Rep. Mike Flood’s (R-NE) Radical Start
During his first eight years in the Nebraska legislature between 2005 and 2013, Mike Flood conducted himself as a moderate who worked across party lines to get things done. During his second stint in the legislature during 2021 and 2022, Flood morphed into a hardcore, right wing GOP partisan. Similarly, Flood has campaigned as a bitter partisan for the U.S. House in 2022.
The extreme partisan version of Mike Flood is the one who was elected to the U.S. House on June 28, 2022. Under the law, it is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who administers the oath. But that wasn’t good enough for Flood. The new Nebraska CD01 incumbent was also sworn in by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to show his fealty to his party bosses, Donald Trump and the radical elements in the GOP base.
Mike Flood followed up that partisan start with initial votes that were extreme and out of the mainstream. Flood voted against an Amber Alert-type warning system for active shooters and an amendment to monitor white supremacy in the military and law enforcement. “In this epidemic of mass shootings, it is unimaginable that anyone would oppose legislation to alert people about an active shooter in their vicinity.” Democratic nominee and State Senator Patty Pansing Brooks, said.
Subsequently, Flood voted against a bill that would’ve codified Roe and protected a women’s constitutional right to travel to another state to receive an abortion. The bill that Flood opposed also contained a provision that would protect people from frivolous lawsuits who assist family members and friends to obtain an abortion in a state where they do not reside. Flood even voted against allowing the interstate mailing of abortion pills that have been approved by the FDA.
“Mike Flood is finishing up his first week in Congress and he has made his draconian position on women’s reproductive access more clear. Mike Flood’s votes have put birth control, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and marriage equality at risk.” Patty Pansing Brooks tweet.
Last week’s abortion vote in the U.S. House of Representatives further confirms the GOP’s highest priority is to ram through a national abortion ban against the will of the American people. Already, voters are noticing the GOP’s extremism. Since the six Republicans on the Supreme Court tossed out Roe v. Wade, there has been a 4–5 point shift towards the Democrats in the generic Congressional ballot.
These votes in the U.S. House are 100% consistent with Flood’s recent record in the legislature. As a state senator, Mike Flood co-sponsored an abortion ban without any exceptions for rape and incest. If it was up to Flood, the 10 year old rape victim would’ve been denied an abortion and forced to give birth to her rapist’s child.
The implications of Flood’s reactionary abortion ban are disturbing. In Michigan, a man who raped a twelve year old girl has been awarded joint custody of her child despite being convicted of her rape and another sexual assault on a child. Moreover, eighteen states allow rapists to sue their victims for child custody.
The Republicans are so vicious that they called the 10 year old rape victim a liar. These same right wingers also falsely claimed Ohio law would’ve allowed an abortion under these horrific circumstances. And to add insult to injury, the Indiana Attorney General has threatened legal action against the doctor who performed the abortion.
“Forcing a 10-year-old girl to travel to another state to end her pregnancy is the inevitable outcome of their stated policy preferences. The 10-year-old’s plight is an entirely predictable outcome of the post-Dobbs state of affairs in Ohio.” The New Republic. “This whole hideous episode has demonstrated the extent to which conservatives are unwilling to grapple with the reality of the abortion regime they are imposing on much of the country.” Michelle Goldberg of the NY Times.
Jim Bopp, the general counsel for the National Right to Life, was one of the few Republicans who actually told the truth about this controversy in an interview with Politico: “She would have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child,” he said. Flood was endorsed by National Right Life.
We can do better than Mike Flood in Nebraska CD01. We can all vote for Patty Pansing Brooks on November 8. “When I’ve seen a need for change, I’ve always been one of the first voices in the legislature to speak out. Whether voting to support rental assistance or speaking late into the night to defend our right to safe, legal abortions, I will never let party stand in the way of progress.” Patty Patty Pansing Brooks tweet.
“Things have become so partisan. We need people who are willing to work with those who have opposing viewpoints and bring people together — that’s what it’s going to take to move our country forward.” Patty Pansing Brooks tweet.
The voters in Nebraska CD01 responded to Patty’s positive message in the special election on June 28. Flood beat Patty by a narrow 53% to 47% margin. This was the closest election in Nebraska CD01 since 1974. Patty ran 14 points ahead of Donald Trump in this district. This is a winnable race.
This close win for Flood in a usually safe red CD tells us that the Supreme Court’s decision in the recent abortion case is a game changer. Democrats and moderates are sending the GOP a message — they’re angry, and ready to vote them out.
Patty would be a welcome change from the GOP’s hyper-partisanship since she has worked across the aisle with Republican senators on numerous issues. If you want different results out of Washington, you have to vote for different people. Vote for Patty Pansing Brooks for a change!