Crawford Law Offices

Crawford Law Offices Nebraska Personal Injury and Workers' Compensation Law representing working people since 1986.

At the Crawford Law Office, we have been representing working people in Lincoln and throughout Nebraska since 1986. Whether your case involves an injury that took place at work or outside of work, you will find that our caring representation is designed to help you get the compensation you need to move forward with your life.

06/02/2026

Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy made Nebraska a priority as early as 1957 when he began to campaign there. At that time, Kennedy was not a national figure and he lacked a record of accomplishment in the U.S. Senate. His fellow politicians and the media pundits were convinced that Kennedy had no chance due to his Catholic faith, youth and whispers about his dubious health. Kennedy was regarded as being in the second rank of Democratic politicians.

Despite those disadvantages, Kennedy possessed some legitimate assets that made him a formidable contender. Above all, he had good looks, charisma, charm and wit which made him the first celebrity candidate of the modern era. Kennedy built his celebrity image upon a solid foundation as a genuine war hero, Pulitzer prize winning author and a seasoned international traveler. He was highly intelligent and a genuine intellectual.

Kennedy had a tireless work ethic and an iron will. He started running for president during the fall of 1956 and campaigned relentlessly for four years. He embarked on what initially appeared to be a long shot campaign because he was frustrated by his limited ability in the U.S. Senate to accomplish meaningful change. He believed that he could make a significant contribution to the country as president.

The editorial section of the Lincoln Journal Star was impressed by Kennedy's appearance in Omaha in 1959. William O. Dobler wrote: "The senator made a good impression upon those who met him in Omaha. His friendliness comes naturally to him and his few formal remarks gave assurance that he thinks in terms of the common man… Nebraska Democrats appear to be eager for the battle in 1960."

Everywhere he went, he was greeted by enthusiastic voters and overflow crowds. Kennedy displayed all of the charm, wit and charisma that had impressed Nebraskans during his previous campaign swings.

There were two important factors that made Kennedy a great candidate. The most important one was that he had an inexhaustible work ethic. Many days would begin at 5:30 in the morning and only end at 1:30 the following morning. Nobody on Kennedy's staff envied the aide who was required to wake him up after a few hours of sleep for another long day of speeches and handshaking. Nevertheless, he always got ready quickly with little complaint. Jacqueline also endured fatigue to keep up with this grueling schedule.

The other factor (and secret weapon) was a jet turboprop Convair purchased by his father, which had eighteen seats and a private room for the candidate and his wife. The plane was named the Caroline, after Kennedy's daughter. The plane allowed Kennedy to make numerous stops in one day in large states like Nebraska.

You can learn more about Kennedy's campaign in Nebraska at the link posted below.

05/28/2026

On this date in 1968, Eugene McCarthy defeated Robert Kennedy by a 44% to 38% margin in the Oregon primary. It was the first loss for a Kennedy in any election. Before the Oregon primary, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy between them had won 26 elections in a row. Oregon was always going to be tough for Kennedy since its electorate was largely white and affluent. McCarthy’s intellectual anti-war message appealed to Oregon Democrats.

Kennedy was gracious in defeat. One reporter asked him if he thought Oregon had hurt him, and it made him laugh. “It certainly wasn’t one of the more helpful developments of the day,” he said. He went on to say: “If I’d won it, it would have been my victory, and I’ve lost it and it’s my defeat. I sometimes wonder if I’ve correctly sensed the mood of America. I think I have. But maybe I’m all wrong. Maybe the people don’t want things changed. I do better with people who have problems.”

Pat Buchanan, then a campaign researcher for Richard Nixon, was impressed by the way Kennedy absorbed the shock of losing. “His graciousness in conceding defeat and congratulating Gene McCarthy was impressive. This is the first time I’d seen Bobby in person. He could not have shown himself better in victory than he did in defeat that night.”

Kennedy’s loss made the June 4 California primary must win for him. Back in 1968, around 66% of the delegates were chosen by party leaders in caucuses and conventions that they controlled. There were only 16 primaries. Candidates ran in primary elections to prove to the party bosses that they were the most electable general election candidate. If Kennedy were to win California, that would cause party leaders — like Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago — to move the large blocs of delegates they controlled to support the New York Senator. Kennedy and McCarthy would thus engage in a furious round of campaigning in California. The stakes would be high.

