About That Carpetbagger Thing

You all just know that the Republicans are gonna try to make it any issue pretty soon that Jack Carter's not a native Nevadan and only moved to the state three years ago. Anyone who knows anything about Jack Carter knows for sure that the former President's son didn't move to Nevada to run for office. Jack himself says it best:

Elizabeth and I did not have the good fortune to be born in Nevada. We spent years in the wilderness before we found this Promised Land. But more than the mountains and the desert, the lakes and the pastures, the neon and the cowboys, we have sunk down into this land which values personal freedoms as much as we do. We love it here. Our home. I told her, "We've been Nevadans all our lives. We just found out a few years ago."

As a foreign exchange student who came to Nevada at 16 years of age, who has seen the beauty of this state, from the awesome view of a starlit sky above Battle Mountain to the sparkling waters of Lake Tahoe, from historical Genoa to the more famous historical Virginia City, from the wide and open spaces of Northern Nevada to the Strip in Las Vegas I can only second what Jack Carter has to say.

But let's take a break from the emotional and take a closer look at history. The United States Senate is divided into three "classes". It depends on the class when a Senate seat is up for election. The junior Senator from Nevada, John Ensign, is Class I which is up for election this year. Class II Senate seats are up for election in 2008 and Class III Senate seats, among those the one held by Harry Reid, are up in 2010.

So far there have been 14 Class I Senators from Nevada, one of them served twice. Just guess how many of these were born in Nevada? Let's take a look at the list first:

• William M. Stewart (R) 1863-75, 1887-1905
• William Sharon (R) 1875-81
• James G. Fair (D) 1881-87
• George Nixon (R) 1905-11
• William A. Massey (R) 1911-13
• Key Pittman (D) 1913-40
• Berkeley L. Bunker (D) 1940-42
• James G. Scrugham (D) 1942-45
• Edward P. Carville (D) 1945-47
• George W. Malone (R) 1947-59
• Howard W. Cannon (D) 1959-83
• J. Chic Hecht (R) 1983-89
• Richard H. Bryan (D) 1989-2001
• John Ensign (R) 2001-2007

Of the 14 only two were actually born in Nevada - Berkeley L. Bunker and Edward P. Carville. Interestingly both were appointed after the death of their predecessors.

So, the people of Nevada for more than 140 years have not once elected a native Nevadan to this seat. I'm quite surprised by this myself. Never would've thought. One of these gentlemen wasn't even born in the United States. Senator Fair is a native of Ireland.

Nevada's first Senator, William M. Stewart actually only moved to Nevada in 1860, four years before the people of the newly created state elected him to the Senate and he subsequently became one of Nevada's longest serving Senators.

Seems to me the people of Nevada are pretty open minded about who represents them in Congress. The incumbent Senator himself was born in Roseville, California. His family moved to Nevada when he was a child.

When you take a look at the Class III Senators things look a little different. For this seat only native Nevadans have won since Patrick A. McCarran (D) was elected in 1932. His elected native Nevadan successors are Alan H. Bible (D), Paul Laxalt (R) and Harry Reid (D).

Looks like Class I is the seat for the people who life's mysterious ways has brought to Nevada and Class III for those who were born here. Somehow I've got an inkling that the carpetbagger campaign won't stick to Jack Carter. What about you?

Contribute to Jack Carter!

American Values

Yesterday, I have written about the awesome speech by Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

Today I'll give you something much shorter (a mere thirty seconds), yet no less important. Here is the latest web-exclusive ad by Nevada's voice to Washington, Jack Carter:

American values are essentially Nevada values and nothing is more important to many Nevadans than liberty and freedom.

Now, I've lived in Nevada ten years ago and it is kind of strange to see that it is a Democrat who has to say "I don't want any President deciding on his own to wiretap me and my family". Back then any good Republican would have been appalled at any President doing such a thing, especially those in Nevada. Back then no Republican would have expected a President of his own party to infringe on the liberty and freedom of the American people like this President has done.

We are living in strange times and we can't wait two more years or four more years for things to change. We need change now. We need leaders who have the best interest of the American people at heart.

Jack Carter is one of these leaders.

Vote for Change. Help Jack Carter win. Contribute to Jack Carter now!

How Important Is Nevada This Year?

Something positive is taking place. Nevada is being talked about. What no one would have suspected about a year ago is becoming more and more apparent. Nevada might be the key to change this year.

No one yet knows how close the Congressional elections this November will be. The polling is trending towards Democrats regaining the House, possibly the Senate.

In most scenarios for the House Nevada's second and third congressional districts are considered second or third tier. I'm not so sure about that one. I've got an inkling (and maybe I'm just dilusional) that Nevada might be headed for a Democratic landslide this fall.

What makes me say this is the fact that unlike in other states the Nevada Republican Party does not even have one charismatic and intelligent candidate for this fall while the slate of Democratic candidates with their qualifications and their intelligence is just unprecedented.

So, who knows, in the end either the second or the third district of Nevada will change the majority in the House.

And if all goes swell, Jack Carter will be the sixth (if Lamont wins) or the seventh (if Lieberman wins) Senator to help Democrats win the majority in the Senate.

Here's where you come in. Take a look at my sidebar. There you will find links to the candidates' websites if you'd like to help out. You'll also find links to other Nevada blogs to get informed, furthermore there are links to local newspapers, so you can help out by writing letters to the editor. And you will find a link to the Turn Tahoe Blue ActBlue page, so that you can whip out your credit card and contribute to Jack Carter, Jill Derby and others.

You can help us landslide Nevada!

"Give Us The Truth! Give Us The Truth! Give Us The Truth!"

Today, I have found a new hero. His name is Rocky Anderson and he is the mayor of Salt Lake City.

President Bush, Secretary Rice and Secretary Rumsfeld all came to Salt Lake City today and the mayor gave them an appropriate welcome. He addressed a protest rally, attended by at least 4,000 people.

I wish I could've been there. This is the greatest speech at least since Barack Obama's address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004. And I believe this is the most important speech of any Democrat in the last six years.

He starts his speech by saying the following:

A patriot is a person who loves his or her country.

Who among you loves your country so much that you have come here today to raise your voice out of deep concern for our nation - and for our world?

And who among you loves your country so much that you insist that our nation's leaders tell us the truth?

Let's hear it: "Give us the truth! Give us the truth! Give us the truth!"

Let no one deny we are patriots. We support our nation's troops. We are grateful to our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms. We love our country, we hold dear the values upon which our nation was founded, and we are distressed at what our President, his administration, and our Congress are doing to, and in the name of, our great nation.

Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism.

Most moving to me was his call to say "no" to a long list of atrocities by the Bush administration:

No more lies, no more hiding of the truth, no more wars that more than triple the value of stock in Dick Cheney's prior employer, Halliburton - and which, as of last September, has increased the value of the Halliburton CEO's stock by $78 million.

We are patriots. We're deeply concerned. And we demand change, now.

