Rebutting Zombie Lies From Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer
Senators Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer are engaged in a public relations offensive to convince the Nebraska voters to support them and the extreme MAGA agenda. Fischer gave an interview to Nebraska Public Media (which she voted to destroy) and Ricketts wrote an opinion piece for the Omaha World Herald. In both instances, they omitted many material facts in a way that has the potential to mislead Nebraska voters.
The reporter at Nebraska Public Media didn’t ask Fischer any tough questions and didn’t ask any follow ups. Ricketts’ opinion piece was published by the Omaha World Herald without any fact checking.
I wrote this piece to provide the fact checking that all Nebraska voters need to know to be better informed. Unfortunately, we can’t count on the Nebraska press to perform this vital function.
The first topic that requires scrutiny are Fischer’s claim that she supports the First Amendment. As we know, the First Amendment is under assault by Trump and Fischer endorsed him all three times he ran for office. Moreover, Fischer has voted with him 100% of the time in 2025.
ALLEGATIONS:
Deb Fischer on September 19:
“Oh, I’m a strong supporter of free speech…”
FACT CHECK:
The Trump administration launched yet another assault on freedom of the press as a result of ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel. ABC suspended Kimmel after being threatened by the regime. Apparently, you will be canceled if you don’t properly mourn Charlie Kirk.
Trump on September 19:
“They’ll take a great story and they’ll make it bad. See, I think that’s really illegal.” (Talking about reporters.)
“They give me only bad press,” Trump said. “They’re getting a license. I think maybe their license should be taken away.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on September 19:
”We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”..
Trump has a long history of threatening the media. Trump on August 25:
“Why is it that ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the absolute worst and most biased networks anywhere in the World, aren’t paying Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES. They should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!”
In another post, Trump called ABC and NBC “two of the worst and most biased networks in history,” which “give me 97% BAD STORIES.”
“IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC,” he continued. “I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!”.
Trump also forced the termination of Colbert’s show. He has filed junk lawsuits against the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS/60 Minutes. He blocked the AP from the White House briefing room. He coerced ABC News to pay $15 million, CBS to pay $16 million, and Meta to pay $25 million. This is an all-out assault on free speech, the First Amendment, and democracy.
Fischer didn’t mention this in the interview. Nor was she asked about it. Fischer is enabling the most aggressive attack on free speech in the history of the country under the best case scenario. For all we know, she may support it but doesn’t have the courage to say it. Nonetheless, Fischer is no supporter of free speech.
ALLEGATIONS:
Pete Ricketts on September 13:
“The Democrats are blockading the government. They are refusing to confirm nominees in a timely manner. Democrats are obstructing nominations just to score political points.
Historically, Democrats and Republicans have always cooperated to swiftly confirm a president’s nominees.”
Fischer on September 19:
“What we’re seeing really, is obstruction from the Democrats. It violates all the past norms that we’ve had here in the Senate.”
FACT CHECK:
Ricketts and Fischer conveniently failed to mention the history of extreme GOP obstruction during the Obama and Biden presidencies. Then Vice President Joe Biden reported that during the transition in 2009, several GOP Senators privately told him that Mitch McConnell had given them orders that there was to be no cooperation with the incoming administration — because McConnell had decided that “we can’t let you succeed.”
Due to Republican obstruction of executive branch appointees and judicial nominations during the Obama administration, the Senate Democrats abolished the filibuster for executive branch and judicial nominees.
Republican obstruction reached its apogee after Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in 2016. In an unprecedented move, Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans refused to grant Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland hearings and an up or down vote.
Deb Fischer was part of the GOP wall of obstruction during the Obama and Biden administrations. She didn’t mention that and she wasn’t asked about it. Moreover, Ricketts conveniently ignored the history of GOP obstruction in his editorial. It’s fraud by omission and the Omaha World Herald let him get away with it.
ALLEGATIONS:
Pete Ricketts on September 17:
“We do need to bring the temperature down. We do need to recognize that civil discourse is important in our republic, that any violence against political figures is an attack on our republic, that it’s anti American, and that if you are unhappy with somebody’s speech, the answer is more speech, to be able to talk to people. And we settle our differences here in this country with ballots, not bullets.”
Deb Fischer on September 19:
“ You know, I get called a fascist, a Nazi, things like that. And that needs to stop, because it just heightens the divisions in this country and it needs to stop.”
FACT CHECK:
Many voters outside of the MAGA base have noticed that Trump has labeled his opponents: scum, vermin, enemy of the people, Marxists, animals and communists. Trump once said that he hated Democrats. Trump even alleged that Biden was running a “gestapo administration.” This kind of hyperbolic rhetoric is a turnoff to anyone outside of the MAGA base. It’s repulsive to millions of Americans.
Like Fischer, Ricketts has endorsed Trump three times and has voted with him 100% of the time in 2025. Trump has endorsed Ricketts’ re-election campaign. Independent Dan Osborn is running against Ricketts.
Neither Ricketts or Fischer have called out Trump for his inflammatory and divisive rhetoric. Very few elected Republicans have criticized Trump’s continuing incendiary remarks. They are enabling Trump’s attempts to divide the country. For all we know, they could support what Trump is saying about his political opponents.
CONCLUSION
We Democrats and other Trump opponents must act as fact checkers. We can’t count on the press to do their job. Many media outlets are owned by pro-Trump billionaires and support his failing regime. Other outlets are simply cowed by the threats to free speech and their business interests and licenses. We must have the courage to speak out. Courage is contagious.
Sources:
https://omaha.com/opinion/column/article_02aea5a9-d62e-4447-8f01-4e06b02104d6.html