Nevada's Turn of the Wheel
Good Sunday Morning from the Bistro Buffet at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.
In a few minutes I'll be heading out to the local SEIU office from where the day's Obama canvass is being coordinated.
Some quick hits:
-- Never before I have ever seen so many people wearing political trappings at the gaming tables. More than 95% is Obama-Biden.
-- Both Michelle Obama and John McCain are buzzing through opposite ends of town tomorrow. Gonna try and catch up with both of them. Sarah Palin is going to be up in Reno but that's too close to Alaska for my tastes.
-- Great piece in today's always awesome Las Vegas Sun. The Democratic upsurge underway here in Nevada could redraw the state's political complexion an finally loosen the stranglehold exercised by the gambling industry. That is if the "gaming interests" don't financially collapse anyway before Xmas. This was a hollow Halloween for the mega-resorts. Room occupancy and gaming revenues continue to slump like, well, we're in the middle of a recession or something.
Check out The Sun piece. Here's an excerpt:
All the political and economic power rests on the Strip and with its paid political operatives and lobbyists.
For the most part, with the exception of some labor unions and a smattering of small do-gooder groups, the rest of the state mostly gawks like spectators at the governing process — and if your kid’s school isn’t good or you’re afraid to go to the local hospital because it’s substandard, well, what are you gonna do?
Nevada has long ranked in the bottom 10 of states in voter participation, let alone civic activism.
But that appears to be changing, quickly. The Silver State’s central role in this presidential election could fundamentally reshape the ways in which Nevadans view their community and what they can do to change it, say local activists, Nevada historians and political scientists.
Here’s why: The long campaign leading to the January presidential caucus culminated with a surprising turnout of more than 100,000 Democrats, which was followed by a general election campaign that has moved thousands of Democrats to volunteer for the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama.
The result: The state is for the first time home to thousands of energetic liberal activists well trained in sophisticated techniques of political and community organizing.
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Gee, thanks for staying at one of the only non-union casinos in the Strip area.
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Suggested reading for those who wish to understand the recent statements of Rick Davis:
Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbEwKcs-7Hc
Full version of Palin getting punked by Canadian DJ pretending to be Nicholas Sarkozy.
The best part was when he mentioned his “American advisor Johnny Halliday”. ( For those who don’t know Halliday is a famous French pop icon)
This trumps everything.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
40,000 at Obama rally in Springfield MO. (Population 151,000 & HQ of the Assembly of God. Less than 4% of the town is African-American, in part due to the mass exodus that took place 102 years ago when 3 black men were lynched and burned in the town square by a mob of 2000.)
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
PS: Palin drew a reported 15,000 to her recent rally in Springfield.
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Thanks Marc – good reporting in your last post and the two other prior to your current one…
Left LV a little more than two years ago, but know that the SW of Clark County is the stronghold for the Dems where I resided at that time.
Now I am living on the edge of Washoe County and am surprised how Dem it is! —
Ditto that everyone in the North West of Nevada is also walking around with adverts of Barack — T shirts, bracelets you name it — it feels good and I for one have spent the last ten days drumming up and also driving old folks to early voting. Had a guy yesterday proffer me 50 bucks for one of the Obama shirts I was wearing, would have given it to him for free — but had nothing else to put on had I removed it – directed to him to our local Obama office where they have most…was funny as hell to me and sorry I could not take it off….
Heard stats that in terms of early voting overall in Nevada – 60% have now voted.
GO BARACK!
p.s.,,,read your post about the recent termination from the Weekly – actually am glad for you, though no longer in LA did read it online , read your column is what I mean – will miss it, but you are right here and that is what counts,
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Awesome: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7704636.stm
November 2nd, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I’ve been waiting for Woody’s inevitable post expressing massive outrage at the busing of an entire district of schoolchildren to the recent Obama rally in Ohio to stand behind the candidate as props. Can America survive this kind of Soviet-style use of children as pawns in political posturing.
Oh, wait a minute. That was a McCain rally. Nevermind…
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
reg, haven’t you noticed Woody et al have been AWOL for sometime. They peeled off. Did their jobs. Gone.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
The card tables in the bay area have been 100% Obama for months. Perhaps not that surprising, but out of 100’s of buttons and t-shirts I’ve seen not one McCain supporter. I guess poker players lean left politically.
Oh. and Marc how about recommending your favorite texas hold em book.????
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I’ve been waiting for Woody’s inevitable post …
Worse than waiting for shit to stink.
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Are you aware of the fact that there were over 1.25 million very anti-Obama DVD’s enclosed as part of the Saturday morning
delivery of major newspapers in Ohio, Florida and Nevada including the Las Vegas Review Journal? I know rags are hard up for revenue, but this is stooping to a new low. Too little, too late.
SNL might help McCain’s image a tad, but he’s thrown his last pair of dice. He’s crapped out!
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:53 am
Obama up by 11 points on all variations of the final Gallup daily tracking…
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:13 am
“The card tables in the bay area have been 100% Obama”
What else do we need to know.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:22 am
Oh, Hugo has agreed to talk with the US, but only if Obama is elected president. This is important to know too.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
Jim R you sound like Woody.
Its over for you. Adapt or…