No more lies from Condoleezza Rice about whether she and President Bush were advised before 9/11 of the possibility of planes being flown into buildings by terrorists.

No more gross incompetence in the office of the Secretary of Defense.

No more torture of human beings.

No more disregard of the basic human rights enshrined in the Geneva Convention.

No more kidnapping of people and sending them off to secret prisons in nations where we can expect they will be tortured.

No more unconstitutional wiretapping of Americans.

No more proposed amendments to the United States Constitution that would, for the first time, limit fundamental rights and liberties for entire classes of people simply on the basis of sexual orientation.

No more federal land giveaways to developers.

No more increases in mercury emissions from old, dirty, dangerous coal-burning power plants.

No more backroom deals that deprive protection for millions of acres of wild lands.

No more attacks on immigrants who work so hard to build better lives.

No more inaction by Congress on fixing our hypocritical and inconsistent immigration laws and policies.

No more reliance on fiction rather than the science of global warming.

No more manipulation of our media with false propaganda.

No more disastrous cuts in funding for those most in need.

No more federal cuts in community policing and local law enforcement grant programs for our cities.

No more inaction on stopping the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

No more of the Patriot Act.

No more killing.

No more pre-emptive wars.

No more contempt for our long-time allies around the world.

No more dependence on foreign oil.

No more failure to impose increased fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.

No more energy policies developed in secret meetings between Dick Cheney and his energy company cronies.

No more excuses for failing to aggressively cut global warming pollutant emissions.

No more tragically incompetent federal responses to natural disasters.

No more tax cuts for the wealthiest, while the middle class and those who are economically-disadvantaged continue to struggle more and more each year.

No more reckless spending and massive tax cuts, resulting in historic deficits and historic accumulated national debt.

No more purchasing of elections by the wealthiest corporations and individuals in the country.

No more phony, ineffective, inhumane so-called war on drugs.

No more failure to pass an increase in the minimum wage.

No more silence by the American people.

I was just stunned by this speech. And can you believe the length of this list? How many years it will take to undo all the harm caused by Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld & Co.

I urge you to read the entire speech. Mayor Anderson posted it at Daily Kos. If you would like to print it out you can also get the speech at the Mayor's website in pdf.

Why does it take a mayor of Salt Lake City to say all these things? Where are our leaders? Why have they been so silent?

Links:

Salt Lake City Mayor's Office

Wikipedia entry on Rocky Anderson

PS: The next election for mayor is in 2007. Rocky Anderson does not plan to run for a third term. Might as well run for President if you ask me. I'd support him in a heart beat.

Rocky for President!

I like the sound of that!

Republican Party Chairman Aiding Jill Derby

How many times have I fawned over the Nevada Republican Party? Probably too many times to count. Currently, state Republican Chairman Paul Adams just makes me a little giddy. The Las Vegas Sun:

UNR political scientist Eric Herzik said the intraparty fight puts the 2nd Congressional District - usually reliably Republican - into play.

"Jill Derby was already doing everything right, and then she gets this gift," he said. "How do you turn a safe district into a competitive one? Fight among yourselves.

"Republicans here have won because they've stayed united and they continue to turn out. Now you've got partisan infighting, and Adams' leadership is aiding and abetting that - in an already bad year for Republicans.

"He's the head of the party and he's supporting the losing candidate who's pursuing a divisive action," Herzik, a Republican, continued. "I don't know what he's doing."

Contribute to Jill Derby!

Nevada Appeal Profile On Assembly Candidate JoEtta Brown

JoEtta Brown (pictured above with Rep. Shelley Berkley and CD-02 candidate Jill Derby) was profiled in the Nevada Appeal on Friday. The 39th Assembly district (Douglas County) is one of the reddest districts in Nevada. There hasn't been a Democrat representing this district since Truman was President. You know, Harry Truman, the one in between FDR and Ike.

This is an open seat this year. JoEtta Brown's opponent is James Settelmeyer who won the Republican primary against three other candidates. Brown lives in Minden - as coincidently does Jill Derby. What I love about her is that she has moved here after retiring six years ago. A lot of people will cry "carpetbeggar" which is relatively easy to do but just plain dumb. For one probably no other state has so many people from around the country move to the state as Nevada. Also, what better way to say you love your new home than getting active and engage with people, for example by running for office.

In the profile JoEtta Brown talks about her background as a banking executive, her thoughts on the Property Tax Cap and development issues in Douglas County. Some excerpts:

"I found I was interested in politics, but I loved my job," she said. "So I decided to defer politics until after retirement."

A vice president when she retired, Brown said she came up through the ranks in the banking industry and calls herself a fiscal conservative.

In Nevada, she testified before the Legislature in support of the Property Tax Cap in 2005. She advocates maintaining a 3 percent property tax cap for Nevada homeowners.

"I still believe it can be done without increasing taxes," she said. "We need to look at the budget in creative ways to cut expenditures. That's managing your money and that's possible."

...

"We moved here to get away from the congestion," she said. "We felt closed in. There was no open space in Southern California anymore, but we're very happy here."

Brown said she's not opposed to development in Douglas County, but a solid vision is needed.

"We shouldn't have shopping centers before we look at the market share or development without considering the look of the land," she said. "Growth has to be managed, or we'll have overcrowding, pollution and traffic.

"That's another reason I want to run," she said. "I want to maintain the look of District 39. It's beautiful here. There's a sense of peace."

Read the entire profile here.

As this might just turn out to be a very good year for Democrats there is no better time for this district to be an open seat. So, possibly and hopefully we can win in Douglas County with JoEtta Brown for the first time in more than 50 years.

On a personal level, when I was an exchange student ten years ago I lived in Stateline up at Lake Tahoe which is part of this district. Nothing would make me more happy than see JoEtta Brown win this fall.

You can help JoEtta Brown win by contributing to her here.

Republicans Tearing Each Other Apart, Jill Derby New Congresswoman

You really have to hand it to the Republicans. If anyone knows anything about voter suppression it would have to be the Republican Party. A look back in history (2000, 2004) would prove my point.

So, you don't even have to take it with a customary grain of salt when our all time favourite Sharron "the conservative you can count on" Angle claims voters in Washoe County were "disenfranchised" on August 15th.

Therefore, she is going ahead with her lawsuit claiming:

"We want to right the wrongs and remove the cloud that is hanging over this election," Angle said in a statement. "We want to give all disenfranchised voters an opportunity to exercise their right to vote."

You can rest assured that next time black voters will be disenfranchised anywhere in the United States of America, Sharron Angle will be there to right the wrongs. There is no more need for civil rights legislation, no more need for Jesse Jackson, Jr. We now have Sharron Angle, Jeanne d'Arc of the disenfranchised voter!

And who would've thought you'd ever hear a state Republican Party Chairman say voters were disenfranchised? That's how powerful and persuasive Jeanne d'Arc Angle is!

