Cross-posted at MyDD
Hi, everyone. As you know, my Dad is Jack Carter, who's running for US Senate in Nevada. We're in the middle of a HUGE week on the campaign. My grandpa, Jimmy Carter, has been on a tour of Nevada with my Dad. They started out in the "rurals," were in Reno yesterday (I joined them there), and are doing events in Las Vegas today.
The coverage so far has been phenomenal. I'll tell you all about it.
In my
previous diary, I posted the schedule for the trip:
Wednesday, September 27
10:30 a.m. Speeches to senior citizens at The Terrace senior center, 1795 Ruby View Drive, Elko, Nevada. In the dining hall.
11:00 a.m. News conference at The Terrace. In the same location (the dining hall), with seniors looking on.
12:15 p.m. Speeches to the Elko Rotary Club luncheon at the Stockmen's Hotel, 340 Commercial Street, Elko, Nevada. In the showroom.
3:00 p.m. News conference at VFW Post 1002, 406 South Maine Street, Fallon, Nevada. In the meeting room, with invited veterans looking on.
3:45 p.m. Informal remarks to, and mingle with, members of the public at Sandwinds Sports Bar, 1120 Taylor Place, Fallon, Nevada.
Thursday, September 28
2:00 p.m. Campaign rally at the Manzanita Bowl, on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. Jack Carter and President Carter will speak around 2:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m. News conference for Spanish-language media, at Circus-Circus Hotel, 500 North Sierra Street, Reno, Nevada. In the Sierra Room. This news conference will follow a private meeting with leaders of the Hispanic community in Northern Nevada.
6:30 p.m. Speech during the Washoe County Democratic Party's Honor Roll Dinner, at Circus-Circus Hotel, 500 North Sierra Street, Reno, Nevada. In the hotel's convention center.
Friday, September 29
4:00 p.m. Campaign rally at Painters Union Hall, 1701 Whitney Mesa, Henderson, Nevada. Jack Carter and President Carter will speak around 4:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m. Speeches during the Clark County Democratic Party's Jefferson Jackson Dinner, at the Rio Hotel, 3700 West Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, Nevada.
The gaps of time on the schedule were filled with taped interviews for local media (including both English and Hispanic outlets). On Thursday morning (among other things), there was a radio interview with Air America's David Bender, who does
"Politically Direct." He wanted to do "Three Generations of Carters," so he interviewed me in addition to my Dad and grandpa. You can listen to it
here (it's the Sept. 28th link).
OK. The news coverage: I'm going to go through the coverage chronilogically. There was a TON of news media. The first two towns, Elko and Fallon, are rural areas that don't get much attention, and are heavily Republican (78% of Elko County voted for Bush in 2004).
Here's an excerpt from the Elko Daily Free Press, under the headline, "Carter Corrals Hundreds in Elko:"
The 39th president was in the city with his oldest son, Jack Carter, the Democrat's U.S. Senate candidate who will face GOP Sen. John Ensign in the November election, to make the hub of northeastern Nevada the first stop on a series of campaign stops in the Silver State.
Jack Carter criticized the Bush administration for ignoring the three branches of government, particularly when it comes to the duty of Congress to enact laws and the duty of the president to execute them. "The administration has gotten away from this," he said before taking a shot at his opponent. "John Ensign voted with the administration 96 percent of the time. I believe in the three branches, he believes in one -- and it isn't the one he's in."
On the war on terror, Jack Carter said, "Do we have fewer terrorists today than five years ago? FDR won World War II in three and a half years ... Watch where my opponent votes."
While the Carters were clearly on the campaign trail, their visit to Elko was not characterized by the rhetoric that has come to symbolize these events in recent decades. Indeed, both men cracked jokes and seemed to connect with those in attendance -- many that appeared to be Democrats in a town that isn't supposed to have any.
Jimmy Carter characterized Elko as "one of the most beautiful places in the world," and used his Georgia peanut farmer roots to find a link with rural Elkoans. "I feel at home with you," he said to dozens of senior citizens in attendance at The Terrace.
In Fallon, there was similarly great coverage. Here's a report from Fallon Star Press (which posts its online stories with the Reno Gazette-Journal). The headline reads,
"Fallon Residents Exhilarated by Former President's Visit:"
Former President Jimmy Carter made a 2 ½ hour afternoon campaign stop in Fallon Wednesday to assist his son, Jack, in a bid to win the Senate seat held by incumbent John Ensign. And Fallon residents were delighted.
Running as a Democrat, Jack Carter held a press briefing with the media and local veterans at the VFW Hall before moving to the Sandwinds for a general public appearance where he and his father shook hands with some of the several hundred people in attendance.
To a person, those interviewed after meeting the former president said it was an experience of a lifetime.
. . .
While at the VFW, both Carters addressed the failures of the current administration to keep the nation's promises to its veterans in the form of health care and other retirement benefits.
"We have abandoned the well being of our veterans and it has been in a secondary position of importance in subsequent administrations (since mine)," the former president said.
