NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown Campaign Meltdown?

So Suzy Lowdown tried desperately to change the subject from her flailing campaign this week by attacking Harry Reid for saving CityCenter, taking Perini's side in the MGM Mirage v. Perini dispute over CityCenter, and looking like a fool. So what is she saying? That Perini did a great job in screwing up The Harmon? That all those construction worker deaths were no big deal? That it would have been better if CityCenter weren't built and MGM Mirage, Nevada's single largest employer, had gone belly up bankrupt?

Oh yeah, and didn't Ms. Suzy have her own little issue with not paying the construction bills for her fancy dancy Summerlin mansion? What was that line Jesus said about taking the log out of one's own eye before worrying about the speck in someone else's?

Yeah, Suzy Lowdown, destroying Nevada workers' jobs really is your job!

And of course, this was only just one facet of the continuing Suzy Lowdown campaign meltdown. According to the "poll" from "the 'newspaper' that shall not be named", Ms. Suzy holds a measly 30-25 lead over Batsh*t Crazy Sharron Angle in the GOoP primary with Lil' Tark Shark swimming just a little further behind at 22%. Heh. And "the 'newspaper' that shall not be named" was already crowning Lowdown the winner just a month ago?

And what about the other GOoPers nipping at Suzy Lowdown's big, red designer heels? Apparently, they didn't get the memo that Ms. Suzy was already supposed to be "the winner"... And the teabaggers are thumbing their noses at her as they're embracing the new love of their lives, Batsh*t Crazy Sharron Angle.



So is this Ms. Suzy's swan song? Or should I say chicken cluck?





Maybe not yet. She may yet survive the GOoP primary... But no matter who makes it out clucking, a certain someone from Searchlight is still smiling. I guess Jon Ashjian didn't even have to wreck the Nevada GOoP... Suzy Lowdown is already on her way to doing that herself, whether or not she wins the primary. :-)

NV-Sen: It's a Whole New Race Post-Barter-gate

Remember not that long ago when all the pundits were declaring Harry Reid "dead"? Well, would they have expected to be talking about this today?!

Harry Reid 42% (D)
Sue Lowden 35% (R)
Scott Ashjian 3% (T)
Tim Fasano 5% (IAP)
None of these 8%
Undecided 8%

Harry Reid 37% (D)
Danny Tarkanian 37% (R)
Scott Ashjian 2% (T)
Tim Fasano 7% (IAP)
None of these 4%
Undecided 11%

Jon Ralston "flashed" these numbers to his private email subscribers early this week, and now Ralston is making the numbers public. Yes, it's Democratic internal polling, however it's from Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin and Metz, a very reputable firm that regularly is hired to do Presidential polling. That's nothing to lightly dismiss!

All in all, it confirms what we were starting to see with the DKos/Research 2000 poll released late last month: This race has changed dramatically in just a month. Suzy Lowdown's friends at The R-J were ready to crown her as the winner weeks before June and months before November, but her own hot mess of a campaign has proven that it ain't actually over until folks start voting.

So obviously Suzy Lowdown must be finally realizing that she's in trouble, which is why she finally released a new ad:



Steve Sebelius likes it, but I think I'll have to go with Ralston on this one.



I guess I'll have to give her props for her dramatic use of her props, but the message itself is confusing and can potentially backfire. Brian Fadie explains at ProgressNow:

If one of your campaign's big dirty secrets is the fact that you financially supported your opponent multiple times in the past, you might not want to bring that up in your ad to remind everyone about it.

Note the screen on the TV on the left in the ad "Lowden: I supported Harry Reid"



Then you might not want to display just how much you supported him (which was kind of a lot):

Per the same screen: "Lowden gave Harry Reid's campaign a thousand dollars."



And you really probably don't want people to know how many times you did that:



I'm no campaign guru, but if you don't want people to know about something you probably shouldn't be the one to bring it up.

If I wasn't aware of any of these negative things being said about her before seeing this ad, I sure as hell would be curious about them after. And in the wonderful days of the internet it only takes me about 10 seconds to bypass the messaging in your big buck (pun!) ad buy and find out the whole story.

