NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown Gets "Truthy" on "Government Bailouts"

Another day, another Suzy Lowdown scandal in the making... Put this one in the "I'm not for socialism, except when it makes me more money" files.

Remember when Ms. Suzy proclaimed her outright hatred of the TARP bailouts last October, even going as far as to claim that she "never received any bailout or stimulus money"? And how she immediately back-tracked and flip-flopped in January?

Lowden had different reactions to the bank bail-out legislation and the stimulus package.

On bail-out spending: “It's easy to say, no, I wouldn't have voted for it. But people were panicked, we were facing collapse — that's what they were saying. It's easy to say from a distance I would have voted no, but I can't do that.”

On the stimulus, she said she would have been a definite no: “All you're doing is taking money from one person and putting it in the pocket of another person. They should have put money into people's pockets.”

Oh yes, that's right. We all know how Suzy Lowdown loves to put other people's money in her own pocket, no matter how illegal or unethical it is. And when remembering this, we discover why Suzy Lowdown keeps flip-flopping on TARP.

Colonial BancGroup claimed to have received $550 billion in TARP "bailout" funds in December 2008. OK, so why is this important? Suzy Lowdown's Archon Corporation received a $29 million credit line with Colonial in May 2008. This would have been impossible for Colonial to maintain if they were not asking for TARP funds.

But wait, Suzy Lowdown asked for Archon's line of credit in May 2008. There's no way she would have known it would later ask for a government bailout... Right? WRONG! She served on Colonial's board, so she very well knew about it. (Even though it was later revealed that Colonial did not qualify for TARP funds... So where was Ms. Suzy then and why did she allow the company whose board of directors she sat on to outright lie about receiving TARP funds??!!)

And hold on, it gets even worse. Colonial actually did end up receiving a government bailout, but only in the form of the FDIC stepping in when the bank failed, absorbing its losses, and selling its assets to BB&T. Now BB&T had already received $3.1 billion in TARP funds, and right after BB&T absorbed all of Colonial's client's accounts, none other than Suzy Lowdown reappears and gets Archon approved for another $29 million line of credit... Just 2 months before Ms. Suzy would jet over to Elko and claim that she "never received any bailout or stimulus money"!

And now? Oh now, Ms. Suzy's media people are claiming, “Sue would not have voted for the TARP or any of the other bailout bills in Congress ... period.” Oh no, Suzy Lowdown doesn't roll like that... She just claims not to support "government bailouts" while her own company benefits from those very "government bailouts"! I guess Jon Ralston didn't (yet) even know half of this story.

And by the way, my dear blog followers, it would have been super easy to just cut and paste the Reid campaign's latest dossier on Suzy Lowdown's bailout hypocrisy here... But because I love you more than that, I did my own research before posting any of this here. After all, this isn't some Republican propaganda outfit. We appreciate the real facts here, and I'll keep doing my best to provide the facts and "call 'em as I see 'em". :-)

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown, Putting Her Business Interests Above Nevada's (Even When Serving in the People's House!)

Apparently, Suzy Lowdown's record at Archon continues to give her headaches. And this time, it's becoming clear she hasn't just run into troubles with the law. She also took advantage of being a lawmaker to give Archon the "competitive advantage".

Yesterday's Reno G-J examined Suzy's record at Archon, and her record in the State Senate from 1993 to 1996, and found some interesting tidbits. Let's start with something she's been saying lately about supposedly "single-handedly defending Nevada against the unions". Not only does she reveal her contempt for working Nevadans, but apparently she's been lying about what she actually did in the Legislature.

To hear former state Sen. Sue Lowden tell it, she was the lone vote that stood in the way of the state's powerful labor unions' attempt to overturn Nevada's voter-approved right-to-work status in a tense legislative battle in 1995.

The bill, as Lowden recounts, would have started the reversal process of the law that prohibits union membership from being a condition of employment.

"I was a state senator in this very difficult time of right to work," Lowden said in an interview. "You know, was it going one way or another? And it went right through the Assembly. It passed that the state would not be a right-to-work state. And I stopped it in the Senate."

The only problem?

There never was such a bill, and there never was such a vote, which Lowden acknowledged later when pressed for specifics.

OK, so it looks like she really didn't do anything on "right to work" laws. So what did Suzy Lowdown do in the Legislature? Apparently, she was too busy enriching herself. She was instrumental in passing SB 268 in 1993, which amended Nevada gaming laws to allow limited liability companies (LLCs) to obtain gaming licenses.

