law in Nebraska. I wouldn’t take any steps to change it.”

Oh I love that! When talking about issues he does not pretend. And it’s not because he’s stupid you may be sure!

Hey, if you really are smart, experienced, and have some moral and philosophical depth, why bother to run for office if you’re not going to use the grueling experience as a time to say it like you see it? Priceless.

Hahn said one reason he got into the race is that he is tired of politicians who spout “political clichés.” He also is interested in promoting community rather than individual values.

“One of my goals in this race is to require everyone, including myself, to talk clearly and specifically about what it is we want and what we’re willing to pay for,” he said.

That includes honesty about what the law actually requires. And honesty about cutting taxes – and services.

“If we’re going to talk about taxes, and tax cuts, then we need to be specific about what we’re giving up, who’s going to give up what, rather than these broad generalizations about (cutting) fraud, abuse and waste,” Hahn said.

Does Hahn stand a chance? Bob Kerrey, former Governor and US Senator thinks so.

“A newcomer can present a fresh and authentic face and voice. That is a big advantage if the voters are looking for a change,” Kerrey said in an e-mail from his current home in New York City.

You know what? We ARE looking for a change.

Hahn was quoted (with a photo) in USA Today the other day.

“The wind is coming back into the sails of the Democratic Party,” says David Hahn, the party’s nominee against Republican Gov. Dave Heineman.

And so was a newly elected Democratic county chair:

Never mind that Hahn’s odds are long … The newly elected county chairwoman, Fremont attorney Chris Boydston, is a convert from “a diehard Republican family.” She was increasingly angered by the GOP literature in her mailbox, she says, and finally told herself: “I’m a Democrat, I should embrace it.”

Me too. And when I find the perfect political party, I hope I have the good sense to recognize it and join it. In the meantime our nation is in dire straits. I will gladly be active with and for the high quality Democrats Nebraska is putting forward this year.

[See my article about 3rd Dist Congressional candidate Scott Kleeb: Bull-Riding, Fence-Fixing Yale Ph.D. Catholic For Nebraska’s 3rd District]

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