There will be a Carter for Nevada "Meet and Greet" at Yearly Kos. See details in my previous diary here.
In this post:
- My Dad, US Senate candidate in Nevada Jack Carter, was on the San Francisco Air America affiliate Wednesday morning. Excerpts below.
- We have a great new Rural Nevada Field Director: Marcia de Braga.
- Paul Hackett's IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) PAC attacks John Ensign, my Dad's opponent, for comments he made about war critics "emboldening the enemy."
Dad on Air America
Dad was in San Francisco for a fundraiser on Wednesday, and talked to Will and Willie on the Quake, the local Air America affiliate. Here's their website, and you can download the whole interview there (you really should listen to it - it's only 12 minutes). I don't want to excerpt too much, but here's a taste.
Dad on oversight:
Q: The state of Nevada. What are the issues in that state for a candidate for the US Senate?
Jack Carter: I think that the significant issues, at least for me, are National issues. You have things like - the reason that I ran is that I didn't like the Bush policies. And what I really don't like, and I think is going to be the big issue in the Senate race specifically is the lack of oversight by the Republican Senate in terms of watching over what this President does. In terms of looking at, for instance, how we got into Iraq, the NSA program we were talking about earlier - we just sort of covered that up.
My opponent actually said that he was going to investigate Halliburton 3-4 years ago and then all of a sudden, it just never came to be. But that's a significant difference.
On the advantage of the Carter name:
Q: Is the race in the state of Nevada for the US Senate seat one that's been targetted by Democrats?
Jack: No, not yet. We are, the advantage - what they've done so far is look at the races based on, strictly on, poll results, and I haven't really done too much on the poll results. But, I've got an unusual attribute as far as first-time candidates are concerned -- you'll appreciate this - everybody knows who I am, they just don't know that I'm the one that they know. [laughter] So once people understand that I'm one of the Carter family, they'll say, "Oh, yeah."
Q: "Which one?" [laughter]
Jack: Exactly. But when they see that, what it does, the Carter name doesn't mean that they're more or less likely to vote for me. I mean, I have to come through that door and stand on my own there, but what it does do is it generates an intense curiosity about me. What it means is they'll remember my name. They'll see what I do later on. That's the advantage I have.
And on splitting Eights:
Q: One last question for somebody from Nevada - you want to represent the state of Nevada. Dealer has a six, you have a pair of eights, do you split `em?
[laughter]
Jack: You always split eights.
Rural Nevada Field Coordinator Marcia de Braga
We're really excited to have Marcia on board. The first campaign trip that I made to Nevada was for my Dad's Candidacy Announcement in February (you can see my diary about it here). Marcia introduced my Dad at the Carson City event, and I could tell then that she has a certain gravitas that commands respect. She's been involved in rural Nevada politics for a long time and will be a huge benefit to the campaign.
The northern Nevada-based blog Desert Beacon writes more about Marcia:
The Carter campaign's gearing up. Not only are the appearances increasing, but the organization's getting in shape. Marcia de Braga, former member of the Nevada State Assembly from Fallon, will be acting as the Rural Nevada Field Director. D'Beacon salutes this choice; de Braga's a veteran of the rural campaign trail, and, an individual who commands the loyalty of the few but energetic Democratic activists in the northern region of the state. She's also been instrumental in the Rural Nevada Democratic Caucus, and those connections should be helpful for the Carter campaign as well.
IAVA PAC's statement about John Ensign
The Nevada GOP Convention was last weekend. Ensign made a comment in his speech that war critics "embolden the enemy." Not too surprising a comment, considering that Ensign has been in Bush-clone training for years now; Ensign has voted with the Bush administration 96% of the time since he became a Senator, and an astonishing 100% of the time in 2004.
After his comment about "emboldening the enemy," he indicated to a reporter that he thought that those who don't support the war should lie about it. Yes, I know, tons of integrity. The always-great Las Vegas Gleaner has more on that point.
IAVA PAC also saw Ensign's statements and was none too pleased. They sent out this press release criticizing Ensign, and asking about a few of his votes:
Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Political Action Committee (IAVA PAC) and other Iraq veterans today visited the office of Senator John Ensign of Nevada, demanding an apology in regards to recent comments he made at his state's Republican Party Convention that those who question the execution of the war in Iraq "emboldened the enemy" and that they should "lie" by saying they do not.
Senator Ensign refused to meet with the veterans.
"Senator Ensign's comments that those who question the execution of the war in Iraq `emboldened the enemy' are offensive to those of us who risked our lives in service to our nation, but have come home to ask critical questions about the way this war has been executed," said Soltz. "America's 21st century patriots deserve better treatment. Frankly, if we are ever to properly provide for the troops and come up with a victory strategy for Iraq, we need more questions, not fewer."
Soltz planned to ask Senator Ensign five questions that he and other veterans feel must be answered, and ask which of these questions embolden the enemy. The questions are:
1) Do our national guardsmen and reserves have all they need to do their job right? Did Senator Ensign ask them before he voted against $1 billion for procurement of National Guard and Reserve equipment? [Vote 116, 4/2/03]
2) Has the lack of reimbursement to guardsmen and reservists for loss in income due to activation, as well as their lack of health care hurt morale and recruiting? Did the Senator ask that question before voting against making up their gap in pay, in 2005 [Vote 91, 4/13/05], or when he voted against increasing spending on TRICARE to cover Guardsmen and Reservists in 2003? [Vote 81, 3/25/03]
3) Who in the Pentagon is responsible for our troops going to war with outdated body armor? Was this OK with the Senator, since he voted against spending an additional $322 million on protective gear, including body armor, in 2003? [Vote 376, 10/2/03]
4) Why were our troops allowed to go in the field with improperly armored Humvees? Why was this acceptable to Senator Ensign, considering he twice voted against sending properly armored Humvees to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005? [Vote 108, 4/21/05; Vote 248, 10/5/05]
5) What is our victory strategy for Iraq, as defined by metrics? How many Iraqi battalions must we train to declare Iraq secure? How many elections must be held before we can declare it a democracy? What does success look like? Has Senator Ensign asked the Secretary of Defense that question, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee?
"The Senator's type of rhetoric has been bubbling up for a while now, and it must end immediately, because it only lowers the level of an important debate. I can promise that the next politician who uses the type of language Senator Ensign used will be held equally accountable for his or her words," he added.
Ouch.
Thanks for reading! You can donate at the campaign website. And you can always find more info at the Carter Blog.
Sarah