Kim Wallin's Speech @ #CCDP2012

In so many other parts of the country, 2010 was a bloodbath for Democrats. Yet here in Nevada, it wasn't so bad. In fact, all four incumbent Democratic statewide officers won reelection. State Controller Kim Wallin was one of them. And she really put things into perspective in her speech to Clark County Democrats on Saturday.

2010 was a critical election for Nevada's future... And so far, 2012 is looking to be at least just as critical (if not even more so). Wallin made sure the crowd got that.



While the general election isn't officially underway yet here in Nevada, it's at least happening at the top of the ticket across the country. We got some more reminders of that today. And while Nevada now looks good for President Obama, Republicans won't be going down without a fight. And of course, there will be plenty of action all the way up and down the ticket here.

If you think 2010 was wild, get ready for the real battle royale this year.

Shelley Berkley's Speech @ #CCDP2012

This was the big event of the afternoon session of the Clark County Democratic Party Convention. After visiting the Washoe Democrats' Convention Saturday morning, Shelley Berkley flew back to Las Vegas to chat with her "hometown crowd". And interestingly enough, Shelley had a special message for the friends, neighbors, and activists who know her best.



Oh, and Shelley Berkley also wanted to draw a stark contrast from her opponent, appointed Senator Dean Heller. Remember what he's been up to lately? Oh yes, there was a clear contrast to see on Saturday.



It was interesting to see Shelley Berkley take a strong progressive populist turn in her speech. She hit on saving Medicare & Social Security (instead of destroying them, as Dean Heller seems to want to do), creating more green jobs by investing in renewable energy, standing up for veterans, and putting working class families over Wall Street's wishes & "tea party" extremism. As you can see above, she covered a whole lot of ground on Saturday (and in more ways than one!). Get ready for a(nother) real barnburner of a Senate race coming our way.

Dina Titus' Speech @ #CCDP2012

Late in 2010, folks were wondering where Dina Titus could go after her razor thin loss to Joe Heck. Early in February 2012, we all realized where she's headed: Back to Congress. It's been an epic journey for Dina Titus, but it's still not quite over yet.

Even though it's likely Dina Titus will be back in Congress representing NV-01 by this time next year, she doesn't want to stop there. Dina doesn't want to go to Washington alone, and she made that known on the convention floor yesterday.



She's really shaping up to be a valuable team player. She's been tapped (along with Steven Horsford) by national Democrats to serve as a "Majority Maker" and help Democratic Congressional candidates running in swing districts. And judging from yesterday's speech, she's already getting busy there. She may no longer be in NV-03, but apparently she won't entirely be giving up that fight.

Catherine Cortez Masto's Speech @ #CCDP2012

Another of the big headliners at yesterday's Clark County Democratic Party Convention was Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. Her office has been in the news lately as the $26 billion 49-state-plus-DC foreclosure settlement has been approved by the courts and is about to provide badly needed aid for distressed homeowners along with foreclosure victims who wrongly lost their homes. So it wasn't really a surprise to see Nevada's Attorney General explain to the crowd why she was willing to take on the big banks... Then why she was willing to settle.



And it seemed so fitting that Beau Biden followed her speech.

John Oceguera's Speech @ #CCDP2012

Outgoing Nevada Assembly Speaker and likely NV-03 Democratic nominee John Oceguera (D-Paradise) delivered the first headline speech at the Clark County Democratic Party Convention yesterday. He reminded the audience of what he's up against and why his race won't just be one of the hottest races in the state, but also a race that may determine the country's future.



In many aspects, NV-03 is "The Quintessential Swing District". President Obama won the new configuration of NV-03 by a 54-45 margin, which is slightly better than Obama's overall national 53-46 win in 2008. Harry Reid narrowly won the new district 49-47 in 2010, though challenger Steve Martin (R) narrowly edged Treasurer Kate Marshall (D) 47-46 in the same election. And of course, in the previous election in the old NV-03, Joe Heck won by fewer than 1,800 votes and by less than 1%.

This is "The Quintessential Swing District" that can turn on key issues, and I suspect that's why Oceguera hit some key issues in his speech yesterday. After all, Joe Heck now has a record he has to run on. He touched on the "War on Women", "Ryan-care" vs. Medicare, health care reform, and green jobs, as all of them are likely to play big roles in this year's campaign.

Oceguera gave a good speech yesterday. We'll have to see how he goes toe-to-toe with Heck once the general election officially begins.

Another #CCDP2012 Update

So far, here's what's been happening:







Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto (D), Treasurer Kate Marshall (D), and Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Las Vegas) (who's also, of course, now running for US Senate) spoke to the convention floor.





So have State Senator Ruben Kihuen (D-Las Vegas) and likely NV-04 Democratic nominee Steven Horsford.

Both Berkley and Horsford spoke powerfully about protecting Social Security and Medicare, and about rejecting "tea party" extremism. And while the crowd has thinned a little since lunch break, the room here in The Riviera's Convention Center still looks pretty full... And the room is still getting riled up by powerful speeches.

Oh, and by the way, President Obama will be getting all of Clark County's delegates to the state Democratic Convention this June. Surprised, anyone?

Again, I'll have videos from the speeches available later this weekend. Stay tuned for more.

What's up @ #CCDP2012 Today

I'm at the Clark County Democratic Party Convention today. And here's what the crowd looks like in The Riviera on the Las Vegas Strip.



And here's who we've seen here so far today.







Oh yes, it's that exciting!







NV-01 candidate Dina Titus and NV-03 candidate John Oceguera have just made their keynote speeches, as well as Nevada State Controller Kim Wallin (D). Oh yes, and have you noticed all the people here?





We have plenty of Legislature candidates (all Democrats, of course), as well as local candidates. And please keep looking at #CCDP2012 on Twitter to see what's happening. Contrary to what a couple naysayers said early this morning, I'm not seeing any "death" or "emptiness" here. It's quite exciting, so I should probably get back to it. Keep following me @atdleft on Twitter, and I'll be back here at the blog later to share some exciting video from today.