Sources:

Matthews, Christopher, “What Senator Robert F. Kennedy Could Teach Donald Trump,” Washington Monthly, November 11, 2025

Tymchuk, Kerry, “When Oregon Mattered,” Oregon Historical Society, May 26, 2020.

05/27/2026

After his big win in Nebraska, Robert Kennedy’s campaign moved on to Oregon for a May 28 primary. The Beaver State was fallow ground for the New York Senator since the electorate largely consisted of middle class and upper middle class white voters. That demographic favored Senator Eugene McCarthy. In the previous primaries in Indiana and Nebraska, Kennedy had done well with blue collar workers, farmers and African-American voters. Oregon was going to be an uphill climb for Kennedy.

On the day before the primary, Kennedy campaigned in southern Oregon, where hunting was very popular. Kennedy’s aides advised him that gun rights was the most important issue in that part of the state and that many of the voters did not agree with his strong stand on gun safety.

A gun control act had been introduced in Congress in response to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The bill banned the mail order sales of rifles and shotguns, and banned most felons, drug users and people found mentally incompetent from purchasing fi****ms. The legislation had been held up by conservatives for four years.

When Kennedy and his retinue arrived in Roseburg, they saw numerous signs that said: “Protect Your Right to Keep and Bear Arms.” At his campaign events, Kennedy would frequently ask the members of the audience questions in an effort to push out his own message. He also liked to invite people who disagreed with him to ask him questions.

Kennedy asked the crowd if anyone would like to explain why they opposed the pending gun control act. A man who owned a small, local business and who was a prominent gun rights activist approached Kennedy.

“Is there anything in this bill which says you can’t have fi****ms?” Kennedy asked him. The man answered no but then added: “ We think it’s a backdoor bill for registration of guns and it will let the Secretary of the Treasury keep a registry of all fi****ms sales.”

Kennedy took back the microphone and in an emotional and even angry response said: “ If we’re going to talk about this legislation, can’t we do it honestly and not say it does something that it doesn’t do? All this legislation does is keep guns from criminals and the mentally ill and those too young. With all the violence and murder and killings in the United States I think you will agree that we must keep fi****ms from those who have no business with guns or rifles.”

The crowd did not agree with Kennedy’s response. One man booed and yelled: “ They’ll get them anyway.” Someone else shouted: “Nazi Germany started with the registration of guns.”

“Well I don’t think the registration of cars and the registration of drug prescriptions destroyed democracy. And I don’t think the the registration of guns will either.” Kennedy retorted.

The candidate left the event shaking his head. The cool reception he received in Roseburg was the harbinger of his defeat the next day. He lost the Oregon primary to Eugene McCarthy by a margin of 44 to 38 percent on May 28, 1968. It was the first loss for any of the Kennedy brothers after twenty-seven consecutive electoral victories.

Robert Kennedy rebounded from that loss to defeat McCarthy in California and South Dakota on June 4. On that evening, Kennedy and his staff were already planning ahead for the crucial New York primary on June 18. He was well on his way to winning the Democratic nomination and the presidency.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 only gained momentum in the Congress after the tragic assassination of Robert Kennedy. President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law on October 22, 1968. Nobody was required to register their guns and nobody’s guns were ever confiscated.

Sources.

Halberstam, David. The Unfinished Odyssey of Robert Kennedy. New York: Random House. 1968. Pages 185–186.

Tymchuk, Kerry, “When Oregon Mattered,” Oregon Historical Society, May 26, 2020.

05/24/2026

Nebraska mattered in 1960 because it was one of only sixteen states that held a presidential primary. (1) The other thirty four states held…

05/10/2026

Robert F. Kennedy traveled from Lincoln to Beatrice on May 10, 1968, to commence his whirlwind tour of southeast Nebraska. Interest was so high that two busloads full of national press members followed Kennedy’s caravan and three thousand enthusiastic individuals welcomed Kennedy at downtown Charles Park. Kennedy’s visit made such an impression that Beatrice commemorated a plaque, which stands to this day. It was a typical Nebraska event only for Kennedy — classes were canceled so local school students could see him and they were entertained by the local high school bands.