"After talking with Sharron, I wanted to express my support for her election challenge," Adams wrote. "Sharron's decision is not 'sour grapes' from the losing candidate, but rather an effort to expose and correct serious irregularities in the Washoe County election process."

Interestingly, once again, is that all candidates under the supervision of either Sig Rogich or Mike Slanker are not allowed to speak without permission. So, we'll have to quote the wanker:

"What Paul Adams did ... was wrong and flies in the face of the will of the voters in CD2," Slanker said. "It is my hope that Paul reconsiders his statement and as chairman supports the elected Republican nominee."

Meanwhile, Molly Ball of the Club for Growth Review-Journal manages to mention that Jeanne d'Arc Angle's campaign was co-financed by the Club for Growth with $1 million.

Molly Ball of the Club for Growth Rewiew-Journal also manages to mention that half of that money came from one of the owners of her "newspaper."

The number Molly Ball of the Club for Growth Review-Journal doesn't mention at all is the amount it would cost Jeanne d'Arc Angle and the Club for Growth to demand a recount ($110,000) .

The other number Molly Ball of the Club for Growth Review-Journal carelessly forgets to mention is the roughly $1 million a special election would cost Nevada's taxpayers.

In the meantime we would like to thank Jeanne d'Arc Angle, the Club for Growth, the Nevada Republican Party and its chairman and anyone else we might have forgotten (like President Bush) for handing this election to Democrat Jill Derby.

You can do your part in contributing to Jill Derby here.

Meet Don Cox, Dick Cheney's New Spokesperson

This must be about the damn laziest "article" I have read all damn year. It's so unfuckingbelievable that I'm starting to swear "big time" (as the damn VP would say) which I have never done on this blog before.

Up until now, Don Cox has been a "reporter" for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Since yesterday it would be fair to assume that he has been named Dick Cheney's new spokesperson. Almost his entire "article" titled "Cheney, Rumsfeld vow to press on in terror war" (no mention of Rumsfeld at all in the "article", I kid you not) on Cheney's visit to Reno is filled with quotes from the damn VP's speech. Cox managed to insert one paragraph with a quote of a protester which he managed to "balance" (must have learned his journalistic creds watching fucking Fox News all day long) with a quote by a veteran supportive of this damn administration.

Somehow Mr. Cox did not manage to find one delegate critical of this administration in a crowd of 10,000. So, either the United States of America is now officially a dictatorship à la Belarus or Mr. Cox was just too damn lazy, as this "article" filled almost solely with "Cheney said" suggests.

And then along comes Jeff Delong with an "article" on the "protestors". The sloppiness of this "article" is just as appalling. The sequence goes as follows: protestors, protestors, protesters, and in between a "Foriegn". But, heck, nobody will read an "article" titled "Demonstrators protest White House policy" anyway. Everyone just wants to read what that damn Cheney had to say, right?

Of course, while the "article" on Cheney ended with Cheney's words, the article on the anti-war protests ended with two veterans saying we needed to stay in Iraq. Apparently, another "journalist" of the "fair and balanced" persuasion.

Come on, guys, you've gotta be kidding me! Where the hell did you learn your job? Writing like this is just embarrassing. That's not journalism, that's enabling. Go and join the joke that is the White House press corps. God, I'm so fucking sick of it!

Great Poll Numbers: Titus Leads, Carter Within Margin Of Error

A couple of weeks ago there was a Rasmussen poll which had Jack Carter withing the margin of error against John Ensign (39-46). There were a lot of people who decried this poll as an "outlier" saying you can't trust Rasmussen polls and watch out for other polls before you believe this race is winnable. These people felt vindicated when a Mason Dixon poll came out which had Carter 20 points down (33-54).

Well, it seems the Mason Dixon poll is the outlier. A new Zogby Interactive poll published by the Wall Street Journal released today has Jack Carter within the margin of error as well. And the numbers here are even better than in the Rasmussen poll. Zogby has Jack Carter at 44.7% and Ensign at 48.1%. Jack Carter now is only 3.3 percentage points behind Ensign!

But there is even better news. Zogby also has Democrat Dina Titus leading Republican Jim Gibbons for the very first time in the gubernatorial contest: 46.8% - 44.1%!

If you're not from Nevada you might wonder what happened in the last month that both Carter and Titus have such big gains in the polls. Nevada had its primary on August 15th which for the first time had a lot of people take a closer look at the candidates. Apparently the Republican incumbents didn't fare too well in the eyes of Nevada voters as both incumbent Senator Ensign and incumbent Congressman Gibbons, now running for Governor, are down in this poll.

This is especially significant since the primaries for Governor and Senate were quite different. Titus went through a tough, bruising and sometimes nasty primary while Carter practically cruised through his having no major opponent. What both these primaries somehow still managed to achieve is that voters must have come away with a better impression of the Democrats and that both Titus' and Carter's name recognition probably increased significantly.

Considering that the election campaigns will start in earnest in the coming weeks, Democrats in Nevada are now very well positioned for a possibly landslide in November. There is no doubt that the pick up in the polls for these two races will also translate to the House race in CD-2 (Democrat Jill Derby vs. Republican Dean Heller) and CD-3 (Democrat Tessa Hafen vs. incumbent Republican Jon Porter).

Please consider contributing to these great candidates and help us win Nevada in a landslide. You can donate to Carter and Derby through the Turn Tahoe Blue ActBlue page and you can donate to Dina Titus here and to Tessa Hafen here.

Sharron Angle Loves Me Some Taxes

Sharron Angle is a very special person. She decries taxing and spending for whatever good use that taxing and spending takes place every chance she gets and yet she managed to vote for tax increases four (!) times.

Now, Sharron Angle is looking for another way to tax and spend. After having lost the Republican primary for Nevada's 2nd congressional district by a little over 400 votes against Dean Heller, she doesn't gracefully accept defeat and endorse her opponent (as I am sure she would have expected of him). No, instead Ms. Angle prefers to burden Nevada's taxpayers one last time.

She could have chosen to demand a recount. Thing is, she and her anti-tax crazed buddies from the Club for Growth would have had to pay for it. Now, Sharron Angle has found a way to save herself some money and instead take it from Nevada's taxpayers.

Sharron Angle is demanding a special election:

Out of respect for the will of the people and their right to vote, I am obligated to contest the outcome of this election and request a special election.

I really have to wonder where Sharron Angle was when the right to vote was violated in the last elections, say in Florida, Ohio and many other places.

So, let's take a look at the numbers. No, not the number of votes she lost by (421), it seems Ms. Angle is more concerned about the benjamins:

The cost of a recount has been estimated by the secretary of state's office at a minimum of $110,000. Angle would have to pay those costs, but she said that was not a factor in deciding how to challenge the results.

I'm sure many good people would believe her, but then, unfortunately, many good people sometimes tend to be a little naive. For all of you, let's take a look at the cost of a special election:

The cost of a new primary election would be $400,000 in Washoe County alone, [Washoe Registrar of Voters Dan Burke] said.