So guess who quickly took advantage of SB 268 when it became law? Hint: Santa Fe Mining Company, LLC, was established... To run the Santa Fe casino. Yes, Suzy Lowdown (ab)used her position in the Nevada State Senate to rewrite the laws in her company's favor!

And wait, it gets worse. When Santa Fe employee Robert Miller went to Carson City to testify before the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee about the unsafe working conditions there, not only did Ms. Suzy not recuse herself from the committee hearings due to the obvious conflict of interest (he was there to tesify about the frightening work conditions at her casino!), but she actually called the meeting to order and remained on the committee as Vice-Chair the whole time! And worse yet, just three days after he told that Senate Committee about just how dangerous a workplace the Santa Fe was, Suzy Lowdown fired Robert Miller for telling the truth.

Oh, but wait... It gets even worse. Suzy Lowdown suggested in that same Commerce & Labor Committee on March 10 that disabled workers' compensation should be reduced. Yep, once again she was using her position in the Legislature to try to reduce or eliminate business expenses for her casino! (And by the way, she did it again in 1995.)

Oh yes, Suzy Lowdown has a long history of (ab)using state office to benefit her business interests. She voted to increase slot fees in 1993 for non-casino venues, effectively handicapping neighborhood competition to Santa Fe (and violating "The Great Grover Norquist-Jim Gibbons No New Taxes Rule!"). She also voted in 1993 to allow casinos to advertise room rates on billboards, giving Santa Fe new marketing opportunities. And really, I'm just scratching the surface. There's even more dirt in those committee minutes, and I only have so much time today to review them.

Now while some of these votes may seem benign on the surface, the motivation should scare all of us. Suzy Lowdown obviously never sees the conflict of interest in voting for and even co-sponsoring (!!) legislation that directly benefits her company. Her record in Carson City even shows that when it comes to the well-being of Nevada's workers, she'll put her personal business interests over the safety of our workers every time!

Let's also remember that during her time in the Nevada Legislature, Ms. Suzy couldn't even be bothered to abide by the very laws she swore to uphold! The Santa Fe was fined by OSHA in 1993 for failing to maintain a clean workplace. The Sahara was fined by OSHA in 1994 for failing to provide medical follow-up to exposure to dangerous bloodborne pathogens. The Hacienda was fined by OSHA in 1995 for failing to maintain its floors and keep the floors free of nails, splinters, holes, and loose boards. And remember, all of these casinos were owned by Suzy Lowdown's Archon while she was serving in the State Senate debating state level workers' rights legislation!

Archon obviously has quite the troubled history here in Nevada. And obviously, Suzy Lowdown can't even think for one moment about the public's best interest without first protecting her corporate profits. Is this someone we really want in the US Senate representing us?

NV-Sen: It's Official. He's In. And Guess Who Has Reid's Back?

Harry Reid's in.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid officially filed today to keep his Senate seat.

“While we have made significant progress through the Recovery Act and other measures to prevent this recession from becoming a depression, there is much work to be done. We must never forget our fellow Nevadans who are suffering during this economic downturn," Reid said. "That is why I filed for re-election today."

Reid is being challenged by Republican front-runners Danny Tarkanian, a lawyer and former UNLV basketball star, and Sue Lowden, a former state senator and one-time chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party.

Reid said his goals during another term in office would be diversifying the state's economy and making health care more affordable.

“I will spend the next seven months sharing that vision with the people of Nevada," he said. "I hope they will support my re-election so that I can continue fighting to get Nevada moving again."

Now as usual, we're hearing all the typical premature obituaries. Yeah, yeah, yeah, "Reid is dead". Uh huh. That's why the unions are getting ready for a BIG campaign to help Harry Reid and reveal the real Suzy Lowdown.

"The Lowdens campaigned viciously against the unions," said D. Taylor, secretary-treasurer of Culinary Local 226, who was involved in the effort to unionize the Santa Fe that started in 1993 and ultimately failed. "There were lots of twists and turns on this, and health care was one of the issues." [...]

"We have already said a while back that we're going to work hard to make sure that Harry Reid is successful in the election," Taylor said, speaking for one of the Senate majority leader's core support groups in his uphill campaign to win a fifth term.

The AFL-CIO also is gearing up to help Reid and hit Lowden. Nationally, the labor group has identified Nevada as one of six states it will focus on. These states -- including California, New York, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- feature both strong unions and must-win elections for Democrats.

