President Trump put some pressure on Governor Pillen, so Governor Pillen then put some pressure on the members of Nebraska’s Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee and got winner-take-all to go before the General Assembly. Pillen hopes that if Nebraska buckles to the wishes of President Trump, the President will support him or at least not go against him, and support Pillens former foe Chuck Herbster should he decide to run for governor again.

Governor Pillen might be wise to take heed of the warning my father gave me years ago. “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” Winner-take-all might not benefit Governor Pillen the way he thinks it will and it certainly won’t benefit the state of Nebraska the way he wants us to believe.

It’s understandable why Governor Pillen doesn’t want to upset the President. After all, history has not been kind to those who go against him. Just ask Jeff Flake or Liz Cheney. And if Trump’s former agriculture advisor Chuck Herbster does decide to run again, Pillen doesn’t want Trump to pour money into Herbster’s war chest. Trump came to Nebraska to campaign for Herbster the last time around and Pillen doesn’t want that to happen again.

But being a friend of President Trump doesn’t always work out that well either. Just ask Rudy Giuliani, his former Chief of Staff John Kelly, or Canada.

Governor Pillen put out a press release where he claims that going to winner-take-all “would restore unity to Nebraska’s allocation of Electoral College votes and strengthen our voice in presidential elections.”

Strengthen our voice in presidential elections? I’m reminded of the old cowboy saying, “Don’t piss on my boots and tell me it’s raining.”

Going to winner-take-all will make us irrelevant in presidential elections. Our voice will be just two votes louder than Wyoming’s. Unless…

Unless the Trump administration policies don’t do what he thinks they’ll do. His policies on tariffs, deporting illegal immigrants, and getting rid of programs like USAID are going to hurt the Nebraska farmer. And if the farmers are hurting, the farm implement businesses, the bars, restaurants, and other stores in the rural communities will be hurting too.

It’s not just people in the second district that want things to remain the way they are now. I went to the public hearing on this bill, and there were Republicans in the third district that testified that they are concerned that with the population shift to the urban areas, there could come a day in the not-too-distant future where Nebraska actually votes for a Democratic presidential nominee and takes away the voice of the rural communities.

That might not be that far-fetched. In Douglas and Lancaster counties Harris had 229,745 votes to Trump’s 195,137. Even in the more conservative Sarpy County, Trump only won by a few thousand votes.

If Trump’s policies don’t stop inflation, and if they cause a recession and high unemployment rates, and if the Democrats run a reasonable candidate, WTA might not give the governor the results he’s hoping for.

Right now, I know this seems far-fetched. But it wasn’t all that long ago the thought that Canadians would boo the American National Anthem at sporting events seemed far-fetched too. If Trump’s cutbacks cause delays in people getting their social security checks, or farmers getting their subsidies, it could be a whole new ballgame in 2028.

Dividing our electoral votes brings in millions of dollars in campaign revenue to our state. It brings us millions of dollars in free publicity. Keeping things the way they are benefits us. Changing it only benefits Republican politicians. At the public hearing, the only people who testified about changing our system were Republican operatives or people who worked for the governor.

Another old cowboy is saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

As of now, there’s no guarantee that winner-take-all has the 33 votes it needs to overcome a filibuster. I hope there are more Republicans in the third district that feel the same way as the ones who testified at the public hearing, and the western state senators listen to their concerns.

But the pendulum swings both ways. It wasn’t all that long ago Nebraska elected Democratic Governors and Senators. There could come a time when the popular Nebraska vote favors the Democratic presidential candidate.

As my father used to say, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.