When you consider that less than half the votes cast for the CD-2 primary came from Washoe County (31,407 out of 68,992 according to the official results) a special election would cost a stagering $1 million!

Sharron Angle, you've told us so many times how concerned you are about the "liberal tax and spend" behaviour of your Republican opponents, you've told us time and again how concerned you are about every hard earned dollar of Nevada's taxpayers wastefully spend?

So, in case you will actually be successful with your complaint and a special election will be scheduled, please tell us:

• Which long needed school in Nevada could be build were it not for your $1 million special election?
• How many teachers could be employed were it not for your $1 million special election?
• How many homeless people could be fed were it not for your $1 million special election?
• How much of the environment could be cleaned up were it not for your $1 million special election?
• How much alternative energy resources could be built were it not for your $1 million special election?
• How many poor children could be given lunch money were it not for your $1 million special election?

But, really, Sharron we have but one question for you: when have you turned into a tax and spend liberal?

The Republican Party: Governing By Hatred And Exclusion

Now, we've all seen it before. Too many times, really, to be surprised. The Republican Party and its representatives are feeling their best when they are governing and campaigning by hatred and conclusion. A lot of you have probably heard about the whole Macaca/George Allen deal last week.

Today, we have Stephen Laffey. Mr. Laffey considers himself senatorial material and is challenging Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee in the Republican primary. As many before him, Mr. Laffey has written something in the past which he now officially regrets. Well, kind of.

This is what Mr. Laffey had to say some twenty-odd years ago while he was a college student:

"This is not to say there aren't any; I simply haven't seen one in my lifetime. Maybe they are all in the closet," he wrote. "All the homosexuals I've seen are sickly and decrepit, their eyes devoid of life."

In another column he wrote that pop music was turning the children of America into sissies, and criticized the singer Boy George, referring to him as "it."

"It wears girl's clothes and puts on makeup," he wrote. "When I hear it sing, 'Do you really want to hurt me, do you really want to make me cry,' I say to myself, YES, I want to punch your lights out, pal, and break your ribs."

And this is his statement of "regret" now. A non-apology if there ever was one:

"Do I regret some of these things? Sure," he said. "But at the time, we were just having fun. We thought it was funny."

As for the "sad eyes" click on the AP article and take a really good look at the picture of Mr. Laffey. Notice anything?

Madonna Rocks!

I was in Heaven! If only for one night.

Madonna was magnificent. I was truly amazed by it all. I went in with relatively modest expectations as I have been disappointed by other concerts before. But this was a show to behold. Never in my life have I seen anything like it. I can hardly wait for the DVD to come out. I'm still in bliss, really ;)

Anyway, the next two days were spent in Hamburg, Germany's second biggest city. If you ever wanna visit Germany, this has got to be one of the places to be on your list.

After this brief excursion, let's now go back to the wonderful world of Tahoe blogging :)

Madonna!

I'll take a little break from blogging to enjoy Madonna in concert tonight in Hannover and then spend a couple of days in Hamburg. I'll probably be posting again on Friday or Saturday. In the meantime there are a whole bunch of links to blogs, campaigns and news resources on the sidebar.

About Those Campaign Blogs

Dear Democratic candidates in the Tahoe area,

this is an open letter to quite a few of you, whether you are running for statewide or for federal office. First of all: we love your campaign. We really do. Otherwise we wouldn't have linked to it on our sidebar.

I went on the lookout today, so that I could add more links to the Campaign Blogs on the sidebar. And I really was looking forward to adding a couple of new ones. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything.

Now, you may have heard of blogs. This here is one of them. It seems to have become fashionable by some of you to have a blog on your website. And that's swell. Thing is, you must understand the concept of a blog. It's kinda like a diary. If you only write in it about once a month it's not a diary. Same goes for blogs. You have to post entries regularly. And if your last blog post is from last year, I suggest you better just delete it all. It might just make you look out of touch.

That said I encourage each and every one of you to add a decent blog to your campaign website and I have a couple of suggestions. If you think you won't have the time for it, let a trusted member of your campaign staff do it. That way you interact with your voters online and still have the time to go and meet voters. Though, I must say, it makes a blog much more enjoyable if it has a personal touch to it. So, posting personally about once a week would help.

If you want to see what a good campaign blog can look like look no further. I have linked to the Carter Blog and the Haswell Campaign Journal. Both are well run and updated frequently if not daily. Take a look and feel inspired.

Sincerely,

A friendly blogger

Credit Given Where Credit Is Due

You may not believe this day would ever come but I'm finally writing a positive entry on Senator Harry Reid. I don't hold a general grudge against "Give 'Em Hell Harry". However, it would be polite to say that I wasn't too pleased with his help, or lack thereof, for my favourite Senate candidate Jack Carter.

There was a lot of bitching on Turn Tahoe Blue, which probably had little to no impact considering the relatively low number of visits to my blog, although a couple of other people linked to what they called a "rant" of mine last week. There were also some choice words for the Senator on the infamous Las Vegas Gleaner. More importantly, in recent weeks almost every diary on Jack Carter was highjacked by anti-Reid rhetoric in the comments section, like in this diary on Jack's primary win which was on the Daily Kos recommended list.

Well, apparently Senator Reid had a change of heart and is now fully committed to Jack's campaign.

From a Carter campaign newsletter sent out via email today:

Just this week Senator Reid pledged his support to our campaign, stating that he knew we could win this race and that he and his office would do whatever it takes for us to win in November. The DSCC sent a quarter of a million dollars to the Nevada State Democratic Party to help with "get out the votes" efforts. We have dramatically increased our number of volunteers, and precinct captains that we have had to get new office space to house all of this additional support!

Now, I'll feel even better when I actually hear something from the Senator himself. However, this is way better than him saying to the media that the ensignificant Senator is "safe".

Senator Reid, we welcome you to the ever larger crowd of active Carter supporters and hope to see you out there raising money for the person who could very well be the 6th or 7th (in case Lieberman wins) candidate to win back the Senate this November and make you the first Senate Majority Leader from Nevada!

While the money given to the Nevada Dems will certainly help with GOTV efforts this November, the Carter campaign is still in serious need of contributions. Please consider giving to Jack if you can and show Senator Reid that we were right about this one, that Jack Carter can and will win in November!

Jack Carter's campaign website

The Carter Blog

Pink Campaigns: Jack Carter

As you may have noticed on the top of my sidebar, I run another election blog, although it is a single-issue blog. Pink Campaigns originated from my anger with the Human Rights Campaign, the best known interest group for the GLBT community. They endorsed several candidates as many interest groups do. My problem was that most of their endorsees didn't even bother to state on their campaign websites what their position on GLBT issues is.

Figuring, a little research might help I took a look at all campaign websites of Democratic House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates and search for their statement on GLBT issues. I was surprised by what I found. While some candidates in rural places in red states stated their views, many in safe Democratic seats did not bother to do so. For example, only 5 out of 55 candidates in California did so.