He's right. Does Ms. Suzy really think it helps to pay to air more of Baby Tark's attacks on her? AND remind everyone yet again about "Chickens for Checkups"? I guess she's still not really thinking things through.

And right now, I suspect someone in Searchlight is smiling. Yep, it's all coming together now... ;-)

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown STILL Doesn't Get It!

See what I mean? Seriously, we can just go to UMC? The same UMC in trouble? And does Ms. Suzy's campaign manager really think most of us can afford the kind of care under the current system to actually survive a gunshot wound in the chest? And that anyone in Reno or Elko or Austin can just head on over to UMC in Las Vegas, the ONLY public hospital in Nevada? And that we the taxpayers can afford even more ER subsidies? (Remember that the emergency room is the most expensive form of treatment around.)

Oh, and by the way, Cenk Uygur & The Young Turks talk more about what I've been saying here for some time. If Suzy Lowdown wants to be taken seriously on health care policy, she needs to actually offer some serious health care policy. But it seems since she already has her millions of dollars and first-rate health insurance, she'd rather not worry her poor lil' patrician self with us plebeians and our petty lil' health care concerns.



Suzy Lowdown & her GOoPer buddies just don't get it.



It's too bad Mad TV isn't around any more. If they had this much fun with Whitney...



Think of what they would have done with Suzy Lowdown screwing up her own campaign! Sorry, I just couldn't help myself on that last vid. ;-)

And by the way, Nevada Scandalmonger has even more on the latest Suzy Lowdown campaign meltdown.

NV-Sen: New "Chickens for Checkups" Ad Airing!

Patriot Majority PAC, an anti-teabagger/pro-sanity 527, is pouncing on "Barter-gate":



Why am I not surprised? As I said yesterday, Suzy Lowdown looks to be her own worst enemy and she's the one destroying her campaign. If she really wants to keep talking about it, I'm sure groups like Patriot Majority won't mind "returning the favor" in reminding us why she's too cuckoo for Senate-ville. ;-)

NV-Sen: Harry Reid, Health Care, "Lowdencare", GOP FAIL, and the Election

"Some people told me health reform wasn't politically smart, but I believe it's right for Nevada."

That's how Senator Reid closed the second of his three new health care ads going up this week, but ultimately it looks like health care reform will be both: both politically smart AND right for Nevada, that is. In addition to these new TV ads, he also has a "Nevada Health Facts" web site up with more good facts about health care reform. So far, it isn't looking bad...

And things may be looking even better in the coming weeks, now that Research 2000 is showing Lowden losing her lead over "Barter-gate" and GOoPer infighting set to ramp up some more this week.

Sue Lowden’s chickens-for-checkups gaffe is no longer just fodder for Dems and pointy-headed east coast talk show hosts. Her Republican rival is now officially making it an issue in the Nevada GOP Senate primary.

Danny Tarkanian, who runs a real estate business and is challenging Lowden, launched his first direct chickens-for-checkups attack on Lowden today, pointing to it as proof that she doesn’t have what it takes to take on Harry Reid in a general election.

The occasion for this move: Lowden gave an interview to a local TV station on chickens-for-checkups that has only landed her deeper in the manure. In attempting to explain herself, she looked a bit like a chicken who had begun to cross the road only to realize a truck was bearing down on her.

So for all the talk some weeks back about "Harry Reid is dead", the whole country is now starting to see just how f*cked up the Nevada GOoP is. Jeez, where's Dina Titus when we need her? (Btw, we still love her here, too... And I bet Team Titus is also liking this news!) :-p

Honestly, this is what we need to see more of. We need to keep seeing this contrast. Harry Reid and Democrats have provided real solutions on health care while the Republicans just offer idiotic crap. Same goes with Wall Street Reform. Same goes with economic recovery. Keep making those contrasts, and I'm sure Reid's poll numbers will continue to improve in the coming weeks.

Believe it or not, a good number of us Nevadans aren't stupid. We appreciate good policy, and we appreciate our elected officials who actually serve us and actually deliver good policy. As long as Harry Reid keeps doing this, he need not worry come November. :-)

NV-Sen: Lowdown in Trouble? Yes, b/c She Brought It on Herself

H/T Resident Nevadan Jed at Daily Kos for this...



And this.