After Kennedy left Charles Park the press bus continued on to the next announced campaign stop in Tecumseh. Kennedy, however, paused to make an unscheduled stop at what is now known as the Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC), a facility which has housed and cared for the intellectually disabled since 1887. At the time, BSDC was a model facility with a national reputation, so when Kennedy learned BSDC was in Beatrice he wanted to visit the residents and tour the facility. Apparently, the decision to visit BSDC was spontaneous, and the facility was given little warning.

Long time Lincoln Star and Lincoln Journal Star reporter Don Walton extensively covered Kennedy’s campaign in Nebraska.
Walton’s best memory of the 1968 campaign was Kennedy’s appearance in Beatrice on May 10 — just four days before the crucial election. It was one stop on Kennedy’s final five day whirlwind tour of the state. Walton chose to drive his own car to Beatrice rather than be on the press bus because this would give him more freedom. Don emphasized that you couldn’t do this today due to security concerns.

After Kennedy addressed 3,000 supporters at Charles Park in downtown Beatrice, the press bus went to the next announced campaign stop. Walton took the initiative of following the Kennedy motorcade. Don was surprised when Kennedy went to what is now known as the Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC.) This is a facility where intellectually disabled people have been cared for since 1887.

Walton followed Kennedy to the entrance to BSDC, where the superintendent of the facility asked: “Would you like to see the wards?” Kennedy replied: “I would like to see the children.”
During this same exchange, Walton heard Kennedy insist that his dog Freckles be allowed to enter the facility. The BSDC staffer at the door initially told Kennedy dogs weren’t allowed but he relented when Kennedy convinced him the residents would love the dog. Don took the liberty of touring the facility with the Kennedy entourage.

After Kennedy entered BSDC, the residents had no idea who he was but they did love Freckles. While he was there, Kennedy spent most of his time with the children. Perhaps the most moving moment for Walton was when the candidate cradled two hydrocephalic babies. He didn’t hold them — he gave them love. Don said this was a glimpse of the real Robert F. Kennedy.

Don Walton: "Kennedy walked through the entire building, asking about various residents he saw. He reached out, touched hands, patted heads. And for a long minute or two he held a hydrocephalic baby in his arms. It was a personal and private act, all the more revealing and meaningful because it was out of sight of the press and cameras who had been sent ahead to the next stop.”

Walton, and the American public, could not have known then why this stop was so important to Kennedy. Kennedy’s older sister Rosemary (1918–2005) was intellectually disabled, a fact that the family had concealed for her entire life. Born into a family of successful, ambitious, brilliant social climbers, Rosemary functioned at the level of a ten-year-old-child, perhaps as an outcome of being oxygen deprived at birth. Even so, Rosemary was constantly pressured to perform at the level of her brothers and sisters, especially by Joe Kennedy, who shamed her for everything from her academic performance to her weight.

To Joe at least Rosemary was a liability, evidence that the Kennedy’s had defective genetics. He feared that Rosemary would bring further shame upon the family through her intense emotional outbursts and shared a common, but mistaken, notion that intellectually disabled women were incurably promiscuous. Joe’s solution was to subject Rosemary to a lobotomy in 1941. This lobotomy was both primitive and destructive. Following the operation Rosemary was rendered infantile, incoherent, and incontinent. She lost all ability to care for herself. Joe quickly shunted her into a facility where she could receive intensive care for the rest of her long life.

At the time it was considered poor practice to interrupt psychiatric treatment with family visits. Robert, who had grown up playing with, chaperoning, and caring for his disabled elder sister, had not seen her for nearly twenty years. Undoubtedly Kennedy’s mind turned towards Rosemary during his BSDC visit. He entered the facility to bring joy and love to the residents, hoping perhaps that someone was doing the same for his sister. With the secretiveness surrounding Rosemary, her condition, and her whereabouts, perhaps Kennedy only felt safe to express such proxy affections beyond the scrutinizing, judgmental glare of the press and their cameras.

Kennedy’s visit to BSDC was Kennedy at his best. This was the real Robert F. Kennedy. He deeply cared about people less fortunate than himself. Kennedy dedicated his life to public service and to helping those who were left behind. Kennedy was truly a great American.

This is an excerpt from our book: "Robert F. Kennedy: The Road Not Taken From Nebraska to the White House."

05/09/2026

Robert Kennedy began his fifth Nebraska campaign foray late on May 9, this time accompanied by his cocker spaniel Freckles. After he touched down at the Lincoln airport, he mounted a police car to address several hundred supporters, opening with: "I just want to say how nice it is to be back in Nebraska. The eyes of the nation will be on us and what we do in Nebraska."