I've added candidates to the blog when I had time, including their statement on GLBT issues, links to their campaign website, a map of the district and the last election results. Yesterday I also created contribution pages on ActBlue, for House candidates, House incumbents, Senate candidates and incumbents as well as gubernatorial candidates and incumbents.

Today, I've added Jack Carter to Pink Campaigns. Here's what he has to say on GLBT issues:

As a Christian I believe that Jesus loves us all, and that we are not here to judge others. As an American I believe our government must respect individuals regardless of our differences. I believe that gay couples who enter into a loving and lasting relationship should be entitled to all the rights normally associated with civil unions, i.e., the right to visit their loved one in hospitals or to add them to their health insurance.

I do not advocate gay “marriage.” Marriage is a sacred vow sanctioned by the church and long recognized by governments around the world. It’s endowment should not be subject to government/secular control.

I've also added Jack to the Pink Campaigns ActBlue page for Senate candidates today. If you're interested in GLBT issues, go and check out the other candidates at Pink Campaigns and consider contributing to a candidate of your choice. I will add more candidates in the coming days, weeks and months.

Jack and Jimmy Carter Agree To Disagree

A couple of days ago I wrote a post on President Carter's interview with German weekly Der Spiegel. In that interview Jimmy Carter also spoke about Israel. Today, in a press release, Jack Carter states that he disagrees with his father's statement:

Jack Carter, the Democratic nominee for United States Senate, in reaffirming his strong, and long-lasting, support for Israel’s fight for its very survival.

“In an interview with der Spiegel, my father, President Jimmy Carter, recently stated that Israel had no legal or moral justification to attack Lebanon after the attack by Hizballah. I do not share that view,” Jack says. “Israel has every right to defend itself from the terrorists who seek to destroy her, and those who choose to harbor such terrorists. Simply put, this is an issue on which my father and I agree to disagree.”

Jack Carter continues, “Israel is fighting for her life; she cannot lose. Remember, Israel must win every war; her enemies need only win one.

“Had our government used our influence to increase the security of every legitimate state in the Middle East instead of adventuring into Iraq, the situation with Hizballah may have been avoided. International pressure brought to bear on disarming Hizballah after the Israeli pullout in 1999 would have increased security within the region. Such pressure should flow from a coalition led by our government and embraced by other nations around the world. To reiterate, the United States must lead.”

Who would have thought that a German magazine would ever play a role in a Nevada election?

Read my post on the Jimmy Carter interview here.

And you can read Jimmy Carter's interview with Der Spiegel here.Who

Update:

Here's the AP's take on the story, via the Reno Gazette-Journal.

PS: Ms. Hennessey, Spiegel is a magazine, not a newspaper. You as a journalist should know the difference, one would think.

John Doolittle: Corrupt Or Ineffective?

Charlie Brown has started his first radio ad campaign and it's already getting a lot of attention. There are two ads, one narrated by Senator Max Cleland introducing Charlie, another talking about Congressman John Doolittle accompagnied by the website Corrupt or Ineffective.

The Sacramento Bee on the ads:

One of the ads features former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, talking about the Air Force Academy honor code and Brown's 26-year career in the service.

The second ad is a parody of the "tastes great, less filling" beer commercials from several years ago and features bar patrons challenging each other over whether Doolittle is "corrupt or ineffective."

The corruption cited in the ad refers to campaign contributions Doolittle has received from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The ineffectiveness makes fun of the congressman's name, "Do Little," and his advice to a group recently that it should hire a lobbyist to help get the attention of Congress.

If you live in the area you're about to hear the ads sooner or later on your local radio:

Todd Stenhouse, a spokesman for the Brown campaign, said the ads are running throughout the 4th District, which extends from the Sacramento suburbs to the Nevada border to the east and Oregon to the north.

"This is an ad buy for several weeks," Stenhouse said. "The ads will run on stations from Sacramento to Modoc to Reno. It is full saturation, with over a dozen stations."

However, there is one little problem:

According to reports the two campaigns have filed with the Federal Election Committee for the period ending June 30, Doolittle entered the general election season with about $261,000 in the bank to Brown's $74,000.

Money is a major issue. If you like the ads and want them to be aired contribute to the campaign. The Brown campaign let's us know how much airing the ads will cost:

For example, a gift of $500-$1000 buys a :60 AM Drive Time slot on our most popular local radio stations, and a gift of $250-$500 buys a PM Drive Time slot.

I know that's quite a bit but consider this: if you contribute $25 you buy up to 6 seconds of that spot, even $5 will pay for 1 second. When many people contribute small sums that always helps. Just give whatever you can.

There were also two diary entries on Daily Kos about Charlie Brown today. One by blogswarm and one by LindaR. Check them out.

Keep It Rural With Rob Haswell

I just love talking about Rob Haswell cause here is one candidate who has never run before and who's running one of the most energized and smartest campaigns in the Lake Tahoe area.

Recently, Carlos Alcala of the Sacramento Bee has also taken notice:

Placer-grown rivalry: Assembly candidate Rob Haswell scheduled some recent events with the theme of preserving open space and boosting local agriculture. Promoting his Loomis "Keep it Rural" rally, Haswell backers noted his family has been in Placer for five generations. It started with great-great-grandfather Frederick Birdsall, who came to Auburn in the 1870s and started an olive oil company that was family-run until the 1970s. (Street Whys mentioned this stuff in June, because some Auburn streets are named for Birdsalls.) We like Haswell's rural and ag focus, but we have to point out that his opponent in the race has deep Placer ag roots, too. County Supervisor Ted Gaines' great-great-grandfather was James William Kaseberg, who showed up in these parts in the 1850s or 1860s. He amassed up to 50,000 acres stretching from Roseville to the Sacramento River, and raised wheat, among other products. Roseville has a school, drive and park named Kaseberg. … One could see the Assembly race as a Wild West duel of farm histories, but we prefer a more peaceful scenario: Imagine that at some point in Placer's past, someone sat down to eat and dipped bread made from Kaseberg wheat into Birdsall's Aeolia Olive Oil.

That olive oil story is great and here is what Rob has to say about the "rural" background of Ted Haines:

My opponent, developer-backed Ted Gaines, also comes from deep agricultural roots in the county. Although we are both 5th Generation, we have come to very different conclusions about what the future of our region should look like. This race will be about those competing visions.

It's fantastic to see a candidate take real interest in local issues and think about what's best for the future. Rob Haswell's support of PlacerGROWN is a great example. Encouraging people to buy local produce has several advantages: it's good for the environment, it safes energy resources, it supports and creates employment in the area and of course the produce is always fresh.

Help Turn Tahoe Blue by contributing to Assembly candidate Rob Haswell!