No, Sue. You can't blame Harry Reid for your stupid idea. When you propose that uninsured folks should pay for health care with chickens, then you're the one changing the topic. And, I must say, you're doing it in most hilarious fashion.

I just hope Republicans don't see this video. If they do, Lowden is toast in the primary, and at this point, we definitely want her to be the nominee. Fortunately, there's only a month before the primary and she's leading the field.

Hopefully she pulls it out, because she's just an awful candidate. Lowden's Chickens for Checkups disaster has been unfolding for three weeks now, and each time she opens her mouth, she makes things worse. Now that she's finally gone on camera to try to turn things around, she's just gotten herself stuck even deeper in the ditch.

If she can't quell a controversy about using chickens to pay for medical care, how in the world does she think she's going to be able to defeat Harry Reid?

True. For all the folks trying to blame Harry Reid and Democrats for Suzy Lowdown imploding her own campaign, that's just hogwash. Suzy Lowdown did this to herself, and she is the only one to blame for this scandal taking over her campaign. Obviously, no one is putting words in her mouth... Nope, she's keeping this story alive by continuing to talk about it and talk about it and talk some more about it without offering any real health care policy.

The Hill has more on this:

“Before we all started having healthcare, in the olden days, our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor,” Lowden said during a recent TV interview on the Nevada-based program “NewsMakers.” “I’m not backing down from that system.”

The quote has left Washington-based Republican strategists scratching their heads — bartering is not part of the GOP’s playbook for attacking the Democrats’ healthcare bill. And it might have opened the door for her primary rivals to seize the nomination.

“It absolutely creates the opportunity for other candidates to get in this race,” said Ryan Erwin, a Las Vegas-based consultant who is working with Republican Senate candidate John Chachas.

Lowden’s original statement about bartering came almost three weeks ago at a town hall in Mesquite, Nev., that was videotaped by the Reid campaign. Strategists and political observers say Lowden’s campaign should have been able to move past the story more quickly. Instead she has repeatedly expanded on her comments — reiterating her support for bartering in a Las Vegas radio interview on Tuesday. [...]

“If she makes it past the primary, it would probably be a liability in the general election. Harry Reid would have some fun with it,” said Ted Jelen, a political science professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

With polls showing only a small group of undecided voters, Jelen said the result will hinge on turnout. “This might help Harry energize the base,” he said.

So without a doubt, "Barter-gate" may end up being the kind game-changer that Republicans weren't hoping for. And this is all their own making.

Republicans have been crowing for weeks about "repeal and replace", supposedly because the health care reform passed last month is do awful. So what do they want to replace it with? Bartering chickens? Trading house paint jobs?

Suzy Lowdown got herself into this mess because she still offers no serious health care policy. If she wants to keep talking about bartering, it's no one else's fault that the entire country is laughing at her. And if the Republicans keep encouraging their candidates to offer no meaningful, serious, rational policy solutions on anything, it's no one else's fault that they're losing grasp of an election they thought they were "supposed to win".

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown's "Chickens for Checkups" Featured on Colbert Report

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Indecision 2010 Midterm Elections - Sue Lowden
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Ah, Suzy Lowdown just keeps getting more and more (in)famous! Now, the whole country and the whole world can know the pride (more like embarrassment) of the Nevada GOoP!

Oh, and Nevada "News" Bureau has a new poll out that shows Ms. Suzy still leading in the primary... But with Baby Tark and Crazy Angle gaining on her. Apparently, she had a hard time keeping up with "teh crazy" in last weekend's teabagger debate. Oh my, this GOoPer primary is becoming so much fun to watch!

NV-Sen: A Little "Chicken Sue" to Start the Day

Because it's always good to have a little laugh...







And don't forget to sign Progress Now's petition to Suzy Lowdown! Don't let "The Godfeather" scare you away. ;-)

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown & Barter-care... Seriously

Progress Now Nevada has a new "Chicken Sue" action item up, and I really like their explanation of why Suzy Lowdown's "Barter-care" system doesn't work.

Sue Lowden (aka Chicken Sue), Nevada Republican candidate for Senate, thinks that the way to deal with skyrocketing health care costs is to have people barter with their doctors to trade good and services for health care.

