The liberal media have continually circled back throughout the 2024 campaign to the impact of Nebraska’s proportional allotment of electoral votes and the fact that its second congressional district (and thus one of the state’s four votes) is purple in its partisan breakdown and has swung between the two parties.
But ABC’s Good Morning America took it to a whole other level Thursday to follow in the footsteps of puff pieces like this from The Washington Post to insinuate it going blue would not only give Kamala Harris the presidency, but a Democratic House and Senate.
Chief Washington correspondent and three-time anti-Trump author Jonathan Karl beamed in from Omaha that “[w]e don't usually think about Nebraska as a battleground state, but this year, it does have the potential to be a decisive factor in the race for the White House and even for the battle over which party controls the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
EYEROLL: ABC's Jonathan Karl and 'Good Morning America' are VERY, VERY excited about #NE02, arguing it's going to help Democrats win the White House AND both houses of Congress in a blue wave. pic.twitter.com/I06peFpDwM
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 24, 2024
Karl — who makes no secret his disgust for Trump (despite having been paid handsomely for his derangement syndrome) — gushed that “in Omaha, the state's biggest city, Democrats outnumber Republicans — a blue dot in a sea of red and, because Nebraska divides its electoral votes, that blue dot along with its one electoral vote, could be the deciding factor in the presidential election.”
On-screen, there stood what the left has fawned over as an ingenious yard sign with a blank square and blue dot for Democrats to thumb their noses at their neighbors.
Karl shifted to a tight reelection battle for Republican Congressman Don Bacon (which he’s fought off before, but Karl never mentioned that) and implied him being a Republican with Trump at the top of the ticket was toxic.
Karl then went to the Senate race, painting faux independent Dan Osborn as totally not a Democrat going up against incumbent Republican Deb Fischer (click “expand”):
KARL: In the battle over control of the House of Representatives, one of the top targets for Democrats is Republican Don Bacon who represents Omaha. He has Trump's endorsement, but he'll need Democratic votes to win, so he's keeping his distance. [TO BACON] Would it help for Trump to be here if he's unpopular in your district?
BACON (R-NE): You know, I think it would help in some ways and hurt in some ways and I don't worry about things I can't control, so —
KARL [TO BACON]: So, you’re not asking him to come out there for you?
BACON: I just accept — I accept who ever comes out. I’ll — I'll try and work with them. That’s what I do.
KARL: And, in one of the year's most surprising development, Republican Senator Deb Fischer is suddenly facing a tough challenge nobody saw coming from independent candidate Dan Osborn. He's a Navy veteran, blue collar worker, and political novice. Republicans are spending millions of dollars attacking him, portraying him as a liberal Democrat who is disguising himself as an independent. Osborne's response to the onslaught of negative ads has gone viral.
Karl concluded by teasing an upcoming interview with Osborn and the laughable assertion Osborn would “have to decide whether or not to caucus with the Democrats or the Republicans” to then determine who controls the Senate.
Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos was enthused, reacting to this news with an “okay, great!”
What Karl left out was the fact that Osborn’s fundraising through the Democratic Party’s small-donor platform, ActBlue.
Further, our friend Gabe Kaminsky at the Washington Examiner reported Monday that Osborn said in a fundraising page he’d be up for “sell[ing] my vote” as a senator. And, last month, the Examiner reported Osborn has been privately praising socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
To see the relevant ABC transcript from October 24, click “expand.”
ABC’s Good Morning America
October 24, 2024
7:00 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: 12 Days to Go; Race for the White House]
ROBIN ROBERTS: Plus —
GOVERNOR TIM WALZ (D-MN): One dot takes a difference.
ROBERTS: — which state could determine the presidency, the House, and the Senate?
(....)
7:03 a.m. Eastern
ROBIN ROBERTS: And Jon Karl in Nebraska on the impact of the pivotal state
(....)
7:10 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: New This Morning; All Eyes on Nebraska; Why State Could Decide Control of the White House & Congress]
MICHAEL STRAHAN: And Nebraska could have a huge impact on this election. There's a chance it could decide the next president and control of the House and Senate, with both chambers so narrowly split. Our chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl is in Omaha with more. Good morning, Jon.
JONATHAN KARL: Good morning, Michael. We don't usually think about Nebraska as a battleground state, but this year, it does have the potential to be a decisive factor in the race for the White House and even for the battle over which party controls the House of Representatives and the senate. Nebraska is Republican territory, but here in Omaha, the state's biggest city, Democrats outnumber Republicans — a blue dot in a sea of red. And, because Nebraska divides its electoral votes, that blue dot along with its one electoral vote, could be the deciding factor in the presidential election. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz know that —
WALZ: One dot makes a difference.
KARL: — and so does Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP [on 10/23/24]: I would love to get that vote and to the people of Omaha please be nice to me.
KARL: And it's not just the race for the White House. In the battle over control of the House of Representatives, one of the top targets for Democrats is Republican Don Bacon who represents Omaha. He has Trump's endorsement, but he'll need Democratic votes to win, so he's keeping his distance. [TO BACON] Would it help for Trump to be here if he's unpopular in your district?
CONGRESSMAN DON BACON (R-NE): You know, I think it would help in some ways and hurt in some ways and I don't worry about things I can't control, so —
KARL [TO BACON]: So, you’re not asking him to come out there for you?
BACON: I just accept — I accept who ever comes out. I’ll — I'll try and work with them. That’s what I do.
KARL: And, in one of the year's most surprising development, Republican Senator Deb Fischer is suddenly facing a tough challenge nobody saw coming from independent candidate Dan Osborn. He's a Navy veteran, blue collar worker, and political novice. Republicans are spending millions of dollars attacking him, portraying him as a liberal Democrat who is disguising himself as an independent. Osborne's response to the onslaught of negative ads has gone viral.
DAN OSBORN: This is why people hate politics. It makes you want to cut your TV in half.
KARL: If Osborn wins, he's going to have to decide whether or not to caucus with the Democrats or the Republicans. That decision could single handedly determine which party controls the Senate. He hasn't said what he's going to do. Later today, I am going to interview, ask him that question and many others. It will be the first time he has ever done a network interview. George?
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Okay, great! Jon Karl, thanks very much.
