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Since I'm in Las Vegas this weekend, I figured I'd talk about the Nevada U.S. Senate race. I've talked a lot about the Senate races in Massachusetts and Wisconsin so I figured I'd spend some time to talk about another great, strong female candidate, Shelley Berkley. In past diaries and comments regarding the Nevada Senate race, I have stated a theory I have about this particular race. Shelley Berkley and Dean Heller have been tied in the majority of polls (no, I will not include Rasmussen's polling or that shitty SurveyUSA poll). It's looking like Obama will win Nevada but I want to see Shelley Berkley become the junior Senator of Nevada. I don't think I need to really explain why to this community why Berkley would be a great Senator but I will explain my theory here. Harry Reid is working his ass off to help the Democratic machine he started help get Berkley elected. He hates Heller and he trusts Berkley greatly because both her and Reid are passionate about preserving the Yucca Mountain area from being turned into a nuclear waste dumping site. If Heller stays in the Senate, I don't doubt that he will push to turn Yucca Mountain into a nuclear waste land. With Berkley as his colleague, Reid can continue his fight to save the Yucca Mountain area. If you go to Reid's website, you can see this is a very serious issue that is close to his heart:
http://www.reid.senate.gov/...
And as you can see on Berkley's campaign website, this is a real issue for her as well:
http://www.shelleyberkley.com/...
Now onto my theory. Harry Reid is old. He's been in the Senate for a long time now and the people of his home state don't like him. Now they came to their senses in 1998 and 2010 for sure and Reid was smart to develop a strong working relationship with John Ensign when he was elected in 2000. Reid and Ensign made a pact to never endorse one another's election opponent and they have kept their deal. Lets not forget that even though Nevada went to Bush in 2004, Reid easily defeated his Republican opponent, Richard Ziser by a huge lead, 61.1% to Ziser's 35.1%. Then Ensign gets busted with a scandal and is forced to resign. The deal is no longer there and no way in hell will Dean Heller agree to such a deal if he is re-elected. Now we can go back and forth over how effective of a Senate Minority and Majority Leader he's been but I would give Reid high marks and praises over these past two years. I mean the balls on this guy to claim that Romney hasn't paid any taxes in the past ten years. Plus he ran a terrific campaign in 2010. Him and Michael Bennet ran the best campaigns in a terrible year for Democrats. He helped get the Latino base in Nevada out to the polls and he will do it again for both Obama and Berkley. But I think Reid knows he can't get lucky again but if he had to run again to save the Yucca Mountain area, he would in a heart beat. But there's no guarantee he can win again in 2016. Now I personally think that Harry Reid deserves a happy retirement and what better way to do that than to help his friend Shelley Berkley win this year and become the Senior Senator of Nevada come 2017. I think we at least owe Harry that. Now Berkley will need Obama's mojo to help produce a large turn out but I still believe a Berkley win is very possible. I know a lot of people are worried about the ethics scandal facing Berkley in the House, but it's really not hurting her as badly as you would think. I'll let PPP do the talking here:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...
We'll worry about Harry Reid's possible retirement in 2016 and figure out who would be the best Democrat to run for his seat when the time gets closer. For now, lets send Harry a colleague he can work with. Lets give Obama another ally in the Senate. Lets give the middle class and Latino voters in Nevada a voice in Washington D.C. Lets make the Senate a little more environmentally friendly. If there's one thing the Senate needs more of it's strong female voices who will fight for women's health and reproductive rights. Donate to Berkley's campaign and lets assure Reid that if he does retire in 2016, he'll have someone in the Senate to continue to fight for the Yucca Mountain.
https://secure.actblue.com/...