Hi, everyone. As many of you know, my Dad is
Jack Carter, who's running for US Senate in Nevada. He has been hospitalized the past few days with severe colitis - you may have read about it in
CTLiberal's diary or in the campaign volunteer
Greg's diary. He's doing better now, and he's improving every day. Luckily for us, my grandpa, Jimmy Carter, was able to come to Nevada and cover for him at a couple of campaign events. You can read about it in Erin Neff's column at the Las Vegas Review- Journal, in a piece titled
"A priceless stand-in." We were happy that we could make some lemonade out of those lemons. Today, though, I wanted to tell you a little bit about John Ensign, my Dad's opponent.
Ensign has been running TV ads constantly. You can watch them on his
campaign website. His slogan seems to be "We've accomplished a lot, and together, we can make Nevada even stronger." He doesn't mention that
he's voted with the Bush administration 96% of the time (including a
perfect score in 2004). A nevada blogger, Nevada UpNorth, made a
great John Ensign ad "with a few added facts." You should definitely check it out (here's the
YouTube link), and send the link to any Nevadans you might know.
Both of his ads prominently feature his work as a veterinarian with plenty of cute puppies. Everyone loves puppies. But I guess the local press decided to dig deeper. Scandalmonger, a Las Vegas-based blogger, pointed out this goofy item from the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Political Notebook - it's the last item on the page:
ENSIGN'S OTHER JOB
In commercials currently airing on television, Ensign wears a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck.
"Twenty years ago, I opened the first 24-hour animal hospital in Las Vegas. I loved being a vet," he says as a close-up shows him cuddling a small brown dog.
One Las Vegas woman is glad Ensign is not a veterinarian anymore.
"I had taken my Persian cat, Mr. T.J. Whiskers, in to him to have his front claws removed," said 77-year-old Faye Ferloin. "But he took off the claws from all four paws. It just killed his (Whiskers') spirit. He was never the same."
Ferloin and her late husband brought a complaint against Ensign with the state Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. (Whiskers is also no longer of this mortal plane.)
The complaint was settled, for undisclosed terms in 1990, according to the board's records. Ensign's political career began when he became a member of the House of Representatives in 1995.
The Whiskers incident is the only stain on Ensign's disciplinary record, and his licensing is current through the end of the year, according to the board.
Ferloin said she was distressed less by the mistake -- which, she said, forced Whiskers to become an indoor cat -- than by the way Ensign handled it. The Ferloins were never informed about why Whiskers' surgery seemed to be taking a long time until they finally went to the clinic to pick up the animal.
"His paws were still dripping blood," she said.
Ensign, for his part, "wouldn't even talk to me. I didn't pay the bill, but that wasn't much consolation."
Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said the story wasn't in keeping with the senator's reputation.
"I think he had an excellent reputation as a vet," he said. "When Senator Ensign was practicing, it was important to him not just to care for their animals, but also to establish a good rapport with their owners."
Finn said he didn't know Ensign's position on declawing, which some animal activists oppose as tantamount to amputation.
I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It's pretty funny to me that Ensign's campaign spokesman has to spend some time dealing with this (although, I do feel sorry for that kitty, Mr. T.J. Whiskers).
The press should spend more time on the biggest scandal of all: Ensign's voting record. I mentioned before that he votes with the Bush administration 96% of the time. If you look up his voting record at On the Issues or at Progressive Punch, you'll find that he's no friend to average Nevadans. On the the Iraq War, he's been a typical "Stay the course," "More of the same" Republican, with no suggestions for improving the situation. As I wrote in my previous diary, a recent Las Vegas Sun article reported the difference between the my Dad and John Ensign:
Democratic nominee Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter, says the Iraq war has not only cost the United States money and lives, but lowered its standing in the world and allowed terrorism to flourish.
"I think Iraq is the most visible example of the administration's failed policies," he said. "It took our eye off the ball, which was al-Qaida. Instead of extinguishing that terrorist organization, we put all of our chips into Iraq."
Carter said U.S. forces should now lean on the fledgling Iraqi government by setting a timetable for troop redeployment. Under Carter's preferred scenario, American troops would begin to withdraw to a "more defensible position" in the region within three to four months as part of a "quick-response" program that could respond to local flare-ups, he said. Further aid - economic and military - would be contingent on the stability of the Iraqi government.
Carter's opponent, Republican incumbent John Ensign, an ardent supporter of the war, declined to be interviewed for this story, instead issuing a statement that echoed language used by Bush and his surrogates in speeches last week.
We really need to beat Ensign in November, and we need your help to do it. Please
donate if you can!
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of Ensign's ads (and especially the Nevada UpNorth adaptation).
Sarah
You can always find more at the Carter Blog