Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts[1] encouraged those attending the recent National Rifle Association[2] convention to vote early and often but not “the Chicago way.”
“And I want everybody in this room to make the commitment to go out and vote 10 times,” Ricketts, a Republican, told the crowd at the NRA’s annual meeting last week in Dallas. “Not the Chicago way 10 times. I want you all to make a commitment in this election year that you will go out and vote, and that you will get nine other of your friends and your family, your co-workers to go out and vote as well.”
Ricketts is part of the billionaire family that owns the Chicago Cubs and serves on the team’s board of directors.
His speech, which was published later on YouTube, focused on the Second Amendment and the urgency for supporters to be engaged in upcoming elections.
“Our rights are under attack today,” Ricketts said. “Make no mistake.”
His speech also touched on the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead and 15 wounded. He called the shooting a tragedy, but he said it should not be used to take away Americans’ right to own guns.
Instead, he said, officials in Nebraska are getting together to talk about other ways to secure public schools.
“Maybe for example, allowing off-duty police officers to be able to carry a gun on a school campus,” Ricketts said. “That’s just one idea.”
He’s not the only Ricketts family member to dabble in politics. In January, Todd Ricketts was named the finance chairman for the Republican National Committee.
That doesn’t mean they all sit on the same side of the political aisle. Their
