Politics Archives - Joe Ricketts

January 5, 2015March 4, 2020

A Great Day for Nebraska

January 8 will be a great day for the people of my native Nebraska, but it will be even more special for the Ricketts family. On that day, my son Peter will be inaugurated as the state’s 40th Governor. As you might imagine, his mother and I, as well as his sister and brothers – not to mention, of course, his wife and children, and all his nieces, nephews, and in-laws – couldn’t be prouder.

Marlene and I raised our children not only to be self-reliant and hard-working, but also to believe in the importance of public service. Peter embodies these qualities, as do his siblings – all of whom, I am happy to say, have made contributing to their communities a central part of their lives.

It’s fashionable these days to deride public service as a discredited enterprise, and Lord knows the behavior of too many of our so-called political leaders in recent years has been nothing short of disgraceful. But the ideas that made America what it is today – the founders’ commitment to freedom and justice and the notion that the only limitations on how high a person can rise should be those set by his or her own intelligence, grit, and willingness to work – all involve a sense of responsibility not just to ourselves and our families, but to the larger communities in which we live. So if we’re going to keep this country great, we can’t give up on public service.

I’m proud of Peter, not simply for running a fine campaign and winning an election, but for all the work he’s done and will be doing in the years to come on behalf of his fellow Nebraskans. I think Nebraska will benefit from the wisdom and character of Governor Peter Ricketts.

Congratulations Peter, I’m very proud of you!

December 13, 2012March 4, 2020

The Struggle Continues

I’ve long felt that being a good citizen means not just watching from the sidelines but getting actively involved in the big policy debates of our time. It was in this spirit that I started a non-partisan advocacy group called Taxpayers Against Earmarks back in 2010. Taxpayers Against Earmarks focused on educating the public about the dangers of earmarking, and early in 2011 we were happy to see Congress declare a moratorium on this fiscally irresponsible practice.

With the earmarking campaign behind us, we decided to take on an even bigger challenge — the larger issue of out-of-control federal spending and the crushing burden of government debt it leaves in its wake. We renamed our group Ending Spending and for the past two years, we have been doing what we can to educate the public and help elect political leaders who understand the importance of balancing the budget and reducing the debt.

This promises to be a much longer campaign than the one against Congressional earmarks, but it’s a battle that must be waged. With this in mind, I’m pleased and proud to report that my sons Todd and Pete are coming to work with me at Ending Spending. Given the critical importance of getting our fiscal house in order, it’s more important than ever for groups like Ending Spending to continue making the case for smarter spending and smaller government. And with Todd and Pete’s help, that’s just what we’re going to do.

August 22, 2012March 5, 2020

A Great Decision

I’ll leave it to the pundits to speculate about what led Mitt Romney to choose Paul Ryan as his running mate. But as far I’m concerned, it was a great decision. As someone who is deeply concerned about how out-of-control federal spending threatens to deprive future generations of the economic opportunity people of my generation enjoyed, I have been an enthusiastic supporter of Rep. Ryan and his serious approach to balancing the federal budget. But the best thing about his addition to the ticket is that it guarantees that an issue that ranks among the most serious facing our country today – the menace posed by our growing debt – will be central to the debate in this year’s Presidential campaign. And that’s good news for all Americans.

June 13, 2012March 5, 2020

For the Record

Back on May 17, The New York Times kicked off a feeding frenzy by the mainstream media with a front-page article that purported to describe my political activities. Now that the initial brouhaha has died down a bit, I thought this might be a good time to set the record straight.

Anybody who knows me will tell you that I’ve never made a secret of my deep conviction that this country desperately needs to change its fiscal course if we’re to preserve opportunity for future generations. This starts with making sure we’ve got a President in the White House who is truly committed to sound fiscal policy.

As an entrepreneur, I have always believed in the importance of “putting your money where your mouth is.” And in this spirit, I have always been open about my intention to exercise my right to free speech by putting my own money behind a campaign to elect political leaders this November – including a President – who are committed to getting our fiscal ship back on course.

The first step I took in this regard was to interview a number of political consultants who might help the group I founded, the Ending Spending Action Fund, mount such a campaign. One of these consultants was an advertising man named Fred Davis. I first met Mr. Davis in January at his office in Los Angeles, where he showed me some samples of his work from previous campaigns. I had a second meeting with him in New York several weeks later, at which time I asked him to put together a proposal for a campaign. Mr. Davis presented his proposal at a third meeting in Chicago on Thursday, May 10. I was not at this meeting and only received a copy of the proposal the following Saturday afternoon. I read it that Sunday afternoon and returned it to my son Peter, telling him that my response was negative.

The following Thursday, May 17, The New York Times published its article about Mr. Davis’s proposal. It’s entirely possible that The Times’s reporters actually saw the proposal before I did.

After reading The Times story, TV commentator Joe Scarborough called it “phony journalism” and said the paper was “shamelessly cheerleading for Democrats.” Certainly, the article left a very misleading impression that resulted in a lot of misinformation circulating in the press and on the Internet. But as the old saying goes, the dogs bark and the caravan moves on. My plans have not been affected by any of this. I still intend to do what I can this year to help elect political leaders who share my commitment to economic responsibility.

To me, this is not a matter of Republicans versus Democrats. It’s a matter of common sense and good policy. Indeed, if President Obama were to introduce a balanced budget and a credible plan to reduce the national debt, I would seriously consider supporting his re-election. I love America and its promise of opportunity. I want the same opportunities I enjoyed to be available to future generations of Americans. This is not going to happen unless we all take action to make it happen. And that’s just what I plan to do.

February 16, 2012March 5, 2020

Campaign for Primary Accountability

I want to set straight a misimpression conveyed by a headline that appeared on a story published by a Chicago news website earlier this week. The story concerned a contribution I recently made to an advocacy organization called the Campaign for Primary Accountability, which the headline described as a “Ricketts Family’s Super PAC…” Now, I am proud to be a supporter of the Campaign for Primary Accountability, but it is not a “Ricketts’ Family” anything. Neither I nor my family started this organization, we certainly don’t control it, and I am only one of its supporters. I have no idea why the headline writer chose to describe the Campaign for Primary Accountability this way, but whatever the reason, it is simply wrong.