Crowd turns rowdy at U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts' town hall in Kearney

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

MIKE KONZ Kearney Hub Apr 24, 2025 Updated 4 hrs ago

KEARNEY, Neb. — A crowd of nearly 250 told U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts on Thursday what they think about President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

Ricketts tried to tell his side during the 40-minute town hall event in Kearney, but he was shouted down most of the time.

“Tax the rich! Tax the rich! Tax the rich!” the people chanted.

In a rare show of unity, the crowd cheered when someone questioned Ricketts’ loyalty.



U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts addresses the audience during a town hall meeting Thursday in Kearney.
BUCK MAHONEY, KEARNEY HUB



Read more: http://archive.today/bTO4B

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Original pay link: https://omaha.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_4b7b7837-eaf4-591a-8de9-8e196adb4549.html

Why Nebraska elected a Senator that is a billionaire is beyond me.

[mopinko]

1. if i was a thug elected

i’d b holding town halls weekly. i’d make it plain how the ppl feel.
then when i tell him no, i cd point over my shoulder and tell him i am representing my ppl.

[William769]

2. K&R!

[erronis]

3. Thanks for posting this, OS! More from that article (following the excerpt above)

“Our entire system is based on the rule of law,” Ricketts said. “I will always uphold the Constitution.”

Voters across the nation have voiced their frustrations during similar town halls. Party leaders have advised Republican officeholders to avoid the events. A month ago, Rep. Mike Flood of Norfolk had a town hall in Columbus that turned rowdy.

Ricketts faced a similar situation in Kearney, where town hall participants peppered the senator with jeers and shouting that drowned out his responses to multiple questions.

Not every question was irreverent. Some were thoughtful, if not challenging.

A man from Grand Island asked when Congress will lift the tax on Social Security. A Hastings man warned that cutting Medicaid would force many rural nursing homes to close.

Retired Kearney banker Mark Sutko warned about cutting consumer protections enacted when he served on the Federal Reserve Board of Kansas City.
“Don’t downsize it; we need to protect everyone here,” Sutko said.

One person asked Ricketts what he believes are the most serious issues facing the U.S.
Ricketts said a serious issue is deterring China from touching off World War III by invading Taiwan. No. 2 on Ricketts’ list is the $36 trillion federal debt.

One person asked “Do you fear political retribution if you stand up to the president?”
Ricketts replied, “If I was concerned, I would reach out to a Cabinet member about the consequences of their decisions.”
Ricketts said Trump faces a difficult task ending the war in Ukraine. “Yes, I support Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is a dictator, and he wants to expand his territory.”

Although the Kearney crowd was at times rowdy, there were eight uniformed Kearney police officers in the meeting room in case things got out of hand.

. . .

Highlighting an obvious disconnect between Ricketts words and his party's disdain for the Rule of Law.

[NNadir]

4. Bullshit. If you're a Repuke you have no respect for the rule of law.

[aggiesal]

5. Senator Pete Ricketts is the brother of the controling Cubs Owner. ...

His sister, Laura, is LGBTQ. Imagine what Thanksgiving dinner is like in that family.
The rest of the family, Tom, Pete & Todd, are staunch conservatives, as you can tell from this story.
The father Joe Ricketts, made his millions creating Ameritrade, then bought the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and a percentage of Comcast Sportnet.
Tom, currently has controlling interest of the Cubs, while Pete, Todd & Laura are on the Cubs Board of Directors.

Notice my avatar.
I stopped buying anything Cubs unless it has the World Series logo on it, because I don't want my money to go towards conservative ideologs. Cubs gear with WS logo are getting harder to find.

[RicROC]

6. they shouted, "tax the rich"

Again, a nebulous term- too passive, too squishy. Instead, people should shout exactly what they want.

I suggest, '90% tax on the rich!" More specific but not easily shouted. 90% tax over $4 million

[republianmushroom]

7. And it only is going to get worst for republican politicians.

[Blue Owl]

8. He comes off as a Stephen Miller wanna-be