I want to thank so many people from across this state for the outpouring of support they have shown me and my family since Kenny’s passing. While it has been very difficult to adjust to a new life without him, my family and our many friendships have been a constant source of strength for me.
As many people know, with the loss of someone so close comes an almost daily reminder of things you wish you had said, but didn’t, or things you wish you had done, but for one reason or another never took the time to do. These new perspectives give you great resolve to stand up for things you may have once ignored or speak out on issues on which you may have remained silent in the past.
I love this state, and my husband loved this state. We dedicated our lives to public service in one way or another through our support of education, many charitable and community causes, and eventually in his holding public office. All of these efforts were our way of trying to make Nevada a better place to live and raise a family.
Kenny believed very strongly in education. He believed it was the single most important element to a successful life, vibrant state and strong economy. With better education came better jobs, and the ability for people of all economic circumstances, race, or handicap to take control of their lives and their future.
Given the challenges Nevada now faces in education and unemployment, our collective efforts in these areas and the choices we make on who will lead our state through these difficult times are more important than ever.
That is why I am supporting Senator Harry Reid for reelection.
Senator Reid’s unwavering support for vital education programs such as the Millennium Scholarship, together with his tireless efforts to create new jobs and protect Nevada businesses from the unprecedented challenges we have faced during these trying economic times earned my respect, and my vote.
Dema just threw down the gauntlet. And let's face it, she's right.
Education is the key to our future success. Better schools lead to the kind of well-educated workforce that Nevada needs to recruit more employers. We've had to learn the hard way that casinos and construction couldn't keep us on "Easy Street" forever. Better schools mean better jobs. Better schools mean a better economy.
And Harry Reid has fought hard for Nevada's schools and Nevada's kids!
But guess who hasn't? Remember who said that "the problem is only in Harry Reid's mind"?
And yet another Republican, another Nevada First Lady, has already been reminding us of Sharron Angle's destructive anti-education, anti-jobs agenda.
And here's Sharron Angle BOASTING about fighting Kenny Guinn on the famous 2003 budget. Guinn wanted to keep Nevada's schools open. Angle wanted to prove her wingnut "purity".
And that's why Bill Raggio, the State Senate REPUBLICAN leader, is also endorsing Reid.
“What is difficult to overlook is her record of being totally ineffective as a four-term assemblywomen, her inability or unwillingness to work with others, even within her own party, and her extreme positions on issues such as Medicare, social security, education, veterans affairs and many others.
“Some supporters tell me we need to support her because we need her vote in the U.S. Senate as a Republican and she ‘can't do much harm as a junior back bencher’! Since when should this be the criteria on how we select and vote for a U.S. Senator to represent our State?, I ask.
“I am a lifelong Republican and unlike Ms. Angle, I have never changed parties. I have always supported Jeffersonian principles of free enterprise, low taxes, limited government and fiscal responsibility. These were the same principles endorsed by every one of our Republican presidents, since the days of Lincoln, and including President Reagan, whom I knew personally, and who laid down the Republican 11th Commandment: Don't speak ill of other Republicans. In other words, quit calling dedicated people like former Governor Guinn and many other good Republicans RINO’s and other derogatory terms.
“Other than my inability to accept her extreme and often even radical ideas and positions, if there was any concern about my natural preference to endorse a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, it was removed altogether when Angle, in a secretly taped conversation, expressed her true feelings by slamming and disavowing the Republican Party saying it had ‘lost its standards and principles.’
“For all these reasons, I am unable to support Sharron Angle. We need someone in the U.S. Senate who can be effective, work with others, and best represent the interests of our State.
And this is something that Harry Reid is always striving for. That's why so many Republicans throughout Nevada have been endorsing Reid.
They know he's been working to bring more jobs here to Nevada. They know he's fought hard for Nevada schools. They know he's fought hard for Nevada's open spaces. They know he's the right fit for Nevada... And Sharron Angle is simply the wrong angle.
Is Reid perfect? Nope. Raggio thinks he's "too liberal" and too supportive of "Obama's socialist agenda". I think he's too conservative and should push President Obama and the Senate ConservaDems closer to what Democrats want and what Americans want. But you know what? It's not about either of us. It's about what's best for Nevada, and what's best for America. We need someone who will keep working for working Nevadans. We don't need another extremist ideologue who cares more about her personal agenda and her California lobbyist patrons than what's best for our state.
