Go, Nebraska!

This week, the Nebraska legislature passed a bill that abolishes the death penalty in that state.  The vote makes Nebraska the 19th state to do so, in addition to the District of Columbia.

This vote is amazing  in contemporary U.S. politics.  As the New York times reports, Nebraska is the first conservative state to do so in forty years.  Yet, what is truly amazing about this legislation is that Independents, Democrats and Republicans worked together to accomplish passage.  When initially passed, Nebraska Governor Ricketts not only opposed the bill, but vetoed it.  The coalition favoring abolishment held together and managed to gather support sufficient to overcome the veto.

“Whenever anything historic occurs, it’s never the doing of one person,” said Sen. Ernie Chambers, an independent who introduced a repeal measure 38 times. “I’ve been pushing for this for 40 years, but all of this time it’s never been done.” Ricketts, on the other hand, lashed out with the now common vitriol of a politician not getting his way saying “My words cannot express how appalled I am that we have lost a critical tool to protect law enforcement and Nebraska families.”

The victory brings a missing maturity to coalition building.  While many view the death penalty as a violation of human rights, the reality is that much support for the bill came from conservative legislators who view the death penalty as inefficient and expensive.

Motivation becomes secondary in accomplishing common goals.  Frustration over botched executions, the cost of years of appeal or eliminating what many see as a barbaric violation of human rights becomes secondary as legislators unified to defeat the veto.  Nonetheless, the vote resulted in re-igniting conversation on the important human rights goal of eliminating punishment by death .

Representatives coming together to address a common goal, without vitriol, is how politics used to be.  Thank you, Nebraska, for not only eliminating the death penalty, but in ignoring partisan politics to accomplish a common goal for the good of the state.