I belong to a Facebook group called The Beutlers, dedicated to a family name common in Germany but not so much here in the states. Yet there are obviously enough of us to warrant a Facebook group facilitating the discussion of what it means to be a Beutler. One member, who happens to be a relative of mine and is something of an expert on the subject, explains:
Most of the Beutlers in this country come from the German part of Switzerland, from the little village of Trubschachen, Bern canton. There are a lot of them in Utah and Idaho, and they are Mormon in background, and came to the U.S. in the late 1860’s. I am part of this group, who uniformly pronounce our name Byootler, which is not correct German Swiss, but that’s how we say it. There is another Beutler family who are Polish jews who emigrated in the 1930’s. They all pronounce the name “correctly” as “Boytler”.
In fact, soon piped up another group of Beutlers — the “Bite-lers.” It’s that Beutler clan which has contributed the most notable Beutler that I know of, former Nebraska sate Sen. Chris Beutler (D-Lincoln).
I don’t know much about these Beutlers, although they can’t be all bad: the prospective mayor of Lincoln has a (perfunctory) campaign blog (and a MySpace page); 
his nephew belongs to The Beutlers on Facebook.
No, I don’t know much about Chris Beutler or the election under way, but I do know one thing: I desperately need some campaign swag. Buttons, yard signs, T-shirts, tote bags. You name it, I want it. The election for Lincoln mayor is May 1, just 46 days away. How do I know this isn’t the last time a candidate bearing my surname runs for an office important enough to generate coffee mugs and bumper stickers?
Listen up, campaign staffers: If I do get some Beutler campaign swag, I promise to blog about that. You can’t buy this kind of online buzz! No, you can only barter for it, and I’m willing to haggle. If you’re in a position to negotiate, send me an e-mail.
P.S. About all I know about the campaign comes from his opponents’ press releases, diligently forwarded to me by a friend covering the race. I’ve included one example below the fold. If I get at least a yard sign, I promise I won’t run any more.
LANCASTER COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
For Immediate Release Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Contact: Mark Fahleson 402.432.1599
OUT OF THE CLOSET! BEUTLER TO RAISE YOUR TAXES
Lincoln, Neb. – Last week, the Lancaster County Republican Party called into question the disingenuous campaign promise by Democrat mayoral candidate Chris Beutler that he will oppose any increases in Lincoln property taxes if elected. According to a January 17 Lincoln Journal-Star article, Beutler said that he did not want to raise the City’s property tax rate for one year, but refused to rule out tax increases in the future.
But then yesterday, during an appearance on KLIN radio, official Beutler campaign spokesperson Jeff Kirkpatrick confirmed that, if elected, Beutler was ready to increase taxes on Lincolnites in order to increase government spending.
This admission is buttressed by Beutler’s long and infamous track record in the Legislature of raising taxes on hard-working Nebraska citizens:
* In 1996, Beutler proposed an increase to the state sales tax
(Omaha World-Herald, Apr. 4, 1996) * In 1998, Beutler voted against reducing the state sales tax (Omaha World-Herlad, Apr. 8, 1998) * In 1999, Beutler was one of only three votes against LB 881, a $100 million property tax reduction (Assoc. Press, May 26, 1999) * In 2000, Beutler voted to rescind $10 million in property tax credits already promised to Nebrakans to pay for more government spending (Omaha World-Herald, Mar. 3, 2000) * In 2002, Beutler voted to increase sales, income and cigarette taxes (Omaha World-Herald, Apr. 11, 2002) * In 2003, Beutler supported increasing both sales and income taxes (Omaha World-Herald, Apr. 30, 2003) * In 2004, Beutler yet again called for increasing both sales and income taxes (Omaha World-Herald, Apr. 2, 2004) * In 2005, Beutler proposed increasing the state fuel tax (Lincoln Journal-Star, Jan. 28, 2005) * In 2006, Beutler argued that the state income tax cut was not necessary because Nebraskans didn’t need the money (Lincoln Journal- Star, Mar. 22, 2006)
“I’m thankful that the Beutler campaign has finally come out of the closet and admitted that their candidate loves raising taxes,” said Lancaster County GOP Chairman Mark Fahleson. “Chris Beutler must be so relieved that he can now be honest about who he is and can stop masquerading as someone who favors tax cuts. This is real growth for Chris.”
Said Fahleson: “Lincoln voters have a clear choice in the race for mayor. They can choose Ken Svoboda, a common-sense conservative businessman who will restore fiscal responsibility to city government, or they can choose lifelong politician Chris Beutler, who has proven that he is ready, willing and able to increase taxes on working Nebraskans in order to fund his big government philosophy.
“Simply put, if you like the liberal politics of Terry Werner and the ‘leadership’ of Coleen Seng, then you’ll love Chris Beutler.”
-GOP-
Well, looks like Beutler won by a marginal victory of 900 votes. The truth did count this time around.