Who's Going to DFA Campaign Academy This Weekend?

I'll be back! No really, I will be returning home this Saturday for DFA Campaign Academy. Why?

Well, I want to hear more about how progressives can win next year. I want to know more about the inner workings of campaigns. I want to learn more about how candidates can run for office.

Let's face it. We've seen more than enough disappointments on the national and state levels in the last eight months to realize that something has to change. Teabaggers are running amok in Congress, and they nearly forced Nevada into total calamity (and succeeded in forcing us to kick the can down the road yet again on fixing what's ailing our state). We can't just sit back, mope around, and wail in despair. We need to learn to not just fight back, but to actually win that fight.

At DFA Campaign Academy, there will be trainers there to show you the ropes on everything from precinct data to fundraising to media and much more. Oh, and all the cool kids will be there, too!

And after a day of plentiful learning opportunities, you can hang out with fellow "DFA alumni" at The Gin Mill (which just happens to be up the block from my house!) afterward!

So what are you waiting for? If you haven't signed up already, do so now before admission is raised $10. Trust me. What you learn this weekend is worth far more than the cost of admission. You will learn how to move America (and Nevada) forward.

NV-Sen, NV-02: Shelley Is In... And So Is Kirk Lippold?

Let the game of political musical chairs continue!

I am hearing ex-USS Cole Commander Kirk Lippold is going to announce today he is running as GOPer for Heller's seat. @SharronAngle also in.

After flirting with a Senate run in 2010, Kirk Lippold now seems serious about running in The 2nd District... Against a growing GOP field that includes Brian Krolicki, Mark Amodei, and (of course!) Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron!

This certainly makes the GOP primary there even more uncertain! You can look at this one of three ways:

1. Lippold splits the teabagger vote with Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron Angle, helping Brian Krolicki win in a crowded field.

2. Lippold splits the anti-Angle vote with Krolicki, Mark Amodei, and others, helping Sharrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron win in a crowded field.

3. GOP voters desperate for "a change from the career politicians" are revolted enough by all the other choices to give Lippold a surprise win.

I guess it all really depends now on how hard Chuck Muth pushes for him.

In the mean time, we have an even bigger announcement released that's long been in the works.

Rep. Shelley Berkley will run for US Senate, source close to her confirms.

Is anyone really surprised here? Yeah, I thought not.

Rep. Shelley Berkley has decided she will run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. John Ensign, Sun columnist Jon Ralston reported this morning.

Ralston said a close source to the Democrat confirmed she will enter the race. The source said Berkley had been agonizing about the decision, but the opportunity was too appealing to pass up.

She could face Republican Dean Heller, who officially jumped into the race last month for the seat being vacated by the retiring Ensign.

“Dean Heller will be a very formidable candidate no matter what he runs for,” Berkley told Ralston last month amid speculation she might enter the race. “But as I said before, my opponent will not be a deciding factor. I am seriously looking at the Senate seat.”

So she needs to update her web site, plan more rural trips, and keep reminding naysayers of those poll numbers proving them wrong. I honestly had my doubts at first, but I can now see Shelley Berkley defeating Dean Heller next year. Obama's on track to win Nevada easily again, Heller isn't known for his campaigning skills, yet Shelley most certainly is. There clearly is a path for her.

And without a doubt, 2012 looks to be another wild ride for Nevada voters!

Roots 2 Roots: What Went Right, What Went Wrong, & How to Move Forward

OK, so I've had more time to process what happened. And I had a chance to talk with my old Cali friends at Netroots California last Saturday. And I came out surprisingly hopeful about our future.







While we did have some rough losses in Nevada, overall the picture here was much brighter than the rest of the country. Come on, all the incumbent statewide elected Democrats are reelected while Harry Reid won by over 5.6%! Reid outperformed almost all the public polls. What happened? How come "The Great Red Tide" that destroyed many Dems in many states east of The Rockies was barely a ripple here?

Basically, it comes down to what Harry Reid and Nevada Democrats did right. They invested in getting out the vote. They made our progressive message clear and concise AND accessible to regular voters. And they reached out to minority communities and actually IMPROVED Latin@ turnout over 2006 AND 2008!

It really comes down to this. Even in "wave elections", "the wave" doesn't have to be a monstrous tsunami. Good campaigns still matter. Good field still matters. And good messaging still matters. Harry Reid made all this happen and more.





Ralston explained this on Sunday.

The Reid organization’s Terminator-like single-mindedness, relentlessness and discipline turned preparation into the most satisfying victory of Reid’s career, a resurrection unthinkable most of the year by the Beltway cognoscenti. Combined with an Angle campaign that was thoroughly unprepared for the post-primary onslaught — think of a Little League batter facing Roy Halladay — that by the time the GOP nominee brought in some D.C. pros, the damage was insurmountable.

Interestingly, a similar dynamic appeared in California last Tuesday. More Latin@ voters turned out than ever before. And while Jerry Brown's campaign (for CA Governor) didn't exactly "strike while the iron was hot" on delivering his message or attacking Meg Whitman's record, California unions did. And they delivered, big time!

And Barbara Boxer followed a very similar strategy to Reid's in defining Carly Fiorina early as quite the unacceptable choice, delivering a progressive message in a practical way to attract voters (Hint: Make it real. Make it tangible. Make it about one's pocketbook/wallet/purse.), and turning out Dem voters like crazy.

Again, it comes down to whether Democrats can field good candidates, deliver a good message, and turn out as many allied voters as possible. It worked in California and Nevada... But because the national Democratic groups failed in these categories and many other state parties were in turmoil, that's why the results were so bad elsewhere.