A Blogger's Report From The Clark-Derby Fundraiser

It really has its drawbacks to not be on the ground in Nevada. One of them is that I can't take part in all these great events. Thankfully there are many wonderful bloggers mostly everywhere. One of them is jen from Lake Tahoe who has posted a great account over at the Clark Community Network of the fundraiser Wesley Clark did for Jill Derby on Tuesday. You should read it in its entirety. I'm just gonna give you two small excerpts:

Jill Derby thanked us all for coming and told a beautiful story of why she decided to run for congress.

She had been contemplating running, and had attended several conferences relating to that, when she heard a Commencement Address given by Theodore Sorensen called "A Time to Weep for America" that said, in part, "Not on my watch will the tide turn for the decline of America." She said at that point, she knew she had to run.

And:

He then smoothly tied in all his talk of national issues to local and state issues, and how the only way we were going to change things, and stop the destruction of our country (my words, not his) was to elect people like Jill Derby. He went in to details about her background which I really didn't know much about. You could see there was much respect and admiration between them as they stood up there together.

Go over to her post and read the whole thing (she also posted some photos) and contribute to Jill Derby if you can!

Bermuda Sends Some Love To Jack

In Bermuda, where Jack Carter lived for seven years before choosing to move to Nevada, his primary win was noted by The Royal Gazette:

Former resident wins US primary

Former Bermuda resident Jack Carter won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday to face Republican Senator John Ensign in November in Nevada.
Carter, the son of former US President Jimmy Carter, claimed 80 percent of the vote in early returns to defeat political unknown Ruby Jee Tun of Carson City, a middle school science teacher.
Ensign won with more than 90 percent of the vote over Ed (Fast Eddie) Hamilton of Las Vegas, a former Chrysler Corp. supervisor.
Carter, an investor who moved to Nevada three years ago and lived in Bermuda for seven years, said he’d use his extensive business and political contacts in the upcoming fight with Sen. Ensign.
“I was a member of the first family. I know a lot of the senators who are in office already. I’ve got business contacts around the country and around the world and those are the kind of things that I view as bringing something to Nevada,” he said.
Mr. Carter and his wife, Elizabeth, lived in Bermuda from 1996 until 2003 when they moved to Nevada where he operates an investment consulting firm.
While in Bermuda, where he managed investments for mutual fund giant Invesco, Mr. Carter kept a relatively low profile, riding a bus to work in Hamilton from his St. George’s home.
His father visited the Island at least twice, but also kept a low profile.

I've said before what a down to earth and humble man Jack Carter is and the last few lines in this article are a great example.

Nevada Politics - A New Interactive Blog

Kirk Caraway of the Nevada Appeal has started a new non-partisan interactive blog called Nevada Politics. You can write your own posts there, just like on Daily Kos. However the site also picks up posts from other blogs, including Turn Tahoe Blue, using RSS feeds.

Up until now there hasn't been a site like this for Nevada politics. There is Calitics for California politics and there are Daily Kos, MyDD and the Booman Tribune for national politics. Only that Nevada Politics is meant for the entire political spectrum and not just Democrats. It will be interesting to see whether or not that will work.

Turn Tahoe Blue Endorses Angie Paccione

This is a very good year for Democrats. Not only because of the good polling numbers but even more so because of the large number of terrific candidates all over the country. I mainly focus on the races that are important to the Lake Tahoe area. However, from time to time, I would like to shed some focus on other important campaigns throughout the United States.

One of these campaigns is the one by Angie Paccione who is running against Marilyn Musgrave in Colorado's 4th Congressional District. For anyone who hasn't heard about Rep. Musgrave before, she is one of the worst politicians out there, the kind that operates with fear and hatred instead of hope and kindness. Marilyn Musgrave was the driving force in the House of Representatives behind the Federal Marriage Amendment aiming to ban gay marriage. Rep. Musgrave operates by exclusion rather than inclusion.

So, what does Angie Paccione have to offer? First of all, she can beat Marilyn Musgrave. There is a new SurveyUSA pollout which has Angie Paccione just 4 points behind Musgrave - 42%-46%. This former basketball star was the first woman ever to receive a full scholarship to Stanford University, was an acomplished educator and later managed to win a seat in the Colorado Legislature in a district where Democrats were in the minority. Incidentally, she is yet another Democrat I like who has received support from Wesley Clark.

Angie Paccione has proven before that she can win and taking out Marilyn Musgrave should be a priority for Democrats this year.

Jack Carter's Primary Win Makes International Headlines

You may have thought that Jack Carter's primary win yesterday may have gotten a lot of news buzz across U.S. newspapers. Well, take a look at this:

UK:

US ex-president's son wins nomination

JACK CARTER, the son of former US president Jimmy Carter, has won the Democratic nomination to face Republican senator John Ensign in November in Nevada.
Carter claimed 80 percent of the vote in early returns to defeat political unknown Ruby Jee Tun of Carson City, a middle school science teacher. (The Scotsman)

UK:

Jack Carter, the son of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, won Tuesday's Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate and will face Republican incumbent John Ensign.
Making his first try for elective office, Carter won the primary race with 76.5 percent of the vote, according to an unofficial tally by the Nevada Secretary of State's office.
Carter has criticized the Bush administration over its Iraq policy and issues including domestic spying and energy. One of the former president's four children, Carter was active in his father's successful 1976 presidential race but has devoted his professional life to business. He lived in Bermuda as an investor before moving to Nevada in 2002. (Reuters)

Netherlands:

Zoon Jimmy Carter wint voorverkiezing Nevada

Jack Carter, zoon van de gewezen Amerikaanse president Jimmy Carter, mag het in november bij de tussentijdse Congresverkiezingen opnemen tegen de Republikeinse senator John Ensign. Carter jr. won dinsdag zoals verwacht de voorverkiezing van de Democratische Partij in Nevada. Carter had geen kind aan zijn tegenstander. De leraar wetenschap en natuur, Ruby Jee Tun, kreeg slechts 9 procent van de stemmen tegen 77 procent voor de winnaar. Carter deed dinsdagavond zijn best de overwinningskoorts bij zijn aanhangers te temperen. ,,Dit is het begin van de race. Laat je niet meeslepen'', citeerde de Las Vegas Review-Journal de kandidaat.
De Democraat staat in de peilingen ver achter op zittend senator John Ensign. De Republikein weet zich momenteel verzekerd van de steun van 54 procent van het electoraat tegen 34 voor Carter. (Algemeen Dagblad)

Canada:

