Like most Democrats across the country, your state has probably been infected with Tom DeLay's dirty money.

But, most of us have probably not run against Tom DeLay's money like Matt Connealy did last year.

Matt Connealy was a family farmer State Senator who ran against Jeff Fortenberry in Nebraska's open congressional district last year (NE-1).  Senator Connealy ran a strong race in the primary against three other Democrats and ran fairly strong in the summer months leading up to Labor Day.

Then, like most Democrats running against Washington's out-of-touch priorities, Senator Connealy got blindsided by the NRCC.  No sooner after three weeks of negative ads were paid for, did Jeff Fortenberry accept his first $10,000 of DeLay money.

I think you can guess where the story goes...

Soon after Jeff Fortenberry was sworn in, did he do what every DeLay lapdog does:  take another $10,000 and vote to repeal the ethics rules to make DeLay step down.

So, after yesterday's indictment of Tom DeLay, State Senator Matt Connealy sent out an email to thousands of Nebraska Democrats who supported him and wrote:

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to drop by and let everyone know that here in Nebraska, the amazing story in OH-2 has caught a lot of people's attention.

Hackett's campaign build itself from scratch into a powerful force that put the Republican establishment on notice -- and that's exactly what we're trying to do in Nebraska.

First off, congrats. It was an inspiring effort to watch and we're trying to learn everything we can from what went down there.  An incredible network of concerned Americans got together about the race in Ohio. Now I want you to think about Nebraska.

And things are happening here. Our red-state strategy, the "93 County Strategy", kicked-off this week with two local Meetups and grassroots training in Hershey, Nebraska on Saturday. And we just had a fantastic article written about our progress.  Here's a quote:

Karl Rove is making a trip to over to Nebraska today, and the Nebraska Democratic Party is rolling out the welcome mat.  One of our great local blogs has the scoop.

There's a rally to protest the event, and we're reaching out to anybody who wants to join us.

It's going to be the same old song and dance: Party loyalists will nod along when he stresses erroneous claims about Democrats -- and they will stand up and cheer when he spins the same old lines about the President's leadership.

And there might even be question time for Bush's Brain. Here's a possible suggestion:

What kind of American endangers our country by leaking the identity of a CIA officer as political retribution?

It sounds strange, but that's what anyone's internet strategy has got to be about: relationships.

Why? Cause that's how the NDP and www.NebraskaDemocrats.org is going to build a new majority in our red state.

With a budding blogosphere and state-of-the-art technology, the NDP is finally putting it's energy into building new relationships with online Democrats and Progressives --- as well as repairing old relationships with the Party faithful -- through a online rebirth.

I've seen that the online Democratic community has shown they are not an ATM for someone else's disposal or a legion of uninterested mass-emailers, who don't want to engage in the door-to-door warfare needed to win elections.

The online Democrats has shown that they want a community that is "real" and want political organizations and campaigns that are "real."

For all those interested in helping plant the seeds of a Democratic revival in red states, Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska just had their primary municipal elections...and boy, what a primary.

In Omaha, the hotly contested City Council race pitted our former State Chair against the incumbent Council President.  While she lost the primary 48 to 52, she has picked up more steam in the last two weeks and will no doubt make general election the most watched election in Omaha.

In Lincoln, incumbent progressive Terry Werner placed second and newcomer Dan Marvin finished fourth out 20 candidates vying for three seats.  Be sure to check out the Nebraska Democratic Party Blog to learn more about these great campaigns and the revival of the Nebraska Democratic Party.

I've always been of the mind that rural America has been severly hurt by Republicans and presents a key swing vote for Democratic candidates. The way of life in rural areas is hurt more by deunionization, outsourcing and the underfunding of health care than your average suburb. In my estimation below the presidential race, rural areas swing more heavily than suburbs and exurbs. And it's also the first post by the Deputy Director of the Nebraska Democratic Party. Can we do anything about Jeff Fortenberry? - Laddy

Recently, the Democratic Rural Working Group, co-chaired by Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth, put out an eight-page report detailing how Democrats are keeping the promises we've made to the country's heartland.

Nebraska's own Center for Rural Affairs is quoted in the report, saying "the President's budget would doom many rural Americans and many rural communities at permanetn status as members of America's underclass."

The report lays out that Bush's Budget:

*Fails to stand for common sense spending *Fails to live up to the promises of the Farm Bill

*Fails to create jobs in rural America *Attempts to hide the Social Security privatization plan *Shortchanges building roads, airports, information and infrastructure *Fails to strengthen education, health care and housing for our families and communities

...and lastly, Bush's budget fails to defend America and honor our veterans.

When growing up, I was lucky to live in a rural community in southwest Sarpy County. Our main street is still paved with the same bricks from the early 1900's.

I've always told people that Gretna, Nebraska is the equivalent of a Norman Rockwell painting...but as I read more into Bush's 2006 budget, it became very clear that rural Nebraska's problems wasn't a painting and the Republican Party wasn't Norman Rockwell.