Danny Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO, said the state organization is in talks now to see how to coordinate the national effort to help Reid.

Thompson walked the picket lines against the Lowdens in the Santa Fe labor dispute, one that was especially intense because it involved an effort to unionize a neighborhood casino.

"It was among the most anti-union campaigns we've seen in this town," Thompson said. "Organizers were singled out and treated differently. It was a very ugly fight." [...]

Lowden has "always touted her record against collective bargaining and her record against public employee unions," Thompson added. "There's a clear message from her past that she is not a friend of anyone who works for a living. If Sue Lowden does win the primary we will be exposing her record."

Whoops. It's always a mistake to attack working Nevadans. Suzy Lowdown should have learned this in the 1990s, but apparently she still doesn't even realize this today. Her campaign is already attacking the unions and bashing the workers they represent.

She obviously doesn't know yet what's coming.

And honestly, none of us really does. This campaign will certainly have its twists and turns. That much is guaranteed, even if little else is.

Meanwhile, the former boxer from Searchlight is smiling.

I asked U.S. Sen. Harry Reid today if he had anything to say to those critics who predicted he may not even file for re-election. With a characteristic, wan smile, he held up a folder of election documents containing the receipt for his official filing papers and said simply, “Copies of everything are right here.”

Translation: Reid is most definitely not going to call it a day and look for a soft landing elsewhere. [...]

“My No. 1 job is to keep working to create jobs,” Reid said. He cited a couple of upcoming bills that he said will do just that, including a bill to re-authorize funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. “So, there are a lot of good things going on,” he said, adding, “We just have to look at the glass being half full rather than half empty.”

As for his chances, Reid cited a recent poll that shows him winning in a general election matchup that includes third party candidates and a “Tea Party” representative. And, asked if he could win the race, Reid had yet another, simple reply: “I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t.”

Heh. I guess the guy from Searchlight knows something that the big media pundits and GOP operatives can’t see. This race is only just beginning.

Let the games begin.

NV-Sen: Suzy Lowdown- Remember The Santa Fe? Archon?

Oh, my! After releasing her gawd awful "health care ad" yesterday, Suzy Lowdown is having to deal with something that just isn't helping her at all: THE TRUTH. And today, Harry Reid's campaign is firing back by reminding us of Suzy's record of (NOT) providing health care to her own workers.

As President of Santa Fe Hotel, Inc., Sue Lowden illegally denied health insurance to buffet workers both by forcing them to sign a document waiving their right to it and cutting their hours to render them ineligible for it. As a result, her company was found guilty of violating the National Labor Relations Act and was ordered to repay employees whose hours and benefits were unlawfully slashed.

After breaking the law, Lowden tried a different tact as a state senator to undermine quality medical coverage. She voted to put profits over the health needs of Nevada’s women, allowing insurance companies to refuse to cover lifesaving treatments like mammograms. Additionally, she voted to put insurance companies between patients and their doctors, allowing them to refuse coverage for medical services that were not only in their plans but were administered by a physician.

“Sue Lowden’s track record shows that she’s willing to do anything – even break the law – to save a buck by denying quality health insurance from hardworking Nevada families. Whether gutting medical coverage as a state senator or unlawfully refusing to cover employees, Lowden has proven that her idea of ‘leadership’ is not something Nevadans can afford,” said campaign manager Brandon Hall.

“While filled with lies and distortions, at least Lowden’s latest TV ad is actually a legal attempt to deny Nevadans access to quality, affordable health insurance. So for her, I guess that’s progress.”

Apparently back in the 1990s, Suzy and her husband had this habit of illegally denying their Santa Fe employees health care benefits... Oh, and they liked to illegally fire their workers, too!

Oh, and did I forget that they never really learned from those days? This revelation comes off the heels of the explosive SEC filing showing that the Lowdowns gave themselves a cool $200,000 bonus last year after firing over 100 Archon workers and eliminating employee savings match. Yes, this really came from the person claiming she can do a better job on "creating jobs"!

Uh huh... So the person best suited to work on "creating jobs" is someone who has a history of illegally eliminating health care benefits for her workers and firing workers while giving herself and her husband a healthy six-figure bonus?

And wait, who could forget Suzy Lowdown working so hard at Archon to "create jobs" in Nevada by shutting down Wet & Wild and leaving it as an empty lot for construction equipment?

Yep, that's Suzy Lowdown for us. She works hard... To make sure working class Nevadans get screwed while she laughs her way to the bank.