Yesterday, while the blogosphere was focussed on the testimony of Alberto Gonzalez in the NSA wiretapping hearing, a major event was going on in Nevada.
Jack Carter announced that he is officially entering the race to become Nevada's next US Senator. All of us kids were there (Jack is my Dad), as well as my grandparents, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. It was a fun day, with events in Henderson (outside of Las Vegas), and in Carson City.
The day kicked off with an event at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Henderson, NV. We got there early and hung out in the "clutch" (the back room) meeting with some of the folks that helped put the event together and getting our instructions from the campaign manager. For me, it was the first time I'd met some of the folks involved in my Dad's campaign, and it was really interesting to put faces to names. When we entered the event room, it was packed. The organizers had put out chairs for 200 people, and there were another couple hundred standing around the sides and in the back. (Read on for Dad's speech and more.)
The family all sat on the dais behind the podium. To me, it was a little intimidating to sit up there in front of all those people and make sure that I looked nice and sweet and attentive (especially since I was sitting right next to my Dad and I imagined that everyone was looking at me). After the introductions, and a very nice letter from Harry Reid, Dad got up to give his speech.
After introducing all of us kids and his parents (he joked that Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were his parents long before they got famous), he talked about how he grew up in Plains, GA and was no stranger to manual labor. He said that understood American values, and he laid them out:
Liberty
Democracy
Rule of Law
Family and Community
and Cooperation
Then, he went on to say that the Bush administration has strayed from these core values. He kept coming back to this statement: "I think we can [solve this problem]. All we need is a return to our American values and new leadership."
On Iraq, he said that the war has been
a long series of shocks revealing inept political planning, and a desire to fight the war with too few troops and too little armor.
. . .
My opponent says "that history will show that America is involved in a noble effort that transformed a region, and indeed the world." I believe it's possible that History will say that. All we need is a return to our American values - and new leadership.
He said of the Medicare Prescription drug benefit:
It is an example of laws written by and for the drug companies. It's contorted, complex and unreasonable - geared to enhance profits. It has a specific provision that forbids medicare to use its sheer size to negotiate lower drug prices. Why? The VA uses its own buying power to achieve drug prices about 45% cheaper than medicare. The two chief architects of the proposal left for major positions in the pharmaceutical industry as soon as the law passed.
. . .
I believe we can provide our seniors with a comprehensive, simple drug package. All we need is a return to our American values - and new leadership.
Continuing on the theme of his recent Op-Ed, he slammed Bush for his eavesdropping program, saying:
We Americans live under the rule of Law. Before my President eavesdrops on me, I want my representatives in Congress to have an open debate about it. I want the Supreme Court to rule that it doesn't violate my personal freedoms as set forth in the Constitution, and then I want the President to execute that law under judicial review.
That's the American way.
. . .
I believe we can come up with a good balance of security interests and personal freedoms. All we need is a return to our American values - and new leadership.
He called the response to Katrina "A national disgrace" and asked why the Bush administration is preventing inquiry into what went wrong. He said:
Can we get someone who, like Harry Truman, will say, "the buck stops here"? I believe we can. All we need is a return to our American values - and new leadership.
Then, he asked where John Ensign was in all of this. He pointed out that Ensign voted with the Bush administration 96% of the time - more than Tom Delay. (The Las Vegas Gleaner calls Ensign a
"Stepford Senator".) Probably his biggest applause line was this:
The biggest difference between my opponent and me is that he works for the Bush administration and I will work for Nevada.
Overall, his speech went over very well, and after the speech, my Dad and grandparents went into the crowd to shake hands and answer questions from the press. We kids met and chatted with some people, too. You can read other reports of the event
here,
here, and
here.
Soon after, we had to hurry back into the back room, pack up some sandwiches and chips and run to the airport to get on our flight to Reno for our event in Carson City.
Carson City is a beautiful place, with mountains overlooking the city, and the day was just perfect. The campaign event was outside, in front of the Nevada legislature building. When we first drove by the site, about half an hour before it began, it already looked like there were a couple hundred people there. When the event started, there were probably about 500 people. And this crowd was much more fun than the one in Henderson (no offense, anyone in Henderson). My brother John said that in his experience, folks in northern Nevada were just more rowdy and enthusiastic than those in Vegas. They cheered and chanted along when Dad gave the lead in of "All we need is a return to American values - AND NEW LEADERSHIP."
After his speech, he and my grandparents again shook hands with people and talked to the press. The people were extremely friendly and excited to be there. They had questions for me about being a scientist (during his introductions, he had told them that I was a neuroscientist), and were generally curious about the family. Then, we were wisked away again so that Dad and my grandparents could have a conference call with more of the local press.
All in all, it was a great day, and a huge success. It was the perfect start to a successful campaign. At the end of each of his speeches, Dad said "I hope you all will join me in this campaign." I hope you all will, too.
Thanks for reading! And let me know what you think!
Sarah