Why didn't other Senate candidates try to turn health care reform and good climate policy into winning arguments? Why didn't other state parties invest more in good GOTV infrastructure? Why didn't the DCCC and DSCC take a closer look at the winning arguments being made by Reid and Boxer?

That's the challenge moving forward. President Obama needs to rethink his messaging. Democrats need to work harder on showing how good progressive policy means more and better jobs. And Democrats nationally need to look at places like Nevada and California to learn how to rebuild good, strong GOTV infrastructure. And if Obama can turn his numbers around and offer a strong and appealing progressive message that reveals the crap the GOP is truly offering and explains how to truly get our nation back on track, he can win handily again and Democrats can soon retake the House and keep the Senate.

It really comes down to that. Oh, and I had a great time in SF... ;-)

But I'm hoping we have an even better time back in Vegas this weekend!

NV-Sen: And the Wheels of the Bus Come off Suzy Lowdown's Campaign...

Oh, jeez. Here we go again. Suzy Lowdown has found herself another law to conveniently violate.

A campaign contributor is "leasing" Lowden the luxury RV she is using as her campaign bus, according to the Lowden campaign. But her name is on the title with the supporter, Carl Guiduci, which would indicate they co-own the bus.

Campaign finance rules allow in-kind contributions of $2,400 -- the same as the cash limit. The contribution of a luxury bus, which commonly costs more than $100,000, would be a violation of the law. [...]

The tan 2001 Monaco, which comes complete with kitchen, shower and bed, was bought by Giuduci in May 2009 from a Montana dealer, according to a public database of vehicle registrations. [...]

Charles Spies, an attorney for the campaign, wrote in an e-mail last week: "The RV is titled in its owner's name (not Sue Lowden or Lowden for Senate)."

In response to a records request, however, the DMV confirmed that Lowden is a title-holder with Giudici, indicating co-ownership status.

Later, the Lowden attorney sent a followup e-mail: "Although (Lowden) is not the owner of the vehicle (but instead is using it through a private lease agreement), (Lowden) and the owner are on the registration for insurance purposes."

By law, between the start of the campaign last year and next month's primary, Lowden can only accept $2,400 in free use of the vehicle from Giuduci, who gave a $2,200 in-kind vehicle donation last year; he gave another $200, meaning he is at his limit. Elsie Giuduci has given at least $2,360 in in-kind vehicle donations since last year, meaning she is also near if not at her limit. [...]

Melanie Sloan, a former prosecutor and now executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, took a dim view of the transaction. She said a bus donation would be a clear campaign finance violation. "He gave it to her. She owns it. She on the title, and it's in her custody and control. It's an excessive campaign contribution," she said.

Ah, the sound of Suzy Lowdown becoming increasingly desperate! She was so desperate to bash the health care reform legislation that Harry Reid made sure to pass that she tried to promote bartering as a "serious solution". She was then so desperate to make us forget "Barter-gate" ever happened that she tried to recycle Floyd Brown's discredited attacks on Harry Reid, MGM Mirage, and CityCenter... And she only made herself look like a fool again! And now, she gets caught for violating campaign finance law and taking a $100,000 luxury liner RV as an "in kind contribution".

Has Suzy Lowdown completely lost her mind? Is she even paying attention to her own campaign? Does she even know how to campaign?

Suzy Lowdown won't even win the Senate race, and she may not even survive the primary with this news breaking, but nonetheless her campaign will most certainly win the "EPIC FAIL Campaign of the Year" award! Take that as consolation, Ms. Suzy.

Corporate $tate$ of America? SCOTUS Opens the Door

Thanks, Supremes! Just when we need the big multinationals to finally take control of everything...

The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns.

The court on Thursday overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said corporations can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to pay for campaign ads. The decision almost certainly will also allow labor unions to participate more freely in campaigns and threatens similar limits imposed by 24 states.

The justices also struck down part of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill that barred union- and corporate-paid issue ads in the closing days of election campaigns.

We're fucked. From Justice Stevens' dissent (full decision PDF here):

In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant.Although they make enormous contributions to our society,
corporations are not actually members of it. They cannot vote or run for office. Because they may be managed and controlled by nonresidents, their interests mayconflict in fundamental respects with the interests ofeligible voters. The financial resources, legal structure,and instrumental orientation of corporations raise legitimate concerns about their role in the electoral process. Our lawmakers have a compelling constitutional basis, if not also a democratic duty, to take measures designed to guard against the potentially deleterious effects of corporate spending in local and national races.

Wonderful. So the big corporate interests can stop pretending and just buy politicians outright? I guess this just means all the rest of the country will soon be looking like Nevada?

Yep, we're fucked. After all, who would want sensible clean money reforms when we can become a corporate aristocracy!

Obama Coming to Save Reid? Looks Like It.

Well, so much for all the initial GOoPer celebrations over the death of Harry Reid's political career. It not only looks like President Obama has forgiven him over the much-ado-about-nothing "scandal", but he will be coming here next month to campaign for him!

The White House is about to make another big gesture demonstrating its support for Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader under fire for remarks he made about President Obama’s race.

In February, Mr. Obama will head to Nevada to appear with Mr. Reid, who is facing a tough reelection battle there, aides said today.

The decision by the president to fly to Nevada for the majority leader comes as the Reid operation has made an all-out effort to rally Democrats and African-Americans around Mr. Reid, and to head off a crisis that has grown amid crucial health care negotiations and his own campaign. Several Republican officials – including the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele – called on Mr. Reid to resign.

Mr. Reid made clear he would not.

Whoops! I guess this story isn't over yet.

Well, hopefully at least the "nothingness scandal" story is...