Freckles became a press and crowd favorite as Kennedy's constant companion during the 1968 campaign, usually riding with Kennedy in his convertible during tours. Kennedy staffers and reporters liked to joke that Freckles logged more miles than Kennedy since he frequently walked up and down the aisle of the campaign bus and plane. The press remarked that "Freckles lets the master do all the talking and has seldom been heard to bark during the trip, even with crowds pressing in on Kennedy." The well-behaved dog also seemed to know his master's routine. Kennedy's standard peroration was George Bernard Shaw's quote: "Some people see things as they are and ask why? I see things that have never been and ask why not?" The traveling press joked that once Kennedy began the quote, Freckles would immediately head for the campaign car.

Freckles played a major role in the campaign on May 10. Stayed tuned for more. You don't want to miss it!

05/03/2026

“I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. There can be no great disappointment where there is no great love. I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, extreme materialism and militarism. We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

05/01/2026

Today in history.

May 1, 2011: President Obama announced that the U.S. had killed Osama bin Laden — the leader of al Qaeda and perpetrator of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

Operation Neptune Spear, as the special forces operation that killed bin Laden was called, was among the most daring military missions in U.S. history. Months in the planning, the operation — conducted by Navy SEALS — was carried out in a Central Intelligence Agency-less mission.

The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan was launched from Afghanistan on a moonless night; after the raid, U.S. forces took bin Laden's body to Afghanistan for identification, then buried it at sea within 24 hours of his death.

Quote of the day

"To those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror, justice has been done." — Barack Obama

04/25/2026

Robert F. Kennedy ran against GOP incumbent Senator Kenneth Keating in 1964.

Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote about it:

After he fell behind in the polls, Keating challenged his opponent to a debate but Kennedy declined. In response, Keating purchased airtime at a CBS affiliate and showed up at a television studio to debate an empty chair. Thirty minutes before the “debate” was to begin, Kennedy decided to go to the studio. “I can’t let him debate an empty chair. I’m going down there and and sit in that empty chair,” Kennedy declared.

When Keating began his “debate,” Kennedy showed up, knocked hard on the door and demanded entry into the studio in full view of the cameras and the New York press corps. Keating panicked and fled while his aides threw fake plants and furniture into the path of a horde of reporters. The images were devastating for the incumbent senator.

Ethel Kennedy witnessed Keating’s panicked flight from the studio from a stair case that overlooked the chaos. “Is there anything wrong?” Ethel said in a nice but sarcastic way. After Keating left the building, Bobby and Ethel exited the building in triumph. “A funny thing happened to me on the way to the studio,” Bobby said.

The following day’s press coverage of the “debate” was very damaging to Keating. The press coverage depicted Keating as foolish, devious and afraid to debate his challenger. The next day’s newspapers showed Keating and the empty chair and Kennedy standing at the door marked: “KEEP OUT — NO VISITORS — KEATING.”

The encounter with Keating further fueled Kennedy’s momentum.

All of his paid off on November 3 when Kennedy routed Keating by a 53% to 43% margin. In comparison, Johnson annihilated Goldwater by a 69% to 31% margin in New York. Kennedy’s victory margin was the largest a New York Democrat had managed, for senator and governor, since 1934. Johnson clearly deserved some credit for Kennedy’s win.

Kennedy went on to be a transformative senator in his all too short career in that august body. He was seen by the most marginalized Americans as the most empathetic political figure of the modern era. The New York Senator was the champion of native Americans, African Americans and Latinos. His Senate duties took him to some of America’s worst ghettos, Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, the most impoverished reservations and the fields of California.

“The more anguish and heartache he witnessed, the more he committed himself to action. The more poverty he experienced, the more he challenged authority. The more pain he saw, the more impatient he was. And the more progressive he became,” Sherrod Brown wrote. Historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called him “the tribune of the underclass.”

His passion and belief in an America that lived up to its promises led to his epic campaign for president in 1968. In places as diverse as Indiana, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota and California, Kennedy called for an end to the Vietnam War, condemned gun violence and discussed solutions for the intractable problems of race and poverty. It was an idealistic message of unity and hope that is more important now than ever.

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