A Nebraska Democrat Senator says he shouldn’t automatically be considered a “No” vote before the nomination hearing for Marcus, Iowa, farmer Thomas Dorr. Dorr goes before the Senate Ag Committee today in a long-awaited hearing over his nomination to an Ag Department post. Dorr’s nomination raised controversy over comments he made about the success of some Iowa counties due to their lack of ethnic diversity, comments he says were taken out of context. Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson is on the Ag committee and says he’s met with Dorr and has heard from several people about the nomination, but is keeping an open mind. Nelson says he doesn’t know how the votes might stack up against Dorr.Nelson says he’s aware there’s a controversy over Dorr, but he hasn’t heard how others on the committee might vote, and says he shouldn’t automatically be counted as a vote against Dorr. Some farm groups have gone as far as mounting a radio and t-v campaign against Dorr’s nomination.
