I am so furious about the Nevada Senate race next year. Incumbent
John Ensign (R) is very party-loyal and way to the right of Nevada, one of the closest-divided states politically. Nevada's other Senator, Democrat Harry Reid, is pretty much on par with his state - moderately conservative on some issues, moderately liberal on others.
Yet Reid is not helping us defeat Ensign. Why? I would expect he would be eager to defeat Ensign, who will surely vote for the nuclear option, and who nearly defeated Reid in 1998. Why no hard feelings between the two?
Keep reading below the jump...
So what's up? Nevada is a 50-50 state...moderate Republican governor (term-limited in 2006), one Democratic Senator, one Republican Senator, one Democratic Congresswoman, two Republican Congressmen, a split state legislature that could go Dem in 2006...
Ensign is very popular for some reason and would be tough to beat as it is, but why is Reid making things harder? Does he LIKE having a right-winger as his junior? Wouldn't he prefer a moderate Democrat????
Anyhow, there are not many possible candidates, as many of them want to be Governor instead. It would be great if we could convince Rep. Shelley Berkley, a beloved Democrat representing Las Vegas, to run, but she declined I think. State Senate Majority Leader Dina Titus is running for Governor...what about former Nevada Attorney General Del Papa? Anybody?
This is so nuts.
Okay, what if we could convince former Sen. Richard Bryan (Ensign's predecessor) to come out of retirement? Come on...
I KNOW...former Governor Bob Miller...he'll only be 61 in 2006...younger than Saxby Chambliss...why not???
The problem is that most of the beloved Democrats in Nevada are aging and retired. We need to get someone, like Miller, out of retirement.
It's so annoying. And Reid's not helping us on this. Unless we can get someone good, Ensign's Senate seat is safe GOP...damn.