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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Last Sunday was a very good day for Nevada Democrats. First came the headlines in the Reno Gazette Journal, “GOP is broken; who will fix it?” followed by the storyline about Gov. Jim Gibbons, his 10 percent approval rating and his ugly divorce. And then the story about the Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki fighting a criminal indictment. Followed by the story of Sen. John Ensign and his affair with a campaign aide whose husband was employed by his Senate office.
But let's not “go negative” here, a common campaign tactic that demeans the intelligence of the voter.
What made last Sunday a very good day for Democrats was the Washoe County Democratic Party 2009 Jefferson Jackson Brunch at the Reno Ballroom.
The place was packed with an enthusiastic, multiethnic, big tent sea of black, brown, yellow and white faces. Nice to see such a representative sample of Northern Nevada citizens at this Democratic function.
After an excellent brunch (had you been there I would have suggested the delicious lox and bagels), Rory Reid, current Clark County Commission Chair, and now gubernatorial candidate, mixed good humor and thoughtful commentary about his top priorities. His ambitious agenda included job creation, a diversified economy, improvement in education at all levels, renewable energy, targeted tax cuts and more and better medical care. About this last issue, he cited the new public-private partnership with the Cleveland Clinic now taking shape in Las Vegas.
Not wanting to disappoint the crowd, he suggested that Nevadans should “send Jim Gibbons back to wherever he came from,” to great crowd approval.
Next up was Assembly Speaker and potential gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buckley, a most impressive personality. Barbara has, by dint of perseverance and smarts, worked her way up from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of political power in the state.
Her message was clarion clear: Democrats work for the people, not the powerful. She then proceeded to tick off several bills passed through the legislature to support her assertion. Included were a law to provide treatment for autistic children as part of medical insurance coverage, new collective bargaining agreements, mandatory mediation in foreclosures, added medical coverage for firefighters and more potent whistle blower protections.
Closing out the event was Thom Hartmann, author of some 19 books and a leading liberal radio personality. An entertaining and provocative speaker, Thom argued that the liberal moral code is to serve the people, particularly the dispossessed. Here he cited issues of hunger, homelessness and the absence of medical care for so many of our citizens. The assembled faithful, including me, loved it.
At the end of the day I spent a few semi-private moments with Rory Reid and asked him how he planned to run his campaign for governor. His response, to paraphrase, was basically something like “I'm not a charismatic speaker. I believe the electorate wants a governor of substantive ideas to tackle the state's very real problems, and that's how I plan to run my campaign.”
Not a bad idea actually — a campaign based on educating the public with substantive ideas. Not too sexy, but then again, sex hasn't served politicians particularly well recently.
While I'm not one to get exercised over party politics, I must say that as I drove back to Incline over Mt. Rose and got my first peek of the lake it felt real good to be a Democrat.
Andy Whyman can be reached at adwhyman@aol.com.
But let's not “go negative” here, a common campaign tactic that demeans the intelligence of the voter.
What made last Sunday a very good day for Democrats was the Washoe County Democratic Party 2009 Jefferson Jackson Brunch at the Reno Ballroom.
The place was packed with an enthusiastic, multiethnic, big tent sea of black, brown, yellow and white faces. Nice to see such a representative sample of Northern Nevada citizens at this Democratic function.
After an excellent brunch (had you been there I would have suggested the delicious lox and bagels), Rory Reid, current Clark County Commission Chair, and now gubernatorial candidate, mixed good humor and thoughtful commentary about his top priorities. His ambitious agenda included job creation, a diversified economy, improvement in education at all levels, renewable energy, targeted tax cuts and more and better medical care. About this last issue, he cited the new public-private partnership with the Cleveland Clinic now taking shape in Las Vegas.
Not wanting to disappoint the crowd, he suggested that Nevadans should “send Jim Gibbons back to wherever he came from,” to great crowd approval.
Next up was Assembly Speaker and potential gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buckley, a most impressive personality. Barbara has, by dint of perseverance and smarts, worked her way up from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of political power in the state.
Her message was clarion clear: Democrats work for the people, not the powerful. She then proceeded to tick off several bills passed through the legislature to support her assertion. Included were a law to provide treatment for autistic children as part of medical insurance coverage, new collective bargaining agreements, mandatory mediation in foreclosures, added medical coverage for firefighters and more potent whistle blower protections.
Closing out the event was Thom Hartmann, author of some 19 books and a leading liberal radio personality. An entertaining and provocative speaker, Thom argued that the liberal moral code is to serve the people, particularly the dispossessed. Here he cited issues of hunger, homelessness and the absence of medical care for so many of our citizens. The assembled faithful, including me, loved it.
At the end of the day I spent a few semi-private moments with Rory Reid and asked him how he planned to run his campaign for governor. His response, to paraphrase, was basically something like “I'm not a charismatic speaker. I believe the electorate wants a governor of substantive ideas to tackle the state's very real problems, and that's how I plan to run my campaign.”
Not a bad idea actually — a campaign based on educating the public with substantive ideas. Not too sexy, but then again, sex hasn't served politicians particularly well recently.
While I'm not one to get exercised over party politics, I must say that as I drove back to Incline over Mt. Rose and got my first peek of the lake it felt real good to be a Democrat.
Andy Whyman can be reached at adwhyman@aol.com.
