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Exclusive: Bernie bro tied to “Conservatives for Dan [Osborn]” media rollout

Dan Osborn, the self-described independent running for Senate in Nebraska, has faced fire in recent weeks for his close ties to the Democratic Party. The latest tie, covered for the first time by the Washington Reporter, is a publicly-posted Google Doc linked to a self-proclaimed “leftist” and supporter of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).

The public document is titled “Conservatives for Dan – Creative Treatments,” and it includes video content, transcripts, and suggestions for how to put it together as a fake, Fox News-style video. Osborn is making a last-minute play for Republican-leaning voters in his uphill battle to oust Sen. Deb Fischer (R., Neb.), who recently spoke with the Reporter about her race. 

The “Conservatives for Dan” document includes links to six videos, which feature speeches from Osborn, “Dan’s Mom!,” and several Republicans who back Osborn. It also includes a suggested rollout for pro-Osborn footage, which it recommends should be a “fake newscast (we can create one using Fiver for only $50), where the anchor reads, ‘and now, for the latest on the tight Senate race in Nebraska, we go live to Lincoln, Nebraska, and the Conservatives for Dan Osborn event.’”

The fake ad’s “aim is to make this appear as close to a real newscast as possible,” the document says. “Simple presentation of Dan’s mother’s speech served like sashimi (raw),” it says. “Family photos and text on screen for the most important moments (see bolded below) accompany the speech.”

The document is owned by Adriel Hampton, a Sanders supporter; in the videos the folder contains, Osborn attempts to distance himself from his past recorded support of Sanders — which is complicated by the praise that the document’s organizer has lavished on the Vermont socialist.

Washington Reporter

“Though Bernie Sanders was unable to be elected to the presidency, his movement galvanized a generation of socialists who are now running for office themselves,” Hampton wrote in 2021. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has established herself as a powerhouse in Congress, and the victory of India Walton as Mayor of Buffalo shows that “Sewer Socialism” may be returning.” Hampton’s X feed is currently replete with pro-Osborn content.

The link to the document was tweeted by the Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety, one of the main groups backing Osborn. Reached for comment, Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety told the Reporter that “one of our staff took video of the event but we are not sponsors for Conservatives for Osborn. If you saw yesterday’s Politico, it is a different committee associated with the hard side. We run a coordinated canvassing operation with the Osborn campaign and are working for the win, however, we cannot speak for Conservatives for Osborn.” 

The organization did not respond to further questions about why it publicly posted the Google Doc itself, or why Hampton is listed as the owner of the files. 

Early on, Osborn’s campaign was marred by reports that his Twitter account liked a series of graphic pornographic images and that his email was found in the hacked database of Ashley Madison, a site dedicated to facilitating extramarital affairs for its users.

More recently, Osborn has been connected to super PACs run by failed Democratic Party candidates, as well as reports that the Democratic Party’s biggest donors are funding efforts to elect him, and that “socialist operatives fueled [his] rise.” 

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