While casino owning multi-millionaires (whose home has eight bathrooms and six fireplaces) might be able to pay cash for serious medical care, most people can't. In fact, we're pretty sure that's why the health insurance industry exists in the first place!

Now blog-master Steve Friess, who we're usually in awe of, actually tried to rationalize "Barter-care" yesterday on his blog. And while the arguments on the surface may seem to make sense, further analysis just destroys any argument that bartering makes any sort of sense.

- What if one has little or nothing to barter with? There's a reason why we've had 47 million uninsured Americans: The vast majority of them can't afford health insurance. So what makes us think they can afford to barter? Bartering means one has valuable goods to exchange for other valuable goods.

- What if one is already too sick and/or disabled to offer services? I know the next line of argument is: "Well, they can offer to paint a house or mow the lawn!" But come on, what if we're dealing with a cancer patient or someone with a broken back or an Alzheimer's patient? Should we expect them to try to mow the lawn or paint the house?

- What if the doctor just won't take a chicken or an offer to paint the house? These days most doctors work as part of management teams, and these management teams are far less likely to be able to offer special deals for their patients than those in private practice. Since all the doctors in the management team signed contracts spelling out acceptable rates and discounts, they can't just break the contract and put the business in jeopardy to barter. And by the way, this is also why paying cash most often doesn't work in reducing costs, either.

While many doctors may be compassionate people willing to help those in need, the staff still need to be paid and the medical suppliers expect to be paid. This is why neither bartering nor "pay-for-cash discounts" work as an entirely new health care system. And if you don't believe me, read what Steve Sebelius has to say this week.

Now of course The R-J is ignoring this story because it doesn't help their "anointed one", but all the rest of us reality-based folks have been (rightly) mocking Suzy Lowdown's "Barter-care" as ridiculous. But if the GOoPers really want us to take "Barter-care" seriously, then... Well, they still look ridiculous. Only this time, it isn't even funny. Unless one is super-rich and/or perfectly physically fit AND has a doctor in a private practice that doesn't have to deal with HMOs, "Barter-care" just doesn't work.

Now contrast this with the health care reform package that Harry Reid helped pass and President Obama signed into law last month. Take a look at the many benefits coming here to Nevada starting this year. I mean, just look at what we're getting.

What Health Care Reform Means for Nevadans:

No discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.
Ban on insurance plans dropping you if you get sick.
Ban on lifetime coverage limits and caps out-of-pocket expenses.

What Health Care Reform Means for Seniors:

Closing the Medicare Part D donut hole – an immediate $250 rebate; 50% discount on brand names next year; and fully closed by 2020.
Free preventive care under Medicare – no co-payments and deductibles.
Help for early retirees – temporary coverage for ages 55-64.

What Health Care Reform Means for Women:

Ban on gender rating that results in higher premiums for women.
No discrimination for pre-existing conditions such as having had a C-section or being the victim of domestic violence.

What Health Care Reform Means for Small Businesses:

$40 billion in tax credits for small businesses to help them offer employee coverage.
The same access to quality, affordable coverage that large firms have today.

Now yes, we know the final package isn't perfect. We've talked about this extensively here. However, it goes a long way to set up the framework for a workable universal health care system and it's far superior to anything Suzy Lowdown and her GOoPer buddies are proposing. This is something we need to remember as discussion continues on "Barter-gate" and the coming GOoPer attempts to make it sound rational. It isn't rational, it doesn't work, and we're far better off leaving in place the historic health care reform legislation passed last month and instead building upon it to improve it.

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown's Game of Chicken

Remember when I was telling you not to freak out too much over the national media declaring Harry Reid "dead"? Well, this is why. All of a sudden, they're now realizing something we've been discussing for some time here in Nevada: Suzy Lowdown is NOT ready for prime time.

Here's Newsweek's account of what's happened in the last two weeks, including this lovely video mashup.

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown Goes Viral With "Chickens for Checkups" "Barter-gate"!

So The Sun is now noticing us talking about Suzy Lowdown's most ridiculously insane idea to date... And it hit MSNBC...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Even The Economist noticed, and actually did some financial analysis on how our whole financial system would change (for the worse) if Suzy Lowdown's "Barter-care" plan were enacted!



Yep, it's all about chickens for checkups!