Le fils de Jimmy Carter candidat démocrate

Le fils de l'ancien président américain Jimmy Carter, Jack Carter, a reçu mardi soir l'investiture du parti démocrate du Nevada (ouest) pour sa candidature au Sénat américain, selon les résultats officiels de la primaire.
Avocat de formation, homme d'affaire et investisseur, Jack Carter, 59 ans, a remporté plus de 76% des voix des électeurs démocrates de l'État, contre moins de 10% pour sa seule concurrente, Ruby Jee Tun, une professeur de 40 ans.
Lors des élections parlementaires du 7 novembre, il sera opposé au sénateur sortant, le républicain John Ensign. Les sondages publiés dans la presse locale ont donné une confortable avance à ce dernier pendant des mois, mais depuis quelques semaines, l'écart semble s'être réduit à une dizaine de points.
Sur son site Internet, le fils de l'ancien président démocrate (1977-1981) explique qu'il veut défendre «une couverture santé efficace, une meilleure éducation, un gouvernement plus efficace, le rétablissement du respect dont notre pays a toujours joui parmi les nations du monde, et un monde meilleur pour nos enfants».
Lors des élections de novembre 2004, le Nevada avait préféré le républicain George W. Bush au démocrate John Kerry (50% contre 48%), tout en réélisant par 61% des voix son second sénateur, le démocrate Harry Reid, chef de file de l'opposition, dont le siège n'est pas remis en jeu cette année. (Agence France-Presse)

Switzerland:

Sohn von Jimmy Carter gewinnt Vorwahlen in Nevada

Jack Carter, Sohn des ehemaligen US-Präsidenten Jimmy Carter, hat am Dienstag im US-Staat Nevada die Vorwahlen der Demokratischen Partei für die Senatswahl am 7. November gewonnen.
Der 59-jährige Carter wird bei der Wahl den republikanischen Amtsinhaber, Senator John Ensign, herausfordern. Ensign gilt als besonders treuer Anhänger von US-Präsident George W. Bush. Ex- Präsident Carter, ein entschiedener Gegner des Irakriegs, unterstützt die politische Karriere seines Sohnes. (20 Minuten)

Italy:

Usa: figlio di Carter vince primarie democratiche in Nevada

Sara' Jack Carter, figlio dell'ex presidente americano Jimmy, a sfidare il senatore repubblicano John Ensign alle elezioni di medio termine in Nevada. Jack Carter, 59 anni, ha vinto le primarie del partito democratiche nello stato con il 78% dei voti. (Corriere della Sera)

Indonesia:

Anak Jimmy Carter Menangi Pemilihan Senat Nevada

Jack Carter, anak mantan presiden AS Jimmy Carter, Selasa (15/8), memenangi pemilihan untuk calon Senat dari Partai Demokrat di negara bagian Nevada.
Jack Carter akan bersaing dengan calon dari Partai Republik, yang kini menjabat sebagai ketua Senat di Nevada, John Ensign.
Tampil untuk pertama kalinya dalam pemilihan itu, Carter memenangi pemilihan untuk pencalonan Senat itu dengan meraih 76,5 persen suara, berdasarkan data tak resmi di kantor kementerian luar negeri di Nevada.
Jack Carter telah mengkritik pemerintahan Bush terkait dengan Irak dan seumlah isu lainnya, termasuk soal spionase domestik dan energi.
Salah satu dari empat anak Jimmy Carter itu pernah aktif dalam kampanye presiden ayahnya pada 1976, tapi kemudian ia kembali ke kehidupan profesionalnya, yaitu bidang bisnis.
Ia kemudian tinggal di Bermuda sebagai seorang investor sebelum pindah ke Nevada pada 2002. (Suara Merdeka)

Suriname:

Zoon Jimmy Carter genomineerd voor senaatszetel

Jack Carter, de zoon van de Amerikaanse oud-president Jimmy Carter, heeft dinsdag de Democratische nominatie voor de Senaatszetel van Nevada gewonnen. Volgens voorlopige cijfers kreeg hij tachtig procent van de stemmen.
Carter, een belegger die drie jaar geleden naar Nevada verhuisde, moet het bij de verkiezingen van november opnemen tegen de zittende Republikeinse senator John Ensign. (CQ-Link)

Jack Carter rocks it all over the world. And I didn't even quote all articles.

Help Jack Carter win in November by contributing to him!

Post Primary Congratulations

The primaries are over and I guess it's about time to congratulate a couple of people:

- Congratulations to Jill Derby for being the smartest candidate in this cycle so far. Not only did she have General Wesley Clark come to Reno to watch the primary results coming in with her. No, she also surprised people by starting her first TV ad campaign on primary night with this terrific ad. Heller may have beaten two Republican women but he'll have a heck of a time losing against Jill Derby this November.
- Congratulations to Jack Carter for winning his first election ever. Okay, his opposition in the primary was minor but he still managed to get an AP headline out of it. The AP story focuses on the entire Nevada primary but somehow "Gibbons wins primary" must not be such a big hit out of state.
- Congratulations to Carson City for beating the Club for Growth. Because of a margin of more than 1,000 votes in Carson City. Dean Heller won the Republican primary and the right to lose against Jill Derby in November.
- Congratulations to Dawn Gibbons for being Dawn and still being able to run for First Lady.
- Congratulations to Jim Gibson for winning Esmeralda, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln and Mineral counties. We're now looking foward to you getting behind the winner in Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Lyon, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe and White Pines counties. Cause you're a Democrat after all, aren't you Jim?
- Congratulations to "None of these candidates" for getting into the double digits in several races. This pesky guy managed to beat both Leola McConnell and Melody "Mimi Miyagi" Damayo in the gubernatorial races. He was also quite popular in the Secretary of State and State Treasurer races. But his best showing came in the Democratic Lt. Governor race where he managed to get almost 20% of the vote and actually beat Bob Stupak. Ouch.
- Congratulations to Melody "Mimi Miyagi" Damayo for having fans in every county in Nevada, including a very lonely one in Eureka County.
- Congratulations to Bob Beers for doing better in the primary for his State Senate seat (35.31%) than in the primary for Governor (28.88%).
-Congratulations to Lorraine Hunt for beating Bob Beers in Esmeralda, Pershing, Storey and Washoe counties.
- Congratulations to Bob Stupak for showing us that an election in Nevada is not a poker game after all. Phew!
- Congratulations to Barbara Lee Woollen for all the double letters in your name. We couldn't really come up with anything else. You didn't even win one county, girl!
- Congratulations to Brian Scroggins for showing us that even if you're party chair you can still manage to lose your county in a primary. Maybe you wanna move to Lincoln County. They seem to love you there.
- Congratulations to Lincoln County for loving the underdogs. You even managed to be the only county to chose deceased Kathy Augustine over somewhat alive Mark DeStefano. Good on you!
- Finally, congratulations to the voters of Nevada who managed to turn out in larger numbers than last time around and proved wrong the pundits who believe everyone's on vacation in August.

All results can be found on the Secretary of State's site.

Does America need a regime change? Interview with Jimmy Carter

President Jimmy Carter has given an interview to Der Spiegel (Germany's equivalent of Time Magazine or Newsweek). The original transcript has just been published on its website.

What's interesting about this interview is not only what the President has to say but rather what he kind of questions are asked. Some of these questions could have been phrased by Daily Kos contributors but I would doubt you'd read any of those in Newsweek or Time.

President Carter speaks about moral principles, the situation in the Middle East, Guantanamo, Christian fundamentalism, Iraq, Cuba and the November elections.