Jack Carter said veterans are the people who have put their lives on the line for America and the country "has a contract with them for that." He said at one point in his recent campaign travels, he went to 11 towns in four days and the biggest issue in all those towns was veterans' health care and how vets were struggling to drive three and four hours to VA facilities from rural areas for routine or emergency medical care.
And this was
the story that ran on the front page of the Reno Gazette-Journal on Thursday (with a big picture of my Dad and grandpa together):
But the messenger, especially the elder Carter, was more important than the message to many Fallon residents. Some longtime residents said it was the first visit to Fallon by a president or a former president.
"Hey, now we're on the map," said Surette Grives, 44. "We're not some hick town anymore."
. . .
The 39th president was mobbed like a rock star Wednesday when he visited a local sports bar after his speech at the VFW post.
"I'm just thrilled," said Linda Dailey, 61. "I've never met a president before or even seen one in person.
"Maybe I'll get to shake his hand."
Dailey strained to get a glimpse of the former president in the packed bar and said the visit probably would help his son gain rural Nevada votes.
"He's got a reputation of being a peace-loving person and campaigning with his son, well, it's got to help," she said.
Although the mood at the Sandwinds Restaurant & Sports Bar was jovial, the mood at Fallon's VFW Post 1002 was serious.
With veterans standing behind them, the Carters took turns criticizing Bush and Ensign, R-Nev. The Carters said Ensign has voted lockstep with the whims of Bush and that Bush has ignored the veterans who have returned home from Iraq.
"My opponent (Ensign) has voted with the Bush administration 96 percent of the time," Jack Carter said, referring to statistics from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee report.
"I believe in all three branches of government," Jack Carter said. "My opponent only believes in one, and it's not the one that he's in."
. . .
The Carters' message rang true with some veterans in attendance.
"He (Jack Carter) will make a difference because he has a heart," said Chuck Fulkerson, a World War II Army veteran, "Ensign doesn't have a heart. All he is interested in is promoting the party line."
Ensign could not be reached for comment, spokesman Tory Mazzola said.
I joined them in Reno, and went to the rally at UNR, which was very well-attended even though it was blazing hot (I got pretty sunburned sitting up on the dais). I even got to get a plug in for the Jack Carter MySpace page (
www.myspace.com/jackcarter2006) and the
Facebook profile. After the event, we got more great coverage from the
Reno Gazette-Journal:
While many at the political rally were there to see Carter, supporters also showed up to listen to Jack, Carter's eldest son and the Democrat running against Ensign, R-Nev.
"I'd rather be informed, so we don't make the same mistakes because some day we will be in charge," said Democrat Laura Piette, 18, a freshman who plans to vote for Jack Carter on Nov. 7.
. . .
Then came Jack Carter's turn, who acknowledged the influence his father still has after being voted out of office in 1980.
"I'll admit, I use Dad as bait," said Jack Carter, drawing laughs from the audience.
Under the hot sun, the younger Carter spoke about the differences between Ensign and himself.
"John Ensign voted with the Bush administration 96 percent of the time, therefore, John Ensign is Washington's voice to Nevada," Carter said. "I'm going to be Nevada's voice to Washington."
Messages were left Thursday with Ensign's office.
With 40 days left before the election, Jack Carter asked supporters to knock on doors and encourage friends and others to vote.
"We can't do anything but keep on trying," said Tim Taycher, 18, a member of the UNR Young Democrats. "We need to take the right to vote seriously and part of being an American is to vote."
After the rally, father and son shook the hands of people who had lined up behind a barricade.
There was no press at the Honor Roll Dinner that night, but, as always, bloggers can pick up the slack. This was the yearly fundraising dinner for the Washoe County Democratic Party, and it's intended to be a rousing event to get the Democrats fired up for the campaign. Myrna the Minx at Reno and its Discontents was there and gives
a great report. And Susan Nunes, another Reno blogger, adds her
two cents (including what was on the menu). Susan was at all of the Reno events, including a fundraiser held the night before. She recorded my grandpa's remarks at that fundraiser and gives
extensive excerpts. Here's a taste:
"I think if we can take one or two of the houses of the Congress in this next election in the next seven weeks, I think we can reverse the trend and make sure we have the right kind of Supreme Court justices, the right kind of cabinet officers, to make sure that the adminstration knows they are going to be investigated if they continue to violate American law and the Constitution, those kinds of things will be very important.
There are more events in Las Vegas today, and I'll update you on how those events go. We're really fired up now. I'm in Nevada full-time now, so I'll be giving up updates from the ground.
What we need most now is money. My Dad's opponent, John Ensign will have all the money he needs, and we're always going to be playing catch-up. For the month of September, we were hoping to raise $100,000 in online contributions, and we've still got a ways to go. Please give what you can. If you need more incentive, read my previous diaries where I write about the difference between my Dad and John Ensign on the issues of Torture or the Iraq War. On both of these issues, John Ensign is fully in support of Bush. In fact, he's voted with the Bush administration 96% of the time since he's been elected.
We're going to win this thing. Please give what you can -- we're counting you on!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
You can always find more at the Carter Blog