Suzy Lowdown: She Supports a Chicken in Every Doctor's Can!

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown "Chickens for Checkups" "Barter-gate", THE REMIX!

From our friends at Progress Now Nevada:



So maybe if this lil' election doesn't work out for Suzy Lowdown, she and a chicken can spin out some awesome new tunes at the disco?

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown TRIPLES DOWN on "Barter-gate"

What? You really thought Suzy Lowdown would show some sanity soon and give up on her great new health care plan of "Chickens for Checkups"? Oh, no! She is still telling Nevadans to go f*ck themselves and try trading in goats for health care.

In yet another twist to chickens-for-checkups-gate, Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sue Lowden has now tripled down on her call for Americans to barter for health care, claiming that the idea has support from doctors, too.

Asked to clarify Lowden’s stand, her spokesperson, Chrystal Feldman, sends over this:

“Americans are struggling to pay for their health care, and in order to afford coverage we must explore all options available to drive costs down. Bartering with your doctor is not a new concept. There have been numerous reports as to how negotiating with your doctor is an option and doctors have gone on the record verifying this.

“Unfortunately, Harry Reid’s failed leadership forces us to take drastic measures. The fact remains that instead of producing a health care solution Americans support, Harry Reid spends his time focusing on attacking his biggest threat to another six years in Washington, Sue Lowden.”

HUH??!! Ummm... Last I checked, Harry Reid produced a health care solution that will start providing more affordable and more accessible health care, and a solution that doesn't require us clearing out our back yards to raise farm animals to pay for it!

Even Chuckie Muth isn't trying to defend Suzy Lowdown on this!

Still, the Lowden campaign has been molasses-slow in recognizing how bad this “macaca”-like moment really was when it first became public, and excruciating horrible at defusing it. Indeed, Ben Smith’s blog post this morning in Politico blares this headline: “Bring a Chicken!”

Add to the problem all the ridicule being heaped on the candidate by people commenting on the blog posts and columns which are commenting on the issue. Here’s just one example found this morning on [Politico reporter Ben] Smith’s post: “In April, we have take-your-kids-to-work-day. But in Republican senate candidate Sue Lowden world, it’s take-your-chicken-to-the-doctor-day.”

Ba-da-boom. [...]

Make no mistake; this incident probably won’t kill Lowden’s primary chances. She’s still way ahead in the polls and the election is just seven weeks away.

But Harry Reid ain’t Danny Tarkanian or Sharron Angle. And this out-of-control mess is a warning sign that Team Lowden’s quick-response messaging machine might not quite be ready for prime time. If they don’t get their act together soon, by the time Harry Reid really aims the vaporizer at her after the primary, should she hold on and win, there might not be anything there to vaporize.

Well, what can I say about that? Muth and other GOoPers wanted to anoint Suzy Lowdown as their candidate, so she is now their hot mess.

And now, we can all write to Ms. Suzy, thank her for her lovely idea of bartering, and ask her where we can find these doctors who will take our chickens for checkups. Maybe this was part of her favored health insurance plan at Santa Fe? After all, her company did break the law in forcing workers to sign away their health insurance benefits!

“When Sue Lowden headed the Santa Fe hotel-casino, management forced a group of workers to shift to part-time status and sign away their health care coverage, said a judge who ruled the company violated fair labor practices. He ordered the Santa Fe to pay two dozen employees almost $188,000 in back wages and benefits and to reinstate three workers who lost their jobs, records show … The complex legal battles between the union and Santa Fe management came after workers from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, 1993, voted 300-241 for unionization in a labor board-supervised election, according to published reports. The Lowdens refused to recognize the results and dealt directly with workers in reducing hours and benefits instead of bargaining with union representatives … After the judge’s ruling, the Santa Fe was ordered to post a three-page notice to employees in the hotel-casino, admitting to the labor violations and promising not to repeat them.”

So I guess this is what it's all really about? Suzy Lowdown is simply out of touch with reality. She never had to worry about her own health care, and she certainly never bothered to even abide by the law in providing health care for her own workers. So should we be surprised that she still doesn't understand the health care problems all the rest of us in Nevada have been facing and why we needed real solutions instead of "Chickens for Checkups"?