First, about those questions. How do you like the following:

You also mentioned the hatred for the United States throughout the Arab world which has ensued as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Given this circumstance, does it come as any surprise that Washington's call for democracy in the Middle East has been discredited?

One main points of your book is the rather strange coalition between Christian fundamentalists and the Republican Party. How can such a coalition of the pious lead to moral catastrophes like the Iraqi prison scandal in Abu Ghraib and torture in Guantanamo?

So how does this proximity to Christian fundamentalism manifest itself politically?

Was the whole country in danger of losing its core values?

You sought to normalize relations with Castro, but that never happened. Has anything been achieved through Cuba's isolation?

Finally:

Does America need a regime change?

It's incredible to read this interview. I urge you to read it in full. However, I'll give you some excerpts of what President Carter had to say.

On the question of this administrations (im)morality:

There's no doubt that this administration has made a radical and unpressured departure from the basic policies of all previous administrations including those of both Republican and Democratic presidents.

On America's role in achieving peace in the Middle East:

Yes, as a matter of fact as you know ever since Israel has been a nation the United States has provided the leadership. Every president down to the ages has done this in a fairly balanced way, including George Bush senior, Gerald Ford, and others including myself and Bill Clinton. This administration has not attempted at all in the last six years to negotiate or attempt to negotiate a settlement between Israel and any of its neighbors or the Palestinians.

On Christian fundamentalism:

The fundamentalists believe they have a unique relationship with God, and that they and their ideas are God's ideas and God's premises on the particular issue. Therefore, by definition since they are speaking for God anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong. [...] Another thing is that a fundamentalist can't bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality. And so this administration, for instance, has a policy of just refusing to talk to someone who is in strong disagreement with them -- which is also a radical departure from past history.

On the danger of America losing its core values:

For a while, yes. As you possibly know, historically, our country has had the capability of self-correcting our own mistakes. This applied to slavery in 1865, it applied to legal racial segregation a hundred years later or so. It applied to the Joe McCarthy era when anti-communism was in a fearsome phase in the country like terrorism now. So we have an ability to correct ourselves and I believe that nowadays there is a self-correction taking place. In my opinion the election results in Connecticut (Eds: The primary loss of war supporter Senator Joseph Lieberman) were an indication that Americans realized very clearly that we made a mistake in going into Iraq and staying there too long.

On the November elections:

As I've said before, there is a self-corrective aspect to our country. And I think that the first step is going to be in the November election this year. This year, the Democrats have good chance of capturing one of the houses of Congress. I think the Senate is going to be a very close decision. My oldest son is running for the US Senate in the state of Nevada. And if just he and a few others can be successful then you have the US Senate in Democratic hands and that will make a profound and immediate difference.

The President is of course talking about his son Jack Carter, who is running for Senate from Nevada. Show the President some love and respect and contribute to his son Jack if you can.

GLBT Bills In The CA Legislature

Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee focused on the GLBT related bills pending in the California Legislature in an article yesterday headlined Gay rights advocates give ground, but perennial battle continues. His main focus was on Senate Bill 1437 which would have mandated "positive images of gays in textbook and classroom" and now basically just states that no discrimatory views should be in the textbooks.

He also lists a couple of other measures. SFBrianCL of Calitics picks up on this and has a couple of things to add to that. Go read it here.

Primary Predictions

As tomorrow will be primary day in Nevada, I thought I'd give it a little attention. No, I'm not gonna list endorsements. From the link list on the side bar it becomes quite clear who my favourite candidates are. Instead, I'll bet a little (as this is Nevada, after all) and give you my predictions. Not included are those competitions with minor opposition (like the Senate races):

Congressional District 2 (R)

1. Sharron Angle
2. Dean Heller
3. Dawn Gibbons

Governor (D)

1. Dina Titus
2. Jim Gibson

Governor (R)

1. Jim Gibbons
2. Lorraine Hunt
3. Bob Beers

Lieutenant Governor (D)

1. Bob Unger
2. Bob Stupak

Lieutenant Governor (R)

1. Brian Krolicki
2. Lonnie Hammargren
3. Barbara Lee Woollen

Secretary of State (R)

1. Brian Scroggins
2. Danny Tarkanian

State Treasurer (D)

1. Kate Marshall
2. Geoffrey VanderPal

State Treasurer (R)

1. Kathy Augustine
2. Mark DeStefano

I do realize that some of these predictions might seam a little outlandish but who the heck really knows what voters are up to. And, yes, I do realize that Katherine Augustine has died and, yes, I still believe that she will win just because many Republican primary voters might wanna exhonorate her after the Republican establishment treated her like an outcast (because she was impeached) before her death.

Wes Clark To Endorse Jack Carter?

This is pure speculation but there is a hint that General Wesley Clark will endorse Senate candidate Jack Carter on Wednesday. I was just on Clark's WesPAC homepage and in his event calendar for Wednesday, August 16th it says "General Clark in Las Vegas for Jack Carter". It doesn't say much more, no details of why, when and where. There is also no hint on the Carter campaign website.

Clark has already endorsed congressional candidates Jill Derby (NV-02) and Charlie Brown (CA-04). He has been named Tahoe's friend of the month for that by this blog. Should he endorse Jack Carter this Wednesday he just may turn out to be Tahoe's friend of the year.

Update: There are now details on the WesPAC page:

Join General Wesley Clark and Jack Carter for a press conference at the Carter Headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada.
11 a.m. Wednesday, August 16, 2006

So, this really does look like Clark will endorse Carter.

Wes Clark To Watch Primary Returns With Jill Derby

Jill Derby's been on a roll recently. First she reported her new fundraising numbers. She has more than $440k on hand while none of her Republican opponents has more than $260k on hand and might just be close to broke after the primary this Tuesday.

That Derby is a serious candidate, and a very good one at that, becomes apparent when you take a look at her performance on Nevada's Newsmakers last Thursday (August 10th). Just compare her performance with the ridiculous giggle show of the three Republican stooges (August 1st) and you know that Jill Derby has a real shot in this traditionally Republican district. (Both videos can be found here.)

To top it all off, General Wesley Clark will come to Reno on Tuesday for a fundraiser and to watch the primary returns with her. Wonder which one of the stooges will have the honor of losing to Jill Derby come November. The RGJ's Anjeanette Damon is impressed:

While the Republicans continue to fight each other tooth and nail for the nomination in Congressional District 2, Democrat Jill Derby has been sitting back raising money. She's got a significant warchest and represents the best shot Democrats have had in years of winning a district that is solidly Republican. That's not to say it's not still a somewhat quixotic endeavor. But she clearly has access to some national help, as proven by visits this year from Paul Begala, James Carville and Montana's Dem star Gov. Brian Schweitzer. On Primary Election night, Derby is bringing in Gen. Wes Clark to help her watch returns and raise money.

You can support Jill Derby by contributing to her through the Turn Tahoe Blue ActBlue fundraising page.